Diego Luna and Liz Gallardo, stars of The Night Buffalo, celebrated their Park City debut at the Heineken Green Room at the Village at the Lift in Park City on Friday night. A poignant and often erotic story, The Night Buffalo exquisitely captures the angst of three young individuals involved in a destructive love triangle. Actors Chema Yazpik (Innocent Voices), Chucho Ochoa (Man on Fire) and Efren Ramirez (Napoleon Dynamite), along with Guillermo Arriago (writer, The Night Buffalo, Babel, 21 Grams, Amorres Perros), were also on hand to toast the cast and crew. To catch the event highlights, see the photos above.

More about The Night Buffalo

This is the latest work by Arriaga (his first as a screenwriter/producer) and Jorge Hernandez Aldana, who is making his feature-directing debut. This stunningly evocative story of romantic disillusionment and betrayal promises that this new collaboration will be as accomplished as Arriaga's previous endeavors.

Driven by an exceptionally potent performance by Diego Luna, an actor of amazing discipline and daring, The Night Buffalo is the story of Manuel, his best friend Gregorio, and their shared girlfriend. When Gregorio enters a psychiatric hospital to deal with his schizophrenic nightmares, his girlfriend, Tania, and Manuel begin an affair behind his back. And although after Gregorio's release the two friends temporarily reconcile, tragedy ensues, and Manuel seeks solace in the arms of a series of friends and acquaintances.

Male culture, the fickleness of love and desperate searching by lost souls are only some of the subjects this highly erotic, superbly photographed depiction of young lovers touches upon. As despicable as the behavior of this very dysfunctional community is, the need for love and absolution is relentless. As a treatise on the cognitive dissonance of romance, The Night Buffalo is pure and powerful storytelling. It may show us things that we don't want to see, but it will eventually lead us to a fuller understanding of the mysterious power of love.

Screenwriters : Jorge Hernandez Aldana, Guillermo Arriaga, based on Arriaga“s novel "The Night Buffalo"
Cinematographer : Hector Ortega
Editor : Alex Marquez
Production Designer : Diana Quiroz
Sound Designer : Frank Gaeta
Composer : Omar Rodriguez
Casting Director : Alejandro Reza
Cast : Diego Luna, Liz Gallardo, Gabriel Gonzalez, Irene Azuela, Emilio Echevarrķa, Camila Sodi

Jorge Hernandez Aldana
At the age of 21, after working for the Venezuelan government as a cryptography consultant, Jorge Hernandez Aldana traveled to Cuba to study photography. He later moved to Poland, where he spent a year studying the Polish language so he could enroll at the National Film School at Lodz. His short film Un Primer Paso Sobre las Nubes won several awards at film festivals around the world. The Night Buffalo is Jorge Hernandez Aldana's first feature-length film.