He wants you to bounce on his lap.

Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Catalina A.J. Alvarez

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I wanted to make a film starring my brother as well as work with my neighbors.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

It makes you feel like you're on a holiday. Also, Fantastic Fest (where it won Best Picture [Shorts with Legs]) called it "A brilliant comic portrait of a catcaller choreographed with a non-professional cast and captured with disarmingly intimate 16mm photography."

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Paco is a character my brother and I played in our childhood. I must have come up with him, based on men on the street, who would call me “linda.” I cast my neighbors and partner – all non-professional actors- to interact with Paco. The film sets Paco’s catcalling and begging in the context of a trusting world.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

When I first wrote the script, all the characters who interacted with Paco were women in their 20's and one male middle-aged construction worker. Then I got bored and said, "what if this character was a child" and so on, until it got more interesting.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

People are always shouting "linda" at me after they've seen the film.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I would like to find funding and collaborators for my next project, a feature-length film. Some more 16mm film stock would be great to if anyone wants to send me some.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

For PACO I need sales agents, buyers, distributors, journalists, and more film festival directors to screen the film.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

It has been to 19 film festivals and won two awards. I hope that it screens at 50 film festivals and screens on VICE TV.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Who do we trust?

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I (the writer/director) am in pre-production of my first feature-length narrative film. It's about an unruly Colombian woman who ends up homeless in Southern Appalachia where she encounters some very strange folks and develops new types of languages to speak with them.

Interview: January 2017

______________________________________________________________________________

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. 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

_______________________________________________________________________________

PACO

He wants you to bounce on his lap.

Length: 12 min

Director: Catalina A.J. Alvarez (Often go by Catalina Jordan Alvarez)

Producer: Catalina A.J. Alvarez

Writer: Catalina A.J. Alvarez

About the writer, director and producer:

My short films include PACO, a comic portrait of a catcaller choreographed with a non-professional cast and captured with 16mm photography, Kallocain, a science fiction film about the development of an inner truth serum, and Das Goldene Licht, a “Bergfilm” (mountain film) about a blind grandmother who climbs the Alps when she hears the call of “Salige Frauen” (holy women). I am currently in production of my first feature-length narrative film.

Key cast: Brian Jordan Alvarez ("The Gay & Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo," "Jane the Virgin")

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists)

Funders: Temple University

Made in association with: Delicioso Videos and Temple University

Where can I see it in the next month?

At the Oxford Film Festival in Mississippi (about an hour from Memphis), on Friday, February 17th at 11am and 5:30pm.