DESERT RATS
DISCO BEATS
An ambitious Latino used car salesman decides to become an agent in the luxury and cutthroat Palm Springs real estate market.
*Created and Written by Ken Arquelio and Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz.
*IN DEVELOPMENT
Set at a dance studio in Detroit/1979 that pays homage to the late 70’s when disco music was gospel. Our story revolves around an elderly man who tries to convince a jaded disco dance instructor to teach him how to dance so he can surprise his wife on their 60th wedding anniversary…in one week. A heartfelt story about living life to its fullest. Starring Pepe Serna, Ken Arquelio, Elia Cantu, Shireen Crutchfield and Christopher Callen.
*Directed and Written by Ken Arquelio
*WINNER: Best US Short at Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF Shorts)2025
*WINNER: Best Narrative Short at Arizona International Film Festival, 2025
*WINNER: Emerging Filmmaker Award at Prescott Film Festival, 2025
FILM FESTIVAL SELECTIONS:
Cleveland Int’l Film Festival
Santa Fe International Film Festival
Annapolis Film Festival
Fort Lauderdale Shorts Film Festival
Sedona International Film Festival
Newport Beach Film Festival
New Filmmakers LA Film Festival
Georgia Latino Int’l Film Festival
Catalina Film Festival
UrbanFest 360-Orlando, FL
Prescott Film Festival (AZ)
CineFestival-San Antonio
South Beach Film Festival
USA Film Festival (Dallas)
Sarasota Film Festival
Pasadena International Film Festival
Arizona International Film Festival
ATACAMA
When a boy is found wandering through the Atacama Desert, a cynical father and his estranged wife travel to Chile hoping that he is their son who disappeared years earlier.
However, when the family is haunted once again by the same entities that abducted the boy, the father must protect his son and prevent him from being taken away again.
*Screenplay by Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz and Ken Arquelio
*IN DEVELOPMENT
LEADER OF THE BAND
FLACO’S
Three generations of Latino men meet in the mountains of Idyllwild to bridge a fractured relationship caused by a traumatic event in the grandfather’s past.
*Screenplay by Ken Arquelio
*Story by Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz and Ken Arquelio
*IN DEVELOPMENT
After gentrification has pushed out his family business, a Cuban barber confronts his family’s painful past and is inspired by his final customer-a wise old man who encourages him to embrace a new beginning.
*Screenplay by Ken Arquelio and Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz
*IN DEVELOPMENT