Critics are divided on FILLY BROWN, but they agree on Gina Rodriguez, the actress who plays Filly and is being hailed as one of the breakout stars of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Response to FILLY — a drama about a young woman trying to navigate the morally murky waters of the hip-hop game — has been decidedly mixed, but response to Rodriguez has been decidedly positive, suggesting she is one to watch, even if the film itself might not be.
FILLY BROWN is a hip-hop, coming of age story set against the backdrop of a broken family and the less glamorous side of Los Angeles. Edward J. Olmos Lou Diamond Philips and Jenni Rivera support a brilliant performance by festival “it girl” Gina Rodriguez. It’s a gritty performance, but Rodriguez has scored legions of new fans in the criticsphere. Find out what the cast had to say about working with such an amazing ensemble.
The Sundance Film Festival is one of the world’s premiere venues for independent artists. If you’ve got a film playing Sundance, that means you had something to say and you begged, borrowed, and stole in order to say it. I suspect that’s a big reason why movies about independent artists — not just filmmakers, but painters, writers, and especially musicians — have done so well over the years in Park City. If you’re at Sundance, odds are you understand that story. Hell, if you’re at Sundance, you probably are that story.