'Silent Partners' Demands To Be Heard... and Seen

Silent Partners is a gripping new crime drama steeped in the shadowy underworld of organized crime. The film centers on Valentine, a fearsome enforcer for the Chicago Outfit, portrayed with stoic intensity by Ciro Dapagio. Sent to Florida to oversee an elaborate insurance scam orchestrated by mob icon Meyer Lansky, Valentine quickly realizes the job is the least of his worries—the real danger lies in the treacherous company he keeps.

As rival families close in and supposed allies prove anything but trustworthy, Valentine must navigate a treacherous maze of ambition and betrayal. He teams up with volatile players like the calculating Frankie Cutts (James Russo) and faces off against brutal enemies like Fat Dave Gianetti (Garry Pastore), all while chasing his ultimate goal: to break free from the criminal life. But in a world built on blood oaths and backroom deals, freedom never comes cheap.

Director Jorge “Jokes” Yanes, a Miami native, grounds the film in the steamy, chaotic landscape of 1980s South Florida. “Luckily, the ’80s was the era where South Florida developed its identity,” Yanes says. “I let my curiosity run wild.” Drawing inspiration from real-life events and mob legends, Yanes, along with writer J. Bishop and lead actor Dapagio, crafted a story that expertly blends fact and fiction. The involvement of Meyer Lansky lends historical gravitas to an already taut narrative.

One of the film’s most compelling strengths is its sense of time and place. Miami pulses through every frame, its heat and humidity practically radiating off the screen. “The city is part of my soul,” Yanes says. That authenticity—both visual and emotional—has resonated strongly with audiences. Since premiering on the festival circuit, Silent Partners has earned more than 75 international awards for its gritty storytelling and nuanced performances. It screened last week at Cannes Film Festival.

Yanes credits the ensemble cast, which includes Antoni Corone (We Own the Night), Ronnie Marmo (I’m Not a Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce), Mike Marino, and Joseph D’Onofrio (A Bronx Tale), with bringing depth and moral ambiguity to their roles. “From the beginning, we wanted all the characters to live in the grey zone,” he explains.

Nowhere is that more evident than in Valentine himself—a ruthless antihero reckoning with years of misplaced loyalty. “He’s been risking everything for a family that was never really his,” Yanes reflects. “Seeing a character like that come to an emotional awakening is fertile ground for drama.”

Silent Partners is being distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures. At its heart, the film is a raw meditation on loyalty, betrayal, and the price of survival in a world where morality is negotiable. “Those are eternal themes,” Yanes says. “They’ve resonated since the Bible.”

With his next projects—Miami Kingpins, a true-crime docuseries, and a South Florida-set music drama—Yanes shows no signs of slowing down. But with Silent Partners, he’s already delivered a searing portrait of a man and a city on the edge.