Bolichicos
TFI Suppport
Logline
In 2006 Venezuela, a privileged 20-year-old recruits the maid’s straight-laced son to carry out a currency exchange scam, earning them millions by exploiting the country's poorest - but their insatiable greed turns brother against brother. Inspired by true events.
Juan Avella
Screenwriter, Director
Juan Avella is an LA-based writer-director originally from Caracas, Venezuela, who focuses on gritty, social crime stories and thrillers set in multicultural worlds. Juan holds a Business Administration degree with a minor in Banking and Finances, and a Screenwriting MFA from the AFI Conservatory, where he won the Fadiman Award for excellence in screenwriting for his crime feature BOLICHICOS. He has written and produced shows and promos for E! Entertainment Latam, Discovery Channel US, and NFL Networks, and was a 2016 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow. His 2017 short film HIJO POR HIJO played in over 45 festivals, garnered 8 awards, and had a 5-week theatrical run in Venezuela, where it played nationwide before feature films in over 170 theaters. At the end of its festival run, the short was acquired by HBO for distribution and it currently airs on their platforms. In May 2018, Juan was a finalist for NALIP's Latino Lens Incubator program which awarded him a grant from the Time Warner Foundation to produce and direct a short film thriller he co-wrote entitled HER BODY. Juan is currently developing various TV and feature film projects and is repped by The Gersh Agency and Thruline Entertainment.
Diego Nájera
Producer
Diego Nájera is an LA-based producer from Guadalajara, Mexico. He is a USC International Artist Fellow (2014-2016), a recipient of the Producers Guild of America Debra Hill Fellowship (2016), and a Film Independent Project Involve-Turner Fellow (2018). He began his career at the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) where he worked for six editions serving as Screenings Manager, Producer, and Film Programmer. He worked for FICG in LA, the NALIP Media Summit and the 150th Cinco de Mayo broadcast show produced by Five Currents and Televisa. He holds an MFA from the University of Southern California’s renowned Peter Stark Producing Program. After relocating to Los Angeles, Diego had stints working at Amazon Studios Original Movies; 20th Century Fox Television; and Gaumont International Television where he participated in the pre-production of the Netflix TV series “Narcos.” His short film, SPARK, was nominated for a BAFTA Student Film Award and was distributed by HBO. His latest short, LIBERTY, premiered at the Berlinale winning the Generation Special Prize and receiving the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW. His work has also screened at FICG, FICViña, Atlanta Film Festival, and the Miami Film Festival, among many others.
Diego currently works at AG Capital, the Los Angeles-based film and TV financier behind the film CRUISE directed by Rob Siegel, and the Hulu Original Series “The First” created by Beau Willimon and starring Sean Penn.