War Zone Mateo - From Gang Banger To Gallery Owner

CONTACT:   / johnacostafilm   http://www.johnacostacine.com/ DESCRIPTION: Gallery Owner, Mateo Sigwerth, recounts his trials and tribulations while growing up in New Mexico's most violent neighborhood, Albuquerque's "War Zone." He also discusses how the urban landscape was created and how it has been fueled by systemic racism due to much larger aftereffects of war, imperialism and rampant capitalism. Mateo's Instagram:   / warzonemateo   Nopal Gallery Instagram:   / nopalgallery   SERIES DESCRIPTION: Coming off the success of his debut series "Duke City Diaries," Director, John Acosta continues his heart-felt and unique storytelling with a new seven-part series titled Stories Of The Southwest(SOTS). Stories Of The Southwest illustrates life and death in the American West. This series confides the soul of the films to the residents who have very often had to deal with sensationalist, demeaning and capitalizing narratives carried by the media. These narratives inflict devastating pillaging effects on poor and working-class people of color and Indigenous people. The most important narrative this series seeks to dismantle is the very popular "Myth of The West" or "Wild West" narrative which romanticises and glorifies criminality in a very strange, voyeuristic, and obsessive degree. This myth continues to perpetuate a lie of rampant criminality & chaos, which in turn, causes the effect in poor communities of color to be hyper-policing and hyper-surveillance, both fueling white supremacy and deepening the violent police-state. This series hopes to draw you in and engage you in this discussion by utilizing the very themes, motifs, visual imagery, and audio landscapes from the neo-western film genre. Above anything else, this series is Acosta's heart on film. "It is a reclamation of who I am, who I stand for and my fight with and for the people against systemic oppression," Acosta says. CREDITS: Director | Producer | Editor: John Acosta Assistant Director: Elijah Williams Associate Producer: Charles "Chuck Quez" Enriquez Production Assistant: Jacob Olaguir Drone Operator: Gavin Malm Drone Operator 2: John Acosta SCORE: "Tourist" (Intro Track) - Armando Orona & Blake Tabernacki WHO ARE WE? John Acosta is a first generation Chicano filmmaker who has worked as a filmmaker and grassroots community organizer for several nonprofits in the Albuquerque area.He continues to work on ongoing projects in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. GET IN CONTACT WITH THE TEAM: Elijah Williams:   / carlgyung   Gavin Malm:   / gavinmalm      / skylineguy2000   Chuck Quez: https://www.reverbnation.com/ghettogu... Armando Orona:   / armandomxz   Blake Tabernacki:   / deathbat54