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Synopsis
Tenoch decides to join an LGBTQ soccer team to bond with his ailing father Rey, who is struggling with rapidly progressive Alzheimer’s disease. Tenoch dreams of winning the Gay Soccer World Cup with the defending champions: the West Hollywood Tricks. When he learns the team is filled with mean-spirited soccer gays, he devises a plan to beat them at their own game. Tenoch remains steadfast in his goal of winning soccer gold one last time before Rey loses his memory. Tenoch persuades his former high school teammates of mostly-straight men to come together to beat the Tricks and win the Gay Soccer World Cup.
Director's Statement
Think Mean Girls meets Ted Lasso. Our sports comedy film combines the world's most popular sport with a queer Latinx lead and satire. Mean Goals is inspired by my family’s obsession with soccer. Growing up, our family would spend hours on the soccer pitch. My siblings played the sport, my dad would referee games, and I managed the snack shack at the park. I quit playing soccer as a kid because of the incessant bullying. Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder how different my life would have been without the rampant homophobia in soccer. With Mean Goals" we hope to inspire future generations of LGBTQ athletes, end homophobia in soccer, and create a better world where all athletes can thrive in sports.
Key Crew
Ahuatl Amaro (he, him), Director and Writer
Ahuatl is an award-winning queer, Latinx-Indigenous director and writer born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His short film Warehouse (a workplace comedy about four LGBTQ warehouse workers) received the festival favorite award at the 2024 Cinema Diverse film festival in Palm Springs and Physical Therapy starring Jason Genao (Netflix's On My Block) was awarded the community filmmaker award at the 2024 Los Angeles Shorts International Film Festival. He’s a 2024 Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today fellow, 2022 Point Foundation grant scholar, 2021 NALIP Emerging Content Creators Initiative scholarship recipient, and 2021 MACEF filmmaker scholarship awardee. He graduated with an MFA in Screenwriting from the AFI Conservatory, earned a Certificate in Television Writing at UCLA, and studied English and Theater at Georgetown University.
Fanfan Zhou (she, her), Producer
Fanfan Zhou is a Chinese director and producer currently based in Los Angeles. She holds an MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Her work unearths the complexities of intergenerational relationships, exploring themes of identity crises of people from the underrepresented community. Integrating cutting-edge technology into her creative process, she leverages AI tools to enhance storytelling and visual effects, pushing the boundaries of traditional filmmaking. She is honored to have received the Alexander Mackendrick Scholarship, the CalArts Diversity Grant, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship.
Barbara Lettieri (she, her), Producer
Barbara Lettieri was born in Italy, where she studied English and German. After graduating, she moved to the United States to pursue acting. She won a Drama Logue Award for her performance in "The Greek Wedding" and had a recurring role as Rosa Barelli in "Days of Our Lives." She earned a certificate in screenwriting and television writing from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and a certificate in production from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She has produced and directed several commercials for the City of Los Angeles. Most recently, she produced an award-winning short film "Rise," shot in Zimbabwe set to premiere at Tribeca.
Aakash Raj (he, him), Director of Photography
Aakash Raj is a Los Angeles based cinematographer with over twelve years of experience. Originally from Mumbai, Aakash spent seven years working in the Indian film industry before relocating to the United States. He earned his master's degree at the esteemed American Film Institute. Aakash's films have garnered international recognition, with premieres and showcases at renowned festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, TIFF, Raindance, and more.
Joe Murphy (he, him), Editor
Joe Murphy grew up in Seattle and studied Film Production at Loyola Chicago University. He’s worked as a freelance editor since 2013 and in 2017 he began working at Cut, where he edited over 150 documentary-style short form videos. Following his passion for narrative storytelling, Joe moved to Los Angeles and worked as an editor at First Media. He earned his MFA in Editing at the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory. He loves to travel, movies, television, and, especially, the great outdoors!
Lakshmi Nymisha Gummadi, Production Designer
Nymisha Gummadi is an Indian production designer and art director based out of Los Angeles, Pursued MFA in Production Design at the American Film Institute (AFI). In her short time in L.A., she has independently Production designed and art directed several short films, a full-length feature, commercials and Music videos. She completed her undergraduate degree in Architecture and worked for over a year with a renowned design firm in India as an architect and interior designer before moving to LA.
Sean Segal (he, him), Composer
Sean Segal is composer, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He recently earned his Master of Music in Screen Scoring from the University of Southern California (USC). While pursuing his bachelor in musical arts (BMA) at the University of Michigan, he worked on the feature films, "My Spy" starring David Bautista, and "Second Act'' with Jennifer Lopez. You can listen to his latest work on the Starz drama, "Heels." Sean is a proud Mexican-American born and raised in Los Angeles. In his spare time, he loves playing his guitar and performing live.
Aika Greenidge, CSA (She, her), Casting Director
Aika Greenidge, CSA is an Artios nominated Associate Casting Director currently working full-time on staff at Liz Lewis Casting Partners where she casts commercials, films, VO, and print nationwide. Her recent film credits include Waltzing With Brando (feature), Convergence (feature), and Imaginary Friends (short). She has helped cast numerous commercials such as Doritos DinaMita (Super Bowl 2024), Delta, Mountain Dew, Instagram, UberEats, andm more..
Behind the Scenes
- Runtime15:00
Stream the curated UCLAxFilmFest 2026 Official Selections here!
Synopsis
Tenoch decides to join an LGBTQ soccer team to bond with his ailing father Rey, who is struggling with rapidly progressive Alzheimer’s disease. Tenoch dreams of winning the Gay Soccer World Cup with the defending champions: the West Hollywood Tricks. When he learns the team is filled with mean-spirited soccer gays, he devises a plan to beat them at their own game. Tenoch remains steadfast in his goal of winning soccer gold one last time before Rey loses his memory. Tenoch persuades his former high school teammates of mostly-straight men to come together to beat the Tricks and win the Gay Soccer World Cup.
Director's Statement
Think Mean Girls meets Ted Lasso. Our sports comedy film combines the world's most popular sport with a queer Latinx lead and satire. Mean Goals is inspired by my family’s obsession with soccer. Growing up, our family would spend hours on the soccer pitch. My siblings played the sport, my dad would referee games, and I managed the snack shack at the park. I quit playing soccer as a kid because of the incessant bullying. Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder how different my life would have been without the rampant homophobia in soccer. With Mean Goals" we hope to inspire future generations of LGBTQ athletes, end homophobia in soccer, and create a better world where all athletes can thrive in sports.
Key Crew
Ahuatl Amaro (he, him), Director and Writer
Ahuatl is an award-winning queer, Latinx-Indigenous director and writer born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His short film Warehouse (a workplace comedy about four LGBTQ warehouse workers) received the festival favorite award at the 2024 Cinema Diverse film festival in Palm Springs and Physical Therapy starring Jason Genao (Netflix's On My Block) was awarded the community filmmaker award at the 2024 Los Angeles Shorts International Film Festival. He’s a 2024 Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today fellow, 2022 Point Foundation grant scholar, 2021 NALIP Emerging Content Creators Initiative scholarship recipient, and 2021 MACEF filmmaker scholarship awardee. He graduated with an MFA in Screenwriting from the AFI Conservatory, earned a Certificate in Television Writing at UCLA, and studied English and Theater at Georgetown University.
Fanfan Zhou (she, her), Producer
Fanfan Zhou is a Chinese director and producer currently based in Los Angeles. She holds an MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Her work unearths the complexities of intergenerational relationships, exploring themes of identity crises of people from the underrepresented community. Integrating cutting-edge technology into her creative process, she leverages AI tools to enhance storytelling and visual effects, pushing the boundaries of traditional filmmaking. She is honored to have received the Alexander Mackendrick Scholarship, the CalArts Diversity Grant, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship.
Barbara Lettieri (she, her), Producer
Barbara Lettieri was born in Italy, where she studied English and German. After graduating, she moved to the United States to pursue acting. She won a Drama Logue Award for her performance in "The Greek Wedding" and had a recurring role as Rosa Barelli in "Days of Our Lives." She earned a certificate in screenwriting and television writing from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and a certificate in production from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She has produced and directed several commercials for the City of Los Angeles. Most recently, she produced an award-winning short film "Rise," shot in Zimbabwe set to premiere at Tribeca.
Aakash Raj (he, him), Director of Photography
Aakash Raj is a Los Angeles based cinematographer with over twelve years of experience. Originally from Mumbai, Aakash spent seven years working in the Indian film industry before relocating to the United States. He earned his master's degree at the esteemed American Film Institute. Aakash's films have garnered international recognition, with premieres and showcases at renowned festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, TIFF, Raindance, and more.
Joe Murphy (he, him), Editor
Joe Murphy grew up in Seattle and studied Film Production at Loyola Chicago University. He’s worked as a freelance editor since 2013 and in 2017 he began working at Cut, where he edited over 150 documentary-style short form videos. Following his passion for narrative storytelling, Joe moved to Los Angeles and worked as an editor at First Media. He earned his MFA in Editing at the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory. He loves to travel, movies, television, and, especially, the great outdoors!
Lakshmi Nymisha Gummadi, Production Designer
Nymisha Gummadi is an Indian production designer and art director based out of Los Angeles, Pursued MFA in Production Design at the American Film Institute (AFI). In her short time in L.A., she has independently Production designed and art directed several short films, a full-length feature, commercials and Music videos. She completed her undergraduate degree in Architecture and worked for over a year with a renowned design firm in India as an architect and interior designer before moving to LA.
Sean Segal (he, him), Composer
Sean Segal is composer, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He recently earned his Master of Music in Screen Scoring from the University of Southern California (USC). While pursuing his bachelor in musical arts (BMA) at the University of Michigan, he worked on the feature films, "My Spy" starring David Bautista, and "Second Act'' with Jennifer Lopez. You can listen to his latest work on the Starz drama, "Heels." Sean is a proud Mexican-American born and raised in Los Angeles. In his spare time, he loves playing his guitar and performing live.
Aika Greenidge, CSA (She, her), Casting Director
Aika Greenidge, CSA is an Artios nominated Associate Casting Director currently working full-time on staff at Liz Lewis Casting Partners where she casts commercials, films, VO, and print nationwide. Her recent film credits include Waltzing With Brando (feature), Convergence (feature), and Imaginary Friends (short). She has helped cast numerous commercials such as Doritos DinaMita (Super Bowl 2024), Delta, Mountain Dew, Instagram, UberEats, andm more..
Behind the Scenes
- Runtime15:00
