Risa Bramon Garcia

Having worked in casting for over ten years, Bramon Garcia had established a solid rapport with actors which served her well while seeking performers for her directing debut. Favorites like Ben Affleck, Christina Ricci, Paul Rudd, Martha Plimpton and Courtney Love signed up for the film, no doubt attracted to its star-friendly revolving door filming schedule. Among the others featured were up-and-comers Casey Affleck, Gaby Hoffman, Kate Hudson and Guillermo Diaz. Set in New York's East Village on New Year's Eve 1981, "200 Cigarettes" proved an unsteady debut, failing to win much critical praise, although the young star-studded cast helped to bring in moviegoers. Described by Bramon Garcia as a "romantic disaster movie," the film featured several different storylines, with all characters heading to the same party. In spite of "200 Cigarettes" lackluster boxoffice performance, actors and directors continued to be impressed with Bramon Garcia's vision and excellent working demeanor, making a future directorial effort a viable prediction. Meanwhile, she has continued to work in casting, completing "SLC Punk!" (1999), an independent comedy starring Matthew Lillard.