Writer and filmmaker Alejandro Montoya starts his creative process with music. “Music is a big deal in my projects,” says Montoya. “I make playlists [that reflect] the type of movie and feel I want to attain.” Yet his newest project, “Low/Fi,” a short film about a pop culture-obsessed 30-something, is about the absence of music. The movie screens at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street SW) Saturday, Jan. 10, and is Montoya’s latest project filmed entirely in Albuquerque. Montoya began his journey in the creative field at a young age as a way to just get through school. “I organized plays in junior high for extra credit because I was failing,” says Montoya, “but film was something I always wanted to do.” Montoya’s work always exudes a sense of joy, even the dark comedy “The Joneses,” in which a married couple murders their neighbors out of jealous rage, but in a funny way. Montoya’s short film “The Princess and the Musician,” starts with two lonely strangers who serendipitously meet in a hotel lobby and ends with them running in the streets dressed as a princess and a knight. Montoya primarily films in New Mexico because, as he says, “we have a lot of talented people in this state. We have amazing actors, writers, and crew.” Much like the joy in his movies, Montoya is dedicated to making his filming experiences positive. “We need to work together to make this state even more beautiful in an artistic point of view,” says Montoya. “If we continue to support each other, help out everyone who really wants to do film and has a passion—not because they are bored or looking for a hobby—New Mexico film will grow.” “Low/Fi” concerns “a woman who has always been influenced by pop culture,” says Montoya, “but now that she is 30 and seeing how her life has turned out, she cuts music and film out to see if she can find true love.” Through this break away from sometimes empty and fleeting cultural artifacts, we see the woman deal with “selfishness, jealousy and ultimately being yourself.” It’s an interesting project from a writer whose films are so heavily dependent on their musical influences. Also see “Reel World”
“Low/Fi” Saturday Jan. 10, 8:15pm National Hispanic Cultural Center1701 Fourth Street SWTickets: $1 at the door nationalhispaniccenter.org, 246-2261
