Young Dario
In this twelve-episode Groundhound Day style story, a young Hispanic boy, named Dario, encounters various life situations. He turns to his Grandmother ('Abuelita'), who guides him through the travails of childhood.
Interview with Writer/Director/Natalie Rodriguez
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! We are very EXCITED to showcase this series to the public.
The idea of Young Dario came to my co-writer/creator and I last summer during the earlier days of the pandemic. Both of us were experiencing high anxiety than usual, missing the creativeness and overall, being on production. We used to crack jokes, often about one of our colleagues and co-collaborators. These jokes turned into "Young Dario" does this or that. After weeks of jokes and discussion, we finally sat down and wrote the first drafts of what became the series.
I suppose you can say the series was created from those frustrations of the world and everything that was going on. A lot of those frustrations were challenged in growth, an ongoing theme that DARIO goes through in "Young Dario".
As of Hispanic descent myself, like DARIO, my cousins and I were close with our grandmother (Abuelita in the series). Like DARIO, many of us turned to our grandmother for advice or to simply talk about her upbringing and stories. Those were some of my cherished childhood memories. It definitely inspired the drive to bring DARIO's story to life.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
When was the last time you felt loved? Who was your first crush? Do you remember your most embarrassing moment?
These are the questions I like to ask, so you can reflect on them while watching the 12 episodes of "Young Dario". You should watch this series because we have all been in DARIO's shoes of experiencing, both, hilarious and embarrassing moments in our life. But, in the end, we realize that everything will be okay.
At some point, we have all been DARIO.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
"Young Dario" is a mix of, both, family and slight adult humor because all of us adults can think of the good and bad while reflecting on our youth years. Especially creating and then, filming and editing this project during a pandemic, so many emotions come to bay, both in a personal and professional matter. Whether that be the anxiety to get back to work, like being on set, or stressing over scheduling and micro-managing the art and working a day job, ironically the making of "Young Dario" is a learning experience. Like the character DARIO, I continue to takeaway a lot with my own personal growth.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I would say so much has evolved since penning down those first few sentences of "Young Dario". While my co-writer/creator and I wrote down the earlier drafts, of course like many writers, we had questions and worried if the project would ever see daylight. Yet, somehow, everything came together after we asked a close mutual colleague and friend to provide feedback on all 12 episodes of the show. That was step one in getting the appropriate feedback and overall, support and words of encouragement from someone like our mutual colleague and friend.
The rest sort of fell into place once we launched a crowdfunding campaign for the series, regardless of the ups and downs of pre-production and overall, making a project. Definitely, a perk was finding the voice and face of Dario when Julio Macias jumped on board. It was surreal and liberating to have Julio involved because he was our first choice for Dario.
As cliche as it is, Julio IS Dario.
That is key when it comes to art - you just need to put it out there, regardless of the budget and so forth. I believe if one is passionate about the story, others will see and believe in that passion too like our funders and Julio did :)
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Prior to finalizing everything in post-production, I shared the pilot episodes with some close friends and colleagues. I usually like to do this, so I can see what is working and not working and, of course, what is best for the project. I also feel like many of us creators and filmmakers get so emotionally burned out in post-production. So, it is key to turn to those you trust for their honest feedback.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Oh, it definitely has! I am human, and like everyone else, I battle with my self-doubts and insecurities about something being 'dumb' and so forth. I think feedback shuts down those self-doubts for once and all.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope We Are Moving Stories helps bring Young Dario to life, where an audience can follow us on social media and stay up-to-date on forthcoming screeners. In the meantime, an audience can also view our trailer and some behind-the-scenes videos and images IF this project strikes their interest.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
It would be a dream to have a sales agency/buyers or a distributor come on board. That is the ideal goal of potentially getting to screen "Young Dario" at something like a film festival. I work off my gut instinct and so far, it continues to tell me to spread the word on this project. I have no doubt this series will screen within the next few months.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I truly HOPE that an audience can fall in love with DARIO and the various situations he experiences. Like all the characters I write, DARIO is someone I feel like a Mother-Hen to. I want to see DARIO succeed all of his dreams and if others desire that to, then that is a bigger dream itself.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
I certainly think this project can spark a debate on Hispanic / Latino storytelling, where often we see too many stereotypes of the Latino and Latina characters. Over time, I think we continue to see those walls get torn down where Hispanic characters are not seen as the stereotyped 'villain' or 'lower-class worker'. I hope viewers can see that the Hispanic characters are no different than other cultures.
Would you like to add anything else?
Be sure to give our Facebook page a like and Instagram page a follow. Stay tuned for future updates!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Like all artists, the "Young Dario" team is working and preparing for other projects. Most of us also work a nine-to-five job, so there is always micro-managing and finding ways to balance everything in a healthy matter.
Interview: July 2022
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
Young Dario
Length:
48:21
Writer
NATALIE RODRIGUEZ is an award-winning director, screenwriter, and author in Los Angeles, CA. Her films have been screened, both, in the USA and internationally. In 2017, she founded her production company, Extraordinary Pictures, which has produced multiple films and books, including features, shorts, and sizzles. Some of her articles and blogs have been featured on HuffPost Blog, Thrive Global, The Mighty, and more. For upcoming and previous projects, be sure to visit her website https://linktr.ee/extraordpictures
KEVIN MICHAELS is a New-York native award-winning documentary filmmaker. He got his start in the entertainment industry as a graphic designer at Troma Entertainment, founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. In his downtime, he has served as a post-production coordinator for various television shows, including Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and more. He splits his time between New York and California.
Director
NATALIE RODRIGUEZ is an award-winning Hispanic director, screenwriter, and author in Los Angeles, CA. Her films have been screened, both, in the USA and internationally. In 2017, she founded her production company, Extraordinary Pictures, which has produced multiple films and books, including features, shorts, and sizzles. Some of her articles and blogs have been featured on HuffPost Blog, Thrive Global, The Mighty, and more. For upcoming and previous projects, be sure to visit her website https://linktr.ee/extraordpictures
Producer
EMESGE, Joana Gomez, Julio Macias, Larry Minion, and Natalie Rodriguez
NATALIE RODRIGUEZ is an award-winning Hispanic director, screenwriter, and author in Los Angeles, CA. Her films have been screened, both, in the USA and internationally. In 2017, she founded her production company, Extraordinary Pictures, which has produced multiple films and books, including features, shorts, and sizzles. Some of her articles and blogs have been featured on HuffPost Blog, Thrive Global, The Mighty, and more. For upcoming and previous projects, be sure to visit her website https://linktr.ee/extraordpictures
JULIO MACIAS is a multi-talented actor and singer. He is best known for his award-nominee acting role as "Oscar "Spooky" Diaz" on Netflix's "On My Block". Most recently, he co-starred in "Selena the TV Show". In his downtime, he spends time writing and recording music and spending time with his loved ones.
EMESGE was born on September 23, 1984, in Melbourne Australia as Ngoc Tuan (Dave) Hoang. He is a comedic singer/songwriter and producer and is known for songs such as Chubby Love, Butter Chicken, and Asian Eyes. Formerly known as "Dave?", EMESGE continues to explore the realms of comedy as he gradually spreads his music across the globe.
LARRY MINION is an award-winning playwright and filmmaker. Over the years, many of his plays have been presented on the New York theater circuit. Later, he started working Off and Off-Off-Broadway as a stage manager and prop master. Larry also took an interest in working with organizations that were refurbishing the New York theatres. He is also a practitioner of Chinese Medicine and acupuncture.
JOANA GOMEZ is a Hispanic, Los Angeles-based filmmaker who has worked in, both, low-budget and high-budget productions. Most recently, she interned on Disney's "Cheaper By the Dozen" remake, "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers", and the anticipated "Avatar: The Way of Water".
Key cast:
Julio Macas
Looking for:
distributors, sales agents, journalists, buyers, film festival directors
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/youngdarioshow/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/youngdarioshow/