Nuevo Rico
Nuevo Rico debuted at SXSW Film online this year. The film tells the story of sister, Barbie, and her brother, Vico, as they stumble upon a celestial secret that changes their lives forever and propels them into Reggaetón stardom, but fame comes at a cost. The pair has to navigate not being torn apart by the music industry. The story begins in an alternative futuristic version of Puerto Rico aka Nuevo Rico. There it explores the island in a revolutionary way using animation to reflect its current political climate.
The film won 2021 SXSW Film Festival Jury Award
The film is directed by Kristian Mercado Figueroa .
Mercado’s distinct voice addresses issues of identity, family, and systemic oppression across race and class. His work is celebrated for its portrayal of working class struggles, highlighting love and loss. Mercado has directed content for Billie Eilish, Awkwafina, Bad Bunny, and Adult Swim, among others. He’s also directed comedy specials for Hannibal Buress, SNL's Sam Jay and London Hughes for Netflix. Kris’s music diven short film Pa’lante won the 2019 SXSW Film Festival Jury Award. His latest work was part of the Official Selection at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival with the Grammy-nominated music video ‘Colors’ by Black Pumas and Hannibal Buress’s comedy special ‘Miami Nights’. His short film Mariposa toured the 2020 film festivals with high acclaim. In 2019 Kris’s screenplay for his narrative feature film HawkBells received a screenwriting award from Slamdance. Recently his screenplay MELA was the recipient of a Cinereach grant and is currently in development.