Newsday Article: No mere idols at work; [CITY Edition]

NINA’ INDIE FEATURE,” the ad began.

“Casting for independent feature ‘Nina,’ the story of three social outcasts.A cook, a waitress and a teenage runaway whose lives change dramatically when they accidentally meet. A romantic drama set in Queens, New York.”

This was in the casting-call section of Back Stage, the New York show-business newspaper, where actors and other performers go looking for work. And this particular ad, one of many dozens that ran that week, certainly didn’t over-promise in the compensation department... Read more...

Filipino Reporter / Indie film a tribute to mom:

“Nina” is an independent film by writer/director Luis del Rosario Jr. It is the official selection at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. Last week, the film had its New York premiere at the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue.

The film was made by Rosario films which Luis describes as “a small Filipino family-based film company that stands behind the meaning of true independent filmmaking.”

The outfit is named after the director’s mother, Rosario del Rosario, a film actress known as Rosario del Pilar in the early 50s and 60s. Among the films of Ms. Del Pilar were “Il Robo,” “Kidlat sa Baril” and “Blood of the Vampire.” She passed away in 1992 in New York where she had immigrated after retiring from acting.

When “Nina” screened last March in L.A. it won the Feature Film Genre Award. Fox News Channel said of the film: “This is how real art gets made...”

“Nina” features the original music of Stand, an Irish alternative rock band

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