‘A Night in Old Mexico’

Screening promotes local filmmaking

Note: This article originally appeared May 27, 2014 online at the website for The Pan American. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

Thanks to the CineSol Independent Film Festival, a showcase that screens films from Rio Grande Valley filmmakers annually across the RGV, local residents had a chance to see Robert Duvall’s A Night in Old Mexico, which was filmed in Brownsville.

In the movie, Academy Award-winning actor Duvall (Tender Mercies, 1984) plays a cantankerous rancher whose land is claimed by the bank, causing him to go on a trip to Mexico to serve as a last “hurrah.” His estranged grandson is dragged along and through a series of coincidences the two inadvertently end up with stolen money from a drug kingpin.

A Night in Old Mexico had a limited release May 16 that also coincided with its release via several digital platforms, such as iTunes and Amazon Instant. According to CineSol Festival Director Henry Serrato, this release strategy made many local theaters reluctant to carry the movie. This led him to screen the movie at Cine el Rey during Memorial Day weekend May 24 at 7 p.m. and May 25 at 2 and 5 p.m. for $10 per ticket. Previously, the film was shown at The University of Texas at Brownsville May 23.

Despite taking place in Mexico, A Night in Old Mexico was shot in Rio Hondo and Brownsville during summer 2012 over a period of three weeks. Locations in Brownsville included The Capitol Theatre on 1101 E. Levee St. and the Camille Lightner Playhouse at 1 Dean Porter Park.

For Serrato, a Harlingen native who graduated from UTPA in 1997, the screening was a chance to show how local filmmaking could benefit the Valley’s economy and local talent.

“When a film is shot down here, it brings in income to the city while also allowing us to build a reputation with film companies that will hopefully bring in more filmmaking opportunities for the Rio Grande Valley,” the 40-year-old explained. “The movie had at least 500 local people involved...as extras and for many, this was the only chance for them to see their work.”

Ashley Beane, an alumna of the University of North Texas, was one of the more than 80 people who attended the Friday evening screening to promote her non-profit organization Rio Grande Valley Film Society (FiSo). The organization has been active for three months and promotes the advancement of local filmmaking. She discussed several benefits of filming in the RGV, such as companies receiving tax incentives for shooting in low-income areas.

“We have a lot to offer and we need to show that the film industry in the RGV has a lot of talent available and can compete with the film industries of other much more well-known places,” the radio/TV/film graduate said.

Cynthia Sarmiento, an extra in the film, attended the Friday screening along with her family. Many of the Weslaco native’s scenes involved her interacting with Duvall; she's a big fan.

“He was so relaxed and down to earth and would always say ‘hi’ to everyone,” the 2011 UTPA alumna recalled. “One time, during a break from shooting, he actually sat next to me on a bench and started making small talk. I was so starstruck by the fact that he was talking to me that I just nodded and smiled at him and realized, ‘Crap, he probably thinks I’m not talking because I don’t know English or something.’”

Other recent Hollywood productions filmed in Brownsville include the 2012 Mel Gibson thriller Get the Gringo and a Season Two episode of the NBC drama Friday Night Lights. Endgame, an independent film about a Brownsville chess team starring Modern Family’s Rico Rodriguez and Napoleon Dynamite’s Efren Ramirez, is currently in post-production.