It is a typical LA story. Oliver Stone walks into a sushi bar and sits down next to a filmmaker and tells him to “follow the story.” This influence plus the influence of Max Baer Junior, Quentin Tarantino, Brian De Palma, and Lawrence Kasdan leads to the completion of American Federale.
“I supplied the equipment on Reservoir Dogs and gave a couple of young filmmakers a break,” says Carlin who directed the film, American Federale. He grew up in Hollywood and had a steady stream of movie moguls at his dinner table. When he first met Lobo he knew he had hit ‘movie making pay dirt.’
Now the trailer is generating a lot of buzz. Since being posted less than three days ago this trailer is going viral. There is so much interest in border violence and cartel wars. The trailer is a snippet of the movie and seems to connect with so many people wanting to understand the reasons people are dying.
American Federale takes us behind the scenes in border Mexico where life constantly hangs in the balance. We all assume we know about life there but Lobo gives us a first hand account of his time in the Mexican State Police as well as his experiences as a Mexican Federale. He tells us about torture, bribery, and extortion. That world comes complete with a two edged sword that cuts away… but when things turn it cuts back and most often the wound is fatal. Lobo narrowly escapes with his life.
The region was ruled by Pablo Acosta who was one of the most vicious Drug Lords. Acosta would provide money for schools, hospitals and churches but would also torture, rape and murder innocent civilians to reign by terrorizing. His power was vast. His enormous wealth measured more than 25 Billion Dollars. Lobo is the Federale that killed Pablo Acosta in 1987.
Lobo is a not only a Mexican Federal Police officer but an American. He tells us about living in the United States and working in Juarez, Mexico - "The City God Forgot". In this border town across from El Paso, Texas, the drug cartels reign supreme. Juarez has one of the highest murder rates in Mexico and the world. And one of the highest per capita number of widows. We get to know Lobo and the allure of becoming involved with notorious drug lords to rub elbows with the rich and powerful in border Mexico.
In this riveting documentary directed by Michael Douglas Carlin, a journalist and humanitarian who travels the world, we see a man who embraced the cartel lifestyle - power, women, money - and then renounces it and seeks a Good Life. At one point, Lobo made over $180,000 a year. He never paid a bar bill. He held sway over life and death.
But then the viciousness of Pablo Acosta changed him. Acosta would take a man's wife, rape her for days and then return her hooked on heroin. He killed for sport. The Mexican Government protected Acosta for many years. Then the order was given to take him down. Even then Acosta was always one step ahead as the Mexican Government leaked information to him of pending raids. One day a scrap of information tipped the scale on Acosta and he was killed in a cross border raid. A gun battle – ninety minutes of hell ensued. In the end Acosta was dead.
Being a witness to atrocities takes its toll. Lobo has been on a quest to give back to cleanse himself from the blood that spattered on his soul. He has found peace through a life of service. He has found redemption in helping ease the pain of this troubled world. American Federale is an important film and a must see.
(Link for the theatrical trailer)
About Michael Douglas Carlin: Michael writes for the Century City News about social issues including how to have a more peaceful society. His books are available on iTunes and include: A Prescription For Peace, Peaceful Protests, and Rise a Knight. Carlin has produced a dozen low budget movies and American Federale is his directorial debut.
Contact:
Melody Johnson
Centurycitynews.mj@gmail.com
PO Box 67522
Los Angeles, CA 90067
424.789.2136
www.centurycitynews.com
Centurycitynews.mj@gmail.com
PO Box 67522
Los Angeles, CA 90067
424.789.2136
www.centurycitynews.com
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