Horseplay

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  Diversity, although a simple definition that can range from a wide array of opinions and perspectives to people, often becomes the centerpiece of a work rather than a tool. This is demeaning. My intention in utilizing diversity is to switch the eurocentric experience surrounding the play Equus with Latine characters and backgrounds through the short film (approximately 14-16 minutes); the fact they are Latine is never explicitly sold at face value, but rather becomes an intrinsic part of the storytelling. This is so that it can resonate with audiences it might not have felt as palpable to before, which is a desire of mine for someone who was incredibly influenced. In this way, I think there will be a lot of intercultural exchange.
  
  I flip typical tropes of the Latine family while abiding by common experiences; for instance, making the father, affected by machismo, gay – which is a secret, and often secrets within the family become a common thread. Other examples of cultural infusion include the protagonist, Malin, as a shortened version of La Malinche, the Mexica translator often accused of being a traitor for collaborating with the Spanish conquistadors. However, here the autonomy is presented in a complex fashion like La Malinche translating for the Spanish, where it is questionable whether it was done by force, survival, or will. Likewise, Malin “translating” the queerness of his patient, Alán, is also nuanced in the sense he feels regret, but it is his job to do so. I stress my reinterpretations of not only the play, but also cultural cornerstones to show that diversity is purposeful and powerful when it becomes part of the story, like an inspiration for changing representation and thought-processes, rather than driving it.
  
  My project – centering familial trouble, religious conflict, sexuality, and psychiatric services – is provocative for dialogue as it presents these issues and topics in different lights for a different way of examining. One theme I would like to highlight are psychiatric services, which in Equus, is almost criticized as a means of removing someone’s “passion” and personality. For the non-white community, this is not told the same way, but histories of systemic discrimination and prejudiced practitioners have instilled not only a distrust, but also backlash from people – although anecdotal – for the way practitioners have viewed issues of gender, sexuality, and race. I hope that showing this complex relationship will shed light on this conversation. Moreover, the familial trauma and conflict involved in family secrets and its consequences: many families keep secrets, and the secrecy often manifests in different ways. For Alán and his father Fernando, their relationship becomes corrupted by Fernando’s projection of self-loathing. I would like this to spark conversation on how we navigate family secrecies, whether keeping them private or seeking to explore them.
  
  

• Producer/Sound Designer/Editor /Director/Screenwriter/DP	Jesse Vela
  Sound Recordists (3)	Audrey Tucker, Dontay Konkel, Yiting Cai,Edna
  Gaffer + Lighting Technicians	Alejandra Sanchez Trejo
  Assistant Director	Clay Pisto
  Set Designer/Production Design	Hao Chen
  Prop Makers	Gabriel Galaz, Sage Collopy
  Driver	Berlin Mair
  Script Supervisor	Lula Cherry
  Musicians	Jesse Vela, Diego Mendez, Frank Figueroa, Quinn
  Alán	Jared Perez
  Dolores	Leticia Duarte
  Malín	Ronald Gonzales-Trujillo
  Nurse	Olivia Preciado
  Daniel	Elijah Hammond
  Fernando	Emiliano Lopez