The Reckoning (short film)
30 min/Full Color/English

Director: Julio Antonio Toro

Producer: Adel L. Morales

Writers: Adel L. Morales and Julio Antonio Toro

Cast: Jaime Velez, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Adel L. Morales, Tara Colon, Derek Velez-Partridge, Frankie Villanueva, Rodolfo Valdez

Synopsis: This 30 minute short film deals with the fears and insecurities of a family as it maneuvers through the messy separation of the parents. Sal refuses to exit the lives of his wife, Jessica and his daughter, Sonia. Meanwhile the pending divorce has had a disastrous effect on Sonia’s grades. Sonia’s Math teacher, Matt, gets caught in the cross-fire of Jessica’s hope for a new beginning, Sonia’s manipulation, and Sal’s protective nature. Sal believes Matt has raped his daughter and sets out to exact his revenge and offer Matt his day of reckoning. But, a truth is uncovered causing Sal to come to terms with a terrible mistake that will eventually lead to his day of judgment.

Director Biography: Julio Antonio Toro was born and raised on the streets of the Bronx, New York. Forever combining the elements of writing and drawing, Julio became obsessed with the art of story telling at a very young age. His love of developing urban characters for graphic novels, lead him to explore other avenues of self-expression. Julio attended The School of Visual Arts as a student in the Illustration/ Cartooning program. It is there, where he honed his knack for visualization and compositional design, studying under the tutelage of established artists such as Susan Hambleton, and Klaus Janson. After taking a screen-writing course at the Gotham Writer’s Workshop, Julio decided to mesh his talents for drawing and writing as a prerequisite toward the art of film. He co-founded the production company known as HollyHood Productions with Adel L. Morales and Frankie Villanueva. Julio wrote and directed his first short, The Journal, shot entirely on mini DV. His second work, The Reckoning, was co-written by Julio and Adel L. Morales. The script was highly regarded amongst members of the NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) • New York chapter. Edwin Pagan, the president of NALIP New York, served as the director of photography.

Julio is completely self-taught in the art of filmmaking, having read scores of books and reference materials in regards to the many aspects of motion pictures. Though he admittedly has much to learn, the entire process has been exciting and inspiring. He currently is working on his first feature length screenplay and looks to have it complete by the new year. In the future, Julio looks to continue crafting original screenplays that give birth to the real voices of Latinos who may not be as privileged to speak freely to a larger demographic.

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