Interview: Gerardo Maravilla & Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez on their short film Calabaza
Writer Gerardo “Gerry” Maravilla and director Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez recently released their short film Calabaza. The story follows a young Chicano rocker as a last-minute change to a pumpkin carving date sends him into a panic and unexpectedly forces him to confront his broken relationship with his alcoholic immigrant father. The synopsis of Calabaza: On the Friday before Halloween, Martin, a South LA Mexican-American rocker dude, feels like celebrating. He’s getting ready to finally move out and has plans to carve pumpkins with his new love, Lynn, a Filipina rocker girl. At the last minute, Lynn asks to change their date to his place, sending Martin into a panic. Martin is embarrassed to be living at home with his depressed alcoholic dad, Lorenzo, and the evidence of their deteriorating relationship is all around him. Martin scrambles to hide the truth about himself and Lorenzo, but when Lynn arrives, things get out of control and Martin realizes he can’t keep it all a secret anymore. He’s forced to confront his dad and his own insecurities, learning that honest, vulnerable conversations are the only way forward.
"CALABAZA was an important film to make because it is a grounded and authentic Los Angeles Latine story. I was drawn to the rawness of Gerardo's script and could relate to it on multiple levels. From the strayed relationship between an immigrant parent and a first-generation child to the way alcoholism affects our community, to the story's connection to the Los Angeles punk scene, this film is one we need on-screen to let people everywhere know that they are not alone in their personal struggles. Above all, our aim is to provide hope that things can change for the better in their own lives and their families too. This short is extra special to me because we were able to bring together so many LA Latines to make this story come to life. I'm so proud to be a part of such a genuine and thoughtful film." - Director Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez.
Stephanie and Gerry met while both being involved with Film Independent’s Project Involve for 2021, with Stephanie as a directing fellow and Gerry as a writing fellow. Stephanie really connected with the script for Calabaza and ended up helping Gerry develop the script and bringing it to the screen. Says Gerry about the inspiration for him behind Calabaza, “I think what finally got the story there for me was that sense of wanting to communicate a moment in your life when you start to see your parents as more fully-fleshed and complicated human beings and recognizing the humanities, the vulnerabilities, the flaws in the people that raised you and maybe you can take that relationship to a new place or level with a greater sense of emotional understanding.”
You can connect with the film’s IG and watch the film’s trailer HERE.
ABOUT GERARDO MARAVILLA:
Gerardo 'Gerry' Maravilla is a Mexican-American writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Born and raised in the northern San Fernando Valley, he escaped his suburban, Catholic upbringing through punk rock and horror movies. He considers himself the bicultural love child of Tim Burton and Guillermo Del Toro. As a storyteller, he's drawn to the darkness that exists in our everyday life that we choose to ignore. Gerardo writes character-focused drama and horror scripts about underdogs confronting the dark truths in our powerful institutions, as well as the darkness in their most intimate relationships. THE HALLOWEEN CLUB, his horror feature, placed in multiple screenwriting contests including the top 10 horror entries in the Emerging Screenwriters Genre Competition, and his surrealist drama, "Enseñame Como Morir (Show Me How To Die)", landed in the top 25 of the Road map Shorts Competition. He's been a writing fellow in Film Independent's Project Involve and the Stowe Story Labs, as well as a member of the New York Film Festival's Artist Academy.
You can connect with Gerry Maravilla via: WEBSITE | TWITTER | @gerrymaravilla on IG.
ABOUT STEPHANIE OSUNA-HERNANDEZ:
Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez is a writer/director born and raised in Inglewood, CA. She started out in digital, working for We Are Mitú, where she directed viral videos for a Latine audience. She then became the assistant to Marvin Lemus and Linda Y. Chavez for season one of Gentefied and returned as their showrunners’ assistant for season two. She is currently a writer for Netflix's Latine vertical Con Todo. Soon she will be America Ferrera's directors assistant for the Netflix feature I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. She wrote and directed her first short, NoAnswer, in 2019, which went viral on Tik Tok. Her second short film, Dreamer, was selected for Outfest 2021. Most recently, she was a directing Fellow for Film Independent’s Project Involve in 2021, where she directed her latest short, Calabaza. You can connect with Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez via: WEBSITE | @its_stephoh on IG.
You were both born and raised in Los Angeles county and so what can you tell me about your background and growing up in LA? What drew you to writing, directing, and filmmaking when you grew up? Did you always have that love as a child?
Gerry- I would say that I always loved storytelling. I would write short stories or make comic books. Even when playing with my action figures I wanted to make sure there was a storyline and some point to what was happening (laughs)! I didn't really consider anything in filmmaking until I actually got to college. I went to Occidental College where I studied...I initially went as a politics major but switched to film, because it just felt right. It felt like the ultimate connection to the stuff that I had been doing and the storytelling I had always been drawn to. Even though growing up in LA people assume the film industry is everywhere, and I guess now that I've worked in it more than it is kind of everywhere, when I was really little, the part of Los Angeles county that I grew up in, it might as well have been a different state or city. Things didn't really connect for me and the possibility of it really being real didn't happen until much later in life. But anytime I have written or thought of a story, it always feels like a movie is the ultimate representation or form of that story.
Stephanie- Yeah. Me too. I have a very similar connection to film making too. I did grow up in LA county, but it felt very far away. Hollywood was like a very far away land for me, even though we were so close. I didn't even think I could be a part of it like that. Like Gerry, it wasn't until I went to college that I ended up taking a Chicano studies film class where I got to see myself both in front of and behind the screen. It was like "Oh wait. I can do this too." After that, I ended up switching up all of my classes so that I could double major in film studies, like not even film production yet. Film production didn't happen until I was hired by a Latino visual media company called We Are Mitu. But before that, when I was growing up, I felt like the only way I could be a part of Hollywood was by being an actress. I didn't realize that I could also be the director, and I feel like that's also because there's a lack of women directors and Latina directors, and not understanding the idea really well of what a director was until I actually got to learn about film making. Then I was like "Oh wait. This is the role that really gravitates towards me." Like Gerry said too, I feel like I've always had a sense of...I've been a director in other forms, but never for film. It just feels so natural to be a director now. I understand now that Hollywood is everywhere in LA, but when you're not really a part of it or don't have family or friends in the industry, it just feels like an untouchable place.
What can you tell me about your experiences in the Latine community, specifically in LA, and how those experiences have shaped your approach to storytelling, writing, directing, and filmmaking in general? Was there always a story you wanted to tell about your community from a young age?
Stephanie- I guess for me, it was about feeling seen. I feel like that's why a lot of filmmakers, at least I think a lot of BIPOC filmmakers, do kind of have the approach of wanting to feel seen and have others feel seen. I feel like I, growing up, did not see myself on screen that much. I think there was, like, Brothers Garcia and things here and there. If there was one brown person, you were like "Oh my god! Is she Latina?". So you were kind of trying to see yourself on screen and I feel like I didn't do that. I wasn't able to see myself. I feel like there's a lot of negative talk about my own culture or there was self-hate a little bit, because i kind of felt like "Oh. I don't belong in this world" a bit. It's kind of sad, but it's true. I don't want other folks to ever feel like that, so my goal is to make a lot of coming-of-age stories, so that way little girls like me never feel like they are not a part of this world, like they are not the majority. There is a lot of Latinos/Latines everywhere, so let's actually show that on-screen too. I feel like we are so very behind on that representation. I just want others to not feel like they are alone because they definitely aren't. I focus on that a lot, and Calabaza is a big part of that too, our short film. It has a lot of family dynamics or a lot of things that surround the Latine community very much is what I want to tell.
Gerry- Yeah. I would say similarly to Steph, as well, that I felt a lot of not seeing myself or my family represented and always looking for that or feeling a connection to what I could in some ways. When I was little, my 2 uncles lived with us, from Mexico, and I remember kind of liking watching reruns of Full House because they had 2 uncles that lived with them. That felt close, in some way, to what my experience was, even though everything else about it was so different. It was just looking for those little pieces and fragments and just hearing the stories my family would tell me of being able to go to Mexico and spend time with family and the communities that they grew up in. We all loved movies and TV shows and summer movies were such a big part of my experience. It was very rare and seldom that you would ever see someone who was Latine/Latino in the story or being on big adventures or just feeling like a closer representation to my friends and my experience. A lot of what I try to write and communicate is to try to tell stories that feel not stereotypical, but are still culturally specific to expand that perspective of what people can see, as far as Latino/Latina in LA. Especially with Calabaza too, it was really important. I grew up loving punk music and horror movies, so that was something I really wanted to put into the main character, as well. I don't feel like I've seen that a lot, even though so many Latinos/Latinas go to see horror movies, or if you go to any swap meet and things like that in certain communities there's always a vendor selling rocker shirts, like Misfits or Black Flag.
You both recently worked on the short film Calabaza. How did you two connect and come to work together on the film?
Stephanie- Yeah. So, for Calabaza, it was a part of Film Independent's Project Involve for the year 2021, and we were a part of that program. That's kind of how we came together, but it all kind of felt meant to be either way. I was a directing fellow and Gerry was a writing fellow and writing fellows typically start developing 2 scripts at a time. I realized that Gerry had a really precious script with Calabaza. He had 2, and I feel like a lot of people were really into his other one, which I was too. But there was something full of heart and very related to the Latine community that I really loved about Calabaza, that felt so specific, that I really wanted that to be the one he moved forward with. And I felt it in Gerry, or I think he said something, where he was like "This one is really special to me." I felt like not a lot of people were really understanding the nuances or details of the script. So, I approached him, even before I was attached at all, and I was like "Gerry. I'll help you develop it and we'll make it possible and this will be a thing." And then Calabaza ended up being the script that got chosen for Gerry and I ended up pitching on it. Everyone had to pitch on 2 short films. I told all of the other directors, "Ok. I'll pitch on this other one, but just know that Calabaza's mine. I really want to do this one." I got chosen and Gerry, you know, was the writer, and I feel like our whole team just naturally came. There was also a cinematographer fellow who really wanted to do this one too, because he felt represented and seen, and our producer also felt the same. It felt like, after I was attached, all of the team just came together. So that's kind of how it came to be and we basically got other Latine's from LA to work on this, so it was really nice to have people who felt like family working on such a special short.
Gerry- What can you tell me about the inspiration behind the story for you and the message you hope the film conveys to people?
I think, as Steph mentioned, that it's a process through development and I was always so grateful for her belief in that story as I was starting to unearth it. I had specific details, like, punk music and the disconnection between an immigrant father and his first-gen son. I think what finally got the story there for me was that sense of wanting to communicate a moment in your life when you start to see your parents as more fully-fleshed and complicated human beings. Because you know, as a little kid, they can be your idols or your heroes because they're your parents and they do everything. At least for me, and I think it's true for a lot of people, that when you become a teenager, it becomes the inverse and your parents can't do anything right and they annoy you and bother you (laughs)! I've noticed this trend that even when you get older like once you're even in your early 20s or beyond that to some degree, you can lock into those adolescent dynamics and relationships again, even though you're older. So it was important to me to communicate how you break out of that, by recognizing the humanities, the vulnerabilities, the flaws in the people that raised you, and maybe you can take that relationship to a new place or level with a greater sense of emotional understanding.
Stephanie- Having said that the story spoke to your heart the moment you read it, how would you describe your directorial approach and dig deep into the father/son relationship in the film to make the story come to life?
Yeah. I feel like it was really easy to understand Martin and Lorenzo's relationship because I feel like it's a relationship that's very prevalent in the whole Latine community, especially between 2 Latino men. There's a lot of Machismo, which is like...ummm...what's that word in English, Gerry?
Gerry- Toxic masculinity.
Stephanie- Toxic Masculinity, yeah! There's a lot of that in our community, and I feel like there are a lot of men in my life that I saw in these 2 characters. And maybe not necessarily my...like I did see elements of my dad...you know, you could always relate some of your experiences to that. But in general, my father doesn't drink because his dad was an alcoholic. So, there is that kind of like second-generation approach, as to like either you are going to become your dad or you're going to stray away from wanting to be your dad. And I feel like a lot of men in my life, like a lot of my uncles, drink a lot, which is a part of the Latine community sadly, but they drink a lot to not deal with their emotions. I feel like I really saw that a lot with Lorenzo in this script. And with Martin, it's just basically, like how Gerry was saying, I feel like, and I'm not a Latino man in my community, but I feel like even as a Latina/daughter, you kind of feel a disconnect from your immigrant parents. It's like, you understand their struggle, but it's also hard to understand totally what they're going through, especially when they don't open up. So, you're like "I'm just going to feel some type of way since you're not opening up", and it's just moving back and forth between 2 generations. Even if I'm not a Latino male, I feel like I understood a lot of the relationship and nuances between both of them. Basically, I don't want this to continue. I want this cycle to break, so I was really adamant about making sure that we have a happy ending for them. I want to make sure that there is a light note and a happy note at the end, that way, hopefully, it feels like there is a light at the end of the tunnel for this and we can change our habits. I mean, not with one short film can we change machismo/toxic masculinity, but at least we can try and shine some light on it!
So for Calabaza, you guys crowdfunded the film in order to get the film made. Gerry- You have talked about how early on, and not necessarily with this film, you were told there was no money in short films or with "casts that look like yours". What was the process like in raising money in that way for this film and do you feel like it is getting easier, through crowdfunding, to get stories like this told?
Gerry- Yeah. That came from when I used to work at Seed & Spark because I used to work in crowdfunding and that was a short film I did. Back in 2015, I did hear that a lot from people. Like, "Oh. There's no money in short films or with casts that look like yours." As I mentioned before, my friends and I would go to the movies and we looked like the people I wanted to tell stories about, so clearly, there's an audience for this, because we all want to see ourselves represented. Crowdfunding became a way to really connect directly with the community that really wants to see their stories told. That's something I saw happen repeatedly as I worked as the head of crowdfunding at Seed & Spark for a few years, so I did something that I believe in. We were also fortunate to get institutional support from Film Independent, so there was a grant there that we also supplemented with crowdfunding. I think that I've come to this place of understanding that our communities are there and we're starving for these stories. We want to see ourselves represented and it is opening new doors and new pathways, but also, for us to take those extra levels and extra steps, we also need to get institutions to change and to pay attention to underrepresented communities. So I'm so grateful to Film Independent and a diversity program like Project Involve to give Steph and me an opportunity to tell these kinds of stories and have the creative freedom to hone in so culturally specific. Sometimes you can get some weird or wild notes about cultural changes that they want you to make that just come from a lack of understanding or familiarity with that culture. Crowdfunding can kind of help circumvents that too, because then if the community is telling you they want a story they are resonating with, then you have more power to not have to change it away from what it is.
You kind of touched on this a bit already, but what can you tell me about the casting process for the film, as well as working with a team/crew of predominately Los Angeles Latines?
Stephanie- For the casting process, I feel like we had very specific people in our head that we wanted to reach out to. We did have a whole casting process and a casting director, Carla Hool, who does a lot of Latine projects in Hollywood, so we were privileged to work with her. And I feel like we did see some bits of these characters in these people auditioning, but then we go back to the casting director and go "Maybe it's out of reach, but we really want this guy Gustavo Gomez", who's done The Walking Dead and Little America and some other things. But he just kind of fit the look, right? And we just put it out there and he agreed to...we were like "You don't even have to audition if you are doing it" and he said he'd audition. So, he ended up auditioning and we'd had other auditions that were great, and then we see him and he was just our ideal person. He read for us and we were like "Oh my god! He's perfect." He ended up being the guy who ended up being Martin, our lead, so it was nice to know we already had someone in our head and someone who was so willing to do this project. And we're still super grateful for him for doing this project. And also, him understood really well the scene details that we talk about and understood that relationship so well. And then for the father, for Lorenzo, we also auditioned different dads, but some of them felt too intense or aggressive and then some of them felt a little too not intense. We were trying to find a middle ground. I had worked with Manuel Uriza, when I was a show runner's assistant on Gentefied. I just DM'd him on Instagram and was like "Hey Manuel. I know you're probably busy and stuff, but are you interested in maybe being a part of this project?". He also read for us, and we didn't need him to read but he did, and he was perfect. It was just great because we already had someone in our head and those people were so willing to be a part of this project and fit the roles right when they read the lines. It was really great and all felt meant to be. That goes for the crew too. I made sure to hire a lot of Latine crew too...our production designer and our hair & make-up and all of that. And it just felt like we were having a family party for 3 days (laughs). Yes, we worked really hard...our gaffer and DP were working really hard and the rest of us crew were, like, dancing salsa and I don't know, just having a good time. It just felt like we knew each other for so many years, so it was really great to have that on-set experience. I feel like the more sets that we have where we feel at home, the more it's going to feel comfortable and like a breeze to do a project like this. So, it felt great to be represented through the script, but also to be represented through the crew.
What do you enjoy about the short film format, as opposed to a longer feature film?
Gerry- I think there's a challenge in short films that's fun to try to do as a writer. You still have to build the characters in a way that they feel fully 3-dimensional and could exist outside of the short film. But you can only really focus on one moment, and so something about the challenge of a short film makes you have to operate completely concisely, and with like almost a level of precision and focus and that you may have a little bit more liberty in a feature film. And yeah, sometimes in today's world it's difficult to get folks to sit down and watch a longer form sometimes. With a short film, you've got 15 minutes to try to build an immersive story and experience for them to have a singular moment of change. That being said, we both still love feature films, and I know from all of that work of developing the story to the relationship that Steph and I have developed...like, we're also developing the film into a feature, as well. I think we both have an attachment now to these characters!
What has it been like for you both to have Calabaza featured in Several film festivals and what have those experiences been like? What kind of feedback have you received from audiences?
Stephanie- Our first in-person premiere was for LALIFF, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, so it was really nice to be there, being Latines from LA. We did a screening and I think, for me, it was more of the reactions after. I feel like every time someone either screens it virtually or this time in person, it was great to see the feedback on social media in real-time. There are a lot of Latines at this film festival, but I feel like our film is very specific to the punk rocker LA Latino. So, I feel like a lot of the people who did come up to me or post on social media were like "Oh my god. My little LA punk heart feels represented". There was someone who came up to me and we talked for, like, 10 minutes and they were like "I've never felt so seen and represented through the LA punk Latino scene as I did in your short. It felt so accurate." It's just showing that the specificity is so important, because I feel like the people who did grow up through that experience really felt represented. Now we're going to go to the Palm Springs ShortFest and I don't know how many LA punk Latinos are going to be there (laughs), but I feel like people are going to learn about that culture. And if some people who are in this culture are saying we're doing it so great, then I feel like they're going to learn the authentic and real take on our culture for that. I feel like, for me, it's a very Latine story, but there are themes and elements and all of that that I feel like non-Latine people can also relate to. That relationship between a parent and child is very complicated and I think we've all experienced it. You don't have to be Latine to experience it. I'm very excited for Palm Springs ShortFest, too, and to experience it and see their feedback and what they take away from it.
What's next for you both? What other projects do you have coming up?
Gerry- Well, as I mentioned, Steph and I have developed Calabaza as a feature, so I'm currently working on writing the script for that. I also write a lot of horror films, too, clearly from the character’s affection for horror. So, I've been working on some additional horror for feature films, and they all have a Latine element and are about Latine underdogs confronting dark truths in our institutions or their personal relationships, which I think is a theme that carries through in Calabaza. With writers, I've heard someone say when you're a writer you're signing up to always have homework, and that's kind of how I feel. There are always stories I'm working on and developing and I really just want to be able to tell longer, larger stories in the horror and drama space with Latine-led casts and teams.
Stephanie- I'm working on a feature too that I'm writing and directing that's also very Latine. I'm also very excited about the Calabaza feature and that it's going to happen and we're going to do it, so I'm very excited about that. So yeah. I'm going to be working on some other short films. And I'm very happy, because like you mentioned before with opportunity and all that, there are a lot of women of color grants and Latine grants and Latina director grants out there, so I'm very fortunate to be applying for them. I'm very happy that they exist. So, I'm applying for them and seeing what's up and if not, then I'm just going to make my feature! I'm very excited about that!