Tenacity and calculating measures are paying off for seven, hard-working New York Latino filmmakers and actors whose careers are reaching higher ground by virtue of their work in a short films at the internationally acclaimed Cannes Film Festival. Acceptance into the Festival de Cannes will benefit from a prime viewing position within the Short Film Corner from May 13-24th. The talent traveling to France do so with the intent on networking with industry players, institutions, financiers and the most important international reps in the film business to develop their next project – possibly a feature film. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the journey that got them there.
The Seven
Francisco Lupini Basagoiti Adel Morales Monica Palmieri Brandon Polanco Sebastian Rea Plinio Villablanca Pablo Andrade
FRANCISCO LUPINI BASAGOITI Tù. Yo. Baño. Sexo. Ahora. Director/Screenwriter
Synopsis: Antonio learning that his boyfriend is cheating on him three days before Christmas, decides to find solace amongst friends at the neighborhood dive – only to explode into a comedy about a man who tries to forget about love, in all the wrong places.
Born in Caracas to a Spanish mother and Italian father, he came to the U.S. to attend college. He got a degree at NYU in Film & TV and Dramatic Literature. You can always tell a film that Francisco has written and directed – – after all, he’s done seven and there’s a defined style that has only gotten richer. The colors are sumptuous and pop right off the screen with a distinct European flair. His women are over the top, but so are the men. Sex underscores his film, as well as provocative relationships as found in, Tù. Yo. Baño. Sexo. Ahora. (You. Me. Bathroom. Sex. Now) that is off to Cannes.
The Spanish-language film which premiered at the Havana Film Festival NY in April centers on Antonio learning that his boyfriend is cheating on him three days before Christmas, when he decides to find solace amongst friends at the neighborhood dive – only to explode into a comedy about a man who tries to forget about love, in all the wrong places.
Tio Louie: What was the inspiration for this film?
FLB: I wrote it upon visiting my mom in Madrid and returning to New York. While going to the airport bathroom I was struck by a comedy of errors surrounding people who spoke different languages and the miscommunication that arose when certain words were innocently pieced together out of context.
TL: This is your seventh short film. Does it ever get easier?
TL: How do you feel when some associate your cinematic style with Spain’s, Pedro Almodovar?
FLB: For me it is an honor. But now it’s been said so many times, I am bored by it. I may have referred to him once, but now it’s my voice and stories and I don’t sit and create according to him. It’s a double-edged sword: it’s a compliment, but its tired by now.
TL: How do you see the distribution for this film and marketing to a Spanish-language audience, non-Latino, English-speaking Latino market and an LGBT audience?
FLB: I see it more accessible to a Spanish-speaking and LGBT market. But more importantly, the story should speak to those that have been spurned by a loved one and can relate to the pain. We had a private screening and there were diverse backgrounds present and they all got it and identified with it irrespective of language and culture. I try to make a universal comedy. But comedy is difficult to capture when also injecting language and culture that can have certain nuances inherent to that particular background that do not translate elsewhere. But those that have seen it have responded well. Yesterday a German film festival responded and said that they liked it and will probably program it. The barriers are more a mental one than something tangible.
TL: What would be your $0.10-worth of advice to an aspiring filmmaker?
FLB: First, since cinema is a form of art, is this really what you want to do? Secondly, have a vision. Thirdly, surround yourself with like-minded people who support your work. Lastly, don’t be afraid to make a mistake in production, because you move on and you learned.
TL: What is your objective in going to Cannes?
FLB: I am going with this short to seek funding for production of a feature film. I want a top-notch actress with a star name to attach to the project that is being developed as a dark comedy.
Film trailer:
TIO LOUIE/Louis E. Perego Moreno
President of Skyline Features, he is an interactive content producer and educator who for the past 33 years has owned a bilingual (English and Spanish-language) multimedia and educational production company developing documentaries, television programming and advertising commercials featuring Latinos, Blacks, Women, Urban Youth and LGBT. He is also the Executive Producer of PRIME LATINO MEDIA, the largest network of Latino multimedia-makers and actors in the metro-New York area that gather once a month to interview proven leaders in the community.
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACT FACEBOOK Group: Prime Latino Media Twitter: @PLMSalon Instagram: PRIME_LATINO_MEDIA LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/in/louisperegomoreno
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