66 Films

In 1987, I came out.

A few months later, I met my first boyfriend, Ivan. One night, we went to see Pedro Almodóvar's La ley del deseo at an art house theater in Coconut Grove that has long since disappeared.

Six months later, Ivan died of AIDS.

Not long afterward, I traveled to Madrid to visit my cousins. La ley del deseo was playing there, so we went to see it. After the screening, I asked the woman in the box office if I could have the poster.

She said yes.

I brought it home and tacked it to the wall of my bedroom at my parents' house. Years later, I framed it. Today, it hangs in my office.

The same poster. Almost forty years later.

Filmmakers are often asked about their influences. For years, I never quite knew how to answer that question, even though the answer was hanging behind me the whole time.

Pedro Almodóvar gave me permission to believe that my own stories mattered. That the people, places, contradictions, heartbreaks, and joys I knew intimately were worthy of the screen.

His stories were Spain.

Mine are Miami.

— Freddy

Honored to receive a Vanguard Voice Award for my work on Open Dialogues—an LGBTQ documentary series rooted in truth and visibility.

June 11 — the Hollywood Art & Culture Center premieres the Q***r Trilogy
📍 Cinema Paradiso Hollywood

Grateful to the Art & Culture Center, our producers, partners, and collaborators—and honored alongside Richard Blanco, Nicole Stodard, Franchesca D’Amore, and David Weaver.

From the start, this work has been about one thing: making space for LGBTQ+ truth in a time of erasure.

🎬 Film. Conversation. Celebration. Community.

🏳️‍🌈

Tix link: https://artandculturecenter.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/artandculturecenter/event.jsp?event=474

An unforgettable night on South Beach at the Oolite Arts Ellies.

Grateful to for the honor—and for continuing to champion Miami creators.

Truly a magical evening.
There’s nothing like Miami.

Honored to be an 2026 Ellie Award award winner.

My first Ellie was in 2019 to write my first narrative feature “Project Ballroom.” Now, I’m a Feature Film Fellow at , continuing “Project Ballroom’s” development.

I’m grateful to for continuing to invest in me and help bring my film from idea to screen a bit closer.

To everyone who’s been part of this path—thank you! It does not go unappreciated!

Excited to share that my feature film "Project Ballroom" has been selected for the FilmGate Miami 2026 Feature Film Fellowship.

"Project Ballroom" was previously developed with support from Oolite Arts. Project Ballroom was an Oolite Arts 2019 Ellies Awards winner.

I’m deeply grateful to FilmGate Miami for championing local filmmakers and for believing that Miami stories deserve a place at the forefront of independent cinema.

"Project Ballroom" is a deeply personal film, inspired by true events from my time as an HIV/AIDS outreach worker at Health Crisis Network and my involvement in Miami’s voguing/ballroom scene in the 1990s.

Find out more about Project Ballroom and the other Filmgate-Miami Fellows here - https://www.filmgate.miami/fellowship

More to come soon. 💙✨

***rCinema

Freddy Rodriguez | FilmGate Fellowship 2026 Project: "Project Ballroom" A closeted black q***r teen attempts to escape the trapping of poverty by achieving vogueing greatness, while a broken HIV educator searches for answers in Miami’s underground gay ballroom scene of the 1990’s.

Twenty years ago, I brought home my first Emmy wins — that’s me in the center holding four awards. 📸✨

And tonight, Open Dialogues: Gen Q***rZ is nominated. The recognition is always wonderful, but the real gift has been the journey: the collaborators, the mentors, the friendships.

Any success tonight is fueled by the support and wisdom I’ve been fortunate to receive throughout the years. Thank you for empowering me to do what I love. I’m a lucky guy. 💛

***rStories