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"Calloused Hands" tells the near autobiographical coming-of-age story of director Jesse Quinones. This is a unique Latino film that showcases touching storytelling and deals with a12-year-old mixed and interfaith boy growing up in Miami. The acting alone behind Jesse's direction make this a must see film to support. (Also seeing my fellow Chilena Julia Grob in the film made me proud!).

LatinoBuzz: This is a deeply personal story, was there any fear of telling it?

Jesse Quinones: While I was writing it especially, that process was quite painful, and I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to delve back into some of those memories. It definitely brought up some stuff for me. Once I got into the pre-production and production side of things, there was so much to do, that there was little room to think about the fact that this was a personal story. At that point, we were just trying to make a film. But there were some moments during the film that definitely caught me off guard, where I had to step away from the monitor and gather myself. The actors and crew were really respectful of that, which I appreciated a lot. They knew they were telling a story based on my life, and they really worked hard to honor that.

LatinoBuzz: What is your background?

Jesse Quinones: My father is from Cuba and my mother is from Ireland and she’s Jewish. So I’m pretty mixed up!

LatinoBuzz: What was the fundraising process? Did it come from the UK or Stateside?

Jesse Quinones: Funding for the film largely came from private investors in the UK. And then we got some finishing funds from a private investor out of Miami. We also got a lot of in-kind support from the crew. They were amazing and worked tirelessly for very little.

LatinoBuzz: How did you get into the industry? Was there a particular filmmaker or film that influenced you?

Jesse Quinones: I had a real indirect way into the industry. I started off as a reporter in print journalism, then moved into theater, and from there into documentaries, and finally into feature films. You know I’ve had a lot of influences. I think my earliest memory of going to the cinema and just being so touched by what I saw was Malcolm X by Spike Lee. It was just such a powerful film, and really stayed with me. Spike Lee is a great story teller and definitely up there for me. More recent influences, Derek Cianfrance is a big inspiration to me. I loved both Blue Valentine and Place Beyond the Pines. I love the performance in his films, the pacing, the tone, when you see one of his films, you kind of get taken for this ride, he really goes there. I’d love my films to create that same feeling.

LatinoBuzz: Has any members of your family seen it?

Jesse Quinones: Yeah my mother saw it. She’s real proud of me. She’s no stranger to using her own life as a creative template, she’s a writer herself, and has written a book about her life. So when I started working on Calloused Hands she gave me her blessing. She’s been real supportive of it.

LatinoBuzz: What's the next project?

Jesse Quinones: I have a few projects in the pipeline. I'm working on a British set fight movie about a Cagefighter who has to fight his demons both in and outside of the cage. That is being produced by Paula Crickard, who also produced Calloused Hands. I'm also working on a romantic comedy called Carlito y Jane, which is about a British playwright that goes to Cuba and ends up marrying a young Cuban playboy. That has the Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta attached. And then I'm attached to direct a project called The Nanny, which was written by Braulio Montovani, he also wrote City of God.

Also working on some short form stuff, I just shot a music video for a great singer named Kathrin deBoer, which I’m real excited about. You can check out some of her work at www.kathrindeboer.com . And recently I was signed to the agency Irresistible Films, who represent me for commercials and documentaries. So at the moment just trying to stay busy and creative!

LatinoBuzz: Luca and Andre have incredible and heartbreaking chemistry. How did you find them?

Jesse Quinones: Luca was found via a very traditional audition process. I had a staged reading in La about a year before we shot the film and we saw about 50 kids for it, and all of them were really good. But there was just something about Luca. I think he reminded me a lot of me. He’s serious, big for his age, kind of looks real quiet on the outside but has a lot going on underneath. Andre, we connected via a mutual friend Julia Grob, who also has a role in the film. She hit him up on Twitter, and asked if he’d be interested in reading my script. He was, and read it, and asked to meet me.

I live in London and he lives in La so I was hoping a ‘meet’ might be translated into a Skype. But he really wanted a face to face, I think he wanted to see if I was for real. It’s Andre Royo, he played the most favorite character (Bubbles) on one of America’s most favorite shows (The Wire). So I got myself on a plane, headed to La, and we met and talked about the project. He had lots of questions, lots of notes, but ultimately I think he saw enough in it. The film wouldn’t have been the same without those two, they brought a huge amount to their parts, stuff that wasn’t necessarily on the page.

Written by Juan Caceres , LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...

"Calloused Hands," which features an award winning performance from "Wire" star Andre Royo, is to receive its theatrical release November 14th at the Laemmle Theatre in Los Angeles, followed by screenings in Miami and New York. The hard-hitting drama, which is based on the life story of its writer/director Jesse Quinones, tells the story of Josh, a 12-year-old mixed race boy growing up in Miami who shows promise as a baseball player. He neglected by his mother, and is abused by her boyfriend Byrd. He manages to forge his own path when his estranged grandfather insists he study for his Bar Mitzvah. "Calloused Hands," made on a...

The Oregon based film festival, BendFilm (October 10-13) has announced the full slate of films competing in the tenth annual festival. The films totaling 16 narratives, 17 documentaries and 49 shorts, are competing for the Brooks Resources Corporation five thousand dollar prize for best in show and Best Narrative Feature juried awarded with a $60,000 camera rental prize from Panavision. Below find the full lineup, with synopses courtesy of BendFilm. The Narrative Features are:"Bouy"-In writer/director Steven Doughton, a mother answers the phone to hear a voice from her distant past—their conversation tests the strength of a deep yet betrayed love."Calloused Hands"-Written and directed by Jesse Quinones, in which a neglected and abused 12-year-old manages to forge his own path in life when his grandfather insists he study for his Bar Mitzvah.(Pacific Northwest Premiere""The Cold Lands"-Tom Gilroy’s tale of young Atticus who flees into...

Exclusive: New writers chosen for Save Our Scripts workshop; producers to follow.

Eight new screenwriters and six writer-directors have been selected for The Bureau’s Sos development programme.

During the seven-month programme writers will develop a feature screenplay and producers will fast-track development.

Projects include Calloused Hands writer-director Jesse Quinones’ love-story between an English woman and a young Cuban man who meet on holiday but struggle adapting to London life, and Selina Lim’s adaptation of London-based short Painkiller.

Al Mackay takes a group of beautiful and potentially dangerous individuals volunteering at an organic farm in Southern France with fatal consequences and art-director Keith Slote is working on a high concept period romantic-comedy set in Renaissance Italy.

Each writer will be assigned a mentor. Speakers during the first module include writer Christopher Hampton, script editor Paul Welsh and Metrodome MD Jezz Vernon.

From the second module, writers will be paired with producers to continue the development process...

Kino Lorber has announced its acquisition of all North American rights to Calloused Hands, the coming-of-age drama starring Andre Royo - the debut feature from director Jesse Quinones. Based on a true story, Calloused Hands is described as a gritty and hard-hitting drama telling the story of Josh, a 12-year-old mixed race boy growing up in Miami who shows promise as a baseball player. He neglected by his mother, and is abused by her boyfriend Byrd. He manages to forge his own path when his estranged grandfather insists he study for his Bar Mitzvah. The film is largely based on the tumultuous life of Quinones, the 31-year-old writer and director of the...

While the full lineup hasn't been unveiled, Andre Royo's coming of age drama Calloused Hands will open the 2013 British Urban Film Festival, which runs September 5-9.  Calloused Hands was also announced in the Film London selection of titles screening at the 2013 London UK Film Focus (Luff) taking place June 24-27, 2013. To recap, Hands is described as a gritty and hard-hitting drama telling the story of Josh, a 12-year-old mixed race boy growing up in Miami who shows promise as a baseball player. He neglected by his mother, and is abused by her boyfriend Byrd. He manages to forge his own path when his estranged grandfather insists he study...

Celebrating its 10th year, Film London has announced a selection of titles screening at the London UK Film Focus (Luff) 2013 taking place June 24-27, 2013. Backed by the Mayor of London, Luff offers a platform for emerging British filmmakers seeking sales representation, plus providing a chance for international buyers to monitor upcoming UK talent. At least five of the 2012 Breakthrough films have since been picked up by sales agents. This year's Breakthrough titles include the coming-of-age drama Calloused Hands which is the debut feature from director Jesse Quinones and stars Andre Royo. Calloused Hands is described as a gritty and...

Andre Royo is set to debut his upcoming feature film Calloused Hands at the 30th Miami International Film Festival. Calloused Hands is described as a gritty and hard-hitting drama telling the coming-of-age story of Josh, a 12-year-old mixed race boy growing up in Miami who shows promise as a baseball player. He is abused by his mother’s boyfriend Byrd, and neglected by his mother Debbie. He manages to forge his own path when his estranged grandfather insists he study for his Bar Mitzvah. The film is largely based on the tumultuous life of Jesse Quinones, the 31-year-old writer and director of the project. “Calloused Hands is deeply personal and a long time in the making,”...