Filly Brown

Actress Gina Rodriguez gives what critics are hailing as a star-making performance as an LA hip hop artist on the brink of stardom in ‘Filly Brown’, which screened in the Premieres section of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Rodriguez plays Maria Tonorio, aka Filly Brown, who raps from the heart about life for Latinos. When her mum, who is in prison, asks her to raise $5,000 to get her out of jail, and a sleazy music producer offers her a stab at the big-time, Maria is faced with a dilemma. Does she sell out and sex up her image for mainstream appeal or stick to her guns and hard-hitting lyrics? ‘Filly Brown’ is one of 14 films to screen at the inaugural Sundance London event in April 2012.