Interview: Christian Moldes / Quince Kings – 2024 Sundance Screenwriters Lab Fellow

Wrapping up our conversations with fellows from the 2024 Sundance Screenwriters Lab, we met with a filmmaker who promptly reminded us that there is no singular path from point A to … the day a feature gets its first clapperboard slap. Take, for instance, Christian Moldes, a filmmaker who has worn acting, writing, directing, and editing who revisited a proposed project that was conceived during a different era and political climate reality. A buddy comedy, Quince Kings looks to merge hot topics about the El Paso, Texas border, immigration, with a look at friendship and some of the quirks of quinceañeras. In our free-flowing chat we got a real sense of the world these characters inhibit, and some foundational steps to revisiting a project on paper — allowing for an idea that might sound good in theory but where a gestation period and time away would have been beneficial.

Sundance project synopsis: Sebastian and Freddy, undocumented immigrant brothers, infiltrate as many quinceñeras as they can to assimilate and provide for their destitute family in El Paso, Texas. They find themselves at odds with one another when Sebastian falls for the mayor’s daughter, Regina, a privileged young woman with a lot to lose.

Throughout this week, we’ll be featuring profiles of several fellows from the recent 2024 Sundance Screenwriters Labs, all of whom we had the pleasure of speaking with during the Sundance Film Festival. Some of these projects are slated to become future films and may even debut in Park City, while a smaller fraction might not find their way to the big screen. However, being part of this select group serves as a significant source of encouragement and progression within the film industry. What’s particularly inspiring is witnessing how each of these distinctive voices is crafting original works spanning various genres, often exploring themes of politics and social engagement through cinema.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Ilyse McKimmie and all the talented artists Claire Fowler, Francesca Canepa & Miguel Ángel Papalini, Jane Casey Modderno, Hanna Gray Organschi, Kristine Gerolaga, Sara Crow & David Rafailedes, and Christian Moldes — they generously spared their time to meet with us. Despite their hectic schedules and fresh experiences from the labs, they felt comfortable discussing projects and worth noting this is one of the earliest instances where we’ve had the opportunity to delve into projects still in their developmental stages.