KRISTIAN MERCADO FIGUEROA                       PRESS ︎︎︎ 



A little bit of Press...︎




INDIEWIRE

“Zoë Chao and Anthony Mackie Are the Cutest Rom-Com Couple of the Year



VARIETY

“Mercado tells us that he’s rebelling against today’s cool, frictionless CG-heavy sci-fi and putting his own low-fi, low-budget fingerprints on every frame.” “If You Were the Last” is scrupulous about balancing its comic setup with real emotions.”



ROLLING STONE

“if you’ve been dying for a cosmic romcom, your prayers may be on the verge of getting answered.”



INVERSE | LEX BRISCUSO | POSITIVE

“IF YOU WERE THE LAST IS EMOTIONAL SCI-FI AT ITS FINEST



 FILMMAKER MAGAZINE,

“Puerto Rican filmmaker and animator Kristian Mercado makes his cosmically psychedelic feature debut.”



NOISE FROM THE PIT

“Kristian Mercado’s direction is masterful.”



SCREEN ZEALOTS

“Sweet, funny, and genuinely endearing, this feature debut from director Kristian Mercado is the best kind of cinematic soul food.”



THE MACGUFFIN | SARAH KSIAZEK | POSITIVE

“If You Were Last is the best friends turned lovers film I've ever seen, and it's (creatively) in space. Crazy chemistry between Anthony Mackie and Zoe Chao. Brilliant. Congrats, Kristian Mercado!”



DEADLINE 

“Think When Harry Met Sally set in space.”



COLLIDER

“The film’s other big win is in the style department…creating a sense of purposeful unrealism that not only fits the tone of the movie well, but also allows the audience to focus on what’s important.”

 

ALT PRESS

“Zoe and Anthony had great intense magnetic chemistry. Love the witty rom com screenplay. The colorful clay matted and crayons box aesthetic enchanted me entirely.”



SLASH FILM,

“If You Were The Last; succeeds in being sensually aware, wholesomely funny, and emotionally fulfilling. Mackie and Chao ooze romantic chemistry. Mercado’s style is charmingly lo-fi, his do-it-yourself special effects soothe like a warm blanket that keeps us cozy. He flaunts impressive command for a debut filmmaker.”




IMDb “really charming” / Letterboxd “Anthony Mackie and Zoë Chao horny in space, with Wes Anderson-y effects and Japanese Breakfast on the soundtrack. An absolute charmer of a rom-com!” / Eater Austin “I want her egg earrings” / The Hollywood Handle “It’s a film about human connections and how scared people are to be physically attracted to each other, a really imaginative film and very beautiful and well directed.” / AWARDS WATCH “If You Were the Last is a fantastic example of how simplicity, honesty, and genuine humor can combine perfectly for a thoroughly rewarding experience” / The Successful Screenwriter “Oh my god, this film is so charming” / TUMBLR “Entertainment Spotlight:Kris Mercado / Variety "2022 Oscars Predictions: The Collective" / Deadline "‘Michael Che: Shame The Devil’ New Stand-up Special Premiering On Netflix This Month" New York Times "Taylor Tomlinson: A Comic With the Confidence of a Star" / Decider "Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Taylor Tomlinson: Look At You’ On Netflix, In Which The Comedian Takes A Hard Look At Herself First" / Los Angeles Times "Taylor Tomlinson left the church comedy circuit with a hell of a lot of jokes for Netflix" / TV Line "TVLine Items: Station Eleven Teaser, Cardi B Is AMAs Host and More") / The Laugh Button "Michael Che's next Netflix special, "Shame the Devil", comes out 11/16" /Variety "Netflix Announces New Michael Che Stand-up Special (TV News Roundup)"What's on Netflix "What’s Coming to Netflix in November 2021"Variety "Netflix Debuts ‘Inventing Anna’ First Look (TV News Roundup)" /  Gold Derby "New on HBO Max in November 2021" / Decider "New On HBO Max November 2021, Plus What’s Coming Next"Deadline "Aida Rodriguez’s HBO Max Comedy Special ‘Fighting Words’ Gets Premiere Date and Trailer"BuzzFeed "Aida Rodriguez's HBO Max Stand-Up Special, "Fighting Words," Is Unlike Anything You've Seen Before"A.Frame “5 Latinx Filmmakers On Showing Up Unapologetically"Spectrum News 1 “Free the Work platform showcases underrepresented creators for diversity" /  NY Daily News “Phoebe Robinson’s white hot solo act includes latest book on Tiny Reparations imprint, and ‘Sorry Harriet Tubman’ HBO Max comedy special" / Yahoo Entertainment “‘HBO Max announced that new comedy special “Phoebe Robinson: Sorry, Harriet Tubman” will premiere on Oct. 14” / Billboard “How J Balvin Shed His Superstar Exterior to Show 'José' Underneath for New Miller Lite Campaign” / MITU “Balvin Talks ‘José’ Album, Reuniting With Bad Bunny + Skrillex Collab”Variety “Comedian London Hughes on Working with Kevin Hart, Filming Netflix Special During the Pandemic” /  Vulture “The 10 Best Comedy Specials of 2020”Paste Magazine “The 15 Best Stand-up Comedy Specials of 2020 / The Hollywood Reporter “Ilana Glazer Aims to Attract Young Voters to the Polls With 'Cheat Sheet' Series”Variety “Netflix Announces London Hughes Stand-up Special From HartBeat Productions” /  1.4 “On the Inside with Kristian Mercado”Vulture “Sam Jay No Longer Fears Death” / New York Times “Bringing a ‘Broad City’ Approach to Energizing the Youth Vote” / Complex “Miami Life: Hannibal Buress' Next Chapter” / Hypebeast Bob Marley ‘No Woman, No Cry’ Video for International Reggae Day / Rolling Stone Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry’ Gets New Music Video / Forbes “International Reggae Day With A New Video For Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry’” / Pitchfork  Miami Nights / Rolling Stone Hannibal Buress New Standup Special ‘Miami Nights’ / Entertainment Weekly Miami Nights to stream for free on YouTube / Indiewire Hannibal Buress ‘Miami Nights’ / Hypebeast ‘Miami Nights’ / FilmAV Club Viral fears, politics, and Hannibal Buress dominated a long weekend at the True False Film Festival / Motionographer Discussing music videos and diversity in design with Kris Merc / Directors Notes P’alante / Remezcla Director Kristian Mercado’s Love Letter to Puerto Rico / Billie Eilish Youtube Mini Series Launch / Rolling Stone’s Top Ten Music Videos of The Year / Pitchfork Top Ten of the Year / Ad Week Estrella Jalisco Share for Good / Ad Age Estrella Jalisco / Talking Diversity with Motionographer Curated by Facebook Vertical Video /   NPR - A Recovering / Puerto Rico Stars In Hurray For The Riff Raff's 'Pa'lante' Video / Remezcla - Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Heartbreaking New Video Is a Portrait of Puerto Ricans’ Everyday Struggle After María / NYLON - This Short Film Is A Tribute To Hurray For The Riff Raff’s Puerto Rican Roots / Stereogum - Watch Hurray For The Riff Raff’s Short Film “Pa’lante” Starring The Florida Project’s Mela Murder / Stereogum Best of the Week Number 1 SPIN - Video: Hurray For The Riff Raff – “Pa’lante” / Uproxx - Hurray For The Riff Raff / Honor Puerto Rico And Its Resilient People In Their ‘Pa’lante’ Video / The Atlantic God In Chicago / Nowness God In Chicago / Teacher At SVA / Motion Awards 2017 Jury / Bushwick Film Festival 2017 Jury ShortFilms / MTV Elect This VR Mural / It's Nice That / Asifa Award Winners / KLIK! AAF Official Selection 2016 / HuffPost / The Motion Awards / De Zeen Magazine Interview / Pitchfork Amazing Premiere / Pitchfork Cool Uncle / Motionographer Red Tuxedo / Creative Planet Network / Remezcla Interview / Noisey Premiere / CartoonBrew Feature / Complex Premiere / BassAwardsWinner / Nowness Udo Kier Write Up / Complex Premiere Flatbush Zombies / Stereogum Premiere / Teen Vogue X Planned Parenthood / Refinery 29 Press / Paper/ Mag Press / RollingStone X De La Soul / Motionographer Interview / Creativity Magazine / CreativeBloq HTC Press / Ad Age Press / Animation World Network Press / MTV Press / Little Black Book Press / Stash Interview Pitch Junkie / Stash James To My Surprise / Stash Kool Keith / Billboard Magazine Premiere / Tim Booth Interview / ADC / ‘Soul of The City’ Highlights New York City’s Resilient Restaurants at Tribeca Film Festival / Top Spot of the Week: Director Kristian Mercado, The Martin Agency Team On DoorDash Documentary “Soul of the City”DoorDash’s ‘Soul of the City’ Traces the Emotional Return of New York City's Restaurants#bless