Pinero
BBC2, Sunday 02 August - 12:30am - 2:00am Born in Puerto Rico, Miguel Pi�ero endured an abusive upbringing and a spell in jail before finding fame as the Tony-nominated playwright of the semi-autobiographical Short Eyes. Yet, having founded the influential Nuyorican Poets Cafe and guested on several TV cop shows, he succumbed to drug addiction and died derelict in 1988. Benjamin Bratt captures Pi�ero's pain and unpredictability with affecting power. But in seeking to convey the lyricism of the writing through a flashbacking structure, shaky digi-camerawork, and shifts between monochrome and colour, director Leon Ichaso succeeds only in confusing the issues, while drawing attention to his own self-conscious artistry.
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Subtitled, WidescreenCastMiguel Pi�ero - Benjamin Bratt
Miguel Algarin - Giancarlo Esposito
Sugar - Talisa Soto
Tito - Nelson Vasquez
Reinaldo Povod - Michael Irby
Edgar - Michael Wright
Mother - Rita Moreno
Father - Jaime Sanchez
Jake - Rome Neal
Joseph Papp - Mandy Patinkin
Directed by: Leon Ichaso
Filmed in: 2001
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