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“A terrific opportunity for youth to openly discuss issues around trauma, housing, race, class, income and all the complexities that goes with these pivotal issues of our time.” - Wexner Center for the Arts

Start the conversation, and share this multi award-winning audience favorite with your community.

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'IN A WORLD BEYOND THEIR CONTROL THEY FOUND AN ESCAPE.'

Rich Kids is a film that sympathetically views the modern day and ongoing challenges of economic disparities, gentrification, displacement and evictions faced through the lens of Latino and Afro-Latino American youth.

The screenplay (by Somers & Saldaña) is based on an actual event that took place in Somers’ childhood home, after a group of neighborhood teens broke into the family home and stayed for several days before the event ended in tragedy. The film’s title, Rich Kids, signifies the wealth of love, talent, intelligence, and emotional resilience that the characters have in spite of their economic challenges while living in a world that views them with skepticism and indifference.

THE STORY

Matías is a bright teenager whose family struggles with harsh financial troubles. When he discovers “Los Ricos”, a wealthy family, are out of town, Matías breaks into their mansion where he and his friends spend an afternoon basking in the good life. The party is soon disrupted when a trouble-making relative shows up uninvited. Loyalties are then pushed to the breaking point as Matías’s desire for power in the house rises.

At it's heart, Rich Kids is about a young man’s transformation from the person he thinks he's supposed to be into the person he really is, as he comes to terms with the realities and consequences of living a community ravaged by the wealth gap and income inequality.

This vibrant portrait of six troubled teenagers showcases the talents of our young charismatic cast, and is set over a period of less than 24 hours in a limited number of locations in South Houston, TX.

UPCOMING SCREENINGS

There are no screenings scheduled at this time.

(past screenings are listed below)

BRING RICH KIDS TO YOUR SCHOOL:

“I screened RICH KIDS this summer in Columbus Ohio. I am a visual artist and I work as the youth and community programs manager at the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University. This screening was a terrific opportunity for youth to openly discuss issues around trauma, housing, race, class, income and all the complexities that goes with these pivotal issues of our time. Both parents and teens spoke up about their personal experiences. Latinx youth and parents expressed great validation and affection for finally watching a film that represented their experiences with characters that actually looked and acted like people from their communities. There was much discussion about how refreshing it was to see Latinx characters who were not stereotypes but authentically created complex human characters. A story that actually made sense. What a relief this was! It’s such a fresh film, really.

I have a passion for working with teens and their unfiltered honesty and find that contemporary art, film, music, theater and dance are terrific vehicles in which kids can try to process and make some sense of what is going on in the world. RICH KIDS is so important to watch with youth and is perfectly designed for youth audiences. I found this film to be particularly excellent in that the depiction of violence was not gratuitous or glamorized and it was also very restrained in using suggestion instead of direct depiction which can often traumatize already traumatized audiences. Without hiding anything, this film is very hard-hitting, surprising, interesting and difficult but in the end there is resolution and processing which makes it a good film for schools, museums, after school program audiences, etc. that will generate great discussion after the screening. Plus, it’s just a cool film- kids love it! Its hip and fast paced enough to be engaging to teens. I recommend this film for ages 12 and up- I also think it’s a great opportunity for families to connect through watching a film like this together. For sure a discussion or panel after the screening would be a terrific pairing.”

-Jean Pittman, Wexner Center for the Arts

“I am a full-time Faculty Member at Houston Community College where I teach Filmmaking. I am also a working filmmaker myself with a short film currently in festivals. As a filmmaking instructor, it is always beneficial for my students to meet filmmakers, watch their work, especially current films in the independent film world of festivals because that is the most relevant, most accessible world to start building their careers. I arranged for Laura and Eddie to screen RICH KIDS at Houston Community College and stay for a Q&A afterward.

Houston Community College is one of the largest Community Colleges in the United States with over 60,000 students, 85% of which are people of color, many struggling financially. In addition to the professional learning experience they were about to get, I was curious to see how a film about low-income Latino teenagers in Houston would resonate with my students. Whether they would “see” themselves on the screen or reject the depiction.

It was incredibly moving for me to hear my students tell Laura and Eddie after the screening, “That’s my life right there,” pointing to the screen. It felt like a revelation. Shock on the students faces as they saw characters they recognized in an intimate, personal way. If I didn’t already believe that representation on screen mattered, that moment alone would have convinced me. Still, even with that belief, I was surprised by HOW MUCH it mattered, what affect it had on my students, as I fielded questions during the Q&A. These were filmmaking students coming for a professional event, but they left with something far greater as human beings.

RICH KIDS is an excellent movie, beautifully directed by Laura with subtlety and an eye for detail and flawlessly executed by the crew. The incredibly young and new actors give poignant performances that feel honest and pack an emotional punch. It is a perfect movie for any school to show, for any student, because it presents a perspective not often seen in movies and that is both an uplifting experience for students who share similar stories and a challenging one for students who don’t. In an age where immigration, especially DACA, are at the forefront of the media, RICH KIDS tells a very human story that cuts through the politics.

Schools offer students a chance to expand their world through the knowledge they gain and the people they meet. I encourage you to host a screening for your students and see for yourself how RICH KIDS effects them, and you.”

- Jennifer Waldo, Houston Community College, Filmmaking Department, Media Arts & Technology Center for Excellence

Here are some questions for audiences/educators:

1. What is your neighborhood like in relationship to your city/town/area? Who lived where?

2. Is there a part of your town where the “rich kids” live? Discuss how this segregation affects your community.

3. What do your neighbors look like? If most people in your neighborhood look just like you, have you ever wondered why that is? Il all your neighbors and all your co-workers and all your classmates and all the grocery stores you shop in and all the restaurants you go to are occupied by people who all look and act just like you- what do you think about that and why?

4. Have you ever felt excluded or invisible?

5. Which character could you most relate to?

6. Which scene was the most important, in your opinion?

7. Was there a part of the movie you really disliked or made you really uncomfortable? Please share and discuss.