Pop-Culturalist.com

When filmmaker Carlos Ibarra set out to create Con Dios, he hoped the project would shine light on a marginalized community, start conversations on a taboo topic, and highlight the importance of representation. Not only did he accomplish all three, the film caught the attention of Sony, which has now included it in its Voces Nuevas program. We spoke with Carlos about that milestone, how his personal experiences shaped the narrative, and why the film is more timely than ever.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Carlos: Ever since I was young, I’ve always been a storyteller. I’m very much energized by the people around me. I loved reading when I was a little kid. Reading led me to being a fanatic of film and TV. I loved going to the movies. As I kept growing and I went to high school, I kept trying to find ways to be involved in those fields, even though there weren’t a lot of people like me in them. It was a battle—even turning to my parents to ask them where I could go take theater/acting classes. They had no clue. I was only twelve or thirteen and I was looking for those resources. I’ve always loved being transported to these different worlds and the magic of storytelling. That’s how I got involved in filmmaking.

PC: In addition to acting, you’re also a director, producer, and writer. How has your work behind the scenes made you a stronger actor and vice versa?
Carlos: Being behind the scenes allowed me to be less critical and tough on myself when I wouldn’t get parts because I really started to see how the engine works behind the scenes. Getting to see the work that it takes them to get someone cast into a part was really, really educational. It’s allowed me to enjoy the process of acting and going on auditions a lot more than the pressure that I used to put on myself for it. When I wouldn’t get a part, I would think it’s because I wasn’t good enough. But there are a hundred different factors as to why you didn’t get the part that talent has nothing to do with it.

As a writer, producer, and director, it’s really allowed me to understand the philosophy and how to work with actors and see what attracts them to projects. When I’m reading scripts, I’m always thinking, “What are the intentions behind the characters? What’s their driving vehicle?” Like all these things that you learn as an actor to be able to tap into your character and to be able to understand the purpose that your character serves in there. Being able to take those experiences and lessons into my writing, directing, and producing allows me to connect with stories better and also with the entire talent pool that I’m working with.

Con Dios

PC: Your new short film was recently selected for Sony’s Voces Nuevas program. Tell us about Con Dios and the inspiration behind the film.
Carlos: The Latinx community, primarily teens, needs to see themselves reflected on TV and stories that showcase what their real life is like. Undocumented students are always profiled as just being undocumented. That’s the main thing that this encompasses.

I wanted to present a story that showed more than that, especially during a time when Trump is making terrible statements about immigrants, especially Mexicans. I wanted to bring to the forefront how the system is hurting the youth, especially the youth who fall in this area. I wanted to highlight that. That brought me into some initial research. I ended up finding a statistic from multiple studies that shows among Latino men, primarily between the age of fifteen and thirty-five, suicide was at a staggering rate of about thirty-five percent.

That’s a very high rate, right? That’s also a rate that isn’t covered very often. We never see that in the media. We never see the stories around youth who are dying due to suicide. That led me back to my own family and other individuals and how I feel like mental health, especially depression, is still a taboo topic among the Latinx community. That was something that I really wanted to bring to the forefront too. There’s a lot of signs that we miss as a community, even as individuals.

Personally, I’ve battled different bouts of depression. You may look happy on the surface, but deep inside something else might be going on. I wanted to be able to tell that story, bring it to light, and showcase both that it’s an issue that affects an entire family and that we have to be cautious about the signs that we may be missing. As a community, we have to be able to come together better and learn how to communicate and express what’s going on inside of us a little more.

One of the main reasons that I wanted to do this film and I think what interested Sony was that we wanted audiences to understand that this is an issue that’s affecting a community and that we’re not providing the resources. As a system and as a country, we’re also perpetuating those issues onto these populations, because we’re not being understanding. We’re neglecting to look at people as human beings and looking at them like labels and statues. That’s something that I really wanted to do with this film was open up these conversations.

PC: With this being such an incredibly timely and relevant story and one that you’ve got a deep connection with, did that bring a different weight/pressure with this project?
Carlos: Yes and no. As an artist, one of the challenges that you face is how much of yourself do you want to unveil and give. There were definitely things that I was pulling from my life, like the struggles of going to college. I managed to get through NYU, but it was begging people for money. It was asking for loans and such because I wasn’t eligible for financial aid. It was this constant worry of how I was going to pay for school. That made me feel isolated from everyone else.

Those were things that I wanted to bring forward to the project, but also one of the things that I’ve learned is that I have to be willing to expose those parts of me. There are other individuals who are feeling the same way and feel alone. If they can see themselves on screen, they will know there are other people like them. It slowly became more cathartic to be able to let those parts of me come out and share them with the world.

PC: This project also finds you teaming up with Audrey Esparza. How did that partnership form?
Carlos: We went to college together. We’ve been friends for quite some time. Audrey actually worked with me on one of my first original shows that I did while I was at NYU. I always remember that Audrey was like, “Carlos, are you going to make me a star?” I was like, “If I can I will, but you have that star quality. You don’t need my help.”

We kept in touch over the years, and she herself is very adamant about helping to raise the profile of Latinx stories that are being pulled and especially presenting a new version of what a Latino is versus what we’ve been seeing over and over.

We were talking and I shared a bit of the story. She told me to send it to her. The minute that I sent it to her, she was like, “I want to get on this.” That’s how she got involved. She’s been a huge support throughout the entire process as a producer. She was on set running, grabbing coffee for people, seeing every single edit, giving her notes. She’s been one of the best producers you can have on a team.

To keep up with Carlos, follow him on Instagram.