Communiqué de presse

Toronto — Thursday July 26, 2007 — After its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006, Heidi Specogna’s The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez went on to win Best Documentary Prize at the Swiss Film Awards in 2006. Most recently it has won the Fox Azteca Borders on Film Award at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, and Best Feature Documentary Award at both the Toronto Hispano American Film Festival, and Xican Indie Film Fest Denver, 2007.

Following it’s successful tour of international festivals and prestigious theatrical release in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle, The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez will receive its anticipated Canadian Premiere in Toronto on Friday, August 17th at the Bloor Cinema.

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 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 info@atopia.com or (514) 985-0873 to receive a film screener or make inquiries. For more information, links and showtimes, visit the films’ website at www.theshortlife-film.com.

Nouvelle rédigée le jeudi 26 juillet 2007.