Tiny Gran'pa makes it big! Director Will Caballero's groundbreaking series comes to HBO Latino.

First, there was the short film "How You Doin' Boy? Voicemails from Gran'pa" which had its NYC Premiere at the 2014 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. (And took home the Best Animation award to boot.) 

But Gran'pa was too big for just one film, so he became a web series. 

Now, the world's tiniest abuelo will be doling out advice for two seasons on HBO Latino via a “first of its kind” acquisition deal for interstitial programming between creator William D. Caballero and HBO.

Gran’pa Knows Best is a comedy web-series starring a 4 inch 3D printed likeness of Caballero’s 86 year old grandfather, Victor Muriel. Originally from Puerto Rico, Muriel is the voice of the character and offers his real advice on various subjects. The series offers viewers an interactive experience as advice seekers of each episode are selected from social media users posting tweets and hashtags @ask_granpa or #GranpaKnowsBest. Those with selected questions/topics are featured in an episode by way of their first name and social media profile photo.

The Gran’pa character poses are modeled by Chang Kim, using the computerized Zbrush program, and are printed in polymer resin using 3D printer technology. Each are hand painted by Amy Yamashiro and Kate Keisel. They are then placed in a miniature model home designed and 3D printed by Seth Burney. Graphic design and text animation by Chris Cookson accompany the voice and real advice of Gran’pa Victor Muriel. Caballero films the series in macro perspective, alongside dozens of miniature and life size props. B roll, often featuring an unrecognizable Caballero, his wife, cousin and co-producer enhance the visual and comedic effect.

Del Valle and Caballero teamed up in their synergistic partnership after becoming fans of each other’s various productions and autobiographical works which saw many parallels in their humble Latino upbringings.

Terms of the deal are not disclosed, however season two of Gran’pa Knows Best is already in production.

“It’s been a humbling experience to look back on the journey of Gran’pa... a work reflective of my cross cultural pride as an American and Latino.” said Caballero.

“When I started producing I used to verbalize affirmations that included the future of my productions on HBO... To be here now is a dream come true.” added Del Valle.

William D. Caballero is a 2001 Gates Millennium Scholarship recipient and an alumni of Pratt Institute and NYU Graduate School. Gran’pa Knows Best is his fifth directorial project since his graduation in 2008. His first, an autobiographical documentary, American Dreams Deferred, aired nationally on PBS and chronicles the stark contrast of college life, as the first in his family to attend, and his life back home where he resides in a trailer with his mother and ailing father undergoing dialysis. His film Seed Story premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival, followed by the award winning short film How You Doin’ Boy? Voicemails From Gran’pa, which like Gran’pa Knows Best, uses 3D printer technology to create miniature models of Caballero’s real grandfather. Through his work Caballero’s mission is to empower, enlighten and express.

Del Valle Productions, Inc. is a full service, bilingual film production and casting company that offers services from concept to delivery. Its mission is to infuse entertainment with Female and/or Latino driven truths, insights and perspective, through original programming and its use of talent in front of and behind the camera. Del Valle is owned and operated by Elaine Del Valle—a WGA-East writer, stage and screen performer. Elaine is a noted Latina trendsetter becoming popular by way of her comedy web series Reasons Y I’m Single and Off Broadway autobiographical one woman play Brownsville Bred - critically acclaimed Brownsville is her triumphant coming-of-age story set in the tough projects of Brownsville Brooklyn during the height of the crack and AIDS epidemic.

HBO Latino is a dedicated Spanish-language premium channel that delivers compelling and relevant programming to the U.S. Latino market. Exclusive to the channel are the regular U.S. premieres of Spanish-language series, films, and documentaries acquired from North America, Latin America, Spain and Caribbean, as well as original short-form programming. Additionally, HBO Latino offers the best Hollywood movies and HBO original programming from the network's main channel in Spanish. HBO Latino is included with an HBO subscription.

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