How Felipe Vargas Made Rosario a Must-See First Feature

Allison Rose: Hey, everybody. I'm Allison with FlickDirect, and I am here with Felipe Vargas to talk about his feature film directorial debut, Rosario. Allison Rose: Hello. How are you? Felipe Vargas: Hello, hello. Thank you so much for taking the time for having me. Allison Rose: Thank you for being here. So this is your feature film directorial debut.

Allison Rose: Tell me about the thoughts and feelings that you're having now that this is finally here. Felipe Vargas: It's so exciting, and what was especially exciting was being able to shoot this movie where I was born, in Colombia and South Felipe Vargas: America. Felipe Vargas: Then to shoot it a little bit in New York, L.A., it was just amazing.

Felipe Vargas: And to finally be getting it out there in such a big way, over a thousand screens across the U.S. in a week and a half, Felipe Vargas: is Felipe Vargas: huge. Felipe Vargas: It's overwhelming. Felipe Vargas: I feel very grateful to the cast and crew, to everyone who supported, especially tonight where a lot of my family is seeing the movie for the first time, being from Fort Lauderdale.

Felipe Vargas: So that's exciting. Allison Rose: Very exciting. Allison Rose: I'm glad to hear that. Allison Rose: So why choose horror for your directorial debut? Allison Rose: you listen Felipe Vargas: i grew up with horror the kind of grandpa's campfire tales of the monsters in the Felipe Vargas: woods and the guardian angels and the stars and and some of my family who's here will tell you Felipe Vargas: that i've been making little horror films since i was 10 or 11 and uh tying homemade prosthetics Felipe Vargas: to my dog that was the movie monster or uh flooding my parents bathtub with fake blood Felipe Vargas: and the tiles are still stained so i always loved this genre and it's great to be able to do it Felipe Vargas: at a little bit of a bigger scale.

Allison Rose: I know a lot of it was filmed in Bogota. Allison Rose: So tell me why, what was it about Bogota that really enhanced the film? Allison Rose: And were there any hindrances to filming in Bogota? Felipe Vargas: From a logistical perspective, the producers will tell you money. Felipe Vargas: It's a lot more affordable. Felipe Vargas: They have an amazing tax incentive.

Felipe Vargas: But from a more personal and story-wise, Felipe Vargas: it was just the perfect place to shoot this film Felipe Vargas: because it's about these traditions, Palo traditions, Felipe Vargas: which has to do with Santeria, it's Afro-Cuban, Felipe Vargas: spread very heavily into Colombia. Felipe Vargas: So the props, the set deck, Felipe Vargas: we found all of that locally, Felipe Vargas: real Felipe Vargas: and raw and textured.

Felipe Vargas: Also, I was able to cast my parents Felipe Vargas: and my grandparents shooting in Colombia Felipe Vargas: as extras in some of the sequences. Felipe Vargas: So it was just the perfect storm Felipe Vargas: and I'm so glad we were able to shoot it there. Felipe Vargas: It was really special. Allison Rose: Free labor. Felipe Vargas: A little bit of free labor.

Allison Rose: A little bit of free labor. Allison Rose: Talk to me about the rest of the cast. Allison Rose: What was it like casting them? Allison Rose: How did they feel about the film? Felipe Vargas: We got so lucky with the cast. Felipe Vargas: Emma Atubia is fantastic in this film. Felipe Vargas: She's done much more rom-coms. Felipe Vargas: So when I called her up, she said, Felipe Vargas: I don't even watch horror movies.

Felipe Vargas: I've never seen a horror movie. Felipe Vargas: But she was super game. Felipe Vargas: She had this confidence and this directness Felipe Vargas: and this kind of boldness to her Felipe Vargas: that I think fit really well. Felipe Vargas: And she was hilarious. Felipe Vargas: And the rest of the cast came around here. Felipe Vargas: David Dismalchian from Oppenheimer, Felipe Vargas: from Late Night Felipe Vargas: with the Devil, Felipe Vargas: Paul Ben-Victor, who, Felipe Vargas: If you don't know his name, you'll recognize him.

Felipe Vargas: He's been in everything under the sun. Felipe Vargas: So we got very lucky with the cast for this one. Allison Rose: Fantastic. Allison Rose: This film has been categorized as a high-concept horror film. Allison Rose: What does that mean? Felipe Vargas: That is a good question. Felipe Vargas: I don't know what that means. Felipe Vargas: I don't know what the marketing folks were thinking when they said high-concept.

Felipe Vargas: But I think it's, to me, high-concept is something you can capture in a sentence, Felipe Vargas: and it has that hook. Felipe Vargas: And the hook for this one is Rosario, Wall Street Broker, gets trapped with her estranged grandmother's corpse after she passes away during a snowstorm. Felipe Vargas: Chaos ensues. Felipe Vargas: So in a couple words, you can kind of Allison Rose: get it.

Allison Rose: That's just freaky, that first sentence right there. Allison Rose: But then the things that happen while she's with the corpse make it even more intense. Allison Rose: What's, in your opinion, most important to a horror film? Allison Rose: Is it blood and gore? Allison Rose: Is it jump scares? Allison Rose: Or is it the psychological aspect of it?

Felipe Vargas: That's a great question. Felipe Vargas: And I think it's the best horror films have a blend of all of that and some humor too. Allison Rose: Yes. Felipe Vargas: But I think what goes beyond that is horror that has something to say that is about the moment. Felipe Vargas: And I hope that this film captures something really special. Felipe Vargas: Because yes, it's like a bloodbath fun rollercoaster ride of horror.

Felipe Vargas: But beyond that, it's a horror film about sacrifice. Felipe Vargas: about the Felipe Vargas: sacrifices Felipe Vargas: that our parents and our grandparents Felipe Vargas: and the previous generations made for us to be here, Felipe Vargas: and it hopefully hits a little deeper and cuts a little further Felipe Vargas: when it has a little something to say.

Allison Rose: All right. Allison Rose: So how did this movie evolve for you from reading the script to the final edit? Felipe Vargas: I read the script from a writer named Alan Treza, who's fantastic. Felipe Vargas: He's a big horror comedy writer. Felipe Vargas: And I just latched on. Felipe Vargas: It had everything I loved. Felipe Vargas: It had body horror, Latino characters, multi-generational families, Felipe Vargas: a Felipe Vargas: lot of gore.

Felipe Vargas: And so it was just like a really good fit and great humor too, which I think is important. Felipe Vargas: So yeah, from there, it was really, I just saw it when I was reading it and we took it Felipe Vargas: to the next level and built on the set pieces, built on the scares to hopefully make something Felipe Vargas: big and cinematic and fun.

Allison Rose: So if you hear people walking out of a screening, what is one thing you want them to say about Allison Rose: movie Felipe Vargas: in one word gross well Allison Rose: let's hope that you achieve that thank you so much for your time and Allison Rose: congratulations on this directorial debut wishing you the best