Brooklyn born filmmaker and former police officer, Eliana Ujueta, premieres her first film at the Soho International Film Fest.

Beneath the Rock
1:00 p.m.,
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th Street
New York City

The film trailer: http://vimeo.com/20888752

Excerpts from the promotional information on “Beneath The Rock”

Eliana Ujueta was raised in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn and attended High School in Fort Greene. She became a police officer in the east village and retired right before 9-11.

“As an officer in the east village, I saw how the officers were dispersed within the parameters of the precinct. Most officers were assigned to the west side of the command vs. the east side. As a light skinned Latina I instantly thought this was some sort of internal institutional discrimination. When the east village was mostly Hispanic populated, I realized that the lack of police presence was mostly due to the communities’ lack of involvement.  The police department acts on complaints. So if no one expresses a complaint to the police precinct they in turn will not act.I used a real incident from when I was a police officer at the 9th Precinct as the foundation of “Beneath the Rock.” A man named Santiago controlled drug sales from where he lived on E7th Street between Avenue B and C. Most of the people that lived on the block either worked for him or were silenced by him. In “Beneath the Rock,” I substituted drugs for gambling. Also, in my movie I used a myth circulated on my block in Bushwick about a girl named Cherry who died in the police alley/lot. Now I believe it was started by parents on the block to prevent us from playing in that police area.”