Spotlight On: ‘JJ in Dobbs: A Film by Juan Carlos Hernandez’

JJ in Dobbs (2008)

Written and Directed by: Juan Carlos Hernandez

Produced by: Adria K. Hernandez

Starring: Adria K. Hernandez, Anthony (A.J.) Hernandez, Juan Carlos Hernandez

In 2008 – or maybe in 2009, I’m not sure – my friend and collaborator Juan Carlos Hernandez sent me a package to my former home in Miami from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., where he was living with his wife Adria and his son Anthony.

At the time, Juan and I had somehow reconnected online after being separated by space, time, and circumstance for nearly 20 years; I last saw him in person when he was a college sophomore with an associate in arts degree from Miami-Dade Community College and on his way to a four-year university to earn his bachelor’s degree and then start his acting career.

By the time I received the package from Popcorn Sky Productions, the company he runs with his wife Adria, in 2009, Juan and I had started talking about maybe, possibly, perhaps someday working on a project together. He remembered that I had been the Entertainment Editor of our high school’s student paper in 12th grade, and he always thought I was a good writer. At the time, I didn’t have the screenplay-writing software that we both use now (Write Brothers’ Movie Magic Screenwriter 6.0), but I did express my interest in collaborating with him and Adria when the opportunity next presented itself.

In the meantime, Juan – in between his acting jobs on TV and in feature films (he’s been in HBO’s OZ, as well as several episodes of the Law & Order franchise and the 2002 thriller High Crimes) was making his own short films, including Waking Up in Astoria and JJ in Dobbs.

From the DVD Package:

JJ in Dobbs is a story about a boy who is caught in the middle of two culturally different parents. His mother, an ex-heavy drinker from America, and his father, who took a raft from CUBA. are constantly fighting. Through their hysterical quarrels and funny charades, JJ finds a life of his own in his cartoon world, which is both funny and endearing.

Using a plug-in for Apple’s Final Cut Studio software, Juan and Adria were able to combine live-action cinematography and a cartoon-like effect. As Adria writes in the promo blurb on the DVD packaging, “It’s amazing how this turned out.”