AWARDS

WINNER, Independent Spirit Award for Cassavetes Award

NOMINATED, Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead (Pedro Castaneda)

WINNER, Target Award for Best Film ($50,000 prize), Los Angeles Film Festival

NOMINATED, IFP's Gotham Award for Breakthrough Actor (Pedro Castaneda)

WINNER, Best Acting Ensemble, Los Angeles Film Festival

WINNER, Maverick Award for Best Film, Woodstock Film Festival

WINNER, Best Film, Ashland Independent Film Festival

WINNER, Best Cinematography, Phoenix Film Festival

WINNER, Opera Prima Jury Award (Best First Feature), International Latino Film Festival–San Francisco Bay Area

WINNER, Best Actress, Zimbabwe International Film Festival (Veronica Loren)

WINNER, Texas Filmmakers Production Fund Award 2005, Austin Film Society

WINNER, Texas Filmmakers Production Fund Award 2006, Austin Film Society

CRITICAL RESPONSE

“deeply affecting”
– Karen Durbin, NEW YORK TIMES

"I recommend the film wholeheartedly"
– Andrew Sarris, NEW YORK OBSERVER

“…powerful, lived-in performances… a deeply absorbing viewing experience”
– Scott Foundas, LA WEEKLY

"truly independent gem"
– Joshua Land, TIME OUT

“The performances are first rate... perfectly honed, naturalistic acting and visual lyricism”
– Stephen Farber, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"Castaneda (gives) one of the most lustrously lived-in performances I have ever seen on the screen"
– Andrew Sarris, NEW YORK OBSERVER

“Judging by the lovely "August Evening," writer/ director/editor Chris Eska's first feature, his name is worth remembering.” 
– V.A. Musetto, NEW YORK POST

"(an) extraordinary young American director”
– Stanley Kauffmann, THE NEW REPUBLIC

“deeply moving—the kind of naturalistic portrayal of human bonds rarely achieved on film.”
– Sara Cardace, NEW YORK MAGAZINE (CRITIC’S PICK)

“tremendous dignity and emotional depth”
– Andrew O’Hehir, SALON

“…uncommonly observant… The filmmaker of August Evening creates a succession of quiet, elliptical scenes that accrue into an affecting big picture of family ties and immigrant experience.”
– Lisa Schwarzbaum, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"warm and witty"
– COMINGSOON.NET

“a striking debut from the filmmaker that thrives on the simplicity of the characters and storytelling”
– COMINGSOON.NET

"Loren is wonderfully expressive"
– Stephen Farber, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Castaneda, a nonprofessional actor who runs a towing company in San Antonio, gives a towering, Robert Duvall-style performance” 
– Andrew O’Hehir, SALON

“a stunning and resonant film… a mature move for a debuting filmmaker”
–Tim Cogshell, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE

“…Chris Eska’s accomplished debut feature provides a welcome throwback to a time when American independent movies were something more than ‘calling cards’ for their makers to leave at the doors of the Hollywood studios.”
– Scott Foundas, LA WEEKLY

"lyrical" "transcendental" "compelling" 
– Eric Kohn, NEW YORK PRESS

“August Evening is a shooting star of a movie that stirs us with its many different textures of beauty — in its characters, in their words and deeds, in the natural world, and in the constant cycle of creation and destruction.” 
– SPIRITUALITY AND PRACTICE

“a film of astonishing depth and sensitivity… an inspirational indie whose universal appeal spans the generations”
– Bobby Cramer, FILMS IN REVIEW

“Eska cast first-time actors who wear their roles like so many pairs of comfortable old shoes, truly, madly, deeply imbuing their reel characters with remarkable emotional range.... They’re both so real, their feelings ring so true, you can practically reach out and touch them. They’re unforgettable. So is the film.”
–Bobby Cramer, FILMS IN REVIEW

“(the) burst of emotions creates a breathtaking effect.”
–Yana Litovsky, FILM FORWARD

"a compelling and well-acted portrait, a quiet, apolitical argument that should be required viewing at any Minutemen rally"
–Jeremy Martin, SAN ANTONIO CURRENT

"With his first feature, writer/director Chris Eska hits one out of the park... overwhelmingly moving"
–Bob Butler, KANSAS CITY STAR

“Castañeda, the male lead in Chris Eska's mesmerizing debut feature “August Evening,” has the kind of natural, hypnotic screen presence that cannot be taught.”
–Larry Ratliff, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS

"enchanting...I can't recommend a better way to spend an evening"
–Jeanne Jakle, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS

“Castaneda and Loren bring a quiet, poetic dignity to their roles”
–Susan King, LOS ANGELES TIMES

“I LOVED THIS FILM!!!!  It was beautiful beyond words. Flawless filmmaking/flawless acting.”
–Doug Weaver, THE LOS ANGELES INDEPENDENT

"an astonishing feature debut…a terribly impressive work…profoundly compelling…we should cherish August Evening"
–Bob Butler, KANSAS CITY STAR

“a poignant film with ample rewards… Writer-director-editor Chris Eska has turned a simple story of family bonds and immigrant hardships into a kind of mini-saga that quietly yet vividly sweeps us into its well-drawn characters' plainly compelling lives.
–Gary Goldstein, LOS ANGELES TIMES

“August Evening” is an impressive debut for all concerned…. understated but unforgettable…gorgeously photographed.”
–Bob Strauss, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

“a promising feature debut…it's a little milagro — a haunting, natural gem.  Remember the name. Globetrotting Chris Eska has stories to tell.”
–Jane Sumner, AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN

“ a quiet, contemplative gem of a film…full of small wonders”
–Marc Savlov, AUSTIN CHRONICLE

“Like Ozu, Eska manages to create the impression of vast, tidal emotions roiling beneath a seemingly calm surface… August Evening is masterful in its depiction of the realities of daily life on the fringes of American society. Here, as in reality, it's often the enormously eloquent silences between people, events, and generations that speak the loudest and mean the most.”
–Marc Savlov, AUSTIN CHRONICLE

“sublime...a luminous work of art...deeply spiritual”
–David Theis, TEXAS OBSERVER