Story Ave, based on the short film, stars Asante Blackk as Kadir, a graffiti artist who sticks up Luis (Luis Guzman) at the MTA stop on Story Avenue. Things go differently than expected when Luis ends up becoming a powerful force in Kadir’s life. The film is loosely based on director and co-writer Aristotle Torres’ life.

I talked to Asante Blackk about playing characters who had to grow up too fast, learning graffiti, and the hardest scene to shoot.

I talked to Luis Guzman, who plays Luis, about what attracted him to the project, working with Asante and knowing people like the ones portrayed in the film.

I talked to Melvin Greeg, who plays Sean “Skeems,” about playing the anti-hero, giving a character reasons behind villainous actions, and learning graffiti.

I talked to Coral Peña, who plays Gloria, about the characters’ relationship with Kadir and Luis, how Kadir and Gloria are younger versions of herself, and not knowing it all.

I talked to the director and co-writer Aristotle Torres about creating such a personal story based on his life, quitting a Starbucks commercial to write his first feature-length film, the themes of swimming and wabi-sabi, and avoiding coming-of-age clichés.

Story Ave’s SXSW schedule is below:

Story Ave at Alamo Lamar D

Mar 11, 2023

12:45pm—2:19pm

Story Ave at ZACH Theatre

Mar 14, 2023

2:00pm—3:34pm

Story Ave at Alamo Lamar A

Mar 17, 2023

6:45pm—8:19pm