CELEBRATE SOUTH
These talented actors, filmmakers and singers hailing from Latin American backgrounds are primed for newfound fame in showbiz
Born in Sunnyvale, Calif., to Ecuadorian parents, rising star Aguilera has lived a full life in a relatively short amount of time. “I’ve struggled with a sense of inclusion for a long time. I went to eight different high schools and led a displaced life throughout my childhood,” he says.
Getting his start in theater productions of “Hamlet,” “Othello,” and “Of Mice and Men,” Aguilera’s passion for his craft is fully evident. “I absolutely love movies and I’m always reading. You can become so transported by a film, and for me, it’s always about the director and making sure I’m delivering the best performance possible.”
Aguilera scored a key role in 2018’s “The Predator,” which afforded him the chance to work with writerdirector Shane Black. “I grew up endlessly watching Shane’s movies, so to be on his set and see him in action, it was a true fantasy come to life.”
He’s snagged a key role in the upcoming Amazon web series “Too Old to Die Young.” “Working with director Nic Refn was a tremendous highlight. Everyone on the artistic side of the project was so involved and collaborative which made the process really fun. And I got to work with John Hawkes, Miles Teller and Jena Malone, so that was an incredible experience.”
He’s got big plans, but wants to stay focused. “I have a dream to direct one day, and I probably will. But right now, I’m very single-minded on my acting career. I want to tell stories about working class people and how the face of the everyday person has seriously changed throughout the years. These are the sort of films that used to get made and still need to be considered.”
— Nick Clement
Influences: John Cazale, Hal Ashby, John Frankenheimer, Robert Altman Agency: WME; Management: Anonymous Content The initial spark for Mexican writer-director Avilés’ debut “The Chambermaid” was a book called “L’hôtel,” for which photographer Sophie Calle disguised herself as a maid at a Venice hotel, gaining access to the rooms in order to document the unmade beds and various items that guests had left lying in the open.
Avilés was intrigued by Calle’s project, but identified more with the maids themselves. “I’m the outsider,” says the director, who didn’t go to film school, and was therefore obliged to produce “The Chambermaid” herself. “My film is like a metaphor. It’s about this woman who spends every day knocking on doors. We want to have this opportunity, but they’re all closed.”
Avilés had been attracted to acting from an early age, appearing in several commercials as a child, before pursuing drama at university.
“I studied as an actress, but I always ended up directing,” says Avilés, who still acts, but has had more success writing and directing theater.
Although she conceived “The Chambermaid” as a play, Avilés always felt it would be more effective as a film. “So I bought the cheapest camera that I could, and I started making small exercises,” she says. All the while, she continued to research her subject: “I spent eight years chasing chambermaids all over the world,” she laughs. In 2016, Avilés directed a short documentary, “La fertilidad de la tierra,” which won a prize at the Ecofilm Festival that went straight toward the budget of “The Chambermaid.”
“I love theater, but when you finish a play, that’s it,” Avilés says. Cinema, on the other hand, allows her to connect with audiences around the world: So far, her debut has played festivals in Toronto, San Sebastián, London and elsewhere. “I’m going to die someday, and the film is going to be there.”
— Peter Debruge Influences: John Cassavetes, Lucrecia Martel, Aki Kaurismäki Bustamante grew up in Guatemala when the country had no film schools and virtually no industry, and though he has spent most of the last 20 years in Paris (where he attended the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français, followed by a screenwriting program in Rome), he is dedicated to representing his home country onscreen — warts and all.
“It was very important for me to leave Guatemala in order to open my mind to other ways of seeing the world,” Bustamante says. “I was able to be more critical of my own society.”
Bustamante’s first film, “Ixcanul,” tackles the cost of superstitions among indigenous people, and was selected for competition at the Berlinale in 2015. Though well received abroad, “Ixcanul” struggled to be seen back home, where blockbusters dominated and ticket prices can be prohibitive. “People felt they didn’t want to pay to see Indians in a theater because they can see Indians in the street,” he says.
To address that problem, Bustamante established a foundation whose objective is to teach through the cinema, touring the country with “Ixcanul” in order to educate young women about their options in life.
He expanded his production company to include a distribution department and an agency to represent the actors, most of them nonprofessionals. He also opened a two-screen theater, where one room shows older movies for free.