by Eric Beteille
AFI FEST Daily News

Scene from DRAMA/MEX, directed by AFI alum Gerardo Naranjo, making its US premiere at AFI FEST 2006.

Director Gerardo Naranjo ('01) is an AFI Conservatory alum whose second film, DRAMA/MEX, makes its US premiere at AFI FEST 2006 presented by Audi.

DRAMA/MEX is infused with an infectious, youthful energy, voyeuristically following his marvelously observed and complex characters at a fork in their lives.

The seedy tourist town of Acapulco serves as telling background for this bittersweet tale of a suicidal old man, a 15-year-old runaway girl and a young couple who can't get away from or enough of each other.

Several stories are deftly interwoven, each connected to the next by returning to an earlier moment in time, building momentum and tension throughout the film.

Eliciting layered performances through his dreamlike direction, Naranjo firmly establishes himself as a passionately inventive filmmaker.

DRAMA/MEX screens November 6, 7:00 PM, and November 7, 12:30 PM, at ArcLight Hollywood.