1	Film & TV A peek through the lens of up-and-coming director Cary Joji Fukanaga; Deception detection with television’s Monica Raymund. read more...
2	Music Los Fabulosos Cadillacs reunite with a new tour and an updated sound. read more...
3	Books The power of those who control the world’s power—oil, electricity, energy—is dissected in a new thriller, Pipeline by Peter Schechter. read more...
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5	Calendar Noteworthy Hispanic events around the country in May. read more...
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FILM & TV

an Americas Tale

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga gets inside
the long and dangerous immigrant journey to the States.

Riding on the top of a speeding train with Central American immigrants and being attacked by bandits at a train yard in the black of night may sound like something out of the movies, but for writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga, it was all part of the research for his upcoming feature film Sin Nombre. To tell the story of a Honduran immigrant’s attempt to reach her father in the U.S., Joji Fukunaga also interviewed immigrants and bribed imprisoned Mexican gang members with fried chicken. Although the cultures of the Mexican Mara Salvatrucha gang and the immigrants portrayed in the film are authentic, the love story where they intersect is pure Hollywood.
Joji Fukunaga, 31, spoke with Hispanic about his first full-length motion picture, which was produced by Focus Features and Canana Films, the production company created by Y Tu Mamá También stars Gabriel García Bernal and Diego Luna. Sin Nombre already garnered Sundance awards for directing and cinematography ahead of its March release in U.S. theaters.

Hispanic Magazine: How does it feel to win these awards for your first full-length feature film?
Cary Joji Fukunaga: I’m not really sure if it’s registered yet. I’ve just ... tried not to pay too much attention to any kind of accolades this one gets and just keep hoping people go see it.

HM: In a past interview, you called yourself a “gringo.” Tell us a little about yourself?
CJF: I’m from the Bay Area—Oakland, California—and although not being Latin by blood, my family through marriages and divorces is very mixed into the Latin world. I spent a lot of time growing up camping out in Mexico every year because my stepdad, a Mexican, was a surfer and so I spent a lot of time down there as a kid and I would just be home-schooled, hanging out on the beach playing with the local kids.
HM: You really wanted authenticity in this film. How close to real life is this movie?
CJF: I would say its pretty close. I spent a lot of time on both sides. In terms of the gang side, I’ve never been in a gang shoot-out before, but I have seen YouTube videos about it and I have talked to the guys I’ve spent a couple of years interviewing with about the battles they’ve had.

HM: How do you think a U.S. audience will receive the film?
CJF: A U.S. audience, I think, will receive it fine. My biggest concern is how a Latin audience receives it and how they feel they are being represented ... I wanted to be as respectful as possible and as realistic as possible.

HM: What challenges do you see for young filmmakers and what advice would you give them?
CJF: Anything is possible. My step-dad, the Mexican one, would always say, ‘Never say I can’t.’ I think that’s an important mantra for anyone to have that is pursuing a goal.
I decided to go to film school ... You basically need student loans to make these films, and you need the people to work with you for free to have the people to get these first smaller projects off the ground.
There are great films that are made for $20,000—feature films—so it just all depends on what kind of story they’re trying to tell and if they can find a way to tell it with the means they have, then that’s [expletive deleted] awesome.

HM: While researching for the film you were on a train that was attacked by bandits. What was that like?
CJF: It was definitely scary. It was one of those moments where you’re you realize, when they talk about it being dangerous, it really is dangerous. You just don’t know when it’s going to happen or how long it will last. It was just one of those situations where I thought, ‘I’m an idiot. I can’t believe I’m here.’ At the same time, I don’t want to glorify that experience too much because real immigrants go through that every day and they’ve just got to deal with it, whereas I had the opportunity afterwards to still walk away.

HM: What’s next, and how dangerous will the research be for you?
CJF: I might be looking for something completely different. ... Technically this is my thesis film, so now I’ve made as many films as the people who graduate from the NYU program.

HM: When do you graduate?
CJF: I don’t know (laughing) ... When I decide I want to pay the matriculation fee again.

MONICA RAYMUND

Every face tells a story. That’s the premise behind the FOX series, Lie to Me, which follows a group of “deception detection” experts as they solve cases and determine if suspects are lying based on their facial and body language.
Monica Raymund, a 22-year old, half-Dominican actress fresh out of Juilliard is one of the show’s leads, starring opposite veteran actor, Tim Roth (The Incredible Hulk).
Hispanic Magazine: What was your first exposure to acting?
Monica Raymund: The first production I can remember was The Little Mermaid. I was 8 years old, and played Sebastian. It was my first theatrical experience. The 200th episode of Law & Order: SVU [starring Robin Williams], was my very first TV guest appearance.

HM: What other talents, besides acting, do you possess that most people don’t know about?
MR: I’ve played the piano since age 5; I’m classically trained. At age 13, I segued into music—singing and theater—but I didn’t take it seriously in terms of an actual profession. I’m also a snowboarder. Growing up, we’d go to Colorado every vacation. [Raymund grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida.]

HM: You’re a recent Juilliard grad; tell me about your experience.
MR: I got a B.F.A. in acting. It was the most incredible experience of my life. It was incredibly tough, and taught me how to accept failure, get back up, and dust yourself off.
[Juilliard] consumes 12 hours of your day, every day ... It was a second home to me. I became a woman there. I grew up in a traditional household; my parents were strict. I experienced real freedom for the first time [at Juilliard]. My mom and dad moved to New York to a condo one block away [from the school]. They were there part-time. I loved having them there, and New York City as my college campus.

HM: Describe your role on Lie to Me.
MR: I play Ria Torres, a natural detecting liars, without scientific ability or education to back it up. It’s based on experience and intuition. She’s the everyday person still learning this new science. She’s a functioning role for the audience—she’s their eyes and brain. She [like the audience] doesn’t know the terms, and tries to understand, why is this person lying?

HM: Are you any good at profiling (“deception detection”) in real life?
MR: No, I’m very gullible. I need practice; I’m terrible.

--- by Millie Acebal Rousseau ---