Disney's Launchpad series of short films tell stories from underrepresented filmmakers, all with the shared theme of "discovery." The films follow themes involving gender identity, sexuality, racial identity, and more, and the writers and directors represent the next generation, a new class of filmmakers for the 21st century.
Director Ann Marie Pace's entry into the Launchpad series, Growing Fangs, is the most overtly humorous of the bunch, but still tells a deeply personal story about a mixed-race protagonist coming to terms with her ethnic identity... Well, sort of. Rather than a traditional depiction of mixed-race identity, her two halves are human and vampire. Growing Fangs is set in a world where monsters and humans co-exist, but not without a level of tension that will feel familiar to anyone with a mixed-race background, or even just living in an integrated neighborhood.
While promoting the release of Growing Fangs, Ann Marie Pace spoke to Screen Rant about creating the film, which explores themes of racial identity and sexuality, always with a delightfully light touch. She talks about growing up Mexican and white, and learning that having multiple ethnic identities doesn't make people "half" of anything; those identities are compounded and make us more than just the sum of various parts.
Growing Fangs is out now on Disney+.
Hello there!
Hey, how are you?
I'm doing okay! Mostly because I saw your movie, your short film.
Oh, that's great! (Laughs) That's good.
It absolutely was. First things first, give me a timeline. When did you have this idea, when did you meet with Disney, and what was that like?
The whole program has expanded a bit, obviously, because of Covid, and production got pushed, so it ended up being an entire year, through and through. With applying, getting into the program, and then, finally at the end, now, we're just a little over a year from where we first started and met one another. It's been quite a journey. Partially, because Covid happened, we all got so close and bonded so much through it and really just shared this experience together. Everyone involved, and all the other filmmakers and I.
I was wondering, was there any kind of crossover with the other film crews? Did you get to meet with them and share notes, and go, "I'm doing this," and they're like, "Oh, I'm gonna steal that!"
(Laughs) None that way! But we did build quite a community. We all met at the beginning. And that was really special. We had classes together, and we ended up doing a story trust with one another, where we bring our scripts to each other and give each other notes and feedback. And really, we all knew what each other wanted to see in these stories, and I think we all helped to elevate the scripts just that much more. And through the entire production, obviously, each of us had our own stories that we were directing, but we still had a text group chain that we all used to keep in touch with each other, and say "good luck" before the next person would go into shooting. They really became five other people I will take as my best friends going forward from this.
Sure! With your film, did it start out as a Latino story that became a vampire story, or vice-versa? Tell me about infusing those elements.
I definitely took from my personal life and experience. I am Mexican-American and bisexual, so a lot of the themes of the story, of struggling, feeling in between identities, and not feeling enough in either world, were definitely things I personally experienced and had to learn in life, that being part of multiple identities doesn't make you a fraction of that identity, but it all compounds and makes you who you are. So I wanted Val to be Mexican and queer, but I wanted those elements of her to be celebrated and normalized, and not the conflict of the story. So instead, I took this vehicle of this monster world, a vampire story, to tell those themes. And the monster story, in general, has always been one I'm really drawn to. I think it's a story of what it's like to be an outsider and be feared and misunderstood. It felt like the perfect vehicle to take this journey with Val on.
Can I ask, if it's not too personal... I'm mixed-race. My mother's Honduran, and my father was Polish-Irish. And that definitely seems like a big part of it... Half-Vampire, half-human. The actual "ethnic" part of it is a little bit in the back, because it's "human" instead. Tell me a little bit about your upbringing, if that's not too personal to ask?
No, absolutely! That is my story, as well. I'm half. My mom's side is Mexican, my dad's side is white. Growing up, I had both of those cultures and elements, trying to figure out who I was amongst that. And taking ownership of both of those. And it really added so much texture to the film. When I finally decided on a vampire story, I thought about, like, "Man, what would my Mexican family be like as vampires?" And it was basically what my family would be. My grandma is devoutly Catholic. She would still be devoutly Catholic, even if the holy water sizzled her skin. They'd still eat conchas, and pan dulce, they'd just pour blood over it! They'd still make sure to eat it. And I think, a lot of times with genre stories or monster stories, culture isn't fully dived into. There's so much richness in telling stories through a cultural lens that can relate to all of us.
It's fascinating, because this is maybe the most fantastical of the stories, but the one I most personally related to.
Oh, that's good!
Thank you so much for your time. The film is fantastic, and whatever you do next, I hope I get to talk to you about that, too.
Thank you so much, Zak, it's been great chatting with you.
Growing Fangs is out now on Disney+.
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Reviewed by Riyad
on
June 18, 2021
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