Director Dito Montiel (1965)

Empire State (2013) is an American crime drama film that follows the story of two childhood friends who plot to rob an armored car repository, but are met with resistance from an NYPD officer. Chris Potamitis comes from a working-class family in Astoria, Queens, New York during the early 1980s. His immigrant father was recently fired from his job at a questionable Greek social club after ten years of service. Despite his attempts to join the police force, Chris is unable to due to a previous marijuana conviction. He settles for a low-paying job as a security guard at the poorly-run Empire Armored Car Company, where there is little security and morale is low. A tragic ...

An American drama film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006), is based on a memoir written by Dito Montiel. The story follows Dito’s youth in Astoria, New York during the 1980s. In present day (2005), we find Dito living in Los Angeles and working as a successful writer. Upon the urging of his mother, Flori, and friend, Nerf, he returns to his childhood home in Astoria when his father falls ill. The movie shifts between present day and flashbacks of Dito’s memories from the summer of 1986. During this time, Dito meets up with Nerf in a parked car to talk without interruption, since it wasn’t ...