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A Communist Brainwashed My Daughter

A satire about Cuban machismo, middle-school drama, and environmental messaging through connected vignettes: a frustrated Miami science teacher forces apathetic students to pick up litter in detention, the drama those students actually care about, and an overworked Cuban father who challenges the teacher. One day of tension building, bursting, and bursting some more from the perspectives of the teacher, the student, and her father.

Mel Brooks meets Pedro Almodovar, written by Greta Thunberg and a dozen telenovela writers.

  • Daniel Lago
    Director
  • Daniel Lago
    Writer
  • Daniel Lago
    Producer
  • Manuel Delgadillo
    Producer
  • Daniel Lago
    Cinematographer (Camera/Grip/Electric Department)
  • Daniel Lago
    Post-Production (Editor, Composer, Sound Mixer, Animator, SFX)
  • Daniel Lago
    Filmmaker
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 40 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 28, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    11,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Medium Format (GFX 100s)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Daniel Lago

Daniel Lago is a Hialeah native, though he tries not to show it. He used to work as a union camera assistant and has been making shoestring films for half his life.

In 2023, he completed his first feature film, “A Communist Brainwashed My Daughter” (ACBMD). Despite being made for less than $6,000 and with a three-person crew (Daniel took on nearly every role imaginable), ACBMD was selected to compete at the 41st Miami Film Festival in the Made In MIA Category. ACBMD is a satire about Cuban machismo, middle-school drama, and environmental messaging through connected vignettes. It screened to a sold-out theater and was well-received with attention to its relatable and authentic representation of Hialeah.

Since 2020, Daniel has worked with children and adolescents as an outdoor psychotherapist. He has too many interests outside of filmmaking: furniture-making, cartooning/comics, gardening, environmental stewardship, and taking stray cats to be humanely spayed, neutered, and vaccinated.

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Director Statement

This is a DIY feature film made for under 6k, under two years, with over two dozen cast members, and with a three-person skeleton crew (all Latino). Not a single day went over five hours. I was the director/writer/producer/actor, and also served as cinematographer (and gaffer/key grip), the entire art department, and the entire post-production department. Yes, I need a vacation, and yes, I will never perform that many roles on a feature film again.

And yet, I'm open to counseling anyone on the ins-and-outs about how I made a feature under these self-imposed conditions.