Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)

Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)

2026 | Drama | USA | English, Spanish | 1h 43min

19-year-old Rico (Juan Collado) spends his summer in a tight-knit Dominican American community in the Bronx, selling bootleg cocktails out of a cooler at Orchard Beach. His days are loose and unplanned, until his girlfriend Destiny (Destiny Checo) moves into his family's small apartment, and their volatile young love plays out with everyone underfoot.

Writer-director Joel Alfonso Vargas grew up in the Bronx and draws on his own experiences for this debut feature, which he shot guerrilla-style in 16 days with first-time actors Collado and Checo in the leads. Citing Cassavetes, Pedro Costa, and Andrea Arnold among his influences, Vargas favors a still camera and long takes, holding on kitchen-table fights and everyday moments in an intimate 4:3 frame. Funny, gritty, and tender, Mad Bills to Pay finds a coming-of-age story in the cramped rooms and hot streets of a Bronx summer, where growing up arrives before the money does.

DIRECTOR

Joel Alfonso Vargas was born and raised in The Bronx, New York. A graduate of the National Film and Television School, he is also a former Fulbright Scholar and holds an MA in documentary filmmaking from the University of the Arts, London. He has since then directed several shorts. His work aims to collaborate with diasporic communities of color, centering on themes of social, racial, and economic justice. Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) is his debut feature.