Press
Vox Magazine: Citizen Jane 2014 - "Shades of Blue (Sombras de Azul)"
Review by Sirrah Joof
"Shades of Blue is eloquently handled and may touch anyone who has ever experienced grief. It is a testament to love, especially the love of a sibling."
Review by Sirrah Joof
"Shades of Blue is eloquently handled and may touch anyone who has ever experienced grief. It is a testament to love, especially the love of a sibling."
Nuvo: Indy Film Fest 2014 World Cinema Reviews
Review by Scott Shoger.
"★★★★1/2 (out of five) [...] The way bold, beautiful, widescreen landscapes contrast with more hectic, handheld shots of Maribel moving through the city seems akin to looking down at your feet before looking up to admire a striking vista."
Review by Scott Shoger.
"★★★★1/2 (out of five) [...] The way bold, beautiful, widescreen landscapes contrast with more hectic, handheld shots of Maribel moving through the city seems akin to looking down at your feet before looking up to admire a striking vista."
Moviewallas: 2014 San Diego Latino Film Festival Finds
Review by Yazdi Pithavala.
"An example of how the honest and truthful telling of a personal story is all it takes for a movie to hum with universal truths. What a remarkable achievement this quietly devastating film is."
Review by Yazdi Pithavala.
"An example of how the honest and truthful telling of a personal story is all it takes for a movie to hum with universal truths. What a remarkable achievement this quietly devastating film is."
Santa Barbara International Film Festival: Sombras de Azul Cast/Crew on the Red Carpet (Video Clip)
Interview by SBIFF.
Interview by SBIFF.
Santa Barbara International Film Festival: Univision meets the Sombras filmmakers and their family (Video Clip)
Interview by Howard Vega of Univision.
Interview by Howard Vega of Univision.
Austin Film Festival: 10 Questions with Sombras de Azul Writer/Director Kelly Daniela Norris
Interview by Bears Fonte.
"Sombras de Azul World Premiered at AFF where it also won the Texas Independents Audience Award. Director of Programming Bears Fonté was able to get 10 questions in with Kelly around her busy schedule – after her premiere at AFF she left for a project in Ghana."
Interview by Bears Fonte.
"Sombras de Azul World Premiered at AFF where it also won the Texas Independents Audience Award. Director of Programming Bears Fonté was able to get 10 questions in with Kelly around her busy schedule – after her premiere at AFF she left for a project in Ghana."
Austin Film Festival: Austin Film Festival Announces the 2013 Capital One Bank Audience Award Winners
Press Release from Austin Film Festival.
"Texas Independents Audience Award: SOMBRAS DE AZUL"
Press Release from Austin Film Festival.
"Texas Independents Audience Award: SOMBRAS DE AZUL"
Austin American-Statesman: Austin Film Festival celebrates established talent, cultivates new talent
Article by Matthew Odam.
"[Bujaidar] is mesmerizing in her portrayal of a woman grieving the loss of her brother, and Norris displays a mature vision, great ear for natural dialogue and abundance of heart with her debut."
Article by Matthew Odam.
"[Bujaidar] is mesmerizing in her portrayal of a woman grieving the loss of her brother, and Norris displays a mature vision, great ear for natural dialogue and abundance of heart with her debut."
The Austin Chronicle: Mourning After
Interview by Jessi Cape.
"We caught up with Norris, currently in Ghana shooting her next project, to discuss this Cuban travelogue filled with grief, beauty, and unexpected romance."
Interview by Jessi Cape.
"We caught up with Norris, currently in Ghana shooting her next project, to discuss this Cuban travelogue filled with grief, beauty, and unexpected romance."
CineSnob: AFF Film Review - Sombras de Azul
Review by Cody Villafana.
"As a first time actress, Bujaidar is highly impressive. Her expressive eyes truly show the pain of a girl who is not only devastated by loss, but also confused in the process. The delivery of her dialogue is natural and her performance is elevated even further in her scenes with Guerrero with whom she has a very genuine chemistry."
Review by Cody Villafana.
"As a first time actress, Bujaidar is highly impressive. Her expressive eyes truly show the pain of a girl who is not only devastated by loss, but also confused in the process. The delivery of her dialogue is natural and her performance is elevated even further in her scenes with Guerrero with whom she has a very genuine chemistry."
Slackerwood: AFF Review - Sombras de Azul
Review by Elizabeth Stoddard.
"[A] simply beautiful depiction of a young woman dealing with loss."
Review by Elizabeth Stoddard.
"[A] simply beautiful depiction of a young woman dealing with loss."
KOOP Radio: Lights Camera Austin
Radio interview by Robert Sims.
Radio interview by Robert Sims.
Austin 360: AFF capsule and scene - 'Sombras de Azul'
Review by Matthew Odam.
"She travels the beautiful old town, and we observe through her eyes the beauty and pain in everyday events in this town that is full of its own ghosts. At one point she explains that she doesn't feel like she's in color, and the film's tone is that of a black-and-white photo, nostalgic yet timeless, Maribel's suffering personal yet universal."
Review by Matthew Odam.
"She travels the beautiful old town, and we observe through her eyes the beauty and pain in everyday events in this town that is full of its own ghosts. At one point she explains that she doesn't feel like she's in color, and the film's tone is that of a black-and-white photo, nostalgic yet timeless, Maribel's suffering personal yet universal."
The Texas Observer: A Tex-Centric Guide to the Austin Film Festival
Review by Josh Rosenblatt.
"Sombras de Azul is poetical, meandering and unconfined, more concerned with the essential questions of life and death than with answering them. Like a heroine in a Roberto Rossellini picture, Maribel searches for meaning among the actual citizens of an actual city, residents who don’t realize they’re being filmed. Which means that at any moment, anything can happen—a visual parallel to the sudden and unexpected death of Maribel’s brother and the effect it has on her life."
Review by Josh Rosenblatt.
"Sombras de Azul is poetical, meandering and unconfined, more concerned with the essential questions of life and death than with answering them. Like a heroine in a Roberto Rossellini picture, Maribel searches for meaning among the actual citizens of an actual city, residents who don’t realize they’re being filmed. Which means that at any moment, anything can happen—a visual parallel to the sudden and unexpected death of Maribel’s brother and the effect it has on her life."
Slackerwood: AFF Announces First Wave of Programming
Article by Caitlin Moore.
"Standing out from the list [is] the world premiere of Sombras de Azul (production still above), based on the experiences of Austin director Kelly Daniela Norris, who traveled to Cuba in the hopes it would help her come to terms with her brother's suicide."
Article by Caitlin Moore.
"Standing out from the list [is] the world premiere of Sombras de Azul (production still above), based on the experiences of Austin director Kelly Daniela Norris, who traveled to Cuba in the hopes it would help her come to terms with her brother's suicide."
The Austinist: SOMBRAS DE AZUL Director Kelly Daniela Norris Discusses The Storytelling Of Emotion
Interview by Meredith Bennett.
"It's one of the first American films to be produced in Cuba since the U.S. Embargo in 1962, and with its stunning long shots
and complex depiction of the pain of losing a loved one, Sombras de Azul beautifully succeeds in being something between a
memoir and a visual meditation."
The Film Junkie: Independent Film Spotlight
Indie Film Blog.
"...I was left feeling like this wasn't just any other aspiring filmmaker trying to 'make it' in the industry. I was left
feeling like we were getting a genuine story that she wanted to share with the world ... It reminds me somewhat of a
Sofia Coppola film: airy, dreamlike and filled with charming subtleties."
Indiewire's Project of the Day
A daily spotlight on a worthy independent film project.
"From Mexico to Cuba, Sombras de Azul."
Crowdfunded Cinema on The Film Stage
Bi-weekly column highlighting film projects that demonstrate potential, and seek support via crowdfunding platforms.
"Writer/director Kelly Daniela Norris pulls inspiration from her own experience of bereavement, in what looks like a
touching story of love, and how one comes to terms with loss."
Interview by Meredith Bennett.
"It's one of the first American films to be produced in Cuba since the U.S. Embargo in 1962, and with its stunning long shots
and complex depiction of the pain of losing a loved one, Sombras de Azul beautifully succeeds in being something between a
memoir and a visual meditation."
The Film Junkie: Independent Film Spotlight
Indie Film Blog.
"...I was left feeling like this wasn't just any other aspiring filmmaker trying to 'make it' in the industry. I was left
feeling like we were getting a genuine story that she wanted to share with the world ... It reminds me somewhat of a
Sofia Coppola film: airy, dreamlike and filled with charming subtleties."
Indiewire's Project of the Day
A daily spotlight on a worthy independent film project.
"From Mexico to Cuba, Sombras de Azul."
Crowdfunded Cinema on The Film Stage
Bi-weekly column highlighting film projects that demonstrate potential, and seek support via crowdfunding platforms.
"Writer/director Kelly Daniela Norris pulls inspiration from her own experience of bereavement, in what looks like a
touching story of love, and how one comes to terms with loss."