The Sound of ILL Days. 2017. Puerto Rico. Written, Directed and Produced by Rojo Robles. Over the course of seven days, a young couple of struggling artists is confronted by new love interests and creative yearnings. In sync with their chaotic days, Brooklyn is presented as an uncontrollable landscape that disrupts and enhances the perceptions of the characters.
In English & Spanish; English Subtitles. 85 min.
Screenings:
Cine con Cultura Film Fest, 2017
Blow-Up International Art House Film Fest, 2017 *Finalist*
Cine Underground Latinx en Nueva York (Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures Program Graduate Center, CUNY), 2018
IX Coloquio Internacional Cine Iberoamericano Contemporáneo: La ciudad y el espacio urbano (Graduate Center, CUNY), 2018
Press:
“The Sound of ILL Days: por un cine pobre, con hambre y super imperfecto” por Rojo Robles
“El cine y la furia: The Sound of ILL Days, opera prima de Rojo Robles” por Elena Chavez
“Un sonido distinto” por Cecilia Velázquez
Your Day is My Night. 2013. USA. Directed by Lynne Sachs. Written by Lynne Sachs and Rojo Robles. While living in a “shift-bed” apartment in the heart of New York City’s Chinatown, a household of immigrants share their stories of personal and political upheaval. As the bed transforms into a stage, the film reveals the collective history of the Chinese in the United States through conversations, autobiographical monologues and theatrical movement pieces. Shot in the kitchens, bedrooms, wedding halls, cafés and mahjong parlors of Chinatown, this provocative, hybrid documentary addresses issues of privacy, intimacy, and urban life.
In Mandarin, English & Spanish; English subtitles. 64 min.
World Premiere:
Museum of Modern Art Documentary Fortnight, New York, February 2013.
Screenings:
Ann Arbor Film Festival, 2013
Images Festival, 2013
Vancouver International Film Festival, 2013
San Diego Asian Film Festival, 2013 *Winner Best Documentary*
BORDOCS Documentary Forum, 2013
Traverse City Film Festival, 2013 *Winner Best Experimental Film*
Cast:
Che Chang-Qing, Yi Chun Cao, Linda Yueh Hwa Chan, Kam Yin Tsui, Yun Xiu Huang, Ellen Ho, Sheut Hing Lee, Veraalba Santa.
Crew:
Lynne Sachs (director); Sean Hanley (camera, co-producing, and editing); Rojo Robles (co-writer); Catherine Ng and Jenifer Lee (translations); Ethan Mass (camera); Stephen Vitiello (music); Damian Volpe (sound mix) Amanda Katz and Jeff Sisson (sound); Bryan Chang (additional editing and translations); Madeline Youngberg (production assistance)
Rojo Robles, PhD 