#1: Can you describe your movie and why somebody should see it?

A film about a Mexican transgender woman and leader of the Santa Muerte (Saint Death) cult in Queens, NY, who struggles to fulfill a promise she made ten year ago.

#2: What do you want the Borrego Springs Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn’t obvious from its title?

It's a portrait of faith as resistance, from the point of view of a latino community who finds acceptance in the figure of death.

#3: What is your movie making background?  Tell us about yourself.

I am a Mexican-Brazilian filmmaker based between Los Angeles, USA and São Paulo, Brazil. I produced feature films like "Young and Miserable" and directed the documentaries Ferroada (Bite), Madrigal for a Living Poet and La Flaca (The Bony Lady). All of them has an experimental approach through a hybrid format to portray complex real characters and their journeys and struggles. I am currently producing Thiago's, co-director of La Flaca, first feature documentary "Esu and the Universe" and I continue my research on a documentary about the regional Mexican traditions about the death.

#4: What was the biggest lesson learned in getting your film made?

When trying to define what type of film "La Flaca" is, we had a difficulty to put a label on it. So our lesson was to fully understand our purpose as storytellers. There is only one way of doing cinema, doesn't matter if it's a documentary or fiction, it's about being able to tell a story to an audience.  Every film is the filmmaker's interpretation of reality; this is ours.

#5: What does the future hold for your film and you?

We believe in this film as a collaborative process, having the opportunity of portraying a big community and having their open arms to enter their universe. The film has the intention of telling a story untold and bringing to discussion these invisible and marginalised characters and breaking tabus. We hope the film will continue its own path and be part of everyone who participated. 

@chica_barbosa

@thiagozanato

@laflacamovie