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What compelled you to make this piece? How does this work address issues that are important to you or close to your heart?
MAMA . . . I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU is an intimate dialogue between my mother and myself as we confront each other's feelings about homosexuality and my own coming out. Living in the U.S. had allowed me to be open about my
homosexuality. But as soon as I would return to visit my family in Venezuela,
I would go back into hiding.
The death of my father, and that of a very good friend who died of AIDS, were
pivotal to my making this video essay. It was through these losses that I
finally understood that I could not wait any longer to be open with my family
about who I really was and overcome the fear of losing their love and the
feeling of having failed them.
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From MAMA . . . I HAVE SOMETHING
TO TELL YOU. |
How does living in the New York metropolitan area affect your work?
New York is my home. I can not imagine living anywhere else. Moving around
the city, be it over or underground, inspires me creatively. Looking at people,
guessing their stories, problems, fears, love lives, etc. provides me with
poetic visions and dialogues that eventually become part of my work. This
unique sensorial universe, together with the active presence of other artists
from around the world, fills me with tremendous energy.
In including your work in REEL NEW YORK, do you think your piece in any way pushes the medium of television, or the viewing audiences' expectations of that medium?
My video essay is a very personal work which I believe portrays a sense of
comfort and honesty rarely seen in the mass media. I hope that this intimacy
in treating the subject matter may provide for reflection and understanding.
It has definitely allowed my mother and myself to express each other's
perspectives and ideas about who we are and the love we have for each other.
What about access to the tools of production and post-production?
The new technological improvements in production and post-production are
definitely advantageous to the film and video creators. Whether we work in
film, video or both, as I do, the new video technology can be of excellent
quality and allows for flexibility, economy, and most importantly intimacy
between the artist and his subject.
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From MAMA . . . I HAVE SOMETHING
TO TELL YOU. |
Why did you become a film/video artist/maker?
It was really by chance. After having graduated in Advertising in Caracas, I
moved to San Francisco to study English, and ended up applying for a MFA in
film at the San Francisco Art Institute. Since those days, more than 15 years
ago, I have produced and directed documentaries, narrative, television, and
experimental work.
Do you feel the New York independent film/video community has changed in recent years? Do you find support living and working in such a large community of artists?
I think there is a standarization in the film and video industry that is a
result of the inability of our government to fund and support independent
projects by innovative artists. It is a very sad situation to see creatively
successful artists living in New York giving up their crafts because of lack
of funds. Given my international experience and connections, I try to expand
my horizons to Europe and South America to try and create co-production or
partnerships of any kind that allow me to continue doing my work.
Do you have any interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the making of this particular work?
The first showing of MAMA . . . I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU took place in Italy at the Torino Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. I presented the work and after the screening, I stood in front of a full house to answer questions. In those days my mother was visiting her hometown in Sicily and I was supposed to meet her and all my family the next day. As I was about to speak about my work I realized that my mother's family did not know about my being gay. There was a moment of panic. I imagined my Italian family reading the newspapers, and
finding an article, with a photo of myself, talking about my being a
homosexual. It was a scary and funny moment. It showed me that being out is
a constant ongoing process and that there are still some vestiges of fear
inside me.
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