Dear Diablo follows angsty pre-teen Lupe as she prepares to be forced into a belated baptism. Lupe remains true to her punk roots and finds herself in a surreal and nightmarish experience where she confronts eerie church hallucinations and the Devil himself. Filmmaker Ambar Navarro and star Venus Rached join us to talk about their new short film, which you can watch right here.
Music plays a large role in this, you’re a music video director and have some pretty cool cameos and musical contributions from the music world. Can you break that down a bit?
I have spent the past decade directing music videos and photographing musicians. When I received the LALIFF x Netflix grant, I initially felt out of my element directing actors in a traditional narrative format. However, my connections with labels and musicians helped me feel more at home on the set.
The bedroom set featured posters from my childhood, along with contributions from friends and labels. Rise Records was super supportive and gave me permission to feature Alkaline Trio and AFI posters and merch. The soundtrack includes music from many of my friends who I have collaborated with in the past.
I wanted to mix in newer punk bands with the 2000s time period to give it a mix of a modern feel and will find any excuse to include my friends! Some songs featured are from Ultra Q, Destroy Boys, 2m8o, and a special score by Danz CM.
When casting came into play, I thought why not ask musicians to act? Being a music video director, it only made sense. Whenever I listen to Kid Congo Powers (The Cramps, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), I always picture him sneaking up from behind me, which inspired me to cast him as the devil. It feels like my visual style will always be to have music play half the role in my work. I have also been dabbling in music supervision and was able to coordinate the lingo for the musical rights.
Can you tell us about designing the custom baptism/communion fit?
The outfit I wore when I was baptized at age 12 was a white punk collaged t-shirt that featured a mix of ’77 bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash. I still have the shirt! There was, of course, an argument with my mom the day I was baptized, where I bargained that I would only do it if I could choose my outfit. This shirt happened to be the only white item I owned.
For Lupe’s dress, I knew I wanted it to be a more punk fantasy Pretty In Pink moment. Safety pins, chains, and spray paint. It really shows off her DIY craft skills and how bold a character she is. The dress was designed by Georgina Trevino! An incredible artist who features jewelry and hardware in her designs.
Did you film this in an actual church, and if so, how the hell did you convince them to let you do that?
We were rejected by every church in Los Angeles. All it took was for one to read the script, and they passed the word to everyone not to allow the production to shoot there. This was, of course, a big bummer because the film is a total fantasy play and is not anti-religion.
I had shot a sacrilegious music video for the band Divino Niño at a hyper-decorated church in the past. My music video memory kicked in, and we were able to re-shoot at that space. It does run as an actual church on Sundays, but I think the people who independently run it are just down for wacky film productions!
Venus, how old were you when you booked this part, and what did you do to prepare for the role?
I was about 11, maybe going on 12. I didn't really have to prepare much, honestly. I felt like it was just an extension of myself, rather than a new role I had to play. It came naturally to me to become Lupe.
What are your favorite horror films?
That's a tough question. I feel like I love a lot of horror. My favorite genre of horror is psychological horror, but my top 5 would probably have to be The Shining, Halloween, Get Out, House, and Dawn of the Dead.
What was your favorite moment that happened behind the scenes?
One was getting to meet an amazing cast, both in front of and behind the camera. I especially loved having the opportunity to meet Lucia de la Garza from The Linda Lindas, and working with Kid Congo was really cool.
Another memorable moment was when I had to hot-glue eyeballs to DIY pins. There were so many pins and eyeballs, and it was really fun to shoot those scenes in my on-set bedroom. I got a lot of inspiration in there!
Any future plans on being a scream queen or pursuing other job in film?
I would definitely love to work in future films. Especially more horror films! I recently went to a table read for a new project with a cool director that I’ve worked with in the past, so I am excited about that project. I hope to do more film work in the future!
