Documentary “Mucho Mucho Amor,” from Latinx filmmakers Cristina Costantini (“Science Fair”) and Kareem Tabsch (“The Last Resort”), focuses on the legacy of Walter Mercado, the iconic gender-nonconforming Hispanic astrologer who disappeared from the public eye, choosing to live off the grid in Puerto Rico, before resurfacing to prepare for the opening of a late-in-life exhibition at the HistoryMiami Museum.
Cinematographer Peter Alton had worked with Costantini on “Science Fair” and was her first choice to capture Mercado’s intimate moments for the doc, now streaming on Netflix, as the octogenarian grapples with aging and how he wants to be remembered during what prove to be the final two years of his life.
What was your awareness of who Mercado was? It was pretty minimal. I think I had seen him on TV in the ’90s. Sort of like on the Psychic Network.
What was the challenge in filming him so intimately?...
Cinematographer Peter Alton had worked with Costantini on “Science Fair” and was her first choice to capture Mercado’s intimate moments for the doc, now streaming on Netflix, as the octogenarian grapples with aging and how he wants to be remembered during what prove to be the final two years of his life.
What was your awareness of who Mercado was? It was pretty minimal. I think I had seen him on TV in the ’90s. Sort of like on the Psychic Network.
What was the challenge in filming him so intimately?...
- 7/8/2020
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
What a fraud, you might have thought glimpsing astrologist Walter Mercado on TV in the ’90s. But you wouldn’t forget his face. The bejeweled and blonded psychic hotline pitchman looked like a sorcerer from outer space. Cristina Costantini and Kareem Tabsch’s giddily glittery documentary “Mucho Mucho Amor” traces the half-century that Mercado was a global icon, his fingers whirling like flamenco dancers as he hypnotized audiences from Holland to Brazil.
Mercado was as at-home on “Sally Jesse Raphael “as he was in his birthplace of Puerto Rico, where strangers would jockey to stroke his fabulous 15-pound capes, or even finagle a kiss on the cheek. Howard Stern hooted that he was “bigger than Jesus Christ.” Mercado demurred that he was closer to Buddha. But when the film starts, Mercado hasn’t been on camera for over a decade. Many fans assume he’s dead. How could that grande dame live without a spotlight?...
Mercado was as at-home on “Sally Jesse Raphael “as he was in his birthplace of Puerto Rico, where strangers would jockey to stroke his fabulous 15-pound capes, or even finagle a kiss on the cheek. Howard Stern hooted that he was “bigger than Jesus Christ.” Mercado demurred that he was closer to Buddha. But when the film starts, Mercado hasn’t been on camera for over a decade. Many fans assume he’s dead. How could that grande dame live without a spotlight?...
- 1/25/2020
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary Dp Peter Alton has shot non-fiction pieces on El Chapo, Tupac Shakur and the history of violence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Alton was hired by directors Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster to shoot Science Fair, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. The film follows nine students as they arrive at the 2017 International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles. Alton spoke with Filmmaker about his intimate, unobtrusive approach to filming documentary interviews and action. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired […]...
- 1/27/2018
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Hispanicize 2014 Reveals Official Film Festival Selections, Presented by: Aarp, MyLingo.com, and Regal Cinemas
Festival will feature filmmaking stars Edward James Olmos, Nicholas Gonzales, Diego Luna, and many more
Miami Beach, Fl – March 28, 2014 – (Hispanicize Wire) – With a strong star presence and a national Hispanic media and social media stage as the backdrop, Hispanicize 2014 organizers today unveiled the event’s film festival selections, celebrity screenings and professional development sessions. Hispanicize 2014 (http://www.hispanicizeevent.com/), the largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in social media, journalism, advertising, public relations, film, music and innovation, will take place at the Intercontinental in downtown Miami, April 1-4.
This year’s film selections are: “ Cesar Chavez”, “Water and Power”, “Sleeping with The Fishes”, “Avenues”, “The House That Jack Built”, and six short films: “Missing Grandma,” “J-1”, “Tender Love”, “Reason Y I’m Single”, “ The Price We Pay” and “Stereotypically Me”.
Hollywood celebrities confirmed to...
Festival will feature filmmaking stars Edward James Olmos, Nicholas Gonzales, Diego Luna, and many more
Miami Beach, Fl – March 28, 2014 – (Hispanicize Wire) – With a strong star presence and a national Hispanic media and social media stage as the backdrop, Hispanicize 2014 organizers today unveiled the event’s film festival selections, celebrity screenings and professional development sessions. Hispanicize 2014 (http://www.hispanicizeevent.com/), the largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in social media, journalism, advertising, public relations, film, music and innovation, will take place at the Intercontinental in downtown Miami, April 1-4.
This year’s film selections are: “ Cesar Chavez”, “Water and Power”, “Sleeping with The Fishes”, “Avenues”, “The House That Jack Built”, and six short films: “Missing Grandma,” “J-1”, “Tender Love”, “Reason Y I’m Single”, “ The Price We Pay” and “Stereotypically Me”.
Hollywood celebrities confirmed to...
- 3/30/2014
- by El Mayimbe
- LRMonline.com
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