Star Maps

Star Maps (1997), directed by Miguel Arteta, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. It was a critical hit, receiving five Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.

This allegorical tale concerns the gap that exists between East and West Los Angeles as Latino kids try to pursue the American Dream. After five years of living in Mexico, an 18-year-old youth returns to Los Angeles with aspirations of becoming a movie star. At the urging of his father, a pimp who sells maps to stars’ homes as a cover, the young man turns to hustling as a way to meet Hollywood insiders. Things start to look up when he hooks up with a daytime soap opera producer. However his overbearing father and his mentally unstable mother threaten to get in the way of his dreams.

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