EL PRIMO (THE COUSIN) Directed By Nick Oceano

Indie Express: Tell us about your film?

Nick: EL PRIMO (THE COUSIN) is the story of sensitive, sheltered teenager who visits his older, roughneck cousin in Laredo, Texas one night and learns a hard lesson about what it means to be a man

IE: How did you come up with the idea for the film?

N: The film was inspired by my experience as a teenager growing up in S. Texas. Something to happened to me that stuck with me all those years, and from that experience, the film was born.

IE: How did you assemble your production team?

N: I met Alex Castillo, a great creative producer, who helped me put together a great production crew and also through contacts I had through my alma matter at USC

IE: How did you find your cast? 

N: By auditioning a hell of a lot of people.

IE: How long did the film take?  (From conception to final edit)

N: Eight months.

IE: Tell us a little about your process of directing (writing) this film.

N: I love to work with actors and I love the rehearsal process, such that the movie is really created during rehearsals. In a way, I try to “shoot the movie” before we shoot the movie.

IE: What was the most difficult part of the shoot for you?

N: The hardest thing was authentically shooting Los Angeles for Laredo, Texas.

IE: Any particular moments from filming that stand out for you?

N: The climax of the film stands out to me because it’s the most autobiographical scene in the film.

IE: Tell us about the film’s festival experience so far?

N: It’s been great to screen the film in big cities like NYC, LA and SF, in front of all types of crowds – gay and straight – and see that the film really has a universal appeal

IE: What are you most looking forward to at the festival?

N: I’m really excited to meet other festival filmmakers and watch the film with a San Francisco crowd.

IE: What has been your most interesting Q&A so far?  What was your favorite question?  How was the dialogue afterwards?

N: It would have to be the NewFest NYC LGBT Festival because of the enthusiastic crowd. My favorite question was how I got the actors to do some sexually provocative things on screen. The answer was with a lot of fast talking.

IE: What films or filmmakers inspire you?

N: The films of Pedro Almodovar, Steven Soderbergh, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron have greatly inspired me

IE: What made you decide to become a filmmaker?

N: I had a lot of stories in my head based on living with my crazy Mexican-American family in Texas. Plus, I found filmmaking to be the only field where I could rely on all my life experience to be creative and connect with other people.

 IE: What is next for you? 

N: I’m currently in post-production on my first feature, a biopic about the life of AIDS activist and MTV’s The Real World cast member Pedro Zamora.  And I’m am screenwriting like crazy.

IE: What is next for the film?

N: Screenings in Los Angeles, New York, Palm Springs.  We also expect to sign a distribution deal shortly for a launch in early 2009. 

IE: If asked to give one piece of advice to a new filmmaker making their first short film… What would it be?

N: I would say to write and direct what you know and are passionate about.

IE: What question would you like to be asked about your film? 

If I could shoot the film all over, what would I do differently?

IE: What is the Answer to that question?

N: The shoot was such a crazy, meaningful, fun experience, but I honestly wouldn’t do anything differently.