José (19 years old) lives with his Mother (50s) in Guatemala City. She never had a husband. Her life is her church, and selling sandwiches at a bus stop. José spends his days on cramped buses and fighting traffic as he runs food to waiting drivers. Aloof and resigned to things as they are, he fills his free moments playing with his phone and random sex arranged on street corners and dating apps. When he meets Luis, a migrant from the rural Caribbean coast, they pursue an unexpected relationship and José is thrust into passion and pain and self-reflection.
Originally from China, Li Cheng moved to USA in 1999, now world-nomad. Cheng left biotechnology research in 2007 to focus on film and his first feature, Joshua Tree (2014), is on the crisis of the American. He conducted research in 12 Latin American countries and lived in Guatemala for two years for the Queer Lion awarded film, José. Cheng holds a PhD from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.
YQ Studio LLC
Enrique Salanic, Manolo Herrera, Ana Cecilia Mota
Producer: Li Cheng, George F Roberson
Cinematography: Paolo Giron
Editor: Lenz Claure
Venice Days
Venice Film Festival
Queer Lion
The Festival of the Three Continents
International Competition - Special Mention of the Jury
BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival
Hong Kong International Film Festival
International Istanbul Film Festival
