Tío Louie Reporta: Countdown to Cannes– 7 DAYS OF 7 NY LATINOS AT CANNES 2015 (Part 4)

HOLA is proud to present Tío Louie Reporta, where filmmaker and Executive Producer of Prime Latino Media, Louis Perego Moreno (also known as Tío Louie) interviews actors and multimedia-makers in the business.

Something is abuzz. With internationally acclaimed Latinos winning Academy Awards for Best Director two consecutive years, PRIME LATINO MEDIA is proud to announce that seven talented and accomplished Latino multimedia-makers and actors from the familia are climbing up the career ladder in a short film at the Cannes Film Festival from May 13-24, 2015. Acceptance into the Festival de Cannes with their film will benefit from a prime viewing position within the Short Film Corner. U.S. Latinos are taking the world over by storm in media and entertainment and our New Yorkers are part of the revolution.

Countdown: Day 4 of 7

FRANCISCO LUPINI BASAGOITI: 

Tú. Yo. Baño. Sexo. Ahora.

(You. Me. Bathroom. Sex. Now.)

To Cannes, to Cannes… is where Francisco will be in the south of France with his Spanish-language short film. The pearls of wisdom he offers is to follow your passion and in working with actors he says, “Develop a relationship that is embedded in friendship to get out of them the best performance by knowing their different layers in interpreting that character.”

      

Short film: TÚ. YO. BAÑO. SEXO. AHORA. (YOU. ME. BATHROOM. SEX. NOW.)

Director/Screenwriter: Francisco Lupini Basagoiti (from Venezuela)
Actors: Francisco Fuertes, Mauricio Pita, Puy Navarro, Miguel Belmonte

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.

     •     How was the production for this film? It was made in December over a weekend shoot of three days. It was the first time that everything went smoothly and seamlessly. You know how everything always goes wrong in production and there’s a lot of drama. Surprisingly so, that was not the case this time around.

     •     What surprised you the most with this project? It was so good to see the chemistry between the actors. It was this great team and you see it translated through the camera. I also had a good crew. It was the first time I handed over the reins for wardrobe to someone else. I had always taken this area over, but in giving it over to a costume designer it worked out wonderfully.

Left to right: Puy Navarro,
Francisco Fuertes, Miguel Belmonte.

    •      Your first two short films were in English and the other five in Spanish, why produce mostly Spanish-language? Spanish-language cinema has a certain look and point of view. As I explore further, I want to see the reaction out there and interest in funding Spanish-language films in a cosmopolitan locale like NYC. Personally, I am slightly offended when the question is posed. I also think that it is fallacy that you are not going to make a lot of money with this genre. First of all, follow your passion. If your passion is to tell your story in Spanish, Mandarin or whichever, do it. But my counsel to others who want to follow in suit is that it will be slightly challenging. Here in the USA, for instance, you get a few Latinos together and they all have different accents. But go for it.

•    Why is the accent a heavy Castilian one in your Spanish-language films? When I first did it, the three actors that I cast all had Castilian accents. My family is from Spain and this is the same accent that I have been exposed to all my life. As a matter of fact, even in Caracas I was constantly told that I spoke with a Castilian accent. I am inspired by my mother, aunt and grandmother– and especially their sense of humor. I am also cognizant that many Latin Americans don’t care for an accent from Spain.

Puy Navarro.

       •    Let’s point out the elephant in the room. Could you see this film with a gay theme coming out in Venezuela? I see it being received in Venezuela because it’s a comedy. Though the subject matter would be challenging in that culture, I see it coming out and playing in film festivals there. It’s the first one out of seven that I have previously produced totally devoted to a gay theme. I would prefer that this question not be asked, but [that the film is classified] as a comedy. Also, I do it because not many people address this subject and one day I hope that we live in a world where the genre is seen as ‘comedy’ and not limited to an LGBT category.

 

HOLA member Francisco Fuertes.

    •     As a director, how was it directing your friends, actors Puy Navarro and Franciso Fuertes? Directing, this was the first time working with Puy and the second time with Francisco. As a director I always try to develop a relationship that is embedded in friendship to get out of them the best performance by knowing their different layers in interpreting that character. We also do a lot of rehearsals beforehand and create some sort of a family to execute the various portrayals. It is difficult to direct friends when there are always tense moments that arise during a production and sometimes you have to hold yourself in check and believe you’ve got to hold back and sometimes not take it personally, on both sides of the equation, and be a professional first and foremost.

Tú. Yo. Baño. Sexo. Ahora. film teaser trailer:

Louis E. Perego Moreno (Tío Louie) is 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 people. He is also the Executive Producer of Prime Latino Media, the largest network of Latino multimedia-makers and actors in the metropolitan 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