Finding Your Voice with Rudy Valdez | The 'Real Good' Podcast

[00:00:06] I'm very excited to do something a little different today. I am a big fan of the podcast called Real Good, and it's produced by US Bank. It's got Faith Salley as a host, and I'm a big fan of hers.

[00:00:21] And basically this podcast is about people doing real work that helps the world. And in this one we're going to hear, this is a clip from their fifth season. We have Emmy Award-winning documentarian Rudy Valdez about the importance of storytelling

[00:00:37] and film, how to put together a good documentary, how to tell stories. And this is so important. I love this. Go listen and subscribe to Real Good wherever you get your podcasts. This is Real Good by US Bank, a podcast about helpers.

[00:00:54] When you come and you're clearly wearing your heart on your sleeve and understanding very clearly why you're there, people drop their guard and they want to be a part of that. I'm Faith Salley. Welcome back to another season of Real Good.

[00:01:10] Rudy Valdez got into filmmaking in order to find his voice and make sure voices like his were heard. The Emmy-winning director has tackled subjects as varied as inequity in the criminal justice system and the effect of COVID-19 on New York City's beloved performance venue, the Public Theater.

[00:01:30] His documentary on noted musician Carlos Santana is set for release later in 2023. Recently, Rudy finished the short film Translators, which documents kids helping their Spanish-speaking families navigate life in the United States. The film was completed with support from US Bank and took home an award from the Tribeca

[00:01:52] Film Festival when it debuted. Your dear Greg Cunningham helped produce Translators and is so proud of Rudy's film. You can tell how much Greg appreciates the director's nuanced approach to complex topics and Rudy's ability to render them both touching and delightful.

[00:02:14] First of all, I'm so excited for today's conversation. You know, we'll get into the film, we'll talk about all that, but our guest today is one of those people who, you know, you meet some people and you just feel like you've known them forever.

[00:02:29] And not only is he an incredibly talented artist, but he's just a funny dude. He's a funny dude. He's one of us, you know? And so this is one of those projects where I, and we're talking about the Translators film by the way everybody.

[00:02:43] And if you haven't seen it, can view it at translatorsfilm.com. And I encourage everybody to check it out. Well, Mazel Tov. And I am so excited that you're here, Rudy Valdez, the director of Translators. No, thank you. I'm excited to be here as well.

[00:03:00] And for a second when Greg was talking and describing, I was like, does he know it's me? That sounds bad. I don't know if, like, it's Will Ferrell. Wrong episode. It's the wrong episode. Like, oh, Rudy, oh, let's just get through it. Let's just get through it.

[00:03:16] We'll fix it in post. It's okay guys. Let's roll with it. So Greg, you directed folks to translatorsfilm.com. People, you can hit pause right now everybody and go watch it. It doesn't take long, which is kind of astonishing to me, Rudy, because I've seen the film

[00:03:34] now five times and I'm always shocked that it's only 20 minutes. Because not that it feels long. It feels like time out of time. But when it's done, I feel like I have been transported thoroughly into the lives of the three kids that it follows.

[00:03:52] So it follows three kids who are immigrants and they're bilingual. And they're the only ones in their basically non-English speaking families who can translate everything from, you know, teachers' progress reports to financial documents to...

[00:04:08] There's one kid, Harye, who helps her parents talk to a doctor about the surgery her younger sister is going to get. And so go watch it now or go watch it after this conversation. Rudy, did you ever translate for your parents? Were your parents new Americans? No.

[00:04:29] So my parents are fluent English. They were actually born...my mother was born in Michigan in Iskia, Michigan because she was the daughter of migrant field workers. My father was born in Brownsville, Texas and my grandparents are also born in America. My great-grandparents are also born in America.

[00:04:50] And my great-grandmother when I was very little, I remember her telling me, never let them tell you go back to your country. We've always been here. You know, and we're from a part of Texas at least on my mother's side over there.

[00:05:04] And I believe on my father's side that used to be Mexico and the border was pushed. And she was like, we've always been here. Never tell anyone that you don't belong here.

[00:05:13] And so I was never a translator in the sense that I had to translate language for my parents. However, my parents had a little Mexican grocery store in Lansing, Michigan where I grew up.

[00:05:27] And it was a Mexican grocery store sort of in the hub of this little Mexican community. And so it was a real safe space for a lot of people that would come from surrounding cities and surrounding areas, especially on the weekends.

[00:05:39] You know, as a place where you could speak Spanish, where you could find Mexican products in videos and music and like all these different things. And so people spoke Spanish. They spoke English. They spoke Spanglish. And it was just a place where people knew they could come.

[00:05:52] And many times people would come into the store and find usually my mother. She was pretty active in the community. And they would say, you know, I need some help. Can you please come with me to my child's school, to the hospital, to the courthouse, to something?

[00:06:08] Because I need somebody to translate. And every single time no matter what was going on, my mom would pick me up, lock the store sometimes and close it and drive me with them. And I would see her translating for people at all these places.

[00:06:21] So I witnessed the access that she was giving people countless times. And so when this project first came out, I was like, that's what hit me immediately was those memories of growing up and understanding that people navigate our communities, our country in different ways.

[00:06:40] And we have to understand that. And I wanted to be a part of telling that story. You just used the word access, which is like, I think Greg has that tattoo across his chest. Right, Greg? By this time? Season five? Yeah. Language is access.

[00:06:58] And when you mentioned a few minutes back, you said you're all about voice. I wrote voice down in capital letters on my pink legal pad where I take notes, Rudy. And it's all the same.

[00:07:11] To have a voice to be heard, to be able to form the words that other people can understand, that is access. And that's at the heart of this story. Right? 100%. Yeah, that's what this is. I think that this story is emblematic of a lot of things.

[00:07:31] Whenever I do a project, I think about voice, I think about access, I think about representation, I think about what it means first and foremost for the people who are open and honest and vulnerable and willing to let me tell their story.

[00:07:44] I want when they watch this to look back and see themselves and understand that their stories matter. And then along with that, I want them to understand that they are emblematic, not only of themselves, but of other people who need to see themselves as well.

[00:08:01] I'm very conscious, especially as a filmmaker of color who all I ever wanted growing up was a voice. That's what I wanted. It's what drives me to do what I do. And I was very fortunate early on that my parents were very supportive of all the

[00:08:21] things that I wanted to do. I wanted to be an actor and a writer and all these things. And they were like, go off, do it, figure it out. Go figure out what that means.

[00:08:30] And so when I left home to try and do that, I looked out into the media landscape and I said looking for people who looked like me to see what they were doing.

[00:08:39] And I kept seeing over and over again, like here's somebody who looked like me who is in prison. Here's somebody who looked like me who was a drug dealer. Here's somebody who looked like me who was this.

[00:08:48] And so I started to really think like what are my options and what are my things? And I wanted to someday figure out a way to show that there are other versions of what

[00:09:00] it means to look like me and grow up and be a part of the fabric of this country. And so every single time I do a project, I'm very cognizant of that. I'm cognizant of not starting with a what was me or me.

[00:09:12] Look at how brown I am. Look at how black I am. Look at how this I am. And despite that, I managed to do this. Like even with this film, I didn't want you to feel sorry for these kids off the bat. I wanted you to love them.

[00:09:24] I wanted you to see them first. I wanted you to understand who they were. And then we come in and we're like, this is what is happening. But look at how great they are. They're not great despite this. They're great. They're just great. You know?

[00:09:38] And so I try to do that with every project that I do and I feel like this is another project that I've been fortunate enough to finish and look at it and say, look, they are emblematic of a part of the fabric of this country, an important part.

[00:09:50] And they are wonderful. They are great. And that's where it all sort of the voice and representation, all that weaves itself into all of my projects in that way. The word that keeps coming to mind when you talk about your relationship with the

[00:10:08] side Greg was on, Bankside, let's call it. And the bank's relationship with you is trust. Like you were fully, it sounds like you were fully interested with what's your vision for this. And you had to trust that the bank really meant it. Yes.

[00:10:27] And then for your entire film to succeed. I've heard you talk about this in lots of interviews. It was entirely based on the trust you earned or asked for from these families. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that again, like that process of

[00:10:50] gaining that trust from families, from kids, from mothers, from fathers, I could only genuinely achieve knowing that I have the trust of my producers and because I couldn't go in and say, listen, this is the story we're telling and this is what we're going

[00:11:08] to do and this is how we're going to do it. And this is why we're going to do it. If I didn't fully trust that, that was what the end result was going to be.

[00:11:16] You know, that's always my biggest fear is like, I'm going to come in and say, this is your story and we believe in your story and we're going to do that. And then I turn it around and they're like, well,

[00:11:26] we're actually going to shift your story and make it something else. Like so I had to have that in me to be honest and open with them about what this was. And so it's a chain reaction of like all of these relationships that have to

[00:11:41] basically stand on each other's shoulders and the whole, you know, be hand in hand throughout this entire process because I couldn't have done that without the trust that I felt early on in this process. Faith, we've got to stay with that because, you know,

[00:11:54] everything about this project is built on trust. And it was, you know, it's really talked about why, why we were doing the film, etc. The only currency a bank has or any business or any of us has is trust. There is no such thing as a healthy

[00:12:12] relationship that doesn't have trust at its core. It's just not possible. I don't care what kind of relationship you're talking about, a personal relationship or a professional relationship without trust that relationship is not healthy, I can assure you for us as we are, you know, seeking to create

[00:12:28] greater access for the Hispanic community and everyone, this notion of trust is why we wanted to tell this story because we wanted people in the community. And oh, by the way, the reason we got to this notion of trust being so critical is because we decided

[00:12:46] to listen and learn from members of the community who told us that language was a barrier and we'd listened to our employees and bankers who were interacting with these families who were telling us these stories of these new American families, who for them language actually was access.

[00:13:04] And so we didn't want to do a commercial. That was the word that was the last thing we were looking to do was to produce a commercial that was highlighting US Bank. That's what everybody else would do. We actually wanted to tell their story from their perspective

[00:13:18] because this notion of trust is the only currency we have. I just want to pause for a moment on the phrase new American families, because it's so much more true and respectful than immigrant even. Right? There's nothing there's nothing negative,

[00:13:40] inherently negative about being an immigrant family, but there's something so lovely to hear immigrants called new Americans. I really I really liked hearing you just say that. I think it just it's very intentional for me because I want everybody to know this is an American story.

[00:13:59] This is America, this is a human story. It's an American story and these families are just as American as every single one of us and that's the point is this is who we are. And so everybody should see themselves in this story.

[00:14:29] I kind of want to go way back with each of you and just find out was there a film in your lives as a young person that you saw that moved you and and convinced you that this kind of storytelling could be meaningful?

[00:14:47] Yeah, I mean, I think for me, you know, again, I was always somebody even as a young kid who wanted to tell stories and wanted to be a part of that landscape and wanted to voice so badly.

[00:14:57] And, you know, I love things like the Wonder Years and I love things like Stand by Me and I love, you know, so many of these films that people are goonies that are pillars in in the coming of age stories.

[00:15:11] But what I noticed at a very young age is there's nobody who looks like me in any of these. And that was very apparent to me. And it was very frustrating to me as a young kid, especially as I started

[00:15:22] to become an actor and a writer and I really wanted to go out into the world and talk about a full circle moment. You know, when I had a friend send me this or give me this VHS tape,

[00:15:34] which was a bootleg recording of a one man show called Freak by John Leguizamo. And I remember watching that and being in just absolute awe of what was happening on that stage. Here was somebody who looked like me, who was commanding the stage,

[00:15:53] who was entertaining and had everyone in the palm of his hand with his story, with his narrative and controlling his narrative. And that was one of the final straws in my life that was like, I didn't watch that and think, oh, I can do that.

[00:16:11] Like I never thought that. But I watched it and I said, I know it's possible now. I know that that can happen. And so I dropped out of college and I left.

[00:16:24] I was like, I'm going to New York and I'm going to figure out how to have a voice and how to do some of these things. And that changed me. It truly changed something in me to say, you know, and that's why these stories

[00:16:38] that are emblematic of larger stories are are important because sometimes we can only sort of see what's in front of us because of the path that has been blazed. You know, and sometimes we are part of blazing that path and we'll start a part of creating that path.

[00:16:54] But I think there has to be a little bit of visual or direction in that understanding that we can go in that direction now. And so that and then, you know, some of you know, John Leguizamo was at our screening in LA.

[00:17:09] Yes. And he was there supporting it. He supported it. Amazing. So yeah. Did you get a chance to tell him what his work meant to you? I told him an abbreviated version of that and he was like, what?

[00:17:21] And I was like, yeah, I literally dropped out of college and went to New York because you showed me it's possible to have a voice. And so, yeah. God, Rudy, can you imagine if you hadn't dropped out of college where you'd be now? I have no idea.

[00:17:38] You're doing OK. You're doing OK, though. I'm trying. I'm trying. Rudy, when you decided you wanted to become a filmmaker, what were the biggest challenges for you? Learning to become a filmmaker. You know, I became a filmmaker out of absolute necessity. You know, I was an actor.

[00:17:58] I just written a show. I was traveling the country with I was a kindergarten teacher. I was a basketball coach. All these things I'd just signed with the with an acting manager. And my sister was sentenced to a first

[00:18:11] or a 15 year prison sentence for a first time nonviolent offense. And I remember sitting in that courtroom standing up as they took her away and thinking, who's going to say something? This is wrong. Like what is going on? Why isn't anybody speaking up?

[00:18:26] And I didn't know like my answer wasn't I'm going to make a film. But I I remember feeling so hopeless and without a voice in that moment. And so the next day, I instinctively just picked up a camera

[00:18:38] and started filming with their daughters because I said, I'm going to fight for my sister and I'm going to figure out how to get her out again. Not thinking, oh, I'm going to make a film about it.

[00:18:45] But I was like, I'm going to film these moments with her daughters because one day she's going to watch them and be able to see them laugh and play. And so I was living in New York at the time, a struggling actor, doing all these things.

[00:18:57] And I remember her oldest daughter was having her first dance recital, something that my sister really badly wanted to be at. But she was in prison. And so I had, you know, I remember the plane ticket was like three hundred and ten dollars to go back to Michigan.

[00:19:10] I had like three hundred and seventy dollars in my bank account. But I bought a ticket and I went back and I was sitting there filming with her oldest daughter as she was getting ready and completely organically.

[00:19:23] My sister calls and and I wasn't sure should I keep recording or should I not? But I kept recording and my sister says something to my niece and she says, do you know what mommy's going to do while you go to dance?

[00:19:36] I'm going to lay down in my bed. I'm going to close my eyes and I'm going to think about you. And it was in that second. Wow, I understood. I have a chance here to tell a story that you never get to hear.

[00:19:48] The story of the kids left behind, of the families left behind, of the communities left behind. And so I went back after that back to New York. I told my principal I wasn't coming back the next year. I told my acting manager that I wasn't acting anymore.

[00:20:03] I quit everything and I started as an unpaid intern on with a film company. And for nine and a half years, I made this film about my sister kind of in secret on my own while I went from

[00:20:17] an intern to a PA, to a sound mixer, to an editor, to a producer, to an additional photographer, to a cinematographer, shooting films for all these wonderful filmmakers, all self taught, all figuring it out as I went

[00:20:30] because I knew that nobody was going to help me in my film. I had to figure out how to do all of those things. And then in the end, I was able to get funding because something happens in my sister's story and I get into Sundance.

[00:20:44] We win the audience award at Sundance. We get picked up for HBO, end up winning the primetime Emmy for it. And the hardest thing about all of that was way back at the beginning, understanding that I could do it and believing in myself and believing in voice.

[00:21:03] And my belief in voice propelled me to fight for 10 years to figure out how to do that. So the hardest part about all of it was believing in myself. And we should let people know that the name of that film is The Sentence.

[00:21:17] And and you can go see it, right? On HBO. Yeah. I love that the arc of your journey as a filmmaker telling the stories that need to be told is one that went from frustration and came out of impotence.

[00:21:34] Right? What can what can I do and has ended with joy? Well, not ended. You are you are on a journey, my friend. But am I done? No, no, you are not. Translator's real good podcast, Rudy. We're here to tell you talk about a mic drop.

[00:21:51] But but you have now arrived at joy and inspiration. And what is next? What what's next? So I just finished the documentary about Carlos Santana called Carlos that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival as well. It'll have a theatrical release later in the year.

[00:22:10] And I just finished a six part series for Disney that I shot and directed that will also be coming out later this year. I just signed a deal with Imagine Entertainment. They've come on to partner with me and my new production company.

[00:22:23] I've written a scripted series that was purchased and we're working on developing that. I just wrote a feature film that we're getting financing for. I just started two other documentaries and I'm pushing forward.

[00:22:36] I'm just trying to sort of take advantage of the luck and and and the opportunities that have been put in front of me. So I'm going to hopefully keep pushing. Ah, Rudy. Look, what is that where preparation meets opportunity, my friend? Greg, you know how to pick them.

[00:22:53] Do you need an intern, Rudy? Because Greg's got some free time. I do, Greg. Greg, send me your resume and we'll, you know, we'll talk. I think you need me on set. You just need me on set like this

[00:23:04] because you want to be in front of the camera, don't you, Greg? No, I well, yeah, OK. Yeah, yeah. They call me G. Diddy. G. Diddy who I am. Well, all up in the video. All up in the video.

[00:23:22] I just love great storytellers because one of the things that struck me about the translators film, you know, if you look at the the book end of the beginning and the end, you are reminded that these are children.

[00:23:36] The very first scene in the film is Denzel playing with some sort of marble run. Yeah, marble run. And at the very end of it, the last thing you hear is the sound of a child, a child's laughter.

[00:23:48] And so you're constantly reminded that these are children like this is our future and everything about it. Children are joyful, they're joyful and it's optimistic. It's all about potential and the arc of it is is in joy and optimism and look

[00:24:06] how beautiful and wonderful and talented and responsible these kids are. And I want to ask you that. There's also great gratitude from the kids towards their parents for bringing them to America and then the parents towards their kids for being their voice.

[00:24:27] And a little bit of and I've said this a couple of times, my favorite scene in the movie is actually the scene where Hardy is trying to translate for parents and she starts to wave her hand. I'm waving like folks are listening to podcasts and see me.

[00:24:44] They can't see me, but there's a scene where she's waving out of the sheer weight of the responsibility she feels that she's actually translating something really important and she's frustrated that she can't find the words. And it's this 13 year old child who is actually feeling the weight

[00:25:03] of the responsibility she carries and how many of us at 13 or how many of our kids at 13 had that kind of responsibility. And when you realize the burden that these kids are children, they don't see it as a burden, they see it as just being part of this

[00:25:19] family and the role that they have to play and they welcome it. Their concern is more about how they are going to continue to fulfill that obligation while also pursuing their dreams. And my hope for all of us is that we don't force these kids to have to

[00:25:33] make a choice that they can actually fulfill their dreams and continue to serve the family and their community in the way that they want to. So you're right, Faith, it is joyful and they're grateful.

[00:25:46] But this burden that they shoulder is one that I hope we all can in some ways help lift off of their shoulders. Rudy, I want to thank you because though that moment that Greg just described in particular that gesture

[00:26:01] of how she's sort of, yes, waving, waving with the weight of her responsibility. I made it a point to watch translators with both of my kids separately. So I've an 11 year old son and a nine year old daughter.

[00:26:18] And they've never experienced anything like what they saw these kids in the movie experience and they were enrapt. They they literally both leaned in while watching and and they both had slightly different responses. But my son, who's older when it was done, I said, what did you think?

[00:26:39] He said, wow, a lot of times I think about how being the oldest. I sometimes you expect more from me. And, you know, he feels like he goes to a competitive school and the rigorous academics and the expectations of the community.

[00:26:54] And he said, when I when I think about what I feel like is pressure. And then I look at these kids and what they're doing for their families. And there's a scene that always moves me, which is when Denzel, he's 11,

[00:27:09] his mom shows up at a parent teacher conference. And so, I mean, as a parent, we three are parents. You already know when you go into a parent teacher conference, there are expectations and and you want to have a really open conversation about your child.

[00:27:24] You usually don't want your child there, right? And sometimes you get news that might be a little challenging to absorb. Sometimes you get amazing praise for your child. But there's Denzel translating everything his teachers are saying about him to his mother and the pressure in that situation.

[00:27:42] And at the end, this is the part that always chokes me up, is when Denzel gets to quote his teacher, she says, what she appreciates about me is that I never give up. I always keep going and for an 11 year old kid to be able to translate that

[00:27:59] to say to his mom who like risked everything to get her kids to this country. It makes me emotional every time. Yeah, I mean, that was, you know, there are moments when when you're filming, you know, because I'm also I physically hold the camera. I'm also the cinematographer.

[00:28:19] So I'm oftentimes in there in the scene, in the room doing those things. And there are times when you're filming and you're like, that's going to be in the film. You know, not knowing what we haven't even started the edit. We haven't done anything.

[00:28:34] But you you there are moments that become pillars. There are moments that you start to build around. And that was one of them. And it was it was part of that documentary magic as well, because that was the first thing I filmed with Denzel.

[00:28:49] That was we had just met him. We had talked to them on the phone. We had done some zooms and we'd gotten to know him a little bit. But when when that part when the kids run up and kiss and kiss their mom

[00:29:02] and like that was the end of a school day. Yeah, that was I had just walked in with the camera then. That was Denzel seeing us for the first time.

[00:29:12] And he was just like, OK, I'm going to go about my my day and I'm going to do what I normally do. And so I was like there I was unsure. I was like, I don't know how nervous he's going to be.

[00:29:25] And he just, you know, he he had said to my producer, like, what do I what am I supposed to do? And she goes, just be yourself Denzel. And he goes, OK. And he just can do that. Yeah. And and then I can do it.

[00:29:41] Yeah. And those moments of honesty and vulnerability in and I'm, you know, again, we're a small crew. It's like me and a sound person and a producer sitting outside. But I'm moving with the camera. I'm like going around and getting the different shots and everything and just unfazed.

[00:29:58] He's there doing what he's supposed to do. And I just remember saying like this kid's really special. This kid has it and he's he's amazing. You know, after that was that that scene in particular was like 30 minutes

[00:30:13] after showing up with the camera, we literally walked over to that to that thing. And he's just great and he's so honest. He's such a beautiful kid. That was an amazing moment to be able to film. So I'm glad that it translated no pun intended to the audience

[00:30:32] because that's what it felt like in the room. That's the beauty of this film is that it was made to give voice to a community, but it speaks to every. I'm watching it as as a white mom, right?

[00:30:47] And it's shaking me out of things I didn't realize I could take for granted. And I'm just relating to Denzel's mom. I'm just relating to her because I've been in a teacher conference. There are so many points of resonance for absolutely everyone.

[00:31:04] And I think that is a huge part of its beauty. Yeah, yeah. Sorry, go ahead. And how different their experience is not better or worse, but how different their experiences when you bring into the equation the element of language and the ability to

[00:31:26] communicate. And I thought it was really interesting in that very same scene where the teacher talks about how Denzel's his best subject is math because there's not the language barrier. And so the talent and his ability and his capacity and capability is very clear.

[00:31:46] I mean, it's obvious that he's very kind and just wonderful child, as Rudy said. But when you think about the work and why this story is so important, it's how do we make sure that things like the ability to communicate in language

[00:32:02] don't hold back and diminish the potential of these kids and these families? And that's so much of what this is about. It's so much of what we as a bank are doing to make sure we've got the tools and resources like a Spanish language voice assistant

[00:32:19] in our mobile app, all these things that allow these families to reach their full potential because that is our purpose as a bank is to help individuals and families reach their full potential. And when we learn about things that are a potential barrier to that,

[00:32:34] we have to do everything we can to remove them. And so I love that that that scene that both of you are referencing. And I thought it was really an important moment where the teacher talks about Denzel's strongest subject being math.

[00:32:50] And it was just such a to me, it brought to life if there was not a better example of languages access than that moment for me. Rudy, you were going to say something off of when I was talking about points at points of entry and points of resonance.

[00:33:02] Was there something you wanted to interrupt? I interrupted him. I do that with all the guess it's a right of passage, Rudy. It was probably something super brilliant that I was going to say. But Greg kind of stepped on that and ruined it.

[00:33:17] But I guarantee it was very brilliant. I don't remember what I was going to say. It'll pop back into your head. You know, Rudy, Greg and I have been have been on this journey for quite a while.

[00:33:30] And and I keep adding to this list of what access is. Right, Greg? So we've talked about access is health, access is housing, access is education, access is someone mentoring you, access is a literal investment. And and now or financial literacy. And this is huge.

[00:33:51] This has been hiding in plain sight. Access is language. Just goes down on the list. Absolutely. Very high on that list, too. It reminds me of the maybe not surprises, but realizations that came to me as I was watching translators.

[00:34:09] So one very specific one is Virginia's father says learning English is my duty. However, as an adult, I have limited time for studying. And it made me realize that I've often sort of blithely thought, well,

[00:34:26] if we if we picked up and moved to Italy for a year, I'd just learn Italian. And and and I think I have had passing thoughts like why do these kids have to speak for their parents? Like aren't their parents doing Duolingo on their way to work? Right?

[00:34:41] It's it's not it's that that that kind of question comes from privilege, comes from comes from my privilege to think that they have time while taking care of their children, while doing whatever work they're doing to learn another language. It takes it takes time.

[00:35:02] And so I both respected Virginia's father for saying it's my duty and that he wants to and for and for explaining that he doesn't have the time. So that was just one of those moments in the film where I checked my the things that I take for granted.

[00:35:20] No, yeah, I think that that's, you know, it's so true in one of the interesting things when I was filming Adi's Dancer Cytol, I was trying to find a spot like up front to to be able to get those shots that you

[00:35:36] see and right before the Dancer Cytol started, I went up to the people who were sitting in the front and I said, Hey, I was wondering if when this recital starts at this section, if I could just come and sneak and sit on the ground in

[00:35:48] front of you for a second. And they're like, Yeah, yeah, it's totally fine. It's it's great. And then they were like, What are you filming? By the way, is this for the recital? I was like, No, I'm actually doing a documentary.

[00:35:57] And one of the people I'm following is part of the Dancer. And they're like, Oh, who? And I said, Adi. And they were like, Oh, she's in in our daughter's class or in our daughters, whatever, like they knew her. And they said, Why are you following her?

[00:36:13] And I said, Well, I'm doing a story about kids who translate for their parents because their first generation and their parents don't speak English. And one of the women says, Why don't they just learn? And I said, Well, it's not so easy.

[00:36:31] You know, the parents come to this country. They're newer to this country. They have to take the jobs that they can get, which often aren't really. You don't have a lot of choices when you don't speak English. So you take what you can sort of get.

[00:36:46] And oftentimes in order, those aren't high paying jobs. So you're having to work a lot of hours. You have children. You have a lot of responsibilities. I was like, so after working at 10 hour day at 12 hour day and taking care

[00:36:57] of your kids, you don't always have two hours to then dedicate to learning English. I said, So it's tough. And I was like, and not to mention, even if you have the time, it's tough for people over a certain age to just learn another language.

[00:37:10] And I said, I think they're really trying and they want to do that. But it's difficult. So in the meantime, their children act as translators for them. Their children help them navigate the world. And they were like, you know, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry.

[00:37:25] I was like, I didn't mean to be. But I was a little frustrated that they were just like, Why don't they just learn English? I was like, OK, all right. That's where this that's right. And that's where this film does the show not tell, right?

[00:37:38] Because I think a lot of people have with no ill intentions have had those thoughts and now now we see it. It shows us why and and Virginia's family cleans together. That's one of the ways that her parents support the family is that they

[00:37:59] do custodial janitorial stuff right after businesses close. And Greg and Rudy, when we had a panel at Tribeca, you remember I asked Virginia what her and by the way, Virginia's mom had been working really hard on her English.

[00:38:16] She showed up and was on the panel and more than held her own. She was amazing. And I said, I said Virginia in the film mentions that her parents have degrees, they went to they went to university in Venezuela. That where they're from, Rudy in Venezuela.

[00:38:31] And I said, Virginia, what are your parents degrees in? And I'll toss it over to you, Rudy. Do you remember what she told us? So her father was actually a horse trainer for a very long time, but like a like a very like.

[00:38:47] What I don't know the high elite is the word, but like a steam delete horse trainer. So he had like a substantial job. I believe her mother worked in like she's counting or something like that. She had degrees.

[00:39:00] Maybe she was a teacher, I forget, like maybe a math teacher or something, but they both had degrees and they had wonderful careers. It was just not safe for them to stay. So they moved over. But those those careers and those

[00:39:14] the work they've done doesn't again, no pun, it kind of doesn't translate to to coming over here and just saying, well, I'm just going to do that here because it's just it's not the way it works. And so I think that the misconception a lot of times is,

[00:39:28] you know, immigrants coming over here are, you know, uneducated, you know, unmotivated on all of these other things or they're or they're being called other things that they're certainly not. And I think a lot of times it couldn't be farther from the truth. I think they're very educated.

[00:39:44] They're they're highly intelligent. And it's just it's difficult to be dropped into a country that you don't speak the primary language that is there. And in your expected to just navigate and you know, do all the same things. But it's not easy.

[00:40:01] And as we see in this, it's doable. And these families are doing it and they're standing up and they're doing they're doing everything they can. But, you know, we have to have a little empathy and compassion and understanding that that this isn't a detriment.

[00:40:13] This isn't a bad thing. It is a wonderful part of the tapestry of this unfinished country. And, you know, that's what I really wanted to show in this film, that it's not it's not a bad thing to still be learning. That was a mic drop.

[00:40:46] That's a mic drop moment. I wish I had a mic. I wish I had a mic. Here, I'm just going on my work. Church, church, church, church, church, church, church. Taking the church. That's how Greg is translated for me.

[00:40:59] I used to say church like like like like a white lady. But now I say. And grace, you know, the other thing we need is grace and one of my other favorite I have lots of favorite scenes. Clearly keep going.

[00:41:15] But the DMV, Rudy, you'd be thinking of yours, by the way. OK, go ahead. The DMV, the DMV scene is another one. We should explain. Yeah, we're hiding her family are going to the DMV to get their identification driver's licenses and they want Heidi to also

[00:41:34] get an ID and the guy at the DMV when they sit down. One of the first questions he asks is for their immigration papers, he asked for that. And then he says, OK, so who wants to go first? And he's just such a pleasant

[00:41:52] gentleman in how he approaches them with such respect and grace and compassion. And he's very patient and humorous and he's patient and clearly you know, all of that is so important because these people who asked the question, well, why don't they don't learn?

[00:42:10] Why don't they just learn would never put that same kind of expectation on themselves when they most of those people only speak English. And, you know, that's sort of the American way like we don't need to learn

[00:42:22] another language and when you travel abroad, I don't need to speak the language. And, you know, we we set these expectations on others that we don't set on ourselves and we don't provide the necessary grace so that everyone can

[00:42:36] live and thrive in this system that is built to create and help everyone sort of fulfill their destiny. And that scene for me was such a pivotal moment in the way that that gentleman at the DMV just sort of treated them with such respect.

[00:42:53] I just the word grace just popped in my head immediately. And I think after seeing this film, people understand why that is so important. Rudy, what was it like to approach people like the DMV guy or Denzel's teachers who were not originally enrolled

[00:43:11] in the project the same way the families were? Yeah, again, I think that our approach as a team and and when you're able to honestly say this is why we're doing this. And when you when you talk to somebody, especially like the people at the school,

[00:43:30] the teachers, the gentleman at the DMV and you say, this is what we're trying to do. And they immediately respond and understand, oh, I've experienced that. I've been on this side of this before and this is important.

[00:43:43] Everyone, that's what everybody said when when we brought it to like, yes, 100 percent because it's an important part of how we live our lives as well. And it's important. I want to be a part of that when you come to them and you say things that,

[00:43:56] you know, and you frame it in the way that is like, this is important because this is how people navigate the world and stuff. People navigate the world in front of you. And we're not saying you're doing anything wrong. You're doing the best you can.

[00:44:07] If we want to see you do the best you can as well. You know, we're not here to make a salacious take down of anybody. We're here to give this slice of life of the reality of how some people

[00:44:17] navigate the world and people are like, let's do it. You know, let's let's go. Let's let's do this. And, you know, it often only took that little bit of of convincing on the human side, you know, the paperwork of like filming

[00:44:31] within a government building is a little bit different. But but it helped. But it all helps that process when when people are saying, no, we believe in what this is and why we're doing this. And and to me, it's always about starting with humanity at every level

[00:44:46] of the process of telling a story or making a film. It starts with humanity. It ends with humanity. And when you have that running through barriers, fall down, walls, fall down, stories open up, people open up and they understand,

[00:45:02] especially in the current media landscape that we're in right now where so many things are, you know, salacious and, you know, trying to, you know, gotcha, you know, gotcha, cinnamon, all these things. It's like when you come and you're clearly wearing your heart on your

[00:45:17] sleeve and understanding very clearly why you're there, people drop their guard and they want to be a part of that. So yeah, that's that was our approach. And that's why I think we were able to do that again,

[00:45:30] not just because of me, because of everybody involved from top to bottom. I couldn't go to that person at the DMB again, going back to, you know, and here's what we're doing and why we're doing it.

[00:45:41] If I didn't truly believe at the beginning that that's what started this and then that's what brought the team on and then that's what brought us to that area and that's what made me put my camera on my shoulder and that's what made me

[00:45:52] talk, you know, all of that. Bleeds through onto the next thing. It was surprisingly worked really well and pretty quickly to navigate those situation because don't you feel in some respect that that like people are craving these stories that are authentically human and non divisive.

[00:46:15] I just feel like there's such an appetite for stories that don't force us to yell at each other or to stand on a opposing side. There's no side to choose. That's right. There's no side to choose here. The only side to choose is these kids and their families.

[00:46:32] And that's on purpose, Greg. Like that's yeah. So I, you know, I know I'm sure I wasn't the only person who was considered to make this and I don't know who else was considered, but but I know that and I'm not saying other people would have done this,

[00:46:47] but like I know that in different hands, in different in a different set of circumstances, a story like this could have been approached from a highly political lens because it can be a very polarizing topic, depending on how you come into it.

[00:47:03] And the first thing I do with every project that I'm on, especially when I'm on a show that has a headline, I push that headline aside and I say, what is the humanity of it? If you come into this film and you believe very strongly

[00:47:19] whatever side you're on about immigrant families, about language, about what that means in this country, I want you to first meet the people, meet the kids, understand the situation as a human on a human level. And then think about your political ideology, ideology post that and in try

[00:47:39] to try to rationalize that within yourself. Because if you can't look at Denzel and see how hard he's trying and what he's doing and how when what he is emblematic of, of give us your poor, give us your hunger, give us your will.

[00:47:50] You know, that that is what this is. If you can't look at that and see him and meet him and then say, well, I just don't think he should be here. Then that's your that's a completely other thing.

[00:48:03] You know, and you have to do something else about that. But we need to understand that there is no other. We have to stop otherizing otherized communities that they are our community, that they are our children, they are our community members.

[00:48:18] These all take place within 20 miles of each other. But these same situations are happening in every single community across our country. You cannot go to a single community across our country and not have this happen. And that is a wonderful thing.

[00:48:32] That is what makes this place a beautiful place, these moments. And I want people to understand that when they watch this and anything that I do, that it's about the people, humanity of it. And then we can figure out the other stuff.

[00:48:47] Rudy, what part of creating this film surprised you? I mean, I think we sort of talked about it earlier in the sense that how great these kids were, how great these families were because that's, you know, I've been very fortunate

[00:49:06] to in the films that I've been able to make to find especially kids, kids can be very tricky on camera for all the same reasons adults are tricky on camera. You know, like it's you never know what's happening. You never know what's going on.

[00:49:22] And for us to find these families and then just be so comfortable and so amazing. And so I shouldn't say it surprised me, but I was. I was happily surprised at how great they were on camera that there wasn't ever

[00:49:41] a moment where I was like, we're going to have to find another family. Like there was never that was never that sort of thing. It just it surprised me that once we found these kids, how great it went. Yeah, there's nothing performative today is really nothing performative.

[00:49:58] There was never yeah, it was a short, short shoot in the grand scheme of things. And I just want to say it was great. I'm so glad you were there the day that Ten Zell's parents got the report

[00:50:11] from his little brother, his little brother had another kid in the eye. You laugh at every screening, I'm sure. It really does. When you were saying when you were when you were asking me to think about my

[00:50:22] favorite scene, the so I think of I think a project as a whole. And I think that what makes what I try to infuse in every single project again is humanity. And I think the thing that is a marker for humanity for me is

[00:50:38] always humor. I think that if you're able to find these moments of levity, you're able to understand. I think levity grounds us. It's something that we can all relate to if we can all chuckle about it.

[00:50:49] And I think that there are these bleeding moments throughout the film where you see a smile, where you see a chuckle, where you see these like these very open, comfortable moments and those are all my favorite moments.

[00:51:01] But when Denzel has to basically say, well, he's poking another kid in the eye. And we almost shot it on. We almost did it on because he's saying that and I'm like, I move a can over to his brother and his brother's like, yeah.

[00:51:18] His brother is preposterously impetuous and cute. Yeah. Yeah. Brother has no shame. Right. He just holds up his candy towards the camera. Yeah. And I do it again. And I do it again. And I'm going to do it tomorrow. So. But there's also. And when I think about.

[00:51:39] You snitching Denzel, why you snitching? He's like, I'm going to poke your eye out. I thought you had my back. I thought you had my back. There's there's also a moment where Harrier Harrier is is they're having dinner.

[00:51:52] And I think she just at the table swigs out of a pedialyte bottle. And I'm like, Namaste sister. That's like me walking up. If you followed me around, Rudy, you would find me going to the fridge and squirting fat free ready whip straight into

[00:52:07] my mouth. I was like, this man is embedded in this family. Yeah. That's what that's what I'm saying. She was so sick. She was drinking pedialyte. And we were like, OK, you need to take a nap. Like, I'm going to go take a nap.

[00:52:20] I was like, OK, we're going to get out of here. We're going to we're going to go for a little. But they were yeah, they I was it was unbelievable how open they were and how ever there was there was never and this is always I think

[00:52:34] I can't hopefully I can say this without ego, without ego. But like I feel like my super power is I have a trusting face and and through humor and through the ease of the people that I choose to work

[00:52:48] with my entire team, we come in and we really disarm people right away because I feel like we all come in for the sake of we're here for you. And we understand that this we're never like,

[00:52:59] could you maybe say this or could you walk over here and like we really need you to say this? It's like just be you. And and and I'll never forget when we were doing the line.

[00:53:10] I didn't just use with Virginia, but I first used it on my I should say used it, but said it to my nieces when I made my first film. But they're like, what do I say when people ask me questions? Like, what if I say the wrong answer?

[00:53:26] And then I said to Virginia is like that there is no wrong answer. There's there's nobody out there that is a better expert on you and your life than you. I was like, if you're being open, if you're being honest,

[00:53:38] if you're telling your truth, there is no wrong answer. And you see shoulders go down and you see it's like you're the expert. Nobody nobody can go to school and get a graduate degree on what it means to live in your shoes. You own that. That is you.

[00:53:54] And as soon as you empower people with the idea that their story matters and nobody knows it better than them, I tell them I'm I'm a director who isn't here to say, I'm going to tell you what your story is and I'm going to direct this story about

[00:54:07] you. I'm a gatherer. I'm here to gather all of these honest moments of you and I'm going to put them together in a way that is true to what I experienced in the room and what I experienced with you. But you're the director of this film.

[00:54:21] You're telling your story, you control your narrative. And that's that's just like part of all of this entire thing with with with the kids and how lucky we were with all of them and with Denzel and with Virginia and with Adi. It's like

[00:54:36] going in and doing that is is is what made this magic and it's truly them. It's always them. You know, and speaking of the kids, I really have to share a moment as I had the pleasure of meeting Virginia and New York and and party in in Los

[00:54:53] Angeles. And you could just see the experience of having them come to these major cities to a film premiere starring them. The impact that it had red carpet photos, the impact that it had on them. And there was a moment in Los Angeles where

[00:55:14] Hardy walked into what we would consider the green room, if you will. And I was standing in there and she said, but you take a picture with me. And I was like, of course, Hardy, like, like, let's take the picture and we did a selfie.

[00:55:26] And and she said, I want to be a star. I was like, Hardy, you already are like you already are like every day you need to look in the mirror and say you're a star and feel like you're a star. And I think this experience

[00:55:42] that we created in Rudy, that you and your team and park productions and everybody created for these kids and their families is going to be life changing. I think these kids will see themselves differently. I think their families will see themselves differently.

[00:55:56] And I mean that in a really, really good way. And hopefully people who see this film will also see themselves differently. And kids like the three kids highlighted and featured in starring in this film will also see themselves differently. And I'm personally inspired.

[00:56:17] I could tell that they were inspired just watching Virginia and her mom go through this experience in Virginia said to me in New York, she said, I'm really nervous. Right before she and her mom are going to do some media or we're going to

[00:56:29] take some pictures and I leaned over to her and I said, Virginia, so am I. Like we're going to be OK. Like it's going to be OK. We'll get through it together. I'm nervous too.

[00:56:40] So we don't get through it together and you get to tell she's like really. And I was like, yeah, but we're going to be OK. And she just again, her shoulders slumped and she relaxed in. These amazing kids are going to be such incredible contributors to a better

[00:56:57] society for us tonight. You know, the bank is so proud of this partnership with with Rudy and his team who produced this film. And it's one of those projects that is just going to as we continue to evolve

[00:57:13] access commitment, starting here in August as we continue to do the work to create greater access to help close wealth disparities in communities. This is one of those signature moments and we're going to continue to support this film and continue to tell stories that really inspire and uplift

[00:57:32] not only the current generation, but the next generation as well. So I feel like the idea of someone being a star can be fleeting. And I feel like I'm glad Harri felt like a star. But I think that you show them as heroes, right?

[00:57:48] Heroes, heroes are for the ages, Rudy. Yeah. And and and in you. Yeah, you can see that that's how they feel. I remember asking Virginia, what did you feel like when you got to the end of this film, watching it for

[00:58:04] the first time? And she said, she said, I couldn't believe there were so many other kids like me. And that's important because, you know, I think that it can feel very isolating sometimes, you know, like I think that my first

[00:58:20] film, what was happening in my family and the reason I made that part of the reason I made it was because I felt like I was on an island, like I was all by myself. And I was like, I need to tell the story.

[00:58:32] And one of the amazing things that I think helped shape that film was as I started doing research and I started like working towards that. I started to realize that what was happening in my family wasn't this

[00:58:43] singular thing, that it was happening to thousands and thousands of other people. And it allowed me to truly understand that my film didn't have to be this one in a million story, that it can be emblematic of a lot of people's stories.

[00:58:57] And it shapes how I tell stories to this day. And the same with this, you know, I think that what is wonderful about this is that you have three kids on very different parts of their journey of being

[00:59:08] a translator for their family, Denzel is on the younger side. You know, Adi is in her like beginning teenage years in Virginia sort of figuring out what her next step in life is going to be. It should become a young adult and all those things.

[00:59:22] And so I think what's important and what we're seeing so much at these screenings and these events that we're having is exactly what what Adi or what Virginia was mentioning is that so many people are seeing themselves sometimes for

[00:59:37] the first time on camera, a story that is emblematic of them. And it's positive and it's beautiful and it's hopeful. It's not a burden. It's not these terrible things that they're able to be proud of who they are, the hero that they have been for their family.

[00:59:55] And I mean, lines after the screenings of people just coming up and saying, thank you, thank you for sharing this story. I don't feel alone anymore. And that's success. That's why we make these films and that's why we do this.

[01:00:11] So it's it's been unbelievable to see that response and to see, you know, just people say I see myself and I'm not alone. It's been unbelievable. Virginia talks about how she when she graduates from high school and she's painting this beautiful mural as we hear her say this,

[01:00:30] she talks about how she plans to stay close to her parents because she thinks they will need her. And that was another moment where I realized so many of us are raising our children to launch.

[01:00:43] And and it is or I think, oh gosh, when my kids go away, I'm going to follow them. I'll miss them too much. And it was it was so beautiful to hear her talk about her wanting to stay with family and her responsibility,

[01:01:01] keeping her tethered in a way that she chooses. We've talked so much today about voice. And I want to thank you both for creating this incredible story because people need to have voices and voices need to be heard.

[01:01:18] And what I have gotten to do is is listen and learn as audience to this film. I don't need to speak up. I need I need to listen. And I've learned so much by watching these stories. Rudy, congratulations. Greg, good job. What's your next film?

[01:01:37] Yeah, Greg, what are you going to do next? Impressed me. Yeah, what's what's next? What are you going to do that's better than this? What? I'm calling Guillermo right now. Something with special effects. That's what we're going to do. It's fun. We're going to continue access commitment, though.

[01:02:05] And it's really it's been such a pleasure and I know we'll continue on this journey in the expansion of access and the work that we're doing. Not only to close the wealth disparities in this country,

[01:02:18] but to close the trust gap as we've already talked about is such an important part of what we do. So thank you for your partnership and for creating such a wonderful, wonderful film.

[01:02:27] No, thank you for trusting me truly or for letting me go out and tell a story and trusting my process. You know, I know that it wasn't always super easy because I just sort of go behind.

[01:02:43] I dive into my production hole and I'm like, I'll be back in a little while and I'm going to show you what I'm working on. But thank you for trusting that process and being such a champion for this. You both have work to do together.

[01:02:55] So we're going to wrap this up. Thank you so much for having me. Rudy, thank you. Thank you for the beautiful work you're doing. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for listening to another episode of Real Good.

[01:03:12] If you like what you heard, subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. We'll see you soon.