Press release

An unsettling and timely documentary feature film about a young Guatemalan who became the first American soldier to be killed in the Iraq War hits American theaters this spring. Confirmed theatrical releases in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin and Dallas; more cities will soon be announced!

Montreal, March 29, 2007 — After a successful tour at numerous international film festivals around the globe, including its World Premiere as part of the official selection of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and most recently, the San Diego Latino Film Festival where it won Fox Azteca Borders on Film Award, Heidi Specogna’s The Short Life of José Antonio Gutiérrez gets a theatrical release in various U.S. cities this spring.

Also recipient of the Best Documentary Prize at the Swiss Film Award, the film opens Friday, March 30th at the Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle; on Friday April 27th at Anthology Film Archives in New York; on May 4th at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco and a week later, on Friday, May 11th, at the Laemmle Grand Theatre in Los Angeles. Confirmed single screening dates include May3rd at the Anglelika Theatre in Dallas, and May 30th at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin.

Marine Lance Cpl. José Antonio Gutiérrez 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 Gutiérrez 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 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 Missing Victor Pellerin[Rechercher Victor Pellerin] (2006) and most recently, Noel Mitrani’s On the Trail of Igor Rizzi[Sur la trace d’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 American distribution in all media.

Screeners and high-resolution art for this film are available. The filmmaker is also available for phone/e-mail interviews. Contact publicist Diana Vargas at 917-965-2577 or by e-mail at diana@cinematropical.com. For more information, links and showtimes, visit our website at www.theshortlife-film.com

News posted Thursday, March 29, 2007.