5 Questions with Christian Santiago
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
I first started screenwriting for fun in high school; after my first screenplay got into an independent film festival I knew filmmaking was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Throughout college I made little shorts with my friends just to learn how to direct and get comfortable behind the camera.
2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?
Coming from a small, white suburban town in the Bay Area, CA I never felt close to my heritage (Puerto Rican and Salvadorian.) When I moved to New York City for school I felt at home and wanted to learn more about my culture. Simultaneously I was inspired by a music video by rapper Princess Nokia, the visuals being these hip teenaged girls playing with magic in a forest and showing off Santeria and brujeria imagery. It was these two influences that made me want to dig deeper, do research and try to make it film about it. One because it’s a very interesting topic and secondly to discover more about my own heritage and culture.
Throughout my research I came to realize that Santeria - the Puerto Rican religion of witchcraft - wasn’t as “spooky” or “sacrilegious” as one would lead to believe. In actuality the reason why it’s such a secret is because when Puerto Rican ancestors were taken from the Yoruba during the African Slave Trade they didn’t want Westerners to learn of their practices. So I made a conscious decision to not show anything that was directly Santeria based - my short has imagery relating to brujeria and witchcraft from other cultures (specifically Wiccan) but I never overtly show Santeria practices. Things can be inferred, however, as there are clues to an overarching narrative in the background sprinkled throughout the short.
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?!
Making this short was the biggest challenge! Every pitfall and hurdle you could imagine happened - my lead actress had to drop out two weeks into production due to timing conflicts, my producer had to drop out due to finding a second job, my editor had to drop out, my second editor had to drop out, locations I had secured backed out last minute. Even sound-mixing was a struggle! I originally was going to go into the sound studio for one all day session and be done, but because of COVID-19 I was forced to move back home to California and had to do the sound mix over multiple emails! It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but due to all of this I am so proud of the final product!
I would say the easiest part was the score. My friend Max Hunt did it and he really knocked it out of the park. I went to his home studio in Bellingham, Washington for a week where we discussed ideas and played around with different aesthetics. Once I left he finished up in two weeks! It was a quick turn around time and Max really made the score of my dreams, I couldn’t be happier about it.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
Hmm, that’s tough. I would say Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me really spoke to me on an emotional level. I love a good realistic look at teenage struggles (KIDS by Larry Clarke is another all time favorite) and what I loved the most about FWWM was how it really recontextualized the original series with Leland’s character. Instead of BOB being this parasite that leached onto victims, the line between Leland and BOB was blurred entirely, and I really loved the depiction of Laura. In just two hours you really see the most fleshed out character in the entire Twin Peaks canon come to life.
Climax by Gaspar Noe has also become a recent favorite, but more because of the behind the scenes of it. Climax proves there isn’t a blueprint on how to make a film. If you have an idea, and the will to tell it, your vision will come out. And boy what a vision Climax is.
5) What’s next for you?
I’m currently trying to find funding for my next short film, EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair). I wrote a small, 5 page spec script of this short three years ago and I haven't stopped thinking about the two protagonists since. Since coming home I’ve touched up the story and script and really want to make this my next project, but I need some proper funding in order to tell it right so we’ll see!
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IG: @thecateyedboy