The first trailer for Blast Beat has just dropped in advance of the Sundance darling’s May 21 theatrical release. Directed by Esteban Arango and based on his 2015 short by the same name, the film follows the difficulties a family faces after emigrating from Colombia to the USA in 1999.
Starring real-life brothers Mateo and Moises Arias as brothers Carly and Mateo, the film is in part a coming-of-age story as the boys head into their final years of high school in a new country. Carly, the eldest, is a promising science student and metalhead, while younger Mateo is described as an aimless cynic. Joining them on their journey are their parents, played by Diane Guerrero (Doom Patrol) and Wilmer Valderrama (That ‘70s Show), and Daniel Day Kim (Lost) as a college professor who takes an interest in Carly’s talent.
Focusing on issues of immigration, the project is a personal one for much of the cast. Speaking with our own Steve Weintraub last year, Valderrama commented on why this story resonated so much with him:
“Two-thirds of what happened to this family happened to mine. My family sold everything they had, we came to the United States. [Arango] described it as a time where technology wasn’t around, and it was very expensive to keep in touch with your loved ones back home. You had to almost subliminally cut ties in many ways. I think my family did that. They sold everything they had, and we were kind of alone to try to start from scratch […] I think this story hits all of those pillars, checks all of those boxes.”
Echoing that sentiment, Kim described what attracted him to the film: “I was really excited to be a part of it because the topic is incredibly relevant. It’s timely. It’s necessary. And the issues and the themes are ones that people will get once they watch the movie. But the thing that attracted me the most was that, at its heart, it’s a family drama. Very specifically about a Colombian family, and though I’m not Colombian, as an immigrant myself, I can relate to a lot of these things that the family went through.”
Blast Beat will be available in select theaters and on demand May 21. Check out the trailer below:
Here’s the official synopsis and poster for Blast Beat:
On the cusp of the year 2000, Colombian brothers Carly (Mateo Arias) and Mateo (Moises Arias) prepare to move to the United States for their last years of high school. Metalhead Carly has his heart set on attending the Georgia Aerospace Institute and working for NASA, while his supportive parents (Diane Guerrero and Wilmer Valderrama) seize the chance to escape the political turmoil in Colombia and chase the American Dream. At first, Mateo is the only one to express any cynicism, but when the reality of their new life sinks in, the family struggles to adapt as their expectations are shattered. When events threaten to derail their future, Carly’s dream becomes his only lifeline.
