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

31:09But there's Denzel translating everything his teachers are saying about him to his mother. And the pressure in that situation. 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 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 um you know there there are moments when when you're filming you know because I'm also I I physically hold the camera I'm also the cinematographer so I'm oftentimes in there in the scene uh in the room doing those things.

32:00And 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, 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. 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 um when when you that part when the kids run up and kiss and kiss their mom 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 and he was just like okay I'm gonna go about my my day and I'm going to do what I normally do.

32:56And so I was like, I was unsure. I was like, I don't know how nervous he's going to be. 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, okay. And he just, yeah. And, and, yeah. And those moments of honesty and vulnerability and, and and i'm you know again we're a small crew it's like me and a sound person and a producer sitting outside um but i'm you know moving with the camera i'm like going around i'm getting the different shots and everything and just unfazed 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 scene in particular was like 30 minutes after showing up with the camera.

33:52We 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 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 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 and I think that is a huge part of its beauty.

34:44Yeah, yeah. Sorry, go ahead. And how different their experience is, not better or worse, but how different their experience is when you bring into the equation the element of language and the ability to communicate and I thought it was really interesting in that very same scene where the teacher talks about Haltz Ensel'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. 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 don't hold back and diminish the potential of these kids and these families.

35:44And 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 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, we have to do everything we can to remove them. And so I love 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.

36:26And it was just such a, to me, it brought to life, there was not a better example of language as access than that moment for me. Rudy you were going to say something off of when I was talking about points of entry and points of resonance was there something you wanted to add? I interrupted him as usual I do that with all of our guests it's a rite 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 but I guarantee was very brilliant. I don't remember what I was going to say. It'll pop back into your head. It'll come back.

37:02Rudy, Greg and I have been on this journey for quite a while. 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 now our financial literacy. And this is huge. 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. So one very specific one is Virginia's father says, learning English is my duty.

37:54However, as an adult, I have limited time for studying. And it made me realize that I've often sort of blithely thought, well, if we picked up and moved to Italy for a year, I'd just learn Italian. 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, you know, on their way to work, right? That kind of question comes from privilege, 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 time. 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 the things that I take for granted no yeah I think that that's you know it's so true and one of the interesting things when I was filming uh Adi's dance recital uh I was trying to find a spot like up front to to be able to get those shots that you see and right before the dance recital started I went up to the people who were sitting in the front and I said hey I was I'm wondering if when this recital starts at this section if I could just come and sneak and sit on the ground in front of you for a second and they're like yeah yeah it's totally fine 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 and one of the people I'm following is part of the dance room.

39:38And they're like, Oh, who? And I said, Ari. And they were like, Oh, she's in our daughter's class or in our daughter's, whatever. Like they knew her. And they said, why are you following her? And I said, well, I'm doing a story about kids who translate for their parents because they're 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 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 um you don't have a lot of choices when you don't speak English so you take what you can sort of get and oftentimes in order those aren't high-paying jobs so you're having to work a lot of hours.

40:27You have children, you have a lot of responsibilities. I was like, so after working a 10 hour day, a 12 hour day and taking care 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. 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 I'm sorry I'm very sorry 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 it's like okay alright that's right and that's where this film does the show not tell right because I think a lot of people have with no ill intentions have had those thoughts and now we see it.

41:23It shows us why. And Virginia's family cleans together. That's one of the ways that her parents support the family is that they 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. She showed up and was on the panel and more than held her own. She was amazing. And I said, Virginia in the film mentions that her parents have degrees. They went to university in Venezuela. Is that where they're from, Rudy? In Venezuela. And I said, Virginia, what are your parents' degrees in?

42:11And I'll toss it over to you, Rudy. Do you remember what she told us? uh so her father was actually a a horse trainer for a very long time but like a like a very like uh what was i don't know what the uh i don't know the word but like a steamed elite horse trainer so he had like a substantial job i believe her mother worked in like she's counting or something like that i thought she said she was a teacher 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, uh, uh, safe for them to stay. So they moved over, but those, those careers and those, um, uh, the work they've done doesn't, again, no pun intended, doesn't translate to, to, to, to coming over here and just saying, well, I'm just going to do that here.

42:59Um, because it's just, that's not the way it works. And so I think that the misconception a lot of times is, 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. 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 and you're expected to just navigate and, you know, do all the same things.

43:36but it's not easy. And as we see in this, it's doable. And these families are doing it and they're standing up and they're doing everything they can. But, you know, we have to have a little empathy and compassion and understanding that this isn't a detriment. 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 a bad thing to still be learning.

44:20that was a mic drop that's a mic drop moment i wish i had a mic i wish that i had a mic

44:33that's how greg has translated for me I used to say church, like a white lady. But now I say church. 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. But the DMV. And then Rudy, you'd be thinking of yours, by the way. Okay, go ahead, Grace. The DMV scene is another one. So we should explain. Yeah. where Hadi and her family are going to the DMV to get their identified driver's licenses, and they want Hadi to also 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.

45:21He asks for that, and then he says, okay, so who wants to go first? And he's just such a pleasant 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 ask the question well why don't they don't learn 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 another language. And when you travel abroad, I don't need to speak the language.

46:03And, you know, 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 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. 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 in the project the same way the families were?

46:51Yeah, again, I think that our approach as a team and when you're able to honestly say, this is why we're doing this. And when you talk to somebody, especially like the people at the school, 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. And everyone, that's what everybody said when we brought that. They're like, yes, 100%, 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.

47:30When you come to them and you say things that, you know, and you frame it in the way that it's like, this is important because this is how people navigate the world. It's how 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. And we want to see you do the best you can as well. you know we're not here to make a salacious takedown of anybody we're here to give this slice of life of the reality of how some people 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 within a government building is a little bit different but but it helped but it all helps uh that process when when people are saying, no, we believe in what this is and why we're doing this.

48:18And, and to me, it's always about starting with humanity at every level 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, 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 cinema and all these things. It's like 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.

49:01So, um, yeah, that's, that, that was, that was our approach. And that's why I think we were able to do that again, not just because of me, because of everybody involved from top to bottom. I couldn't go to that person at the DMV again, going back to, you know, and here's what we're doing and why we're doing it. 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 talk. You know, all of that bleeds through onto the next thing.

49:33It was surprisingly worked really well and pretty quickly to navigate those situations. Because don't you feel in some respect that people are craving these stories that are authentically human and non-divisive? 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 opposing sides. Yeah, there's no side to choose. That's right. There's no side to choose here. that the only side to choose is these kids and their families and that's on purpose greg like that's yeah so i you know i i know i'm sure i wasn't the only person who um 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 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 um lens because it can be a very polarizing topic depending on how you come into it.

50:39And the first thing I do with every project that I'm on, especially 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 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 post that and 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 what he is emblematic of, of give us your poor, give us your hunger, give us your will.

51:27You know, 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 a completely other thing, 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. 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.

52:06And that is a wonderful thing. 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. 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 to in in the films that I've been able to make to find especially kids kids can be very tricky on camera um for all the same reasons adults are on camera you know like it's you you never know what's happening you never wrote and for us to find these families and them just be so comfortable and so amazing and so i shouldn't say it surprised me, but I was, I was, I was happily surprised at how great they were on camera that, that there wasn't ever a moment where I was like, we're going to have to find another family.

53:21Like there was never, that was never that sort of thing. It just, it, it surprised me that once we found these kids, how great it went. Yeah. There was nothing performative. Two days. Nothing performative. There was never, yeah, it was a short, short shoot in the grand scheme of things. And he was just great. I'm so glad you were there the day that Tenzel's parents got the report from his little brother saying his little brother had poked another kid in the eye. That gets a 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 favorite scene the so i think of i think of projects 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 is a marker for humanity for me is 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 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 and those are all my favorite moments but when denzel has to basically say well he's poking another kid in the eye and and we almost shot it on we almost did it uncut because he's saying that And I'm like, I moved over to his brother and his brother's like, his brother's preposterously impish and cute.

54:58Yeah. Yeah. The brother has no shame. Right. He just holds up his candy towards the camera. And I do it again. And I do it again. He's like, and I'm going to do it tomorrow. But there's also, and when I, when I think about it, why are you snitching? Yeah, he's like, I'm going to poke your eye out. Thought you had my back. I thought you had my back. There's also a moment where Harye is, they're having dinner, 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-whips straight into my mouth.

55:44I was like, this man is embedded in this family. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. She was so sick. She was drinking Pedialyte and we were like, okay, you need to take a nap. She's like, I'm going to go take a nap. I was like, okay, we're going to get out of here. We're going to go for a little, but they were, yeah. It was unbelievable how open they were and how there was never, and this is always, I think, I can't, hopefully I can say this without ego, but like, I feel like my superpower is I have a trusting face and, um, and through humor and through the ease of the people that I choose to work 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.

56:33And we understand that this, we're never like, 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 and I'll never forget when we were doing the the line I haven't I didn't just use with Virginia but I I first used it on my I shouldn't say used it but said it to my nieces when 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 and and I said to Virginia. I was like, there is no wrong answer. There's nobody out there that is a better expert on you and your life than you.

57:11I was like, if you're being open, if you're being honest, 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 can go to school and get a graduate degree on what it means to live in your shoes. You own that. That is you. 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 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 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 you're telling your story you control your narrative and that that's that's just like part of all of this entire thing with with with the kids and and how lucky we were with all of them and with Denzel and with Virginia and with Adi it's like going in and doing that is is is what made this magic and it's truly them it's always them you know and and speaking of the kids I I really have to share a moment because I had the pleasure of meeting Virginia and New York and Hardy and in Los 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 a red carpet photos the impact that it had on them and there was a moment in Los Angeles where Hardy walked into what we would consider the green room if you will and I was standing in there and she said, would you take a picture with me?

58:58And I was like, of course, Hardy, like, like, take, like, let's take the picture. And we did a selfie and, and she said, I, I want to be a star. And 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 that we created and 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. And I mean that in a really, really good way.

59:36And hopefully people who see this film will also see themselves differently. And kids, like the three kids highlighted and featured and starring in this film, will also see themselves differently. and I'm personally inspired. I could tell that they were inspired just watching Virginia and her mom go through this experience. And Virginia said to me in New York, she said, I'm really nervous. Right before she and her mom were gonna do some media or we were gonna take some pictures. And I leaned over to her and I said, Virginia, so am I. Like, we're gonna be okay. Like, it's gonna be okay. We'll get through it together.

1:00:15I'm nervous too. So we're gonna get through it together. And you get to tell she's like, really? And I was like, yeah, but we're going to be okay. And she just, again, her shoulders slumped and she relaxed. And these amazing kids are going to be such incredible contributors to a better society for us. And I, you know, the bank is so proud of this partnership 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 access commitment, starting here in August, as we continue to do the work to create greater access to help close wealth disparities in communities.

1:01:00this 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 not only the current generation but the next generation as well I feel like the idea of someone being a star can be fleeting and I feel like I'm glad Haria felt like a star but I think that you show them as heroes right? Heroes are for the ages, Rudy Yes Yeah. And, and, and 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 the first time? And she said, she said, I couldn't believe there were so many other kids like me.

1:01:48And that's important because, you know, I think that it can feel very isolating sometimes, times, you know, like I think that my, you know, my first 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. 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 the singular thing that it was happening to thousands and thousands of other people.

1:02:24And it allowed me to truly understand that my film didn't have to be this like one in a million story, that it can be emblematic of, of a lot of people's stories. And it shapes how I, 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 a translator for their family. Denzel's 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 as she becomes a young adult and all those things.

1:02:59And 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 Adi or what Virginia was mentioning is that so many people are seeing themselves, sometimes for 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, of the hero that they have been for their family. And, I mean, lines after the screenings of people just coming up and saying, thank you, thank you for sharing this story.

1:03:39I don't feel alone anymore. And that's success. That's why we make these films and that's why we do this. So 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, 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. And, um, and it, it is, or, or I think, oh gosh, when my kids go away, I'm going to follow them.

1:04:25I'll miss them too much. And, and it was, it was so beautiful to hear her talk about her, her wanting to stay with family and her responsibility, 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. And what I have gotten to do is listen and learn. As audience to this film, I don't need to speak up. I need to listen. And I've learned so much by watching these stories. Rudy, congratulations. Greg, good job. What's your next film? Yeah, Greg.

1:05:17What are you going to do next? Impress me. Yeah. What's next? What are you going to do that's better than this?

1:05:29I'm calling Guillermo right now. something with special effects. That's what we're going to do.

1:05:39It's fun. We're going to continue access commitment though. And it's Rudy, it's been such a pleasure. And I know we'll continue on this journey and the expansion of access and the work that we're doing. Not only to close the wealth disparities in this country, 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. No, thank you for trusting me, truly, 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, you know, I just sort of go behind.

1:06:19I dive into my production hole and I'm like, all right, 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. 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. If you like what you heard, subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. We'll see you soon.