Two Daughters Visit Their Troubled Father in 'In The Summers'

Summary

All Of It – "Two Daughters Visit Their Troubled Father in 'In The Summers'"

Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Alessandra La Carraza (Director/Writer of In the Summers)
Date: September 18, 2024

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the new film In the Summers, an intimate drama about two sisters who visit their troubled father, Vicente, every summer in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The conversation between Alison Stewart and filmmaker Alessandra La Carraza explores personal inspiration, casting choices (especially the reggaeton superstar Residente in his acting debut), the bilingual narrative style, how childhood and family trauma are depicted, and creative decisions made during production. La Carraza reflects on her own family, Latinx identity, and the complexities of forgiveness and healing.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Personal Resonance (01:16–02:48)

• The film is deeply autobiographical. La Carraza explains it was a way to process unresolved questions following her father’s unexpected death.
  • "Making this film was a way to access those answers. What is forgiveness possible and what is healing?" (Alessandra La Carraza, 02:30)
• The complexity of the father-daughter relationship, including the beauty and pain, is central.

2. Casting Residente as Vicente (03:20–05:31)

• Residente's blend of a tough, tattooed exterior with soulful intelligence made him ideal.
  • "He just has those eyes that communicate, and that was incredible." (Alessandra La Carraza, 04:40)
• The challenge was in guiding an accomplished performer into a role requiring subtlety, shifting from charm to menace seamlessly.
  • "He's actually just very attuned to his emotions and able to display them at a drop of a hat." (Alessandra La Carraza, 05:09)

3. Casting Across Different Ages (05:31–07:15)

• Three sets of actors play the daughters at different ages.
• The youngest were cast first for continuity, hoping the older actors would bridge the gap.
• Building on-screen chemistry involved orchestrated off-camera interactions (ice cream outings, handshakes) and keeping some distance between actors to maintain tension on screen.

4. Bilingualism and Language Choices (07:20–08:22)

• The film purposefully blends English and Spanish, with no subtitles, reflecting the lived reality of Latinx families.
  • "I wanted to put the audience in that perspective... ask the audience to lean in, to not worry about the actual dialogue that's being delivered, but feel the emotions." (Alessandra La Carraza, 07:29)
• Dialogue in either language was left up to the actor’s instincts for authenticity.

5. Setting and Visuals (08:22–09:43)

• Las Cruces, NM, was found via Google Maps, chosen for its natural beauty and allegorical connection (the desert as metaphor).
• Filming in New Mexico’s white sands was beautiful but challenging, with temperatures reaching 108°F. The team filmed early mornings to avoid the worst heat.

6. Character and Dynamics (09:43–12:16)

• Details like Vicente’s shaking hands and underutilized intelligence are visual cues for his state.
  • "He wants to make that first impression... it's almost a moment of tenderness... to center us in his anxiety." (Alessandra La Carraza, 10:00)
• Violeta and Eva's different attitudes towards their father are highlighted: Violeta as independent, Eva as yearning for connection.

Memorable Illustrative Moment:

• Eva brings Vicente a gift that he turns into an ashtray—symbolizing his disregard for her attempts to connect.

7. Depictions of Addiction and Mental Health (13:02–14:43)

• Vicente’s increasing reliance on alcohol and drugs parallels his emotional unravelling.
• The state of Vicente's inherited house physically mirrors his inner decline over the years.

8. Sibling Bond and Coming-of-Age (15:28–16:58)

• The sisters’ relationship is a core theme; siblings act as witnesses and supporters through familial trauma.
  • “One of the powerful things siblings do is be a witness to everything that's happening.” (Alessandra La Carraza, 15:38)
• Their dynamic shifts as they mature, with their father perceived less as a hero and more as flawed.

9. Family Backstory & Narrative Choices (17:01–18:04)

• The film offers minimal explanation of the mother or the daughters’ lives outside the summers, trusting the audience to fill in gaps.
  • "For me, those absences are very important, very loud... trusting the audience... allowing the audience to have the ability to have an imagination around that was very important." (Alessandra La Carraza, 17:11)

10. Queerness and Identity (19:04–19:49)

• Violeta's subtle queer awakening reflects the director's identity.
  • “I wanted this to be centered around a family dynamic, but still include queer themes and a queer character.” (Alessandra La Carraza, 19:12)
• LGBTQ+ aspects are present, but not the central conflict: “Queer people have family problems, too. It’s not always related to our queerness.”

11. Intergenerational Cycles and Hope (20:07–20:44)

• Vicente’s efforts to be a better father to a new daughter offer hope, even as old patterns repeat.
  • "For me, that's the hope of the film, is that he doesn't give up trying." (Alessandra La Carraza, 20:26)

12. Directorial Challenges and Artistic Choices (20:45–23:28)

• Shooting car scenes was unexpectedly complicated (“cars don't recommend”).
• The use of still-life tableaus between chapters was inspired by Dutch vanitas painting, emphasizing the fleeting, fragile nature of life and family.
  • "They're these still lives that kind of show you your mortality by juxtaposing different images." (Alessandra La Carraza, 21:41)
• In editing, two summers were merged for better pacing—a hard, but effective, creative decision.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the film’s emotional honesty:
  • “I just wanted to display how complex our relationships are with our parents and how they make us who we are, and we have to kind of suffer the consequences of that.” (Alessandra La Carraza, 02:53)
• On the bilingual style:
  • “A lot of Latins in the US don't speak Spanish... I wanted to put the audience in that perspective.” (Alessandra La Carraza, 07:29)
• On family trauma and healing:
  • "When you go through a trauma or you go through something difficult, that's the only other person who's there to witness." (Alessandra La Carraza, 15:38)
• On what she hopes audiences feel:
  • "My deepest hope is for the audience to understand the complexity of the human experience and how it's not always just good or bad, but we are a combination of all those things." (Alessandra La Carraza, 22:20)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:16] – Introduction to the film's plot and La Carraza's personal connection
• [03:20] – Casting Residente
• [05:31] – Casting the daughters and creating family chemistry
• [07:20] – Bilingual storytelling and use of language
• [08:41] – Choosing and filming in Las Cruces, New Mexico
• [09:43] – Depicting the father’s vulnerability and mental state
• [13:02] – Escalation of Vicente’s addiction
• [15:38] – Sibling relationship and its importance
• [17:01] – Narrative choice to obscure family backstory
• [19:12] – Subtle inclusion of a queer coming-of-age
• [20:07] – Vicente as a father to a new daughter
• [21:41] – Still-life tableaus and artistic influences
• [22:20] – Desired audience takeaway
• [22:42] – Difficult directorial decisions during editing

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Conclusion

This episode offers a nuanced, heartfelt look at In the Summers—a film that tackles the thorny realities of family, identity, addiction, and growing up. Through thoughtful questions and candid responses, listeners gain a deeper appreciation of the film’s themes, the director’s personal journey, and the craft behind portraying the complexities of family on screen.

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Transcript

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[Alessandra La Carraza]

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. The new film in the Summers chronicles the relationship between a father and his two daughters as they come to visit him for a few weeks each year. The father just happens to be played by Grammy Award winning reggaeton superstar Residente. Each year, sisters Violeta and Eva fly to Las Cruces, Mexico, New Mexico to spend some time with their dad Vicente. Vicente is a brilliant man from Puerto Rico, a whiz with math and physics, but he can't seem to get out of his own way or to stop drinking. Vicente also clearly plays favorites. He sees Violeta as his protege and dismisses Ava. And when his drinking and toxic behavior cause to put his daughters in danger, their relationship changes forever. In the Summers is the feature directorial debut for writer and director Alessandra La Carraza. Indiewire says the movie is, quote, a delicate portrait of how fraught relationships can change over time. It is in theaters this Friday and Alessandra La Carraza joins me in studio. It's nice to meet you.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Alison Stewart]

You told Sundance after my father died unexpectedly, I had a lot of anger and unanswered questions. Making this film was a way to access those answers. What questions did you have?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

You know, Today's actually his 14 year death anniversary, so I'm thinking about that a lot. But I think, you know, just what is forgiveness possible and what is healing from, you know, when someone dies, like how do you heal after that, you know, and I think those are still somewhat unanswered for me.

[Alison Stewart]

What aspects of a relationship with a father did you want to capture in this film?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I think I wanted to capture the complexity of the relationships. I mean, especially with my father. Like, there was so much beauty that he taught me, my love of science, my love of questioning things. But there was also the masculinity that sometimes presents in the Latin community and how to battle that. Yeah. And just. I just wanted to display how complex our relationships are with our parents and how they make us who we are, and we have to kind of suffer the consequences of that.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk about casting. Resident Day, huge star. How did he come to be in your film?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I love him. He was mentioned. I hadn't thought of him because I, you know, I'm a huge fan, and my sisters have been huge fans our whole lives. But someone mentioned him as we were thinking about casting, and it was, for me, the perfect fit from the beginning, because, you know, when you look at him, he has that rough exterior, right? He has the stereotypes of a Latin man. He's got the tattoos. But then you listen to his music and you listen to his art, and he's so soulful and so smart. And that's what I wanted to kind of capture in this character is just that complexity to kind of fight against some of the stereotypes that the Lang community faces.

[Interviewer]

Well, you've got somebody at the top of their game in the music industry in one set of artistry. How did you deal with him in a less familiar situation?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I mean, he's just a talent. He's a complete talent. He came in very prepared, and, you know, it's. You know, they're like, oh, this is your. His first feature. But he's been in front of the camera his whole life, so he was very attuned to it. And it was more about making sure he understood the character and the nuances of the character through time, because that is part of the difficulty of playing this role. But he was just a pleasure to work with.

[Interviewer]

What do you think he brought to this part of Vicente that you really. You didn't, like, necessarily think was going to happen? You're like, oh, that's interesting.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I mean, I think he has such an expressive face, and he's able to do so much by saying nothing. And that is what I wanted. And, you know, with any of my actors, I wasn't sure I was gonna get. But he. He just has those eyes that communicate, and that was incredible.

[Alison Stewart]

He can turn from charming to truly menacing in a moment. How did you think. How did you achieve that balance with him of being so charming, so lovely? And in a split second, really turning.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, I think. I mean, that's just something that he brought very naturally to the role. And for us, it was the balance through time, like knowing what summer he was in and what we were trying to communicate with the relationships in that summer and making sure we stayed on track with that. But he just has that energy. I think he's been a performer his whole life, so he's actually just very attuned to his emotions and able to display them at a drop of a hat.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk about casting the girls. You have three different sets of actors playing two daughters, Violet and Eva. They start really young. They move into teenage adolescence, and they become young women. So first of all, what is the casting like to three different sets of actors?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, that was really difficult. I had an incredible casting director that helped out with that. But our goal was to have a through line, so we prioritized casting the younger girls first and then the older ones and hoping that the middle would be a bridge between them. I was just trying to cast the character and then hoping that it matched. Like, we weren't.

[Interviewer]

We were.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

There were some things about how they looked that we wanted to match, but we just wanted someone to understand the character perfectly. But it was hard. We were casting right up until right before shooting.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Alison Stewart]

So what is that like when you're casting right up to before shooting?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Stressful. Very, very stressful. Very stressful.

[Alison Stewart]

How did Residente. How did he perform with each set of actors? I mean, he had three very different. Well, I guess there were different aspects of his personality, but he did have to connect with each set of actors.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah. So what we start. We started off with him mostly doing scenes with the younger girls, and then we also encouraged him out of set to go get ice cream with them and just really trying to cultivate a sense of family. And the two young girls were just like such a beautiful spirit on set. You know, they brought their charm. They had special handshakes that they had with everyone. It was really sweet. And so that's where we started. And then we slowly built up. So then he had a relationship with the older ones. I, for example, told him I was like, don't talk to, you know, who plays older Eva, because I wanted that friction to stay. So, you know, we, you know, tried to orchestrate a little bit of that to keep those dynamics on set because we didn't have time to rehearse. This is an indie film. There was zero rehearsal.

[Interviewer]

How many shooting days?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

We had 30 shooting days, plus the still lives, which was 31.

[Interviewer]

Wow. And there are no subtitles in this. It's really. It goes from English to Spanish like that. First of all, why not? Why no subtitles?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, that was an idea I had when we were on set because it was very bilingual and it was fluid, flowed very quickly. But for me, it was two things. One, it's like a lot of Latins in the US don't speak Spanish, and it's the girls. We never find out in the film how much Spanish they know. They never speak back. And so I wanted to put the audience in that perspective. And secondly, I also wanted to ask the audience to lean in, to not worry about the actual dialogue that's being delivered, but feel the emotions, feel the intention behind them.

[Interviewer]

Well, it's funny, I was, like, leaning in, trying, like, can I understand it? Do I understand a little bit of it? But at the same time, I realized I don't really have to. You know what I mean?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Exactly.

[Interviewer]

How did you decide when someone would be speaking Spanish versus English? Or did you let your actors go?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I let my actors go. Whatever felt natural. That was like. My only rule is, like, I wanted things to feel organic and natural. So whatever happened, happened.

[Interviewer]

My guest is Alessandra Locarraza. The name of her film is in the Summers. It's about an actor. Excuse me. It's about a father who is trouble, has two troubling daughters, young daughters. They're not troubling. Everybody's troubled, let's put that way. Let's talk about where you shot. Why did you select Las Cruces?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I found it on Google Maps, actually. But I wanted something that captured all the different parts of my upbringing. I wanted a place that had a lot of natural beauty. I wanted a place that felt very Latin, and I wanted to. That kind of heat of summer. And there was also something about the metaphor of the desert that worked really well for these characters. But then I just, you know, was on Google Maps trying to search for a place. It called out to me, and I called my sister, and I was like, we're going to Las Cruces, New Mexico. And she was like, okay. And the second we got there, it felt like the right fit.

[Alison Stewart]

It was cool, though. You went to film on the white sands in New Mexico. First of all, how did you film in all white? I know enough about filming.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

It was also, like, 108 degrees that day. Oh, no. It was pretty wild, but beautiful. And, yeah, a feat.

[Alison Stewart]

How did you deal with the heat? I mean, that sounds kind of an obvious Question. But it is an issue.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, well, some people were on the point of almost fainting, so we shot very early in the morning. I do really well in the heat, so it didn't affect me. But we had to get out of there before noon because it got too hot.

[Alison Stewart]

It's interesting because the airport becomes a scene, and it's where Vicente picks up the kids in the first time he's picking them up, his hands are shaking a little bit when he's meeting them. What did you want to communicate through Vicente's body language?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, for me, it's that nervousness and anticipation of seeing his daughters for the first time in a new space. You know, he really wants to make that first impression. And I wanted the audience at the beginning to connect with him because that's really the only time we're with him alone. And then the POV really changes to the daughters. So I just wanted the audience to kind of. It's almost a moment of tenderness at the beginning to center us in his anxiety, you know, of wanting to make a good impression.

[Alison Stewart]

He's very smart when it comes to math and to physics. He's tutoring a girl, but it doesn't seem to necessarily have moved his life forward. How does Vicente's underutilized intelligence affect him?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I mean, I think anyone who has a lot of potential and is unable to reach it for any amount of different reasons, whether it's economic or, you know, mental health, you know, that ends up being kind of an albatross on them. And I think when you. When you know you're able to do more but you don't, that must affect your psyche in a really deep way. And I think that is part of Vicente's wounds.

[Interviewer]

How do the girls seek his approval when they first meet him?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, well, I think Violeta is not actually that interested in seeking his approval, but Eva. Eva just wants to. She wants to be loved so badly. She sees the best in him. She sees the, you know, how good he can be and just wants his affection, but wanting to connect, you know, he connects through games. And so playing games and being playful is like a theme throughout the film?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, and there's a time so our audience understands. Can you pick. Can you describe a time in the film where Eva is seeking help from him, but he's really just giving her the hand? Like, not now?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, I mean, it kind of happens constantly. In the second summer, Eva comes back and gives him, like, a gift of an ashtray. And she just wants to connect with him and be accepted by him and he's just like, doesn't respect that, you know, he knows how to respect Violeta because he knows intellectually how to connect with her. But with Eva, who's different in a lot of ways, he doesn't know how to. How to reach her.

[Interviewer]

And you see it later that the. The gift she gives him, he turns it into an ashtray. It's just full of stuff.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

We are talking about the film in the Summers with its writer and director, Alessandro Locarraza. We'll have more after a quick break. This is all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. I'm speaking with writer and director Alessandra La Carraza about her new film in in the Summers, which opens in theaters on Friday. It stars Rosadente as a troubled father of two young daughters. In one scene that really stands out, Violeta gets a little aggressive with Vincent and he says, you think you're better than me? Why does Vincent feel that way?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I mean, I think first of all, she is being able to achieve things that he didn't have access to. You know, she is going to school, she's getting good grades, and in his addiction and when he's drunk, like he wants to put her down and he doesn't want to go on and be out of the house, you know, So I think he's just trying to put her down and wants to kind of have her life in a certain way. You know, maybe there's a jealousy there.

[Interviewer]

How did you think about introducing and also escalating Vicente's drinking?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, it's drinking and drugs. We kind of mapped out the character so it's something that he. It's like a self soothing thing that a lot of people with mental health issues also use as coping mechanisms. And so we wanted to track where his mental health was in terms of his drug use as well. So it starts off as like a self soothing, like drinking just a little bit after work or after whatever. And it escalates the more his emotions escalate.

[Interviewer]

You see this house, the house, we see him over a period of years, and his house really, really reflects his mental state. Will you describe for people the evolution of the house?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yes. So he inherits the house from his mom. And so when you get it, it looks like an abuela's house. And he hasn't really made it his own yet. You know, there's not a lot of trinkets in there that are his. It's still really his mom's house. And as time evolves, he still doesn't add a lot to it, but it continues to kind of get darker, get dirtier, get messier. And so it kind of mirrors his mental state throughout the film.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, the first scene, the pool's lovely. The kids are playing in the pool. The next scene, the pool's dark, and then they see it's a playground for his new daughter, which we'll talk about in just a minute. It's amazing to see what the scenery does for the actors.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah. And it also, you know, it helps put the actors in the scene. I think, you know, that helped the actors just be in. In the world a little bit more, too.

[Alison Stewart]

You see him, though, he wants to share drugs with. I think it's. Violeta wants to smoke weed with him. Why is he telling himself why this is a good thing to have his daughter smoke weed with him?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

You know, I think it's. He doesn't think of weed as bad, and he's like, you're gonna have it. You're gonna do it anyways. You might as well do it in a safe environment. Not really understanding what he's exposing her to.

[Alison Stewart]

When you're talking about the sisters in this film, how did you want to show their friendship and their love for each other and how it changed over the years?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

For me, that's one of the most important parts of the film. I have a sister I'm extremely close with, and I think one of the powerful things siblings do is be a witness to everything that's happening. You know, so when you go through a trauma or you go through something difficult, that's the only other person who's there to witness. And I wanted the two sisters to be that for me, each other. And for me, at the end, it's their connection and their relationship and their friendship that really make it so that they can heal from this. And I wanted that to be a core of the film.

[Alison Stewart]

And how does the parent child dynamic shift as they get older? They go from little kids to adolescents to young adults.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah. For me, the dynamics between. Like the triangle of dynamics between the three of them is always important. And I. You know, I think that's something that happens in your 20s and 30s where you see your parents in a different light. They're no longer on this pedestal. They're no longer these heroes. Though I'm not sure for Violeta, Vicente was ever on that big of a pedestal. But then once you get older, you're analyzing your own life and you're seeing them in a different light. And There's a moment where things turn and they just. Your parents become human. And that's what's starting to happen for them in that last summer. There's like a humanity that enters in the way they view the father.

[Alison Stewart]

You know, we have a very limited backstory on this family.

[Interviewer]

We don't really know about mom necessarily. Why did you want to keep that part of the kids lives more mysterious? What happens in the other 10 months?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

For me, those absences are very important, very loud. But I really wanted to be a slice of life. I wanted to experience this father just through these moments in which he interacts with his daughters and leave it at there. For me, trusting the audience to put everything together and allowing the audience to have the ability to have an imagination around that was very important.

[Interviewer]

Do you have an imagination of what the mom is like and what their life is like?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yes, for me, everything. And with the actors, we talked about it, it was very important for the actors to understand what happened between the summers, because that, you know, they could bring those emotions into the next summer. So did they talk to the dad at all? Was he. Did he call for Christmas? Where were they in school? What friendships did they have? All of that backstory was built in, very detailed. And so you feel. My hope is that the audience feels it, but doesn't need to be told it.

[Interviewer]

One of the actors, one of the girls, has to do a whole summer by herself. We'll just say that so people don't give away too much. Tell me a little bit about working with the girl who plays Eva in that scene where she's really there just visiting her dad.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, that to me is like very heartbreaking part of the film. But she returns to try. For me, Eva is the hope of the film. She sees the hope in Vicente and her going to connect with her dad was trying to be hopeful that he might be able to bounce back and connect back. So working with the actor, that was one of the more difficult casting decisions because she's one of the few besides Renee that plays more than one summer. And so she has that joyful and she has that like youthful energy in summer two and then in summer three. She's kind of going through that like that change and it was kind of tapping into the different parts of the emotion, almost treating it as two different characters, but seeing that evolution. But she did, I think, an incredible job.

[Alison Stewart]

The film. Also Charlie Svialetta's Queer Awakening. Why was this an aspect that you wanted to include in the film and very subtly?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, well, I'm queer. And I've been queer my whole life. And so for me, that was an important part to include. But also, you know, the stories about queerness, I feel like, sometimes are centered around sexuality or gender. And I wanted this to be centered around a family dynamic, but still include queer themes and a queer character. So that was really important to me to have and have that reflection. But I didn't want the trauma or the plot points to be around queerness. I wanted it to be around the family dynamics. And then in addition to, like, queer people have family problems, too. It's not always related to our queerness.

[Alison Stewart]

We're discussing the film in the summers with its writer and director, Alessandra Locarraza. It opens in theaters on Friday. In the film, Vicente has another daughter with another woman. It's a little girl. She's about four or five. She's named Natalia. Is Vicente a different father to Natalia than he is with his other two daughters?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I mean, absolutely. I think he wants. That's his hope. He wants to be. He wants to try again. He wants a fresh start.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you think he's going to have a fresh start?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I mean, I think that's a big question. Right.

[Alison Stewart]

Because you're watching him, and he's sort of like, oh, gosh, is he doing the same thing again? He's doing the same thing again. Oh, no, he's doing the same thing again.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

But I think he's trying. For me, that's the hope of the film, is that he doesn't give up trying. Both with his older daughters and with his new daughter. He really wants to get it right. He wants to be a good father. Deep down. He wants to connect and be able to show up for them and the way that he sees. But he gets in his own way.

[Alison Stewart]

In an interview with Sundance, you said.

[Interviewer]

Note to self, avoid any scenes with cars.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Oh, God, yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

There are a lot of cars in this movie.

[Interviewer]

Well, first of all, why would you want to avoid them?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

You know, they're very costly and really complicated and can eat up your days really quickly. Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

So you ended up with a lot.

[Interviewer]

Of cars in the film.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

How did that.

[Interviewer]

How did. Well, did they. Did that pan out, that they ended up costing you a lot of money or time?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I mean, in the car crash and the like, there's just so many cars involved. I didn't know how hard it was to work with cars. I think that was also part of it. Like, this is my first film. Don't have a lot of experience. So a lot of what Happened was just by guts. But yeah, cars don't recommend.

[Interviewer]

One of the things that's interesting about.

[Alison Stewart]

The film is you have these little.

[Interviewer]

Tableaus between the sections telling about each summer trip. Why did you want to present these tableaus to us?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Yeah, those are something that were in the script and were very important to me. My inspiration was the Dutch vanitas paintings, the Memento Mori's. You know, they're these still lives that kind of show you your mortality by juxtaposing different images. Like a candle next to a dead fish next to flowers. Yeah, and that's what I want. That's what I think the city film is a little bit, is a moment for us to reflect on our own mortality and the time we have here on the planet. And so for me, that was like a grounding moment for the audience that I felt was important to include.

[Interviewer]

What do you hope people leave the theater talking or thinking about?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

I think my deepest hope is for the audience to understand the complexity of the human experience and how it's not always just good or bad, but we are a combination of all those things.

[Interviewer]

I ask almost every director who comes in, you had to make some decision because that's what directors do. They make decisions. What was a tough decision?

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Oh, my God, they were all hard in some ways. I think one of the hard decisions in the editing room was originally there were five summers, and we combined the first two summers into the first summer. And I think that was a good decision, but it wasn't an easy one to come.

[Alison Stewart]

Why did you have to make that.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Choice for pacing and rhythm and just trying to, you know, in the editing room, you almost have to forget what you wrote and forget what you shot and just work with the tools that you have in front of you. You're like sculpting something completely new. And it just wasn't working. As two summers, the rhythm wasn't working, the cadence wasn't working. And so we were like, let's start again and combine them. And it ended up working well.

[Interviewer]

Let's give your editor a shout out.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Oh, God, I had the best editor, Adam Dichterow. He was incredible.

[Interviewer]

The name of the film is in the Summers. I've been speaking with its writer and director, Alessandro La Carraza. It is in theaters this Friday. Thank you for coming to join us.

[Alessandra La Carraza]

Thank you so much for having me.

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