April 27, 2009 01:15PM EDT

Q&A: Entre nos

There were plenty of people choked up after Saturday’s world premiere of Entre nos, not the least of whom was director Paola Mendoza, whose upbringing inspired the emotional story. Along with director Gloria La Morte, Mendoza welcomed several of the people who worked on the film to the front of the theater, including adorable young actors Sebastian Villada Lopez and Laura Montana Cortez, who play Mendoza’s children in the film. But the biggest introduction came next.

Mendoza admitted that it wasn’t easy getting Entre nos made. “This is an extra indie film,” she said. “There is one image that kept me going forward, and that is what is about to happen right now.” With joyful tears she introduced her mother and brother, who received a standing ovation from the audience. In the film, Mendoza portrays her mother (Lopez plays her brother and Cortez plays the young Mendoza), who was promptly abandoned by her husband after moving from Colombia to New York City. With no money and, soon, no place to live, the mother and two young children had to rely on their own imagination and courage to survive seemingly indomitable hardship.

“I don’t think I had a dry eye throughout the whole movie,” said Mendoza’s brother. Her mother agreed, “My children were my inspiration, my support, and my life, and they still are.”

For Mendoza, the hardest thing about portraying her own mother was finding fault in the character. “I think of my mother as a hero,” she said. She and La Morte worked collaboratively from the beginning to create a character who would be challenging and complex, but also provide hope to other immigrants facing similar struggles. Having two directors also made the shoot much easier, they agreed, and freed Mendoza up to concentrate on her acting during particularly intense scenes.

Introduced by Mendoza as “my beautiful, beautiful children,” Lopez and Cortez were asked to sum up their experiences working on their first film. “I got to learn about what it is to lead a hard life,” Lopez said. Tiny Cortez, perched on a chair so she could be seen, said, “From this movie, I learned that you don’t always have to be rich to be happy.” As the crowd erupted in applause, Mendoza said, “I think those are words of wisdom to end on.”
 

Director Paola Mendoza and family. All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
 

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Entre nos screens throughout the Festival.

Read more Festival Q&As.