Moreno Valley Award-Winning Filmmaker Makes His Way Home

Award-winning writer, director, and Moreno Valley native, Jerell Rosales, returns for the Inland Empire premiere of his latest short film, NO NO, HOMO. On Saturday, July 19, at 7 p.m. at the historic Riverside Fox Entertainment Plaza on Market Street, the RIVERSIDE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL will screen Rosales’ follow-up to his internationally acclaimed film, BORN TO DANCE THIS WAY, which received a Festival Favorite Award Winner at the Palm Springs Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, official selection to over 25 film festivals world-wide, and gained Rosales directorial attention from the HUFFINGTON POST as a “solid, rising filmmaker.” The Riverside International Film Festival (RIFF) is in its 12th year in its journey to becoming the premier film festival in the region and on the international festival scene. This season will see five days of independent cinema (approx. 70 films) showcasing feature, short, documentary and animated films from Hollywood and the rest of the world, including Mexico, India, Canada and France. NO NO HOMO, stars Russell Argenal, a San Bernardino native, and Sergio Sanchez. Argenal also starred in BORN TO DANCE THIS WAY, playing in venues such as the Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, theaters in Vancouver, Amsterdam and Taipei City, and a sold out crowd at the Historic Castro Theater in San Francisco. In 2012, Rosales made his directorial debut with BORN TO DANCE THIS WAY at the Director’s Guild of America. Honored with the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television (TFT) Film Festival’s coveted Director’s Spotlight Award, alongside the nine other winners, Rosales was honored along with the Filmmaker of the Year Award to 2012 Oscar® winner Alexander Payne (The Descendants, About Schmidt) and TFT’s prestigious Champion Spirit Award to legendary producer Harvey Weinstein (My Week with Marilyn, The King’s Speech). NO NO, HOMO marks Rosales’ second film in the festival circuit. “I’m ecstatic to bring my latest short film BACK HOME to the Riverside International Film Festival. Having grown up in the Inland Empire, I’ve shown my film all over the world, but I’m even more proud to bring one home.” For more information about Jerell Rosales and No No, Homo, visit his website: www.jerellrosales.com. For more information on the Riverside International Film Festival, please log on to http://legacy.tft.ucla.edu/festival/.