By Eric Shapiro and the Flatiron Hot! News Editorial Staff

Director Nicole Gomez Fisher’s debut film Sleeping with the Fishes, starring ever-more-ubiquitous “Jane the Virgin” actress Gina Rodriguez, has come a long way since we raved about it back in May. Even then, it had received awards and screened at prestigious film festivals. Now, it is primed to reach an even wider audience when it premieres on HBO on October 3rd. It will appear on both HBO Latino and HBO Comedy for 18 months. The DVD will be available on Netflix and Amazon on October 21st. In recognition of her achievement, Gomez Fisher took home an award for best director at the Imagen Awards.  For those who don’t know, the Imagen awards are part of  “All in the Family” creator Norman Lear’s admirable efforts to encourage new talent to make cutting edge, serious, and socially responsible cinema a continuing part of our cultural scene.

Purchase the DVD

The film’s cast features veterans and rising stars alike, including Gina Rodriguez, Ana Ortiz, Priscilla Lopez, Steven Strait, Tibor Feldman, Orfeh, and Monica Steuer. It stars Gina Rodriguez as Alexis Fish, a girl of mixed Jewish and Puerto Rican heritage who must navigate early adulthood while weathering the constant barbs of her mother, played brilliantly by Priscilla Lopez. The culture clash at the center of the film, embodied in the often-hostile but simultaneously poignant and heartfelt relationship between Alexis and her mother, is the kind of comedy that cuts deep even as it makes you laugh. Perhaps some of its authenticity comes from the fact that Sleeping with the Fishes is a heavily fictionalized version of Gomez Fishers’ life.

For those who are interested, click here to reserve your copy of the film at Amazon; or better yet, go ahead and add the flick to your Netflix queue.  Or, click here for a schedule of the film on HBO.

For our humble opinion on the film, check out our review

And finally, check out the trailer. We promise, a few minutes with the Fish family and you’ll be hooked…