August 30, 2024 • 17 mins
Mo Ramchandani shared this incredible story that touched his heart, and with it, he aims to save many children who could be living in slavery and are currently part of the terrible statistics of human trafficking.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Twelve billion children are victims of modern day slavery. City
of Dreams movie is the true story of one child
that fought back. It was written by, written, and directed
by Mo Rumsondini, who joins me, Now, what an honor
to work with you on this project, to see your
film debut come to life. Mo, tell everybody what inspired
the storyline of City of Dreams and how did you
approach writing such a difficult topic.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You know, thanks for having me on the show, Enrique.
I personally was always looking for something that had some
meaning in some message. And I read a story about
seventy two immigrants trapped in a house in Monte, California,
which is about forty five minutes from where I live,
and it kind of shocked me. Like they were and
(00:43):
normally you read about sex trafficking, but these immigrants were
trapped in a residential location and they were a sewing factory.
They were forced to sew for a company called S
and K Fashion, and they didn't see sunlight for seven years.
Many of them, you know, they were armed guards. And
I was like, how can this be happening in America?
Like I'm originally from India, I'm an immigrant, and you know,
we know this stuff is happening in Southeast Asia, but
(01:05):
I would have never imagined that this was happening in America.
So that's kind of what prompted the idea to write
a script about it. But I was very focused on
making a feature film and not a docudrama, because I
feel like docu dramas they sort of scratch the surface
of your intellectual curiosity, but they don't pull you at
(01:25):
the heart. And I was like, if I want to
make a noise about this, I've got to give people
an emotional experience, knowing that it's going to divide some.
Some are going to find it to be too much,
some are going to find, you know, the hope in it,
and some are going to be inflamed and want to
take action. So that was where it came from.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Sure, And let's talk about that a little bit, right,
because I'm curious on how how how you balanced the
need for dramatic storytelling, like you're saying, and the reality
of a very dark issue, right, the issue of child
trafficking forced labor.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Sure. Sure, what I did is I focused on the
story of the kid. I created this character that was
a mute because he represents the voiceless, right, he represents
the twelve million who don't have a voice, and his
journey through the movie, his hero's journey, I call it.
And all the details I took from real life cases.
(02:16):
So if you pointed a detail and say, hey they
faked a passport, or hey, this is how he crossed
the border, or hey, this is what's inside the sweatshop
and what it looks like, all of that I can
point to a case of where I took that from brilliant.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
The way you brought these people to life, the way
you humanized every single one of the characters, I thought
was absolutely fantastic. Let's talk about the main role, Arii Lopez.
He plays his whos like you mentioned, yeah, a mute.
He was fourteen years old when you filmed. How difficult
was it working with a child in such an intense
and emotionally charged scenes.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
You know, I feel like I got blessed with ari
because number one, he's naturally very gifted. And so when
we initially were casting, how do you cast a mute kid?
You put a camera on him and you give him
a visualization and you watch how they react. And that's
what I did for the audition. And he did a
really great job. He was very open, so he just
(03:14):
had a natural ability to act. That was number one.
Number two, he's a very open person. He had a
very very sort of he was able to take direction
really well, which even for more experienced actors is hard,
and he trusted me immediately. That helped. And I think
the third is the most important, which is if you
(03:35):
look at what Denzel Washington was saying about Dakota Fanning
when he worked with her on Manifire, he said, that
is a forty year old soul in a twelve year
old body. And I felt the same way about Ari,
Like there were moments we were shooting with much more
seasoned actors and he would be like, hey, Mo, can
so and so come from here and we move the
camera this way, and I'm like, how do you know this? Man?
(03:56):
Like have you done this in another life? So I
think having him and having a really strong crew, we
you know, we sort of became a family. Something as
intense as this. In order for it to succeed, you
have to bring people in and gain their trust and
trust them. So I think it was a combination of things.
But I did get lucky with this very special kid
(04:18):
who turned out to be a savant in many ways.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
He's definitely talented and very very special. When you see
the movie again, he's mute, right, so he does not speak,
but there's one part and again it's a dark issue,
but you're gonna you're gonna feel for him and you're
gonna root for him, and it because he fights back.
He's the hero of the movie. And again it's based
on a true story, right, So that one part with
the only part and the movie when he speaks, now
(04:42):
I'm letting the cat of the back for those who
haven't seen it, but it was so powerful when he's
he's beaten out of so many different times that he's
beaten and he's not taken anymore, and it hit the
bad guy puts a pounding on him and he just
can't take it anymore. He gets up and loling Chao,
his eyes you know, all swollen up close, and that
one scene is so powerful with his ah, It's just wow.
(05:07):
And the way and the way you muted everything afterwards
for those couple of seconds and it's I'm getting goosebumps
because I'm reliving it right now. It was just so
powerful and again you were brilliant with what you did
talking about the different characters, the portrayal of the of
the traffickers and Hefei and the victims. How did you
avoid stereotypes and provide still able to provide depth to
each one of the characters.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
You know, what I did is I don't look at
them as bad guys. It's interesting. I look at Cizarre
and el hefe Is hurt people, and you look at it.
You know, there's that saying hurt people. Hurt people, and
they also have dreams, like Cizar wants to get into college.
He's that's why he's studied for the sat L. Hefa
(05:47):
is trying to provide for his son. And so for me,
that's what humanized them. I tried my best. I mean,
we don't spend a lot of time with those characters,
but one of my inspirations for that was Schindler's List.
If you look at am On Gut and Schindler's List
played by Ray Fines, you see this very, very evil
character and in the end, though you're like, is he
(06:10):
really evil? He falls in love with a Jewish woman
and he hates himself for it, and he's kind of
split because half of him is supposed to hate the Jews,
and the other half of him loves a Jew, And
I thought that was so interesting. And you know with
l hefe it's like he's punishing these kids, but he
also loves his own kids so much, and there's like
an inner torture to that. And I think, you know Alfredo,
(06:32):
who plays that part, that really got that.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
What was the most difficult scene to shoot? Would you say?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Wow? I would say the most difficult scene to shoot
is actually not in the movie. Really. It was a
nighttime dream sequence. Yeah, it was a dream sequence at
night that we shot in Morellos, you know, and it
was cold and freezing and all that kind of stuff
like that was impossibly hard. And then I would say
the chasingequence in downtown LA because we didn't have a
(07:02):
lot of resources, and there's a lot of movement, there's
a lot of running, there was a lot of parts
to it. There was a lot of people trying to
shut us down. You know, when you shoot a movie
in any other city in the world, you get welcomed
like you're a celebrity. In La they don't like you.
Man too, They're sick of people shooting on the street.
So they're like, you know, get.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Out of here, like so like, here's another one.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
It's challenging. Yeah, so I'd say that was the most
challenging scene, but also my favorite scene in the movie,
the chase.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
The chase sequence, the POV camera, the way you're in
like first person and it's adrenaline pump that raises your
blood pressure. You're really living in the moment. You such
a great job there. And this is your very first movie, man.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, definitely, it's my first movie as a director. This
whole experience has been overwhelming in many many ways, and
obviously I'm very nervous and scared about this weekend. I
had a lot of people call me and say, hey, look,
you've already won. You know, you've got a lot of
great people on board. You've got, you know, a lot
of people that love the movie and support you, and
it doesn't matter what happens. But yeah, having not gone
(08:06):
through this side of it, the whole release side, I'm
definitely like feeling it, feeling the pressure.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Let's talk about that a little bit about these early screenings.
What's been the most the most surprising or unexpected response
to the film film's production. During these early screenings that
you're having and for now opening weekend.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yeah, I mean, I am. I do feel there's a
lot more positivity than I thought because originally, originally when
I screened it for people in the industry, they thought
it was you know, I had this divide. There were
people in the industry and I called them the more
successful people in society felt the movie was too much.
They felt, oh my god, this is so intense. It's
(08:48):
too and I'm going it's not as intense as Twelve
Years a Slave, It's not as intense as Shindler's List,
but I think because it's a kid who were being
triggered by that. But then the majority seemed to really
connect with it. And I remember the first screening I
had in Mexico City, this woman came up to me
and she said, Hey, you know it's because of your
movie that I don't pay the coyote to cross my
(09:11):
children over the border, because they asked me every day.
And she was kind of solving and then I asked
her if the movie was too violent or too intense,
and she laughed in my face and she was like,
you gringos don't know what you're talking about. Come live
in my neighborhood. You know, you want to ask me
what's too violent. So there's been this divide and it's
been challenging because obviously gatekeepers who control what goes out
(09:34):
into the world in society are more successful and are
you know, they're used to more sanitized product and usually
when something that's gritty and pushes a boundary and you know,
has a megaphone to it comes from an established voice,
which I'm not. I'm not an established director, So that's
been a challenge balancing well, hey, we've got to get
(09:56):
through these people to get to the audience. But from
what I'm s seeing, audiences are really responding to the movie.
I mean, you've been at some of these screenings, so
you know, it's looking positive, very positive from the angle
of people in general, the every the everyday guy goes
to the movie and is affected by this. That's what
I've been seeing.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Listen, you're not an established director, but the fact that
you have Tony Robbins, Louise Ponci, Sylvester Stallone interested in
your movie? What does that feel that? What does that
mean to you? What does that tell you?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
It's listen, that that that tells me I should stop
beating myself up and not tell myself I'm a failure anymore.
That's pretty sure. And it tells me obviously, you know
Tony especially, it's like he spent his life being of
service to people and trying to impact people's lives. And
he's been one of my heroes. Like I've watched his
(10:49):
videos and read his books and I've even quoted him
many times. And he's become a friend now, which is
you know, surreal and amazing. At the same time, it
tells me that the film impact people like that I'm
certain of because the master of impact told me that
he was you know, it impacted him. So that's definitely
a very positive shine. And it shows me that, you know,
(11:13):
not every single human being is ready for change and
ready to grow and ready to take action, but there
is a large group that is, and that this movie
is going to affect them and hopefully, you know, incite
them to action.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
How have you grown personally throughout this process?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Oh man, in so many ways that I don't even
recognize who I was six years ago when I started.
And it's been such an intense journey, like just overcoming
the rejection, overcoming the challenges, letting you know when it
started with my mom dying and had a really hard
(11:52):
time letting her go, and I used her life insurance
policy to make the movie. And it's like I have
struggled my whole life with being alone, and I can
say that today I'm happy being alone. And it makes
me emotionally even to think about it, because I look
at who I was before this film, and I was
(12:16):
filled with so much insecurity and doubt and fear about
my life and who I am and what my purpose is.
And no matter what happens, even if this doesn't do
what it's supposed to do, like I feel like I
have a purpose. I feel like I'm a storyteller, and
I've learned how to be by myself. Like you know,
I couldn't go to the park, I couldn't go to
(12:36):
the movies by myself. And this experience helped me to
shed so much doubt that I now have more love
for myself. So I'm very grateful for it.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
The movie is called City of Dreams. This started your
project started as a dream and is now a reality.
Would you mind sharing with everybody because you mentioned your
mom and you shared this with me before and after
your mom passed, used that money from the life Insure
and you put that full one hundred percent into this project.
And that's right. You you stumbled across some difficulties and
(13:06):
some obstacles. Can you share with everybody how you would
what's up your mom even after she had passed? Yeah,
and then that she appeared to you in again.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Yeah, so she did, she did. It was that, you know,
it was a It was a really crazy moment because I,
you know, I finished the movie in twenty twenty two
and at the time, I was just you know, I
was I was in a hole because I just couldn't
get anyone to see it. And everyone kept telling me
how dark it was and how this and that it was.
(13:35):
You know, it wasn't. There were no werewolves, no superheroes,
and I was so down and I was thinking, I
don't have a purpose anymore. I'm alone, I don't have
a family. And I went to see this healer and
the healer said to me, you know, your mother's spirit
is around you all the time, Like he was like,
I can feel it. You need you need to start
talking to her. And I kind of felt weird. I go,
(13:57):
what do you mean? And he was like you know,
you should sit and talk to your mom. And I
was like, I don't really want to sit, maybe alone
in my room or in my car. And then I
just had this idea. I thought, you know what, I
still have all the WhatsApp messages with her, so I
started texting her and telling her, you know, sort of
how alone I felt and how much I missed her.
And it was strange. After a week of doing that,
(14:19):
I was in Mexico City and I was in post
on the movie. She came to me in a dream
and she said, You're not alone and I'm sending help.
I'm sending you help. And I was like, okay, I
wake up. The next day, I go to the post
facility and I see I bump into Luis Mendoki, who
directed When a Man Loves a Woman and Message in
a Bottle and Innocent Voices, which was one of my influences.
(14:43):
And I asked Louise to watch the film and he did,
and then I asked him if he would join as
an executive producer, and he did, and then he brought
Yalitza Parisio on as an executive producer and from that
point things started, you know, people came to support me.
And now we have an army, which is you know,
I look at it like my mother's army. My mother
(15:05):
sent this army to support me and support the movie.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
That is beautiful, and it's an army of love. And
we ask everyone to join to help us save these
fourteen million, twelve million children worldwide who are victims of
child trafficking.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
It's right.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
What message do you hope viewers take away from the
film's narrative.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I hope that viewers watch this movie and they get
so angry and they're so inflamed and they're so moved
that they say enough, enough is enough. This has to stop.
Because the truth is, I don't I'm not a politician.
I'm not a lawmaker. There's so many ways to tackle
(15:45):
this issue. But irrespective, you need the fuel of mass consciousness.
There was one hundred years ago there was things happening
in this country that are not happening anymore. And they're
not happening because we rose up collectively as a society
and we said enough is enough. And that was what
I wanted to do. That was my part, and then
I feel the pathways of how to end this there's
(16:07):
so many will open those doors will open, but first
we need people to say we want to open those doors.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
We thank you for knocking on that door open, you know,
kicking that door open on such an again sensitive topic,
yet important and in such a brilliant manner. I've done
a lot of things that I'm proud of and throughout
my broadcast career and my career in law enforcement, but
I think this is definitely this is definitely up on
top of the of the list because of it's important
(16:36):
and because of the amount of friends that I've met
in this process. It's been a true honor working with
you on this project. What a blessing to get to
know you, and I know that this is just the
beginning of an amazing directing career. You're an amazing human being.
You're a superhuman, a superhuman, and it's it's been fantastic
getting to know you and working with you on this project.
City of dreamsmovie dot com. For more info, you can
(16:58):
go to City of Dreams ticketst com and buy tickets
in theaters now this Labor Day weekend. City of Dreams,
We thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Just want to say thank you to you, Enrique. Thank
you to you, Enrique. You have been an angel. I
cannot tell you how grateful I am for all your support.
You've donated so much of your time to this cause
and to the film, and I'm truly grateful to you.
And you know, I hope whenever I'm in Miami and
you're in La we get together and have some spicy margarita's.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
You know that's happening. Bless your brother.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Thank you so much, exactly, absolutely take care, brother.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Thank you. Ro Mo Russian Donnie. His new movie City
of Dreams is in theaters now.
Twelve billion children are victims of modern day slavery. City
of Dreams movie is the true story of one child
that fought back. It was written by, written, and directed
by Mo Rumsondini, who joins me, Now, what an honor
to work with you on this project, to see your
film debut come to life. Mo, tell everybody what inspired
the storyline of City of Dreams and how did you
approach writing such a difficult topic.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You know, thanks for having me on the show, Enrique.
I personally was always looking for something that had some
meaning in some message. And I read a story about
seventy two immigrants trapped in a house in Monte, California,
which is about forty five minutes from where I live,
and it kind of shocked me. Like they were and
(00:43):
normally you read about sex trafficking, but these immigrants were
trapped in a residential location and they were a sewing factory.
They were forced to sew for a company called S
and K Fashion, and they didn't see sunlight for seven years.
Many of them, you know, they were armed guards. And
I was like, how can this be happening in America?
Like I'm originally from India, I'm an immigrant, and you know,
we know this stuff is happening in Southeast Asia, but
(01:05):
I would have never imagined that this was happening in America.
So that's kind of what prompted the idea to write
a script about it. But I was very focused on
making a feature film and not a docudrama, because I
feel like docu dramas they sort of scratch the surface
of your intellectual curiosity, but they don't pull you at
(01:25):
the heart. And I was like, if I want to
make a noise about this, I've got to give people
an emotional experience, knowing that it's going to divide some.
Some are going to find it to be too much,
some are going to find, you know, the hope in it,
and some are going to be inflamed and want to
take action. So that was where it came from.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Sure, And let's talk about that a little bit, right,
because I'm curious on how how how you balanced the
need for dramatic storytelling, like you're saying, and the reality
of a very dark issue, right, the issue of child
trafficking forced labor.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Sure. Sure, what I did is I focused on the
story of the kid. I created this character that was
a mute because he represents the voiceless, right, he represents
the twelve million who don't have a voice, and his
journey through the movie, his hero's journey, I call it.
And all the details I took from real life cases.
(02:16):
So if you pointed a detail and say, hey they
faked a passport, or hey, this is how he crossed
the border, or hey, this is what's inside the sweatshop
and what it looks like, all of that I can
point to a case of where I took that from brilliant.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
The way you brought these people to life, the way
you humanized every single one of the characters, I thought
was absolutely fantastic. Let's talk about the main role, Arii Lopez.
He plays his whos like you mentioned, yeah, a mute.
He was fourteen years old when you filmed. How difficult
was it working with a child in such an intense
and emotionally charged scenes.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
You know, I feel like I got blessed with ari
because number one, he's naturally very gifted. And so when
we initially were casting, how do you cast a mute kid?
You put a camera on him and you give him
a visualization and you watch how they react. And that's
what I did for the audition. And he did a
really great job. He was very open, so he just
(03:14):
had a natural ability to act. That was number one.
Number two, he's a very open person. He had a
very very sort of he was able to take direction
really well, which even for more experienced actors is hard,
and he trusted me immediately. That helped. And I think
the third is the most important, which is if you
(03:35):
look at what Denzel Washington was saying about Dakota Fanning
when he worked with her on Manifire, he said, that
is a forty year old soul in a twelve year
old body. And I felt the same way about Ari,
Like there were moments we were shooting with much more
seasoned actors and he would be like, hey, Mo, can
so and so come from here and we move the
camera this way, and I'm like, how do you know this? Man?
(03:56):
Like have you done this in another life? So I
think having him and having a really strong crew, we
you know, we sort of became a family. Something as
intense as this. In order for it to succeed, you
have to bring people in and gain their trust and
trust them. So I think it was a combination of things.
But I did get lucky with this very special kid
(04:18):
who turned out to be a savant in many ways.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
He's definitely talented and very very special. When you see
the movie again, he's mute, right, so he does not speak,
but there's one part and again it's a dark issue,
but you're gonna you're gonna feel for him and you're
gonna root for him, and it because he fights back.
He's the hero of the movie. And again it's based
on a true story, right, So that one part with
the only part and the movie when he speaks, now
(04:42):
I'm letting the cat of the back for those who
haven't seen it, but it was so powerful when he's
he's beaten out of so many different times that he's
beaten and he's not taken anymore, and it hit the
bad guy puts a pounding on him and he just
can't take it anymore. He gets up and loling Chao,
his eyes you know, all swollen up close, and that
one scene is so powerful with his ah, It's just wow.
(05:07):
And the way and the way you muted everything afterwards
for those couple of seconds and it's I'm getting goosebumps
because I'm reliving it right now. It was just so
powerful and again you were brilliant with what you did
talking about the different characters, the portrayal of the of
the traffickers and Hefei and the victims. How did you
avoid stereotypes and provide still able to provide depth to
each one of the characters.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
You know, what I did is I don't look at
them as bad guys. It's interesting. I look at Cizarre
and el hefe Is hurt people, and you look at it.
You know, there's that saying hurt people. Hurt people, and
they also have dreams, like Cizar wants to get into college.
He's that's why he's studied for the sat L. Hefa
(05:47):
is trying to provide for his son. And so for me,
that's what humanized them. I tried my best. I mean,
we don't spend a lot of time with those characters,
but one of my inspirations for that was Schindler's List.
If you look at am On Gut and Schindler's List
played by Ray Fines, you see this very, very evil
character and in the end, though you're like, is he
(06:10):
really evil? He falls in love with a Jewish woman
and he hates himself for it, and he's kind of
split because half of him is supposed to hate the Jews,
and the other half of him loves a Jew, And
I thought that was so interesting. And you know with
l hefe it's like he's punishing these kids, but he
also loves his own kids so much, and there's like
an inner torture to that. And I think, you know Alfredo,
(06:32):
who plays that part, that really got that.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
What was the most difficult scene to shoot? Would you say?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Wow? I would say the most difficult scene to shoot
is actually not in the movie. Really. It was a
nighttime dream sequence. Yeah, it was a dream sequence at
night that we shot in Morellos, you know, and it
was cold and freezing and all that kind of stuff
like that was impossibly hard. And then I would say
the chasingequence in downtown LA because we didn't have a
(07:02):
lot of resources, and there's a lot of movement, there's
a lot of running, there was a lot of parts
to it. There was a lot of people trying to
shut us down. You know, when you shoot a movie
in any other city in the world, you get welcomed
like you're a celebrity. In La they don't like you.
Man too, They're sick of people shooting on the street.
So they're like, you know, get.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Out of here, like so like, here's another one.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
It's challenging. Yeah, so I'd say that was the most
challenging scene, but also my favorite scene in the movie,
the chase.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
The chase sequence, the POV camera, the way you're in
like first person and it's adrenaline pump that raises your
blood pressure. You're really living in the moment. You such
a great job there. And this is your very first movie, man.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, definitely, it's my first movie as a director. This
whole experience has been overwhelming in many many ways, and
obviously I'm very nervous and scared about this weekend. I
had a lot of people call me and say, hey, look,
you've already won. You know, you've got a lot of
great people on board. You've got, you know, a lot
of people that love the movie and support you, and
it doesn't matter what happens. But yeah, having not gone
(08:06):
through this side of it, the whole release side, I'm
definitely like feeling it, feeling the pressure.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Let's talk about that a little bit about these early screenings.
What's been the most the most surprising or unexpected response
to the film film's production. During these early screenings that
you're having and for now opening weekend.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yeah, I mean, I am. I do feel there's a
lot more positivity than I thought because originally, originally when
I screened it for people in the industry, they thought
it was you know, I had this divide. There were
people in the industry and I called them the more
successful people in society felt the movie was too much.
They felt, oh my god, this is so intense. It's
(08:48):
too and I'm going it's not as intense as Twelve
Years a Slave, It's not as intense as Shindler's List,
but I think because it's a kid who were being
triggered by that. But then the majority seemed to really
connect with it. And I remember the first screening I
had in Mexico City, this woman came up to me
and she said, Hey, you know it's because of your
movie that I don't pay the coyote to cross my
(09:11):
children over the border, because they asked me every day.
And she was kind of solving and then I asked
her if the movie was too violent or too intense,
and she laughed in my face and she was like,
you gringos don't know what you're talking about. Come live
in my neighborhood. You know, you want to ask me
what's too violent. So there's been this divide and it's
been challenging because obviously gatekeepers who control what goes out
(09:34):
into the world in society are more successful and are
you know, they're used to more sanitized product and usually
when something that's gritty and pushes a boundary and you know,
has a megaphone to it comes from an established voice,
which I'm not. I'm not an established director, So that's
been a challenge balancing well, hey, we've got to get
(09:56):
through these people to get to the audience. But from
what I'm s seeing, audiences are really responding to the movie.
I mean, you've been at some of these screenings, so
you know, it's looking positive, very positive from the angle
of people in general, the every the everyday guy goes
to the movie and is affected by this. That's what
I've been seeing.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Listen, you're not an established director, but the fact that
you have Tony Robbins, Louise Ponci, Sylvester Stallone interested in
your movie? What does that feel that? What does that
mean to you? What does that tell you?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
It's listen, that that that tells me I should stop
beating myself up and not tell myself I'm a failure anymore.
That's pretty sure. And it tells me obviously, you know
Tony especially, it's like he spent his life being of
service to people and trying to impact people's lives. And
he's been one of my heroes. Like I've watched his
(10:49):
videos and read his books and I've even quoted him
many times. And he's become a friend now, which is
you know, surreal and amazing. At the same time, it
tells me that the film impact people like that I'm
certain of because the master of impact told me that
he was you know, it impacted him. So that's definitely
a very positive shine. And it shows me that, you know,
(11:13):
not every single human being is ready for change and
ready to grow and ready to take action, but there
is a large group that is, and that this movie
is going to affect them and hopefully, you know, incite
them to action.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
How have you grown personally throughout this process?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Oh man, in so many ways that I don't even
recognize who I was six years ago when I started.
And it's been such an intense journey, like just overcoming
the rejection, overcoming the challenges, letting you know when it
started with my mom dying and had a really hard
(11:52):
time letting her go, and I used her life insurance
policy to make the movie. And it's like I have
struggled my whole life with being alone, and I can
say that today I'm happy being alone. And it makes
me emotionally even to think about it, because I look
at who I was before this film, and I was
(12:16):
filled with so much insecurity and doubt and fear about
my life and who I am and what my purpose is.
And no matter what happens, even if this doesn't do
what it's supposed to do, like I feel like I
have a purpose. I feel like I'm a storyteller, and
I've learned how to be by myself. Like you know,
I couldn't go to the park, I couldn't go to
(12:36):
the movies by myself. And this experience helped me to
shed so much doubt that I now have more love
for myself. So I'm very grateful for it.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
The movie is called City of Dreams. This started your
project started as a dream and is now a reality.
Would you mind sharing with everybody because you mentioned your
mom and you shared this with me before and after
your mom passed, used that money from the life Insure
and you put that full one hundred percent into this project.
And that's right. You you stumbled across some difficulties and
(13:06):
some obstacles. Can you share with everybody how you would
what's up your mom even after she had passed? Yeah,
and then that she appeared to you in again.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Yeah, so she did, she did. It was that, you know,
it was a It was a really crazy moment because I,
you know, I finished the movie in twenty twenty two
and at the time, I was just you know, I
was I was in a hole because I just couldn't
get anyone to see it. And everyone kept telling me
how dark it was and how this and that it was.
(13:35):
You know, it wasn't. There were no werewolves, no superheroes,
and I was so down and I was thinking, I
don't have a purpose anymore. I'm alone, I don't have
a family. And I went to see this healer and
the healer said to me, you know, your mother's spirit
is around you all the time, Like he was like,
I can feel it. You need you need to start
talking to her. And I kind of felt weird. I go,
(13:57):
what do you mean? And he was like you know,
you should sit and talk to your mom. And I
was like, I don't really want to sit, maybe alone
in my room or in my car. And then I
just had this idea. I thought, you know what, I
still have all the WhatsApp messages with her, so I
started texting her and telling her, you know, sort of
how alone I felt and how much I missed her.
And it was strange. After a week of doing that,
(14:19):
I was in Mexico City and I was in post
on the movie. She came to me in a dream
and she said, You're not alone and I'm sending help.
I'm sending you help. And I was like, okay, I
wake up. The next day, I go to the post
facility and I see I bump into Luis Mendoki, who
directed When a Man Loves a Woman and Message in
a Bottle and Innocent Voices, which was one of my influences.
(14:43):
And I asked Louise to watch the film and he did,
and then I asked him if he would join as
an executive producer, and he did, and then he brought
Yalitza Parisio on as an executive producer and from that
point things started, you know, people came to support me.
And now we have an army, which is you know,
I look at it like my mother's army. My mother
(15:05):
sent this army to support me and support the movie.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
That is beautiful, and it's an army of love. And
we ask everyone to join to help us save these
fourteen million, twelve million children worldwide who are victims of
child trafficking.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
It's right.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
What message do you hope viewers take away from the
film's narrative.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I hope that viewers watch this movie and they get
so angry and they're so inflamed and they're so moved
that they say enough, enough is enough. This has to stop.
Because the truth is, I don't I'm not a politician.
I'm not a lawmaker. There's so many ways to tackle
(15:45):
this issue. But irrespective, you need the fuel of mass consciousness.
There was one hundred years ago there was things happening
in this country that are not happening anymore. And they're
not happening because we rose up collectively as a society
and we said enough is enough. And that was what
I wanted to do. That was my part, and then
I feel the pathways of how to end this there's
(16:07):
so many will open those doors will open, but first
we need people to say we want to open those doors.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
We thank you for knocking on that door open, you know,
kicking that door open on such an again sensitive topic,
yet important and in such a brilliant manner. I've done
a lot of things that I'm proud of and throughout
my broadcast career and my career in law enforcement, but
I think this is definitely this is definitely up on
top of the of the list because of it's important
(16:36):
and because of the amount of friends that I've met
in this process. It's been a true honor working with
you on this project. What a blessing to get to
know you, and I know that this is just the
beginning of an amazing directing career. You're an amazing human being.
You're a superhuman, a superhuman, and it's it's been fantastic
getting to know you and working with you on this project.
City of dreamsmovie dot com. For more info, you can
(16:58):
go to City of Dreams ticketst com and buy tickets
in theaters now this Labor Day weekend. City of Dreams,
We thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Just want to say thank you to you, Enrique. Thank
you to you, Enrique. You have been an angel. I
cannot tell you how grateful I am for all your support.
You've donated so much of your time to this cause
and to the film, and I'm truly grateful to you.
And you know, I hope whenever I'm in Miami and
you're in La we get together and have some spicy margarita's.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
You know that's happening. Bless your brother.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Thank you so much, exactly, absolutely take care, brother.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Thank you. Ro Mo Russian Donnie. His new movie City
of Dreams is in theaters now.
Host
Enrique Santos
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