A KING'S BETRAYAL is a short film about the last days of a Piñata's life

This week’s short film is called The betrayal of a kingand it tells the story of the last days of a Piñata’s life, told from the Piñata’s point of view. It’s actually a great film with a unique perspective.

The film comes from director David Bornstein. This short film is shared in collaboration with the FilmQuest Film Festival, where we seek to exhibit some of the radical independent genre films and shorts created by filmmakers.

I’ve also included an interview with the director which you can read below!

What was the inspiration for your film? How did you come up with the idea?

“I went to the University of Arizona, as did my good friend and screenwriter of this project, Ari Grabb. In Tucson, we have this wonderful theater called The Loft Cinema, and the first Friday of every month they host an event called First Friday Shorts, a local free-for-all event where local filmmakers showcase everything they’ve made in less of 15 minutes for a cash prize.

“Ari and I often hung out and competed in FFS. One night when Ari was there, he saw a short film that opened with a shot of a Piñata with a voiceover. He was excited, thinking he was about to see an art film about a Piñata, but it quickly turned out that it wasn’t that at all.

“So Ari wrote the script for the art film Piñata he wanted to see, which was also heavily inspired by Ramin Bahrani’s incredible short film Plastic Bag. Ari told me about it on a road trip from Tucson and Los Angeles, and told me if I ever found the money I could run it. It was by chance that I met Andres Avalos and from there the wheels just kept turning.

What was your favorite part of the filmmaking process for this project?

It’s a draw. Every day on set was an amazing feeling, which made it so much fun. But also seeing this film come to fruition in the edit was very special, especially composing the original music with Gabe (Acosta, our composer).

What are you most proud of about this film?

“I could name many things that I am proud of, but one accomplishment stands out above the rest, at least for me. I learned a few months ago that this film had been screened every year for several years in a class at a very prestigious film school.

“If you had told me all those years ago that this shit was going to be shown to the next generation of filmmakers as an example of this medium, I never could or would have believed that.”

What is a favorite story or moment from the making of the film that you would like to share?

Honestly, I think when I approached Adrian Gomez, a good friend of mine, to play our main character, I kept it very casual. We had a session that lasted half an hour and then went for burgers afterwards. None of us had any idea how long this movie was going to go.

What was the most difficult moment or experience you had while filming your film?

The birthday scene definitely got a little stressful. Our child actors playing the party guests became super energetic, to the point that it started eating into the small window of time we had them for. Luckily, we were finally able to get what we needed.

If so, how did your film change or differ from its original concept during pre-production, production and/or post-production? How has this changed the way you approach future projects?

“I think when I first imagined this, it was in black and white and had a similar rhythm to Y Tu Mama Tambien. But honestly I’m glad these were left out, the film has much more of its own identity without these aspects. Also, I didn’t expect that we would have an actual Piñata store to film in.

“I had no idea where we were going to shoot the opening scene, we had $0 for locations. My producers Andres and Ahmed found Amazing Piñatas through their fraternity connections and the owner graciously let us run the joint for half a day. I couldn’t imagine how we could have filmed anywhere else.

Who were your collaborators and actors on the film? How did you start working together?

“My producers Andres and Lily (Avalos) and Ahmed El-Mawas were essential in getting the ball rolling, their willingness to take a chance on me and these ideas was something I will always be grateful for.

“Similarly, I am grateful to Ari for trusting me with his script and giving me his blessing to make it my own. Roxy Ferenz, my friend and AD, has done a lot to keep this going. My editor Trevor Davies, for moving this thing along as quickly as possible and cutting everything perfectly.

“From day one, I knew Adrian Gomez was going to be my Piñata, and he absolutely delivered. Bryson Robinson, our king, submitted via our online casting, he is a gifted young performer and his career is moving forward in great directions, grateful to have had him in our film.

“With the exception of our ‘Birthday Monsters’ and He King, the rest of my cast came from different parts of my personal life (improv class, high school, and film school), and I’m grateful to them all for being apart of this film, it became something truly special.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as a filmmaker and what would you like to say to new filmmakers?

I will stick to my answer from the previous interview as it bears repeating. I would actually give two pieces of advice because they go hand in hand here: watch as much as you can and always focus on what was done well even if the movie you’re watching isn’t good. My advice to new filmmakers; be patient. On the set as in your professional career, this quality will be useful to you in more than one way.

What is your next project and when can we expect to see it?

“I am currently in post-production of my next short film Zits! We’re still in the process of securing finishing funds, but we aim to finish Zits and release it into the film festival circuit no later than early next year.

“For Zits specific updates, you can follow our Instagram page @zitsthefilm. You can also follow us on our Seed & Spark page ( ) to get the same exclusive updates we give to our backers.

“And heck, if you would be so kind as to donate to our film, our CashApp is $ZitsTheFilm. We would greatly appreciate your generosity and absolutely thank you in the credits”

Where can we find more of your work and where can interested people contact you? Do you have a website or YouTube/Vimeo channel?

I can be reached at any time via my Instagram page @dabornstein. I also have a Vimeo channel where I host most of my work. https://vimeo.com/davidbornstein/

Enjoy the short film below!