Radical The Movie: Eugenio Derbez Interview
“This is a song I wrote for the movie Radical…” Gaby Rincón said before singing a gorgeous song at the Hispanic Heritage Month Festivities held at The White House a few months ago. Leo González, famous TikTok star who was also in attendance said he watched a screening and it was really good! Two endorsements in one night for a movie that wasn’t previously on my radar…call me intrigued.
When I saw others in the community share their own screening stories I knew I had to check it out in theaters. I even urged my parents, both teachers and movie lovers, to go see it! So when it came to my inbox I before I could make it to theaters I was so grateful. Last week, I was invited to screen the film and to attend a virtual media round-table where I was able to connect with the star Eugenio himself, as well as with director Christopher Zalla, who gave us the inside scoop on the film for you all!
This heartfelt story is based on the true journey of still-living teacher, Sergio Juarez, who had to step out of line to straighten-out a crooked system, one “radical” lesson at a time. Radical does an incredible job at acknowledging the truth while also leading with the possibilities that few others saw.
Here is an excerpt from the interview, I had the opening question for Eugenio:
Question: This film is a beautiful example of what can happen if we have someone who supports us. How do you think Latino leaders can best support their communities?
Eugenio reply: “I think by telling our own stories, since I moved to LA, to Hollywood, I’ve been trying to do what I’m doing right now: to produce movies where we can have a voice where we can speak about our problems our own stories. Before that every time I came to the U.S. to work I was just part of a cast, and sometimes I was just an actor portraying a character, but I felt that in order to make a change in our community we needed to tell our own stories with our own concerns—that’s why I started producing more as a necessity not as something I wanted just because, and I’m really really thrilled to be doing movies like Radical where you don’t need a lot of budget it’s not a movie full of special effects it’s a movie full of heart based on a true story that can tell how we react as a community and how can you support kids to make a real change in the world. So I would say that, the best way to support and make a change in our community is by doing our own stories—by shooting our own movies.”
As the questions from other journalists continued, one asked about director Christopher Zalla’s favorite moment, he detailed the scene and feelings of it all, “…to envision that moment and then to see it happen and watch the emotion actually happening right there, not being contrive but being real with the family we had created was just you know it’s the reason you do this with your life as a vocation.”
It’s that exact passion that shines throughout the film—the attention to details, the poetic often as Christopher put it brutal reality, coincides with storytellers who are committed to showcasing a soulful rendition of events and that commitment is palpable. From first-time child actors, scouted from the area, to the behind-the-scenes crew you can tell they were all in on this making for a copacetic cinematic production that is not to be missed.
Radical is in theaters now!
