Discrimination on grounds of nationality, immigration and restricted freedom are the three themes that are distinguished and discussed in “El Cuartito”, a film directed by the Argentine Marcos Carnevale and shot entirely in Puerto Rico, which opens in l ‘island Thursday.
The name of the tape alludes to the immigration room at airports where U.S. authorities, both in the country and in its territories, which include Puerto Rico, take suspicious travelers to question any suspicion about their identity.
And as Carnevale explained to Efe on Wednesday, the film’s genesis lies in the immigration policy stance of former US President Donald Trump, “when he began to get very hard on Latin immigration, his intention to raise the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, plus all these horrible things of caged kids. “
Thus, Carnevale, along with a group of screenwriters, began to produce “El Cuartito”, the story of five passengers who end up in the immigration room of the International Airport Luis Muñoz Marín de San Juan, narrated with a mix of comedy and drama.
BEING LATIN MARKS YOU NEGATIVELY
“The metaphor was to show how to be Latin you’re suspicious of something,” says Carnevale, director of successful films on the island like “Elsa & Fred” and “Lionheart”.
The characters, completely unknown to each other, will live together detained, incommunicado with the outside world and with no clues about their most immediate future.
And although Carnevale assures Efe that he has never been called “in the quartet”, he details that this “is a detention room, scary, with metal benches, cold and, on the island, with the flags of Puerto Rico and the United States “. Puerto Rico, being an associated free state of the United States, officially has both flags.
THE WHY TO FILM IN PUERTO RICO
“The idea of making the film in Puerto Rico, is because if in a way the island belongs to the United States, at the same time it is a Latin American country that seeks its identity and independence. We thought it would portray the Latin world or Spanish-speaking against the United States and its limitations was important, “the director stressed.
The main cast of “El Cuartito” is led by the Spanish Mario de la Rosa (“The House of Paper”), the Mexican Ianis Guerrero (“Club de Corbs”), the Dominican comedian Faust Mata (“Sanky Panky”) i Puerto Rican actresses Claribel Medina and Isel Rodríguez.
This fusion of nationalities was a priority when it came to writing, choosing the actors and filming the film, Carnevale points out. “We wanted to show that there are prejudices against nationalities and that appears in the film. And that beyond coming together to fight the biggest enemy, we forget about the differences between nationalities,” he says.
“It’s a very funny and funny film, but it lasts too, because it’s about difficult subjects,” he adds.
The film began shooting in early January 2020, when several tremors were reported in southern Puerto Rico.
A meteorite was later spotted off the north coast of the island, and some time later the first case of covid-19 in the territory was reported.
In addition to filming at the island’s international airport near the capital, it was also recorded at the Humacao Fine Arts Center, as well as in Guayama and Fajardo, municipalities located between the southeast and east of Puerto Rico.
Carnevale WANTS TO FILM AGAIN ON THE ISLAND
“It was my first time filming in Puerto Rico and I hope to be able to film a little more. I felt very comfortable here. I really like the idiosyncrasy, the people, the technical team; they have a tremendous training and thanks to the artists of photography “, underlines Carnevale.
The soundtrack of the film was provided by Puerto Rican music producer Eduardo Cabra, a former member of the group Calle 13 and winner of 25 Latin Grammys-three Grammys.
It also has the special collaboration of Puerto Rican artist Ricky Martin, of whom Carnevale says a text was included assuring that this world “should have no borders or political views, nor should we be called by nationality.” “.
“He talks about us all being human and living on the same ball of Earth,” he indicates.
The film was produced by local company El Cuartito LLC and Wiesner Distribution.