Filmmaker Jim Mendiola and author Fernando A. Flores join us for a post-film discussion. 

In collaboration with American Short Fiction, the non-profit literary organization and publication based in Austin, Texas, since 1991, and guest editor Fernando A. Flores, author of Tears of the Trufflepig (2019), Valleyesque (2022), and the forthcoming Brother Brontë (2025), AFS will present two landmark Chicano indies: STACCATO PURR OF THE EXHAUST(Luis M. Meza) and PRETTY VACANT (Jim Mendiola).

In PRETTY VACANT, Molly “La Molly” Vasquez — art student, filmmaker, hopeless romantic, and drummer for the all-girl band Aztlán-a-Go-Go — is on a mission. This week’s obsession? Issue #5 of her underground Chicana ‘zine, Ex-Voto, a double-sized dive into the Sex Pistols’ chaotic 1978 gig at Randy’s Rodeo, a San Antonio redneck bar turned punk battleground. For Molly, it’s more than history: she’s uncovered the band’s lost playlist from that night and is convinced she’s about to rewrite rock ’n’ roll history.

This comic, culturally rich story is a vibrant mashup of generational clashes, punk rebellion, and Chicano pride. From La Virgen de Guadalupe to Patti Smith, Molly’s world is a kaleidoscope of influences that showcase the hybrid identity of a post-movimiento Mexican-American. It’s loud, heartfelt, and puro San Anto.

Dubbed a “Chicano road movie without a road” (Les Inrocks) and “a quirky snapshot of a slacker’s life in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles,” STACCATO PURR OF THE EXHAUST is “a black comedy about escaping suburban hell set to a sonic landscape of dreamy indie rock” (The Los Angeles Times).

The short film PRETTY VACANT (30 min.) by AFS Grant-supported filmmaker Jim Mendiola will precede the feature STACCATO PURR OF THE EXHAUST (92 min).