Bullrush (AKA Cuernavaca)

Logline: Abandoned by his mother, a troubled teen is sent to live with his estranged father in a gritty neighborhood, where joining a wild crew draws him into escalating crime and makes reconciliation with his father seem impossible—until a shocking deadly encounter changes everything.

Synopsis: It’s the mid-90s, and Solomon lives in Austin, Texas with his mother Alicia, who is about to turn their lives upside down. Pregnant and facing eviction, she sends Sol to live with his estranged father Jed, in a suburb affectionately called “the hood” for its unusually high crime rate.

Sol’s small stature, racial ambiguity, and reticent nature make him an easy target. In a new environment, Sol struggles with identity and belonging, while finding his way with a new crew, and forging a relationship with his father.

Amidst an unforgiving summer heat wave, tensions rise and a feud comes to a boil, unleashing a vicious chain of events culminating in kidnapping and homicide. The only certainty is the hood will never be the same.

  • Eliot Galán
    Writer
    Journey of a Dream, When the Tide Goes Out
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Genres:
    Drama, Comedy
  • Number of Pages:
    113
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • LightReel Film Festival
    Washington, DC
    June 5, 2024
    WINNER Best Screenplay
  • Los Angeles IFS Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    June 12, 2024
    WINNER, 2nd Place Best Feature Screenplay
  • Atlanta Movie Awards
    Atlanta, GA
    February 19, 2024
    WINNER, Best Feature Screenplay
  • Nashville Independent Filmmakers Festival
    Nashville, TN
    February 28, 2024
    WINNER, Best Feature Screenplay
  • Cannes International Screenplay Awards
    Paris, France
    December 31, 2023
    FINALIST
  • Festival of Cinema NYC
    New York, NY
    August 2, 2024
    FINALIST
  • Hong Kong International Screenplay Awards by CINEVERSE
    Hong Kong
    March 24, 2024
    FINALIST
  • Austin Spotlight Film Festival
    Austin, TX
    September 14, 2024
    Finalist
  • Film Invasion Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, CA
    June 18, 2024
    FINALIST
  • Beverly Hills Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    May 1, 2024
    FINALIST
  • Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival
    Providence, RI
    August 6, 2024
    Semi-Finalist
  • Denver Movie Awards
    Denver, CO
    February 15, 2024
    Semi-Finalist
  • International Screenwriting Competition
    Fort Lee, NJ
    January 12, 2024
    Quarter-Finalist
  • Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards
    Santa Barbara, CA
    January 15, 2024
    Quarter-Finalist
  • Dallas International Film Festival
    Dallas, TX
    April 25, 2024
    Quarter-Finalist
  • Las Vegas International Film & Screenwriting Festival
    Las Vegas, NV
    October 29, 2024
    Finalist
  • Page Turner Genre Mash-up
    Santa Monica, CA
    November 1, 2024
    Quarter-finalist
Writer Biography - Eliot Galán

Eliot Galán grew up in Austin, Texas, where his personal experiences inspired this unique and bold coming of age story. It highlights a very specific time in his life, when his mother left town to have a baby, and he started spending time in the Cuernavaca neighborhood, known for its culture clash between mansions and trailer parks.

Eliot’s more than 20-year filmmaking career has demonstrated his talents and hard work, earning credits as Editor, Writer, Director, Cinematographer and Colorist, on award-winning features and shorts of virtually every genre, both fiction and non-fiction.

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Writer Statement

"Bullrush" marks my feature directorial debut, and while this is a period piece set in the ‘90s, the themes explored could not be more relevant today. Questions around class, race, and identity have gone mainstream, and though progress has been made, we face increased scrutiny and pushback from established systems of oppression and their purveyors.

This heartfelt story of personal growth centers on the interplay of diverse characters, as they explore themselves and their relationships. People may all want the same thing, or think they know what they want, but the journey requires winners and losers. This conflict propels the story through its main plot of the protagonist's search for identity and belonging. The subplots of reconciliation with his father, and the antagonist's struggle to maintain his status, coincide as the story weaves and hurtles towards a fierce climax with an unexpected twist.

Through this journey audiences will undoubtedly reflect on themselves and their own upbringings, and how we might do better for the next generations. Together with an impact campaign, our team will use "Cuernavaca" to facilitate dialogue amongst communities and in education, to improve relations across social boundaries of race, class and gender.