Press release

Montreal, January 17, 2007 — Directed by Heidi Specogna, /The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez/ had its world premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival before screening at the Locarno, Munich, San Francisco, and Havana film festivals, among many others. The film has met with intensely positive reactions among both the press and the public:

“A graceful film.” - Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

“An illuminating story.” — David Ansen, Newsweek

“A superb miniature of globalization.” - Patricia Aufderheide, In These Times

“One of my favorite documentaries of the year is so timely that I’m saddened to learn that it still hasn’t been widely distributed in the States since I saw it in January, even though it seems to fill a void in the public debate.” - Robert Davis, Errata

About the film

Marine Lance Cpl. José Antonio Gutierrez was one of the 300,000 soldiers the U.S. military sent to war in Iraq in March 2003. A few hours after the war began, his picture was broadcast all over the world: he was the first American soldier to be killed in Iraq. He was also a so-called ‘green-card soldier’ — one of approximately 32,000 non-U.S. citizens fighting in the ranks of the U.S. armed forces, who would receive U.S. citizenship as compensation for their sacrifice.

The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez tells the moving story of a one-time street kid from Guatemala, who, full of hopes for a better future, immigrated to the U.S, ultimately to die an American hero in the deserts of Iraq. Director Heidi Specogna retraces José Antonio’s path — from Guatemala through Mexico to the United States — and meets the people who accompanied him on his journey: his friends from the street, the social workers at a Guatemala orphanage, his sister, his foster family in Los Angeles, and, at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, the marines who were with him at the end.

Chilling, thought-provoking, and profound, José Antonio’s story is no adventurer’s tale. It is the story of a young man’s attempt to survive— on both sides of the world.

Atopia will release the film theatrically in the US and Canada beginning March 2, 2006, several weeks short of the 4th anniversary of José Antonio Gutierrez’s death and the start of the current Iraq war. A DVD release will follow in early summer.

In related news

Atopia Distribution is pleased to announce the signing of DVD distribution deals in both the US and Canada.

All Atopia DVD releases will be distributed in the United States by Caroline Distribution, and in Canada by Morningstar Entertainment. Both companies have proven themselves to be enormously astute at handling challenging independent films, and we are very excited to join forces with them.

Atopia is an independent film production, distribution and sales company based in Montréal, Canada. Since its inception in 2000, the company produced and released a string of critically-acclaimed and award-winning feature films including Daniel Cross’ S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks In Traffic (2001), Federico Hidalgo’s A Silent Love (2004), Simon Sauve’s Jimmywork (2004), Sophie Deraspe’s Rechercher Victor Pellerin (2006) and most recently, Noel Mitrani’s On The Trail Of Igor Rizzi (2006), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won the Best First Canadian Film Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Atopia acquires provocative and atypical film works from around the world for North America-wide distribution in all media.

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News posted Wednesday, January 17, 2007.