FIRST DATE

FIRST DATE (2006)
FILMMAKER MAGAZINE:
"...First Date is both disturbing and nonjudgmental as it wires the viewer directly into its protagonists agitated psyche. In his screen acting debut, (Santiago) Vasquez creates an indelible, perversely compelling character unlike anyone youve seen in movies."
GREENCINE DAILY:
"The film has everything going against it, yet director Gary Huggins miraculously make it work thanks, in no small part, to the naturalistic performance of Santiago Vasquez."
INDIEWIRE:
"The film's official logline - a volatile ex-con will stop at nothing to keep a date with the underage boy he met online - captures the storyline but does not indicate the absurdly comedic moments in store for viewers who discover this 20-minute gem. Shot on a borrowed camera and edited on a borrowed laptop, "First Date" is helmed by a Kansas City librarian who found his star, Santiago Vasquez, among the library patrons."
SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN:
"Motored by Santiago Vasquez's over-the-top lead performance, FIRST DATE is sometimes stupidly crude, sometimes flat-out excellent, and possibly closer to city and Internet life as they are lived than any other movie - including the docs - in the fest (Frameline, that is). A less art-damaged and more crassly entertaining venture than some of the same areas covered in Ira Sachs's underrated, similarly improv-based The Delta, Huggins's movie has me hoping he and Vasquez make more."