Punk Talk Producer & Mexican Filmmaker Mon Castro Discusses Her Short’s Filmmaking

Mon Castro is a Mexican filmmaker currently studying MFA Producing at AFI Conservatory in LA. Back in Mexico City, she produced the fantasy/coming-of-age short film Punk Talk (or “Boca Punk” in Spanish). Which screened in 3 international film festivals so far. 

Punk Talk tells the story of Carmen (played by Natasha Cubría), a shy 15 year old. Who after being rescued by a punk entity from an incoming danger while walking at night, is introduced to a world where she can fit in exactly the way she is. It is a movie about finding support in the most unusual of places.

Blending fantasy and reality, the project presents a world of vibrant music, detailed set dressing, and an empathetic character. Where sorority and punk go hand-in-hand. It is directed and designed by Mexican filmmaker Thelma Ruiz.

The lead actress on Boca Punk is Natasha Cubría, director, co-writer, and designer is Thelma Ruiz. Mon Castro is producer, and co-writer is Luis Gerardo LoGar. The film is shot by cinematographer Cristian Solano, and edited Valentina Santillán.

Watch Official Trailer for Boca Pink Produced by Mon Castro

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indieactivity: What’s your experience working on screenplay, production, premiere, and marketing?
Mon Castro (MC): I was first attached as the producer of this project in the fall of 2019, when the director and production designer (and fantastic friend) Thelma Ruiz approached me with her idea, before she had the complete script. Saying yes was a no-brainer for me. However, despite keeping the same essence, the project was very different back then.

In that version of the story, Carmen was already a fan of the punk band and started dressing like them in her social settings, alienating her from her conservative family and social circle. More than half the movie used to take place in Carmen’s family life. It had the same ending in the concert, but it was basically a completely different screenplay.

Technically, it was a different movie too. It used to be the project that Thelma was going to present to graduate from our undergrad, back in Mexico City. However, our last year was shaken completely due to COVID, and we never returned to classes or to production. Punk Talk (named differently back then) was forced to be halted, until we were told that the thesis projects were cancelled completely. Despite the heartbreak, Thelma and I kept thinking about it for months, and decided to bring back the idea and return to production once things got better. It was no longer a student project, but we kept working by ourselves, with the help of La Palma de Oro and Anamórfika.

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The screenplay changed a lot during that whole year, becoming what we have now. Thelma decided to remove all the weight that the family had, focusing more on Carmen finding a sense of belonging. We knew that ending in the punk concert was our most important set piece, and wanted to keep it that way. But, things started to get bad again with Covid-19 during that winter, and once again we decided to push, now to 2021. Our strategy was getting everything ready and patiently waiting for a moment where things started looking better, to attack immediately.

The pandemic brought a lot of challenges to production. The venue we were originally going to use for the concert went out of business, and we had to change it very close to our shoot dates. However, we made it happen. It ended up being a smooth two day shoot in June of 2021, with all the health and safety regulations in place.

Despite all the trouble we had with the pandemic, Punk Talk was an absolutely fantastic experience all the way. I am very grateful to be part of it and really proud of the result we got. If we had shot it when it was originally planned, it would be a very different movie. Perhaps, this story required the time and patience we had, in order for it to find itself.

Punk Talk premiered last year in the festival Cinequest, which I had the honor to attend. We have also been selected in London Short Film Festival and in San Diego Latino Film Festival, so far.

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How did you put the crew and cast together? Did you start writing with a known cast?
Mon Castro (MC): In 2017, Thelma and I worked on an undergrad film project together, where Natasha was cast as one of the leads. We were impressed by her ever since. So much that Thelma started developing PUNK TALK with Natasha in mind. Once we had a script, we approached her instantly. We never really had a plan B for her character. She was attached to it for so long, that it’s even hard for me to think of things going differently.

We held auditions for the rest of the roles, except for the bartender, played by Armando Rodríguez, who is a friend of ours from previous projects. We were lucky enough that we only had to recast one of the members of the punk band when we rescheduled the shoot. Thankfully, we were able to keep everyone else. Almost all the crew members were our former classmates during undergrad, who we had worked in multiple sets together before. Our goal was to have an almost all women cast and crew, which we achieved.

What and how long did it take to complete the script?
Mon Castro (MC): Thelma and her co-writer, Luis Gerardo LoGar, started writing the script in the fall of 2019, with the idea of shooting it in April 2020. That version of the screenplay was written between August and November. During lockdown, the screenplay was reworked to create what we have now

During the film production, what scene was the hardest to shoot? And why?
Mon Castro (MC): Definitely the “mosh pit” moment, where Carmen is pushed around by the crowd in the concert. The background actors we were able to fit were not enough to fill the space. Due to the health and safety requirements of that venue at that time, we could not have any more. We had some creative choices made to help with it (like shooting in aspect ratio 4:3 to make the venue look tighter and using heavy set dressing to fill the space) but it was still a challenge to make the mosh pit look packed and chaotic. The sequence required strategically choreographed blocking of Carmen, background, and the operating of our fantastic cinematographer Cristian Solano. It took a lot of rehearsing too.

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You must have donned several hats on this film, the measure of your input required intellect, effort, tenacity, skill (… you know better). What did it take you to put out all these qualities?
Mon Castro (MC): I am used to multitasking, and it doesn’t hurt that I enjoy it a lot. Having a long list of various tasks (talking to different people and vendors, working out the logistics, giving creative notes, overseeing castings and scoutings, etc) and crossing them out gives me the most unspeakable satisfaction. Despite the usual hiccups that arise, I love every step in the way. It doesn’t feel like I’m actually working, most of the time. The only part in all this process that felt very challenging was facing the terrifying unknown that was the whole year of 2020.

Where do you think your strengths lie as a producer?
Mon Castro (MC): I know that being a producer it is very important to be grounded and realistic: however, I like to consider myself an optimist. I always try to keep the energy up for myself and for the whole team. This is because, I believe that there is always a way to make a movie happen, and I don’t give up easily. I am quite persistent. I know how to walk away from a situation when it’s no longer convenient, but that is always my last resort. My ability to make things work is something that I’m very proud of. Also, I’m pretty good at keeping a fast-paced workflow in multiple environments, and I’m able to give each project the care and focus it requires. I like to keep myself busy. There is always something going on.

Let’s talk finance, how did you finance the film?
MC: We started a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of 2020, before the world shot down. We spent the first three months of that year promoting our campaign on social media, and in-between our collaborators. We got pretty good word-in-mouth, and were in a very comfortable place by the time the first lockdown hit. The changes of the screenplay helped reduce the budget, too. Later, we got the Shorts Mexico Work In Progress post production grant, which allowed us to finish our movie.

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How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make a dent without it nowadays?
MC: Marketing is extremely important. With so many things going on at the same time, and the amount of “content” (I kind of hate that word) that is created every single day, we must make bigger efforts to help our project stand out and look appealing to crowds. It doesn’t have to be crazily expensive either. Even small actions, like keeping a constant word-in-mouth, can make a huge change in how a project plays. I think at this time, it would be extremely hard to make a dent without it.

What do you hope audiences will get from the presentation of your film?
MC: Punk Talk is, at its core, a movie about finding a sense of belonging and support. We have used the punk band as a metaphor for feminism. Both, Thelma and I are activists, who have found comfort in sorority and the feeling of fighting together for the same cause. But, it is also a universal emotion.
The world can be cruel and unfair- but there will always be a safe space where you can feel supported and free. A place where you can find your voice. In this universe, that place is a seedy dive bar where punk bands perform. If audiences can leave Punk Talk feeling a little bit hopeful and accepting, we would have done our part.

What else have you got in the works?
MC: I am currently developing two horror feature films and an animated TV series. I am also heavy into pre-production of my AFI Conservatory Thesis film, which will be shot in May of this year.

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