Pop-Culturalist.com

Sydney Carvill and Eddie Navarro are the stars of the must-see new film, Moon Students.

Lita (Sydney Carvill) is a Latinx immigrant living in a part of East Los Angeles where the expectations are low, people are stereotyped, and divisions run deep. After her boyfriend Antonio (Eddie Navarro) gets into an unseen altercation with their community college history professor, Mr. Ethan Cole, Antonio is suspended, leaving Lita confused over what truly happened.

Cue Coronavirus. Campus is closed. Classes are held remotely. The world is turned upside-down. Friends become dangerously ill. Cole loses faith in himself. Antonio becomes a drunk. And the mystery of what happened between Cole and Antonio starts to haunt Lita.

After a friend’s sudden death, Antonio opens up after a night of heavy drinking. Lita discovers that Cole humiliated Antonio, spurring on the fight. She convinces Cole to help Antonio, after she confronts him over his own misdeeds. The three then face each other one last time. When they do, they are changed forever.

Set during the 2020 pandemic and the George Floyd protests, Moon Students explores the power in speaking painful yet healing truths in the darkest, most challenging times—that is what it means to be a Moon Student.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Sydney and Eddie about Moon Students, finding their voices, their emotional portrayals, and more!

Please Note: This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike. We stand in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, and will not be conducting further interviews until a fair deal is reached.

PC: You’ve both played so many dynamic characters throughout your careers. What was it about Lita and Antonio, and Daniel Holland’s script that attracted you to it?
Sydney: When I read the script, I felt like there were so many similarities between me and Lita. I felt like there were so many of my own experiences that I could draw from and use. This role pushed me to learn more about my culture and my descendants. I didn’t realize how much Hispanic culture I had in my own bloodline. That’s what drew me to it because I didn’t know a lot about my own culture. In the film, Lita is figuring out who she is and what she wants to do in her life. That’s something I felt connected to.

Eddie: Antonio and I had a lot of similarities growing up as a Mexican American kid. I didn’t know my identity at first. I grew up with a culturally diverse group of friends. They were my family, which is similar to Antonio. I identify with a lot of what he’s going through and trying to figure himself and his life out.

PC: Sydney, part of the way that you prepared for this role was connecting with your mom and your mom’s side of the family. What were some of the conversations you had with each of them? Did you channel any of their experiences into your portrayal as Lita?
Sydney: Absolutely. My grandparents were second-generation. I didn’t know too much about how they came to America. My grandpa was from Cuba. My grandma was from Spain. My aunt is really into our family lineage. It was cool to hear what she had found out and the stories that my mom had heard growing up. I definitely used that in my portrayal. I was actually able to use my grandmother’s name, Ortiz, as Lita’s last name. It was very special to get to connect these two worlds.

PC: Eddie, music plays such a huge role in the way that you prepare for different roles. What was on Antonio’s playlist?
Eddie: It was a mixture of things—definitely N.W.A, Ice Cube, a lot of Danzig, a lot of punk, post-punk, ’80s and ’90s punk, and a lot of hip hop like Biggie Smalls. There was also a bit of Mexican music like Mariachi. I had a couple of friends growing up and they loved music from Mexico. Also, I threw in some dubstep techno. Antonio loves music.

PC: Sydney, this industry has made really slow progress in terms of representation. There’s a moment in the film when your character acknowledges how she’s been told her entire life not to speak up. That’s a scene I think will hit home for a lot of people, and you brought so much depth to that moment. What has it meant to you to play a character who is able to create that impact and also be a voice in this much-needed movement forward in terms of representation and inclusive storytelling?
Sydney: I have friends who immigrated from Mexico to America. I talked to them about how they didn’t really have a voice and how they had to fight for that as they integrated themselves into America. It’s not easy. You hit speed bumps. It was really important to bring that aspect of finding our voices into this character and story, especially for Lita as an immigrant and as a woman.

Sometimes as women, we shy away from speaking up, not because we feel like our voice wouldn’t be received well, but because we’ve been told it’s okay to let others talk. It’s not because we don’t think our ideas are valid; it’s because of the social stigma that it’s okay to be quiet. It’s such a powerful moment when you do find your voice, and that’s what I focused on for that scene.

PC: Eddie, there’s so much vulnerability that you needed to tap into for this character as he struggles with addiction. How did you create the space for yourself to tap into that particular scene in the bathroom?
Eddie: I’ve been there, not personally. I’ve had friends growing up who are good people, but they turned to certain things to run away. They got caught up in the darkness. They are good people. It happens to a lot of people.

I actually was in a similar situation with a friend, and I didn’t leave him because I was afraid he would have died. Those experiences don’t leave you, That scene is so impactful because those are his brothers. You never leave anyone behind. You never know what they’re going through.

I don’t like to talk about this much, but I’ll do it here because I love this film. My grandfathers were huge drinkers, and it destroyed everything. My grandmothers were very strong and kept things going. Sydney reminds me so much of my grandmother and my mom and their strength and knowing that enough is enough and something has to change.

PC: Sydney, Daniel wrote and directed this project. Is the experience different when the person who created this universe is also at the helm directing? What was that collaboration like?
Sydney: It was really fun. It was so much fun because we talked about a lot of things. If something didn’t make sense to me, we would talk about it. A lot of the times, he would make me understand where he was coming from and then I’d be like, “You’re absolutely right. I get it.” He knew exactly what he wanted and his intention with each word. Your questions were always answered.

PC: Eddie, you’ve worked on projects of all sizes. What is it about independent filmmaking that excites you as a creative?
Eddie: It’s the collaboration. Everything’s there to have fun and tell the same story. There’s so much experimentation that happens on an independent film. Independent cinema should never die. I’m so happy to be a part of it.

Make sure to follow Sydney (Instagram) and Eddie (Instagram), and learn more about Moon Students here.