Asian American Film: Features

In Good Hands - interview with Lito Torres

06.03 - Posted by Editor

Into the Good Hands
An interview with Lito Torres, director of "Mannequin Hands"

By Chris Castillo

06.03.02

AAF   Tell me about yourself.

LT   Orphaned at an early age, I grew up with nuns which I think explains my giving nature. May I give you a moist towelette? I am a civil engineer by profession. I finished NYU's Graduate Program in Filmmaking and continued at Los Angeles City College and finishing this year. I am an active volunteer at various Aids organizations and took the responsibility to showcase in my films, the plight of people affected by this epidemic not only to inform but also to educate.

AAF   Tell me about your films.

LT   The first one was a "A Box of Cookies," a film that deals with assisted suicide – is it mercy killing or murder? This film premiered at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival and has played countless festivals such as Cinemafest and the Turin International Film Festival. The second was "In The Company of Friends," a film about the importance of friendship and belonging. This film premiered at Cinemafest 2000 and was an official selection at the VC Film Festival 2001. This newest one is called "Mannequin Hands."

AAF   Who are your film influences?

LT   I am influenced by filmmakers that are not afraid to break down the boundary of cinematic expression such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Lino Brocka.

AAF   Tell me about "Mannequin Hands."

LT   It was on a true to life experience of a good friend of mine. He was not involved but he was there to witness the end part of it. I added some related scenes for cinematic purposes. It is about innocence lost. All my short films and going through these emotions and situations have prepared me for my upcoming feature film. The shooting experience was a breeze due to the fact that experience has given me the tools to deal with problems. Casting for the lead was challenging to say the least because I wanted a Filipino actor but could not find the one I wanted. The one I eventually found had to cancel at the last minute due to illness. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the replacement, Danny Garcia met all the role requirements.

AAF   How do you feel about being classified as gay cinema?

LT   We need not classify it as such. The ultimate goal must be to integrate the themes and all the other aspects into the mainstream. Although from what is shown theatrically, it is thriving but still widely considered to be on the fringe. I will not deal with only one the gay subject matter. I am a filmmaker that will tackle a wide spectrum of the human experience.

AAF   How do you feel about this wave of Filipino-American filmmaking?

LT   With the quality Filipino American films like such as "The Debut," "The Flipside," "Much Adobo About Nothing," and "American Adobo" making it in the mainstream, the future looks very promising but the sad reality is we still have to go at it on our own. However, on a good note this means artistic independence. To be a part of this "Filipino filmmakers" movement or to be called a Filipino filmmaker is humbling and challenging. The achievement of our lucky comrades is inspiring. This art is a collaborative effort. I will contribute my own work and do my best to uplift the movement. I already know what to wear when i see all of you at the Kodak theater.

AAF   What is your next project?

LT   The future looks encouraging. The main piece this year is to produce and direct my feature film tentatively titled "Michael Angelo," It is about two brothers discovering the hard way the evil that men do to each other.

Christopher Ad. Castillo is a writer/producer/filmmaker whose feature film, the psychological thriller "The Sky Is Falling," will be playing at the Asian American International Film Festival in New York City on July 20. A member of the Filipino American filmmaking group the63collective, he served as writer/producer on "She" and is in pre-production on his next feature film, "A World Without End." He is based in Los Angeles and can be reached at catalystfilms@attbi.com.

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Posted by: tony on March 30, 2004 08:05 PM

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