Private Project

Los Aliens

As a family attempts a desert crossing, U.S. border patrol closes moves in - but both groups are in for a real 'alien' encounter.

  • Amy Starbin
    Director
    Milk & Honey
  • Amy Starbin
    Writer
    Kelly & Cal, Lilian
  • Adam Yeend
    Producer
    Brentwood Strangler, Scary Endings, Skypemare
  • Amy Starbin
    Producer
  • Giovanni Bejarano
    Key Cast
    "Reyes"
    Guest Stars - 'The Orville', 'Big Bang Theary', 'Shameless'
  • Trevor Gardner
    Key Cast
    "Cole"
  • Preston Lopez
    Key Cast
    "The Alien"
  • Emanuel Loarca
    Key Cast
    "The Father"
  • Laura Santa Cruz
    Key Cast
    "The Mother"
  • Luna Aguilar
    Key Cast
    "The Big Sister"
  • Katelyn Cerritos
    Key Cast
    "The Little Girl"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 20, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Amy Starbin

Amy's superpower as a writer lies in creating multi-dimensional, layered characters. Her feature script Kelly & Cal, inspired by her own brush with post-partum depression, became a dramedy starring Juliette Lewis and premiered at SXSW, where director Jen McGowan won the Gamechanger Award and IFC picked the film up for distribution. The script was mentioned in rave reviews from Variety to the New York Times.
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As a director, Amy is passionate about genre storytelling as a medium for opening new paths of understanding. She loves taking audiences on visually powerful, emotionally visceral journeys that engage curiosity and compassion to make unexpected connections and create a sense of exhilarating new possibilities.
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Her latest projects include the LGBT drama LILIAN, with Alfred Molina attached to make his directorial debut; I CAN CHANGE, an emotional sci-fi set in the near future with Jennifer Carpenter attached to produce and star; and BUNKER, a sci-fi thriller about two families trapped together in a bunker during a nuclear attack - in which all is not what it seems.
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Born and raised in the Catskills, she now lives in the foothills outside Los Angeles with her husband, son, and two cats Zaius and Zuul.

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Director Statement

When I heard about Jakelin Caal Maquin, a 7-yr-old Guatemalan girl who died in the custody of US Customs & Border Protection, I sat down and wrote about an encounter between “aliens” from just over the border and an “Alien” from light years away, as the Border Patrol closes in. I put a little girl at the center of the family making their way to the border, and I found a transcendent, unearthly child to play the extraterrestrial. Their connection is the heart of the story.

This project centers the immigrant experience and features strong performances from Latinx actors, including a brilliant bilingual playwright-director from Guatemala and a newly-minted young actor whose mom made her own border crossing as a child. We strove to have a talented, diverse crew. Both cast and crew comprise a mix of LGBTQ+ folks and allies. Finally, as a female writer-director, I feel I approached the action/sci-fi genre with a unique vision and perspective. I hope you’ll agree.