Santa Mesa won a lot of awards on the Asian American film festival circuit last year. See why it won so many accolades. Here’s the synopsis for Santa Mesa

After the death of his mother, 12-year-old Hector arrives in Manila to live permanently with his grandmother, Lita, a woman whom he has never met.

Shortly after arriving, Hector meets Sel, a neighborhood teenage girl, and Miguel, along with Miguel’s Barkada (street gang). Hector longing to find a connection to his new environment joins this group of petty hustlers in the hopes of getting closer to Sel, until one night Hector’s initiation takes a wrong turn. Hector’s clumsy actions get him caught while breaking into the home of Jose, a 59-year-old former photographer. Later, Hector finds himself having to work for Jose in order to compensate for his actions while keeping this secret from his new group of friends and his grandmother.

Jose, a somewhat disconnected man, feels that he can pull Hector away from Miguel’s street gang by using him to complete daily chores around the house. With all this time being spent with Jose, Hector stumbles across Jose’s past. For years, Jose has been spying on his daughter, Rosa, who is unaware of her birth father’s identity. Oblivious to the “can of worms” Hector is about to open, he seizes this as an opportunity to repay Jose. He takes it upon himself to follow Rosa and reunite them. “SANTA MESA” is a warm tale about family values, love and friendship. It tackles life’s biggest challenge – growing up.

Pick up the Santa Mesa DVD exclusively on Amazon.com.

Santa Mesa Trailer