Ray Gallardo

Ray Gallardo is an American film director and cinematographer who directed the films At the Frontera (2018) and Callejero (2015) and was the cinematographer for the films Friend of the World (2020), The Fifth of November (2018) and Touch (2022).

Direction
In 2015, Gallardo's film Callejero, an underground fighting drama film featuring Carlos Palomino and Yaqui López, screened at the San Diego Latino Film Festival. His next film Cafe Con Leche, also known as At the Frontera, starred Gerardo Teracena and Nina Senicar. It was listed in the product guide for Screen International at Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 and premiered at ArcLight Hollywood in 2018.

Gallardo directed Above the Tin, a 2018 film made in San Diego about squash among underprivileged teens. In 2019, he directed Entrenched: Prologue, a PTSD awareness film that premiered at San Diego International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Art Design at Oceanside International Film Festival. Gallardo's production company Infrastructure Productions has assisted with short advertisements for Horrible Imaginings Film Festival.

Cinematography
In 2019, Gallardo was the cinematographer for Buy Roses for Me with Jon Allen and The Fifth of November starring Qurrat Ann Kadwani. The following year, he handled the cinematography for Friend of the World starring Nick Young and Alexandra Slade. Film critics praised his lensing and use of lighting. Director Brian Patrick Butler said Gallardo's use of lighting was crucial for classic black and white photography. In 2022, he worked as the cinematographer for Touch starring Eva Ceja and Randy Davison.

At the Frontera
At the Frontera, also known as Café Con Leche, is a 2019 action crime thriller film written by Wesley Adkins, Ray Gallardo, Martin Santander and directed by Gallardo. The film stars Santander, Gerardo Taracena, José Sefami and Nina Senicar. It was filmed in Mexico and premiered at ArcLight Hollywood.

Plot
In Mexico City, a district attorney and ATF agent join forces to look into a human trafficking case. They soon discover one of them may be affiliated with their prime suspect, a corrupt real-estate developer.

Production
Principal photography took place in February 2015 in Mexico City and Houston. The film language is entirely in Enlgish for international marketing purposes. Actress Mónica Sánchez Navarro acted with both of her daughters in the film. Marie Adler says the film is "timely and relevant" due to the Latin American immigration laws. In an interview, Santander talked about writing the female characters in the script "strong and independent."

Cast

 * Martin Santander as Franco Rivero
 * Gerardo Taracena as Eduardo Manrique
 * José Sefami as Alvaro Manrique
 * Nina Senicar as Rebecca Salinas
 * Mónica Sánchez Navarro as Angela Manrique-Obregon
 * Cassandra Sánchez Navarro as Liz Gomez
 * Sofia Rivera Torres as Culebra

Release
The film was listed in the product guide for Screen International at Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 before holding its world premiere on January 25, 2018, at ArcLight Hollywood. It had a limited theatrical run in Los Angeles on January 31, 2019 and the following week in Charlotte, North Carolina.