Midwest Movie Maker

'Culantro Fino' director Fernando Lopez, center, setting up a shot. Photo: Zac Popik >>> Fernando Lopez’s short film Culantro Fino catches you off guard. At its heart, it’s a simple story about a mother and daughter searching for connection through the power of food. But there is so much more going on between mother and daughter, played by Sarah Carleton and Sophia Castellanos, respectively. Complex issues and complicated relationships familiar to any family dealing with with the threat of deportation. All of that was by design, explains Lopez . “We wanted to take a complex premise and convey it in a simple way, without letting technology overshadow the tenderness of the relationship or the subtext of the plot.” The film is also an exploration of migrant life Lopez doesn’t often see portrayed on screen. “There always seems to be an element of joy and euphoria when our culture is portrayed on screen, which is not wrong or inaccurate,” Lopez says. “But there are other ...

Sarah Carleton, right, with co-star Ben Measor, in 'Eddy's Island' >>> There is a moment early in Transistor , Maple Films’ 2011 Cleveland 48 Hour Film Project entry, when the main character first reacts to what will become the short film’s MacGuffin - an eerie disembodied voice that only she can hear. Confused and unnerved, the woman scans the environment, looking for the source of this strange experience. Sarah Carleton , as the runner, plays the moment subtly, conveying all the confusion and anxiety through her eyes, you couldn’t help but wonder when she would make the leap from the Cleveland 48 Hour Film Project to a blockbuster thriller. One of her most recent projects, Evenfall , an online web series that reteams her with Transistor’s Dustin Lee and Maple Films, moves her one step closer.  Carleton  plays a mother searching for her young son in the post-apocalyptic action-adventure.  She explores some of the same feelings in Fernando Lopez’s short film Cu...