Why Spanish?

While shooting the teaser my actress Marcela (who plays the part of the kidnapped Inez), asked me why I wanted to make a Spanish language film? My response should have been immediate. I could have mentioned about wanting to talk about immigration, and the troubles that are going on in Mexico. Or that Hispanics are a vast market that this story could appeal to. But none of those were the real reason I wanted to do a film in Spanish, or a foreign language. So it made me begin to think. Why indeed do a Spanish language film?

Being a biracial kid, my mother always made a point of teaching me about the various cultures that I was descended from. I often visited my Latvian grandmother, spent time with my African American relatives, and learned about my Native American heritage as well (apparently I'm Blackfoot Indian. And yes, that's a real Native American tribe). So my interest in foreign cultures began at a young age.

I was taught a few Latvian words, but my father never bothered with anything more than that. I wanted to try learning a foreign language, and there was a Spanish language class after class hours at my elementary school. I went once, and was instantly hooked. I loved finding out what other people called English words in their native language, and how sentences were strung together. I left my elementary school, but continued to learn Spanish until the 6th grade. I wish I had kept up my studies. It certainly would be helpful now that I'm making this film.

But why a film in Spanish? I want to present this story as authentic as possible. There are many films featuring character from other countries, but very few present them authentically. Usually it's just an outline based on generalizations. The first step in creating a real character, in my mind, is having him speak the language he would naturally use.