Are you fan of short films? It's amazing to me how much story can be told in such a short amount of time. Disney started a program recently called Launchpad. They chose six filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds to tell their stories through film. The theme for this season was "Discover". I got a chance to attend a press conference with the filmmakers and take a look at all six films. While they were all very compelling in their own ways, I want to specifically focus on two of them.
The Last of the Chupacabras from filmmaker Jessica Mendez Siqueiros got my attention right away from the title. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but I was taken in by this charming tale and unique character designs. Here's the official synopsis for the short: "In a world where culture has nearly ceased to exist, one lone Mexican-American struggling to carry on her traditions unknowingly summons a dark and ancient creature to protect her."
One thing that really struck me about this film was the idea of being fearful of someone else's culture. There is shown in a couple of different ways, and almost literally put on display. I also liked that it was a culture clash that we don't often to see on screen. Siqueiros talked about that perspective during the press conference.
"The way that we look at culture in this country can also be with such a perspective of fear, a perspective of losing our own culture for fear of celebrating somebody else's," She said. "The best way for me to represent that was through a creature that was also very fearsome. I looked to the chupacabra and paired that in this fable together to comment on that and comment on how, through celebrating our own cultures, it's not a challenge to the American mixing pot, that it's actually a celebration of what we can be. I think reflective of that too, the moment that I'll never ever forget is the first time that grandma met our chupacabra."
The design of that chupacabra is something that really stuck with me after watching the film. This is a mythical creature that is generally seen as mean and menacing. So the way that the creature was brought to the film in such a fun and lighthearted way was such a breath of fresh air for me. Not to mention, it felt like quite the high end design for a short film.
"The Chupacabra actually has very minimalistic effects on him at all. It's mostly just removing rocks. He's a puppet that is operated from the top and what was really big for me in finding collaborators, obviously, you want to find puppet makers who are incredible. We worked for the company called Puppet Heap based in New York and their team is just absolutely incredible," Jessica Mendez Siquerios said. "They're mimicked to look like wood, but I can't tell you what actual fabric they're made out of, because it's something that they could get as close looking like wood without actually damaging the bodies of our puppeteers, who would have to be moving those very heavy puppets all of the time. We had actual functioning mechanisms for the eyes, the mouth, the tail is manufactured to look like those wooden snakes. He's a little bit of a lot of different elements that are very akin to like anything very more indigenous kind of styles of puppet making both to Mexico into the Southwest, in general."
This really is a story of discovery, and one that I think will make you smile at the end. There is even a bit of a surprise that I did not expect, and I won't spoil here, but it really helped put an exclamation point on the ending.
Next, I want to talk about Growing Fangs from filmmaker Ann Marie Pace. This is the story of, "Val Garcia, a Mexican-American teen who is half human/half vampire, has had to keep her identity a secret from both worlds. But when her human best friend shows up at her monster-infested school, she has to confront her truth, her identity, and herself."
I really loved the use of satire throughout the film. Some of it is what you might expect when it comes to a story about vampires, but there are other moments that were truly unique and laugh out loud funny. There is also something very relatable about Val, especially if you weren't the most popular kid in high school. Sure there are a lot of fun moments, but there are also times where you see Val struggle to figure out who she wants to be and how she wants to live her life. Pace spoke in the press conference about why this story was so personal to her.
"I think in so many ways, my story in and of itself is about being multifaceted in your identity and she's struggling with the half human and half vampire. It's something I grew up with being Mexican-American and bisexual and coming from these different identities and having my foot in either world and trying to figure out what that meant and what my identity was amongst that," she said. "I think something I had to learn later in life was that being a part of multiple identities doesn't make you any less of that identity, but it all compounds and makes you fully who you are. In the story, that's what I wanted, which is discover and within myself as a filmmaker, it's something that I take forward in all of my storytelling of really grasping from all the different experiences and taking them as a part of myself to fully be able to make these stories complete."
Knowing her story made me actually look at the film in a different and more personal light. We get to see multiple aspects of Val's varied culture, and how things are seen from the outside looking in as well. Acceptance is a big part of it, as well.
This was one of those shorts that you're almost sad is just a short. According to Pace, she might not be quite done with this story just yet. Could we see more Growing Fangs?
"Oh, man, I hope there's so much to explore in the world and with her and her journey and just really diving into the magical elements of her high school and what that looks like and I don't know, their driver's ed might be learning to turn into a bat and how that plays out. I would love to keep expanding the story and I love the character so much and all the guests involved. In terms of what's next, I'm just continuing to write and this program really inspired me to really dig into more stories and tell more stories that can connect to more people. I'm going full force from this moment on."
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
The question I had to the group when it was my turn was, why are short films so important and being able to bring awareness to certain social and cultural subjects that feature films, and sometimes even TV series are often unable to focus on in as much detail?
Here's what the filmmakers had to say:
Jessica Mendez Siquerios: "I'm obsessed with the short film format and it's not just because I haven't gotten to do the other one. I think that there's something really incredible, short films is a very difficult medium because you have to tell the whole story, but you literally can't tell the whole story. That's the beautiful balance, is that you get to work schematically. You don't necessarily have to work with answers. You don't have to give everything away about a character. You can just say, this is what I want to prompt the audience to think about and leave it in a really curious point and not have to necessarily give that satisfaction, and their conversation openers in ways that I think are just absolutely wonderful. It's a great format.
Moxie Peng (writer & director of The Little Prince(ss): "I think what Jessica said was really beautiful and I just want to add a little about how creating short films is really a learning curve too, for the filmmakers do deepen their craft. Also, we did so much of character study. Fortunately, and unfortunately, because of COVID, we had a full month of development instead of one. That period of time, I really dive into understanding these Chinese-American kids and understanding the community here because I came from China, I'm not really Chinese American. I think that time gave me so much, really just a grace to explore these characters and to research them and understand them. When I'm coming into making these short films, it's a decision of like, I just need to preserve the most important parts. I worked so much and then now I'm just like choosing the process that it's going to stay on. It's like you do so much work, but you only get 10, 15 minutes. That 10, 15 minutes can be really powerful because of the work you did."
Anne Marie Pace: "I was just going to add to that, but also, just on the fact of an entry point, in the industry, there's still so much work to be done of female directors and filmmakers and diverse perspectives and diverse directors and filmmakers. I think the short form format allows diverse filmmakers that haven't gotten a chance to tell their stories to really express it in a shorter format. I fully believe if you can tell a story in a short format you can tell a story in any format because it's about the connection of characters, it's about the connection to the story. Giving that entry point to all filmmakers not just the six of us, but everyone that's going to come after us is really, really important."
This is an incredible collection of multicultural stories that really has something for everyone. It's a chance to find something fun, something moving, something thought provoking and something maybe a bit painful. I think chances are pretty good that you will be moved by one or more of these stories. You might relate to some, you might even learn something that you didn't know before. Just know that these are stories that are deeply personal to six very talented filmmakers.
Launchpad is now streaming on Disney+. Here are the descriptions for the remaining four films that I have not mentioned yet.
Let’s Be Tigers
Written and Directed by Stefanie Abel Horowitz
Avalon’s not ready to process the loss of her mother, but when she’s put in charge of a 4-year-old for one night, she finds more comfort than she ever could have expected.
The Little Prince(ss)
Written and Directed by Moxie Peng
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
American EID
Written and Directed by Aqsa Altaf
Ameena, a Muslim Pakistani immigrant, wakes up on Eid to find out that she has to go to school. Homesick and heartbroken, she goes on a mission to make Eid a public-school holiday, and in the process, reconnects with her older sister, and embraces her new home, while her new home embraces her.
Dinner is Served
Directed by Hao Zheng, Written by G. Wilson & Hao Zheng
A Chinese student at an elite U.S. boarding school realizes excellence is not enough when he tries out for a leadership position no international student has ever applied for.
Photo Credit: Disney+
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