Focus on AFI Conservatory - Spaceship
When a Latina transwoman in East LA is on the verge of losing her daughter to child services, she begins to unravel as she is forced to confront her buried traumas and fears.
Interview with Writer/Director Jorge G. Camarena
Watch Spaceship here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
"I want to be free, not brave." This is what a sign I saw during a protest in my hometown said, and it encompasses how Maria, the protagonist of Spaceship, feels. It is also how my mother felt when she had to raise me while having a professional job and demanding career at a time where it wasn’t socially approved that women worked, especially in Guadalajara Mexico where I was born and raised.
She took me to her job because there wasn’t anyone available to take care of me. Her passion and dedication to her career and family had a huge impact on me, especially her strength to pull everything together in order to raise me. I could see that she struggled although she did a very good job in hiding it. The bond I have with my mother is what is fueling this story.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The idea is to submerge in to one moment of Maria’s life where we experience the complexity of the human condition through the eyes of a mother whose identity forces her into a central role in the much needed paradigm shift of the social institutions. It’s about how each of us fights and deals with our own battles in a unique way and discovering ourselves within the mess of our own chaos.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Growing up being an introverted person who has deeply struggled to find a sense of belonging, I’m drawn into narratives that are hidden in plain sight or that are constantly ignored. The beauty of broken things and how they compose and connect us.
When I moved to LA, I found the Latino communities struggling with the same social strictures that prevent people back home from being who they really are. All of this cultural phenomena is constantly evolving and in the middle of that tornado, Maria, is fighting her own battle.
The film dances between the environment and character and how they affect each other. A contrast between the micro cosmos of the inner universe of our character and the macro cosmos of the universe through the analogy of space travel.
Spaceship explores the intimate bond of a mother-child relationship in combination with a society that invalidates Maria’s capacity for being a mother. Maria is on a quest to find a place that acknowledges her existence.
A place to call home.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I met Fabiola, a latina transwoman who emigrated to the USA and has a son. Her experience and struggle connected universally to a story I wanted to tell about my mother and me, so she became a source of inspiration and a consultant for our project.
The whole team and I went through exhaustive research, first with the general trans community in Los Angeles and then more specifically with the latin and POC trans community. We talked to the women of The TransLatin@ Coalition and The Trans Wellness Center (TWC) in Los Angeles. They introduced us to the community composed of resilient women who kindly shared their experience with us. The TWC program manager MARIANA MARROQUIN served as a consultant for the film and has helped us all along the way.
I met KASE PEÑA, a latina transwoman filmmaker, based in East LA, who became our story editor, consultant and mentor or as she would say: our “madrina” (godmother). We could not have made this film with out her.
I worked very closely with Carlie Guevara, our lead, to ensure we were portraying Maria’s inner and outer struggle along with the specific nuances in the best way possible.
Esme Jackson (Production Designer) created an authentic world by crafting every single detail into each element, each a world of its own but that together told the story. Kadri Koop (cinematographer) went through thorough planning and research to portray a realistic environment in a doc style merged with magical realism, making sure that every shot and scene had meaning and told the story through the subtext. Victor Gabriel (co-writer) brought his huge heart, point of view and vulnerability unto the writing process. Roxanne Griffith (Producer) was not only on top of the chaotic environment of production, but also in the creative process always trying to make the film better. Mengyao Mia Zhang (editor) was involved through the whole process from the first outline of the script until the final mastering, bringing her incredible talent unto the film. Kase Peña (story editor) opened not only about her personal experience but also filmmaking secrets she has gathered through the years of making her amazing films.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The film hasn’t premiered yet so feedback has been mostly from our peers and mentors at the AFI and a small group of people who have seen the film. Overall people seem to engage with the characters and themes in film, so it has been very positive feedback so far. NPR’s Weekend Edition selected our short for their student showcase and we did a small interview with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, which was an amazing experience.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
So far the feedback that we have had as a team during all the stages of production has been the most life changing experience for me. As a Director I always try to collaborate with filmmakers that have strong character and that will not take anything for granted, collaborators that push me to be the best storyteller that I can be and that understand that there is a huge responsibility not just to ourselves but to what we are saying and representing.
The idea was to push the story to its best form by being vulnerable, sincere and passionate. By merging our different experiences and views of the world as a team and with member of the latin trans community not only made our story more powerful it also taught each of us something about each other and for me, filmmaking is an exploration not only with the world that you are submerging yourself into but also the collaboration experience that enhances the story and ultimately ourselves.
One of the most beautiful things about filmmaking is how the process of making a film changes you as a person. The people that you meet, the life experiences that you share and the intimate bond that is created has a deep impact on me. It became necessary to translate this experience into Spaceship.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Just as Maria is in the film, we are looking for a home for Spaceship’s world premier. We are also looking for festivals that could program our film and show it to wider audiences as well as distributors who would be interested in taking this film to the next level.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are looking for distributors, sales agents, journalists and film festivals directors that could help us amplify the film.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
This film was made with the help of multiple latin trans organizations in LA and with the most utter love, care and responsibility that a film like this requires. A story that deals with invisible people that go through intense and real circumstances that must be seen and heard, and that are deeply rooted within my heart.
Our main objective is for people to connect with Maria’s journey and understand that there are a lot of people that go through this same experience or worse and that they need to be seen, heard and supported.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Will Maria and Alex stay together?
Would you like to add anything else?
I would like to thank everyone that worked on our film. Our amazing and talented actress Carlie Guevara who flew all the way from New York because she believed in the project. Our insanely talented actress Chloe Jo Rountree and her family for believing in us. And to all of our amazing cast.
I also had the best team that any director could wish for - they poured their souls into this film and believed in me, and I will never forget that.
We also had the amazing experience of having the most loving and hard working crew. Every member of this film injected their talent, effort and time to make it possible, and that is something that translated into the film.
I would like to encourage people to follow, donate and support this wonderful organizations:
https://mytranswellness.org/
TRANS WELLNESS CENTER 3055 Wilshire Blvd Ste 360 Los Angeles, CA 90010 (323) 993-2900 TRANSWELLNESS@LALGBTCENTER.ORG
https://www.translatinacoalition.org/
TRANS LATIN@ COALITION 3055 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 350 Los Angeles, CA 90010 hola@translatinacoalition.org
https://transgenderlegal.org/
TRANSGENDER LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND 520 8th Avenue, Suite 2204 New York, New York 10018 646.862.9396 info@transgenderlegal.org
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Victor Gabriel (co-writer) will be joining the Sundance creative producers program along with Duran Jones, his producer - with his feature film “The Incredible Heist of Hallelujah Jones”.
Esme Jackson (Production Designer) - is currently working on the Apple’s TV+ show “For all Mankind”.
Kadri Koop (cinematographer) is wrapping up a feature film, developing another one while also doing music videos and commercials.
Roxanne Griffith (Producer) - is working at a production company in Los Angeles and is wrapping up another short film.
Mengyao Mia Zhang (Editor) is a Film Independent project Involve Fellow.
Kase Peña (Story Editor) - Is shooting and directing her debut feature film “Trans Los Angeles”.
Diego Rangel (composer) is touring with his band Porter.
I am currently developing two feature films while shooting commercials and music videos in LA.
Interview: July 2021
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Spaceship
Length:
18:37
Writer
Victor Gabriel and Jorge G. Camarena
Growing up in poverty, VICTOR GABRIELl realized that water in cornflakes doesn't taste as bad as you think it would. He wandered without a home before eventually ending up in Compton CA. Now as a black male writer/director and recent MFA graduate of AFI Conservatory, he has turned to filmmaking as way for him to wrestle with his own suffering as well as the suffering of others. He holds an MA in Clinical Psychology and has been working as a Marriage and Family Therapist with survivors of trauma in Compton/Watts/South Central for the past several years. His short film Black Boys Can’t Cry, is currently being shown in festivals. His favorite movie is Richard Donner’s Superman. He likes Red Vines and thinks Twizzlers are trash. Big years.
Director
Jorge G. Camarena
JORGE G. CAMARENA is a writer/director born in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he majored in Communication Sciences. He is currently finishing an MFA as a Directing Fellow in the AFI Conservatory, class of 2021. His work has been reviewed by recognized media such as Rolling Stone, Directors Notes, Remezcla, Billboard and VICE. He has been nominated for several awards including a nomination for Best Video at the Latin Grammy Awards, 4 nominations for the MTV Video Awards and Best Video IMAS. He is in development on his debut narrative feature.
Producer
Roxanne Griffith
Roxanne graduated from the University of Toronto in 2016 with an Honors Bachelor of Science. In school, she was the producer of the student-run theatre company, the Victoria College Drama Society. Roxanne moved to Los Angeles and graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2021 with an MFA in producing. Roxanne has extensive production experience, having produced multiple short films in and out of AFI and is currently working on multiple projects.
Key cast:
Carlie Guevara (Maria Cruz), Chloe Jo Rountree (Alex Cruz), Rogelio T. Ramos (Carlos), Pamela Shaddock (Lakeisha), Eduardo Roman (Segio), Kazandra Santana (Mrs. Lisa)
Looking for:
film festival directors, distributors
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/spaceship_the_film/
Hashtags used:
#spaceshipthefilm
More info:
https://www.spaceshipthefilm.com/
Made in association with:
AFI Conservatory