‘City of Gardens’ will Premiere in Cannes (via Hollywood Reporter) Blairwood  will also premiere City of Gardens, starring John Robinson and Alex Meraz; Fix: The Extreme Ministry Movie, featuring live performances by the industrial rock band Ministry; the romantic musical Leading Ladies; the drama Apocalypse (According to Doris); the indie thriller Mind Tricks; and the Spanish-language action film Elite.

Movie Sypnosis via The Meraz Effect

City of Gardens, is the true story of a blond Californian surfer, Wayne Montgomery (John Robinson), who has relocated to exotic Lima, Peru in the 1980’s to pursue surfing as he teaches English to well-to-do kids. Wayne’s carefree lifestyle and romance with his beautiful girlfriend, Maritza, (introducing Anahi De Cardenas), ends when he is framed for drug possession during the political chaos engulfing Lima.

In the nightmarish prison El Sexto (made famous by Nobel-Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa in The City and the Dogs), Wayne finds himself surrounded by a group of political activists and social misfits, including a schizophrenic who believes he is Jesus Christ (Grant Bowler) and an Icelandic devotee of Krishna, Jorge (Johnny Lewis). Wayne is forced to share a mattress with Nicaragua (Alex Meraz) he most hated prisoner at El Sexto. Unlike the rest of the inmates (political prisoners) Nicaragua is a real criminal, the scum of humanity. There is instant dislike and animosity between Wayne and Nicaragua.

In a desperate attempt to gain freedom, Wayne meets with US Consul Powers (Debra Unger) whose hands are tied by the false drug charges. As Wayne’s naivety dissipates, another nemesis, the power-hungry Lt. Gutierrez (Michael DeLorenzo), moves to break Wayne´s spirit, torturing him to extort money from his family, whom he has found out lives in Beverly Hills and rightly assumes to be wealthy. Left with few options, Wayne adopts a new ethic – engaging the Peruvian activists, sharing his gifts with them and learning the importance of faith through his sympathetic friend, Jorge. Wayne challenges Lt. Gutierrez’s authority, confronting the depravity of corruption and abuse with his new found spirit and courage.

But Wayne’s hopes are short-lived as the brutality of an attack and murder sends the entire prison into a blood-bathed uprising that will ultimately leave Wayne fighting to hang on for dear life.