5 Questions with Alessandra Lacorazza
1) What was the impetus of your short?
I had the initial idea for Mami after I went to visit my mother and felt claustrophobic in the small communal sauna in her development. I think that unconsciously it brought up a whole lot of past memories that I hadn’t dealt with. My mother fell into a deep depression a few years after we arrived in the US from Colombia. After my father went back to Colombia, she basically sacrificed herself so that my sister and I could remain in this country. But as an angsty teenager I didn’t appreciate that in the moment, what I felt was a lot of anger.
I then talked to a lot of people that had been caregivers in one way or another to their parents as children. The thing I kept hearing was a lot of love towards their parents but a lot of anger at the situation.
I think it’s particularly interesting in the latinx community where mental health is still so stigmatized and access to healthcare is limited and yet culturally there is the assumption that you will put yourself aside for your family. Yet as a teen or young adult all you want to do is be carefree, self-centered and anything but responsible.
2) What was the process of developing the aesthetics and visual language of your film?
I worked very closely with my DP, Sean Hanley, to develop the visual style. We’d watch films together, talk about the shots and the tone we wanted to convey. It was a very collaborative process. We wanted the camera to reflect where Carolina was mentally, restrained and stationary on the onset and growing more and more chaotic as she made her decision. We chose muted colors to reflect the depression they were both under.
I had the idea for the last shot early on. I wanted it to be ambiguous but feel other wordly and magical. I wanted it to in some ways feel like a release for them both.
3) What was your approach in assembling the crew for this short and how did you tackle the challenges of having a successful shoot as a team?
I got so lucky with my crew, everyone was so wonderful! I think the fact that it was primarily women and POC really helped with the collaborative vibes.
Since it was a very low budget film, I had to assemble it organically through the connections I already had. For example, I met a lot of my crew both for production and post, through the collective Meerkat Media the collective where I work. My producer, Justine LaViolette, is a close friend and collaborator. Brenna Durby who did make up, I met at a lesbian wedding in Mexico. Everyone else I found through recommendations.
But of course even with the best crew things go wrong on set. Our sound mixer Vera Quispe broke her arm between our two shoots and we had 3 days to replace her before our big upstate shoot. Then my producer got very ill and my wife Erica Braudy, who does not work in film, had to take over. Thankfully she was an organizer in her past life and was effective at wrangling everyone. She also made us really delicious meals that kept everyone happy.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently (new or old, short or feature) that you really loved and why?
I’ve seen a lot of really wonderful films recently but I think one that I keep thinking about is Honey Boy. It’s such a beautiful and raw film that resonated with me on many levels.
As someone who is also writing about my relationship with my father, I found the process really fascinating. For a writer to embody the subject they’re intimately writing about, that’s powerful and a very bold choice by the director.
5) What are you working on now?
There are two main projects I’m focused on right now. One is a feature script in development based on the summers my sister and I spent with my father before he died. It’s a family story, a queer coming-of-age story, but also a buddy story between two sisters. I’m excited to explore latinx identity through the lens of fatherhood, addiction, queerness and trauma.
The second is a short film about two queer sisters who have to move a sailboat to another marina. It’s an absurd dramedy that explores sibling dynamics in the midst of broken relationships. We are hoping to go into production this summer with an all queer and woman cast and crew.
http://alessandra-lacorazza.com/
IG: @uit14
Twitter: @xalamala