Mosquita y Mari Trailer (2012)
This delightfully fresh and lively debut feature from writer-director Aurora Guerrero was inspired by a series of complex same-sex friendships she had while growing up, as well as the themes of immigration and loss that permeated her childhood. Mosquita y Mari follows two Chicana high-schoolers from Huntington Park in southeast Los Angeles, a predominantly Mexican immigrant neighbourhood. Yolanda is a dedicated student with proud-as-punch parents. Sultry Mari is an altogether tougher proposition - she and her family have just arrived in town and are struggling to make ends meet. When the two are teamed up as study partners, a shaky friendship develops, one tinged with budding sexual attraction. Fenessa Pineda and Venecia Troncoso deliver stellar performances as the teen girls, simultaneously vulnerable and achingly full of potential.