East Side Story

Diego is a chef in East Los Angeles working in the restaurant his grandmother runs. He is gay and tells nobody; his boyfriend Pablo is hiding just as carefully. Then he finds himself drawn to Wesley, who has moved into the neighbourhood and lives openly. Wesley is also one of the newcomers Diego blames for changing the area, so the question stops being about the two of them. Carlos Portugal lays two subjects on top of each other: living in the closet and a neighbourhood changing hands. Being gay in a Latino neighbourhood gets told through family, class and gentrification at once. It is a small independent comedy with a light touch and a question that is not light at all: who ends up having to leave.