HBO's Revolution Rent: Broadway in Cuba
The Tony and Pulitzer-Prize winning musical Rent celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Broadway premiere on June 15th.
The musical's message still resonates today, as captured by the HBO documentary Revolution Rent about the first commercial American production staged in Havana, Cuba in over 50 years.
Stage director and filmmaker Andy Señor, Jr played Angel in the Broadway play, directed the Havana production, and co-directed Revolution Rent with Victor Patrick Alvarez.
Both join us to recall the experience of staging Rent in Cuba in 2014. They also discuss the intentions behind making Revolution Rent and the challenges they faced bringing the film to a worldwide audience.
Revolution Rent is debuting on HBO and HBO Max on June 15th.
"I've always told Andy that this is a sacred experience. As someone who's known a lot about the culture in Cuba, I could have went there and stirred the pot, but that's not why I was there. It was Broadway, it was Rent, it was Jonathan Larson's play, Andy was there, it was America and Cuba working together." - Victor Patrick Alvarez
Time Stamps:
00:00 - Introducing the guests, and Revolution Rent trailer.
03:40 - What Revolution Rent is about.
05:26 - What it was like working in Cuba in 2014.
08:00 - Victor’s experience and difficulties making the documentary.
09:17 - What resonates with Matthew in Revolution Rent.
12:05 - Discussing the emotional scene with Andy’s mom.
15:00 - How Cuba has been changing since 2014 and normalising relations with the US.
17:50 - How Andy started filming the documentary at his home.
20:00 - How staging the production in Cuba changed the lives of the team.
25:03 - What life lessons we can learn from Cubans.
26:32 - Clip: Rehearsal scene from Revolution Rent.
27:44 - What restrictions there were for filming in Cuba.
30:50 - The intentions Andy and Victor had with filming the documentary.
36:59 - What documentary project Victor is working on next.
Resources:
Revolution Rent (2019)
Careers in Film
Innersound Audio
Alamo Pictures
Connect with Andy Señor Jr:
Connect with Victor Patrick Alvarez:
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Transcript for Factual America Episode 65 - HBO's Revolution Rent: Broadway in Cuba
Andy Senor, Jr 00:01 Hi, my name is Andy Senor Jr. and I am one of the directors of Revolution Rent.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 00:06 Hi. My name is Victor Patrick Alvarez. And I'm also one of the directors of Revolution Rent.
Andy Senor, Jr 00:15 My mom is having a fit, because I'm going to go put up Rent in Cuba.
Speaker 1 00:18 [In Spanish: You are going to Cuba to do a show, when Cuba is suffering.]
Andy Senor, Jr 00:18 This is directly for the Cuban people.
Speaker 2 00:24 So, you're not going to make an impact. You're gonna leave Cuba the same as when you arrived.
Andy Senor, Jr 00:28 If I can just affect a small group of people. That's my part. That's enough.
Speaker 3 00:31 [In Spanish: That's the craziest thing he can do.]
Andy Senor, Jr 00:35 I feel incredibly at home. It's crazy to be here after wanting to be here for such a long time.
Speaker 4 00:41 We're calling it "Broadway Survivor". You were put on the island and you have so many tools to deal with.
Speaker 5 00:47 [In Spanish: Oh, there's no water.]
Andy Senor, Jr 00:49 They're dealing with life and death issues.
Speaker 6 00:52 [In Spanish: They've taken from us the ability to fight for what we really want.]
Andy Senor, Jr 00:52 [In Spanish: What do you want?]
Speaker 7 00:52 [In Spanish: Freedom.]
Speaker 10 00:52 [In Spanish: No.]
Andy Senor, Jr 00:52 That's your group.
Speaker 7 00:53 [In Spanish: Freedom!]
Speaker 8 00:56 It's difficult.
Speaker 9 00:57 [In Spanish: You're not here as a group. You're here individually.]
Speaker 7 01:07 [In Spanish: Freedom!!]
Andy Senor, Jr 01:07 The power just went out again. We're working on that.
Matthew 01:13 That is a trailer from the HBO documentary, Revolution Rent, debuting on HBO and HBO Max on June 15. And this is Factual America. We're brought to you by Alamo pictures, an Austin and London based production company making documentaries about America for international audiences. I'm your host, Matthew Sherwood, and today we're talking about Rent, the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning musical, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Broadway premiere on June 15. We'll be looking at how the musical's message still resonates today, especially as captured by the HBO documentary Revolution Rent, about the first commercial American production performed in Havana, Cuba in over 50 years. It is then my great pleasure to welcome to the show the filmmakers. Stage director and filmmaker, Andy Senor, Jr, who played Angel in the Broadway play, and directed the Havana production; and producer, and co-director, of the film, Victor Patrick Alvarez. Andy, Victor, welcome to Factual America. Andy, how are you doing? Where are you coming to us from these days?
Andy Senor, Jr 02:18 Hi, Matthew. I'm very happy to be here. I am actually in Miami. Although I live in Barcelona. I am in Miami for the premiere of the film.
Matthew 02:29 And Victor, you've got a tropical locale there as well. Where are you hiding out these days?
Andy Senor, Jr 02:35 A 'tropical locale'!
Victor Patrick Alvarez 02:37 I'm in an undisclosed location in Palm Beach, Florida. No, joking! I'm actually in my mom's garden right now. Yeah, I'm in my mom's garden in Palm Beach, Florida, where I'm currently residing.
Matthew 02:51 Well, I'm in, obviously, as you know, I'm based in England, and I haven't seen sun like that in a long time, as you probably can tell.
Andy Senor, Jr 02:59 Hence, all the blackness around you!
Matthew 03:01 Yeah, it's all black here. Well, you know, a shout out to the studio here, but they are a bunch of heavy metal guys. So, everything's kind of dark and black here. So, but they do a brilliant job. So, again, the film is Revolution Rent. As we've said once, if not twice, debuts on HBO and HBO Max on June 15. So, thanks so much, again, for coming on to the podcast, and thanks so much for making this film. It's such an uplifting film, I found it. So, I mean, without further ado, Andy, maybe, just for our listeners and watchers out there: what is Revolution Rent about?
Andy Senor, Jr 03:41 Revolution Rent, basically, it takes place in 2014 when the Ministry of Culture of Cuba and the Nederlander organization reached out to me, myself, Andy, to go put up the first musical - Broadway musical - in 50 years, done in co-production between the United States and Cuba. What makes that particularly special was the fact that I was in Rent. And that I'm also Cuban-American, from Miami, from parents who left Cuba during the revolution and swore to never go back. So, that felt like that was a pretty cool subject for a documentary.
Matthew 04:28 And, I mean, so as you've already said, I was going to ask you who had the crazy idea to try to stage this in Cuba, but it was the minister...
Andy Senor, Jr 04:38 The Ministry of Culture. Yeah, they're the ones who go to Rent.
Matthew 04:42 Oh, my goodness. And then you were crazy enough to say yes.
Andy Senor, Jr 04:47 I was crazy enough to say yes. There was no thinking about it, really; it was like, you know, I've been saying that if it was anything else that wasn't Rent, I would have, maybe, you know, been, like, oh, I don't know, but the fact that it was Rent, it's just not negotiable. I was gonna go put up the show in Cuba. Because if it wasn't me, it was gonna be somebody else, and that wasn't gonna happen. I was gonna go do it.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 05:14 Thank God.
Matthew 05:15 Yeah. As you say, it's 2014, this is pre- any sort of normalization of relations. I mean, for both of you, Victor, what was it like landing in Havana, Cuba in 2014?
Victor Patrick Alvarez 05:28 I was very, very, very, very nervous. I had done two films, prior to this one. One of them called Cubamerican, with director Jose Enrique Pardo and Andy Garcia, and then the other one, 13 Million Voices, about the peace concert, which happened in, I think, two years prior to this adventure.
Matthew 05:53 And, Andy, as you've already said, this must have been - and it's documented in the film - it's very emotional for you, isn't it, to - given your family background - you know?
Andy Senor, Jr 06:04 Yeah, I mean, to, you know, my dad passed years before this, and I- there was always just like, all the stories that he shared about Cuba, and my curiosity to go and see everything that they talked about, and to understand my land, and my culture so much more. So, to you know, when that plane was, you know, passed the water mark, and was going right over the land, the mountains, the green, and I was like, oh, my God, I cannot believe I'm landing in Cuba, right now. I got really emotional thinking about my dad, during that moment.
Matthew 06:46 And then so staging Rent in Havana is this the hardest thing you've ever done?
Andy Senor, Jr 06:54 Staging Rent in Havana was that the hardest thing I've ever done? No, I think this documentary is!
Matthew 07:01 We're gonna get on to that, actually, because obviously, if listeners haven't put two and two together, it is 2021, and that was 2014, so...
Andy Senor, Jr 07:11 Exactly. Putting this documentary together, getting it funded, keeping the lights on, keeping people working, getting it into festivals, getting it sold, that, I mean, what it takes to - what it took - and I'll talk about this documentary to get this to the finish line. It took everything. It really took everything.
Matthew 07:35 I was going to ask you later: will you ever make another doc?
Andy Senor, Jr 07:38 Absolutely.
Matthew 07:39 Oh, excellent. Well, then we will talk more about that. No, because there are people who - we have people come on who have same idea - you know, it may be their first doc, and it's a passion project, and they make brilliant ones, and then it just like, I'm never going through that hell again, you know.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 07:57 I think it's like, you know, the, my next documentary is going to be one location. A place that's, you know, not - I don't have to travel to, I have access to - you know, it's a, I think you get more like boujee about what kind of documentary you're going to make, you know.
Andy Senor, Jr 08:15 I gotta be honest, I love documentary. I love the medium, because there's no rules. And it feels like a collage. Like, I'm feel like I'm collaging using whatever I want to storytell, and however I want to do it.
Matthew 08:33 Yeah, and there's no money, either, but that's another story!
Andy Senor, Jr 08:37 That's the hard part. But I love the - I really, really genuinely love the art form.
Matthew 08:44 Well, I think it's an art form as you've captured it in this film. It's a lovely, artful film. So, I think that's...
Andy Senor, Jr 08:52 Thank you. I mean, you see a lot of documentaries, obviously. So, how - you know, these are the first conversations we're having with people outside our friends and family. So, like, as a documentary, for you, how does it - what's the question? How does it - How does it - what resonates with you?
Matthew 09:16 What resonates? And you know what, you're also one of the first guests I've ever had ask me a question. So, this is very, you know, I have had one other documentarian and we got into a big discussion about some things but most the time, you know, it's a one-way street. I do appreciate that. Well, how does it resonate? I think what resonates - I should, maybe, speak more personally...
Andy Senor, Jr 09:40 Yeah. please.
Matthew 09:40 You know, because a lot of, I mean, we've had plenty of these on. There's some great docs out there, and I'm glad they're made, but they are, they can be about some very difficult subjects. Yours has some difficult subjects in it as well, but yours is, as I said, I think, hopefully in the intro, I found it uplifting. I mean, it's a celebration of life, of humanity, you know? And you, and you, I thought you captured the rawness very well. And also, you know, I think a great - this is, I guess, it's almost cliche, but I use it a lot, but the great docs are more than just about the subject that you think they're about. So, this is more than just about, you know, so in your case, it's more than just about Rent, the production being put on in Havana.
Andy Senor, Jr 10:36 Absolutely.
Matthew 10:37 You know, it is about things that, you know - happy, happy to go stream of consciousness if we want, but in terms of things, you know, I thought we'd discuss is like, you know, it's a walk down memory lane for you. It's also, I mean, is Havana 2014? You know, in some ways, I mean, a lot of people, you've got all the pictures of the 1950s cars on the road, and that B-roll and stuff, but it's also - is it a bit of New York City in 1996? You know, in terms of issues that Havana is dealing with that maybe, you know, were more present in nine, you know, in the 90s. It's about resilience, you know, the way these people, I thought you had some great scenes of how people are living, you know, and struggling, and how that ties in to Rent.
Andy Senor, Jr 11:34 Yes, absolutely.
Matthew 11:35 You know, which is, you know, who would have thought?
Andy Senor, Jr 11:39 I actually had no idea, you know, again, I was just going in to put up the show, but then, you know, in the documentary, my mom comes in steals the whole thing.
Matthew 11:50 Well, yeah, exactly. And I must say, that was the most - there's a few poignant, more than a few poignant moments, but I found that one scene, certainly in the cemetery is, you know, that: I was emotional. That was, you know, in what she's, and I think, again, you've documented that well. I mean, that's, as you say, the power of documentary. You didn't know you were gonna capture these scenes.
Andy Senor, Jr 12:15 No, you know, when my mom has that big breakdown, I'm, you know, I'm, that's a moment where I was shooting that with my iPhone, in the hotel room. And at that moment, I had, you know, am I her son? And I put the phone down and console her or do I continue filming? And those were the more difficult moments for me, personally, throughout the process. And I'm so glad that I continued filming, as her son.
Matthew 12:48 Yes, exactly, and what you've been able to capture, I mean, I know it - you know, it's not a spoiler alert, really. I mean, at the end of the film, we know that, unfortunately, your mother has passed on a few years after the film was made - and yet you've got this, you've captured this as a son, you must be so - and your siblings must be so thankful for it.
Andy Senor, Jr 13:09 Yeah. I haven't quite been able to figure out what the great, you know, easy sentences for me to describe what it is, because it's - I did an interview, was like it's life-affirming, but it doesn't quite capture the house, that surreal, blissful, beautiful, melancholic thing of being able to capture your family and time capsule them, and that they're immortalized. And, well, this story will be told forever. It's very rare. And I feel very wowed by that. Very lucky.
Matthew 13:57 And then there's, again, the beauty of - well, it's the nature of film anyway, but certainly documentary is, if you were to try to write that all down, you'd have to be one of the greatest authors ever to try to actually capture that in writing. But you just let the cameras roll, and you capture it, and it resonates better, or at least more easily. Although it wasn't easy, you know. So, yes, I think, you know, that's what I - for me personally, I loved it. I think it's seeing Cuba. You know, I know it's now - it was back in 2014-15. But yeah, just even seeing Cuba and as an American citizen myself, and for the longest time not being allowed to go there, unless I had special permission, and I've never had that luxury. And I guess it could go now, and would love to see it, and everyone has all said, well, you need to go see it before it changes but at the same time that an odd feeling, too, isn't it? Because the reason it looks the way it is because of the history we've been dealing with for like, the last 50 years.
Andy Senor, Jr 15:09 1000%. 1000%. Yes.
Matthew 15:11 So, it's crumbling. Is that really actually something that's...
Andy Senor, Jr 15:16 And it's crumbling even more now.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 15:19 It's crumbling even more now. Yeah, it's like, you know, we're sitting here talking about this was seven years ago, but I, you know, I feel like when we left, I feel like Cuba just stopped. Just froze, and it's still there. And in that froze, it just deteriorated. And, you know, when you hear stories of certain people, you know, who went to school there, and then, you know, the contractors of the government are going to turn their school, their childhood, into a hotel, you know, it's just like - and that was the future of where it was headed, you know. It's just that things like that, and then now without any production, you know, you wonder so much and yeah, you know, that there's a special period in the 90s, and what they're saying Cuba is today is even worse than the special period in the 90s, which is, it's mind blowing. I don't even know what to say to it, actually, it hurts, you know.
Matthew 16:20 And then if I was to make another comment about the film, I am personally, again, a big fan of observational and although this is not strictly an observational, or cinema verite, or whatever you want to say, it's, you're not - again, you let those cameras roll, you capture certain moments, and you're not, I mean, you can get into a philosophical debate about how objective anyone can be as a filmmaker, or whatever, but you just, you can't, you know, you're not trying to make any sort of strong, you know, any political statements. You're just - it's letting the film speak for itself. And yes, there's lots of, I think it's well documented.
Andy Senor, Jr 17:01 You know why? We don't need to say anything. Because it's all there. It's like, they're saying it. The streets are saying it. The relationships are saying it. The pain in my mom, in her eyes is saying it, that it's all there. We don't have to say anything!
Matthew 17:20 If I may say so myself as someone who has no roots in the community, but does seem like one big giant dysfunctional family in some way. [laughter] Okay, I won't make any other editorial comments like that just in case I get in trouble. But okay, so you go to Havana, and that's the other thing; I mean, did you from the get go, you knew you had a doc on your hands, did you? Because you're filming scenes around the table with the family before you even go to Havana.
Andy Senor, Jr 17:55 Yeah, that's coming from, like, a space of, like - well, you know, before that scene, there was the scene where I'm just on my iPhone, and I'm, like, my mom is having a fit, right. And it's, like, and then I go into the kitchen with the iPhone - actually, it was my iPad - and so, you know, from that moment forward, it's like, I need to capture all of this, because no one's gonna believe any of this.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 18:25 Yeah, and Matthew, as someone who's an outsider on the community: that conversation that happened on that table is what every, it's every conversation that every Cuban-American that wants to go over there and do something that happens. So, that's a metaphor for every single conversation about anybody who wants to see their birthright, more or less. So, you know, in that sense.
Matthew 18:48 And indeed, everyone's so sincere and passionate about their views and their feelings, you know, your, brother-in-law making his comments about, you know, and then one sister saying that, and another sister, and then...
Andy Senor, Jr 19:02 And listen, they're right, he's right. Like, when I watch that now, and the trailer is, you're gonna leave Cuba the same. I was like, yeah, it's still, it's worse, actually! It's worse, now. It wasn't about me going to save anything.
Matthew 19:21 I mean, it's hard. I mean there's a bit of that in the film: there's artists who feel like, I mean, you are making a difference. Do you think, maybe, that's overblown, somewhat, or do you think that's, or maybe understanding the limits of anyone's abilities?
Andy Senor, Jr 19:39 I think that the difference is made in the small steps. And it's in when you look at those people's lives, you know, a handful of them are dramatically, dramatically impacted by my having gone there. That choice, I mean, they have completely different lives now. It's not like, oh, I changed people's lives, it's just what we do. Jonathan Larson sat down at a piano for seven years, and wrote an incredible musical that gave me my life, which was the whole inspiration behind me going was because how am I not going to go do that in Cuba?
Matthew 20:32 So, if we do go back to the production, I mean, we do see glimpses of it; the one thing we don't see, nor should we, is the actual full performance and how, you know, necessarily, how the audience reacts. But how did you find Rent resonates 20 years later, even one of your costume people said it's now a period piece, you know, foreign audiences? Cubans? How did you find that?
Andy Senor, Jr 21:05 They loved it. It was sold out. We ran for four months, I believe it was, and it was sold out, standing ovations, repeat offenders over and over and over again. But remember, just not loving Rent, but they loved the musical theater experience, because they hadn't done a musical there in 50 years, in that capacity. So, they were, you know, not only blown away by watching the show and its subject, but seeing young Cuban actors, you know, in a musical, and seeing them in collaboration with an American company after the normalization talks, and in the middle of all of that happening was- it was a window of hope and exuberance, and tangibly, and I feel like at that moment, Rent was the liberation of - in a theatrical way.
Matthew 22:17 And in terms of the arts and theater scene, I mean, I'm old enough to have been to the old Soviet Union, but I think, you know, are they stuck in time? Are they still doing versions of Oklahoma? I mean, in terms of...
Andy Senor, Jr 22:32 No, their theater is way more risque and way more evolved than Rent. So, I thought it was like, oh, yeah, we're gonna do Rent, and then I saw - I got to Cuba, and then they took me to see a show, and I was like, whoa. Like, it was, like, intense. Because, you know, they can't gather on the streets and protest and say the things that they want to say. So, they put all their politics and all their expression in their theater. Where it's a safer space to do it.
Matthew 23:14 I mean there is precedent, there. There are similarities in that sense, you know, playwrights and people like that, in the Eastern Bloc and everything of...
Andy Senor, Jr 23:22 Absolutely.
Matthew 23:22 ... you know, but no, that's very interesting.
Andy Senor, Jr 23:24 That's the magic of theater.
Matthew 23:26 Yeah. Yeah. And, I mean, what was it like being - because you, you know, Americans living, you know, Cuban-Americans, but living there for several months, pre-normalization, I mean, what was that like? I mean, you've got some great scenes you've captured; one of my favorites is you going to the doctor. That's my favorite. I love that doctor. She doles out more than just medicine.
Andy Senor, Jr 23:54 The medicine for the soul.
Matthew 23:56 Yes, indeed. Yeah.
Andy Senor, Jr 23:58 He was intense. Well, you know, about Cuban life, like, I just couldn't believe when I was just walking the streets that, you know, walking past - like the theater was in the same neighborhood where my mother grew up and my grandfather had a house and, you know, I grew up in Miami, but I always loved the New York City life, and the European life, and to me, it was like, Havana was this, like, mixture of all these things that was like - and I'm seeing all these, like, the Cubans all, like, selling out a theater and going to see the theater every single night. I was like, this is what I want in Miami. How cool would this be? Um, so it felt, and it just felt very alive, limited in resources, but abundant in spirit and infectious.
Matthew 24:57 Amazing. And so, there is also lessons we can learn, isn't there, in terms about attitude towards life.
Andy Senor, Jr 25:06 1000%. Yes. I think that, you know, a lot has been stripped away from the Cuban in Cuba, except their spirit. That's not something that can be taken away.
Matthew 25:24 We'll be right back with Andy Senor, Jr and Victor Patrick Alvarez, the co-directors of the HBO documentary, Revolution Rent.
Factual America midroll 25:33 Art and entertainment inspire each of us in different ways. But have you ever wondered what inspires the people who create our cultural touchstones? On the Spark Parade podcast, your host, Adam Unze, geeks out with artists and entertainers about their cultural spark of inspiration. Everything from Shakespeare to South Park. You'll hear from artists like Conor Oberst on Northern Exposure, Róisín Murphy on Terence Conran's The House Book, and Adrian Younge on Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. The Spark Parade: where artists reveal their cultural inspirations to spark the inspiration in you. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Singers 26:42 [Singing in Spanish.]
Matthew 27:07 Welcome back to Factual America. I'm with the filmmakers, Andy Senor, Jr and Victor Patrick Alvarez, co-directors of Revolution Rent; debuts on June 15 on HBO and HBO Max, the 25th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of Rent. So, we've been talking about, well, it's been a great conversation we've been having about your experiences, putting Rent on. You're filming in Cuba. I mean, speaking of which, Victor, I mean, were you able to film freely in Cuba? It certainly gives the feeling that you were able to, but how was that? Were there restrictions on what you're able to do?
Victor Patrick Alvarez 27:51 No, no restriction, I think the restriction was out of respect. And, you know, I always told Andy, I was like, you know, this film, you know, because of Andy Senor, and documenting him, following him, I've always told him that this is a sacred experience, you know, and so, I didn't, you know, as someone who's known a lot about the culture in Cuba, like, I could have went there and really stirred the pot, you know, but that's not why I was there. So, I really, really treated this project, you know, and Broadway, too because it was Rent that went there, you know, it was Jonathan Larson's play that went there. It was Andy Senor, you know, and it was America and Cuba working together. Why would I sabotage that? So, I always seemed it - you know, and, you know, just a little fun, you know, I was, you know, there was following or people listening and asking questions, but it was, there was a very, very high respect, and I'll never forget it: the last day, the last when I left and when I - after we took Andy's mom there. This guy, you know, this is a really, really funny story; we're at the airport. And one of, you know, one of the people at the airport, they tapped me on the shoulder like, hey, you, you need to come, and I was like, ah, this is it! This is where they take my hard drive, they take my cameras; like, this is it. I've been waiting for this. A year of filming. I've been waiting, and this guy, you know, I sit in this room. It's a very small room. You can tell it wasn't, you know, it wasn't too much. And I was, like, okay, this is it. And I just felt totally, you know, pure. You know, my heart was there. My soul was there. I did what I was there to do. And he sat me down. And in this very broken English accent as my Spanish isn't, you know, too great. And he sat me down, he hold my hand, and he said, 'Thank you. Thank you so much for everything you've done here'. And I was like, what? And I was like, you know, and it kind of just blew my mind. I'll never forget it. And he's like, we're going to put you in first class. You know, thank you, you know, and I was just like, whoa.
Andy Senor, Jr 30:01 Actually, we got to know a lot of the airport people, like, we were going in and out. So, we really were, we were going in and out so much, then, like, as soon as we arrived, they were like, and the battery come. I was, like, this is crazy, because, like, we had, like, open door policy in Cuba.
Matthew 30:25 Hola! You know.
Andy Senor, Jr 30:26 And it's like, and here, you know, here I am putting up a show, it's like trying to get any political person to have that kind of open door policy. And that kind of treatment, you know.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 30:39 No, it was a lot of love, lot of love, lot of love. I mean, I think everyone knew, I think everyone who was, like, knew what was going on in the world, they knew what our intentions were and who we were being. And that was very, you know, when people know what's going on, that's the best environment. So...
Andy Senor, Jr 30:56 There was a lot of love for us.
Matthew 30:58 Yeah.
Andy Senor, Jr 30:59 And there still is. And there still is. And a lot of respect, and, which I'm really grateful for.
Matthew 31:08 So, that love obviously served you well, because it's - as we were referring to earlier, it's taken a little while to get to this moment. So, what happened there, I mean, was this all on your own, you're doing this as sort of an indie and then...
Andy Senor, Jr 31:28 We were doing it as an - I'll just, like, run through it; we were doing it as a total indie, and then when we tried, you know, to - as soon as we finished every, you know, all the putting up the show and got back to the States. You know, we - to be 100% transparent - we didn't have the rights for a whole year. And we got a cease and desist letter from Rent saying that we couldn't do this documentary. And it was like, alright, how are we going to, how are we going to tell this story? And then I was, like, well, we're, you know, Patrick, we're gonna have to take a personal route and tell it, make it about my family, and then use whatever we need to use in a way that we can. And so, we changed our focus, and we created a teaser that was a 10 minute, you know, version of what it would be and we brought it back to Rent. And they were, like, wow, this is beautiful! [laughter].
Victor Patrick Alvarez 32:33 And Neil, Neil, Neil saved the day.
Andy Senor, Jr 32:35 And then Neil was like, I want to be executive producer of this. And he put in the first, he put in the first big chunk of money to make it happen. Neil and I - Neil Patrick Harris; yeah, him and I had done Rent together. That was my first - the first time I did Rent. And Neil and I did it together. So, then became, you know, the, just the process of putting the documentary together. And, you know, that was, like, the juggling of like, how much politics do you put in? How much of Rent do you put in? How much of this guy, Andy, do you put in, like, you know, the storytelling balancing thing. Then it was, like how, you know, trying to get it into the festivals. Then we ran out of money for a while. And then, you know, having people believe in the story, which was, you know, was some - the people that believed in it, believed in it, and took us far, but there were a lot of - there were mostly no's throughout the journey, mostly no's, and many, many reasons to, for us to just, you know, think that this isn't a story worth telling and sharing.
Matthew 33:44 And so what kept you going when you kept getting these no's?
Victor Patrick Alvarez 33:48 Honesty.
Andy Senor, Jr 33:49 Honesty. But, you know, for me, I think it was lack of agenda. I think because there was no agenda and it was just purely sharing. The sharing can happen at any time. The agenda, there's an end goal, but the sharing of it- I was clear that well, we're going to share it whether it's on YouTube for free or whatever it is.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 34:15 I was like, can I just put it on the internet? Like, woah, woah, woah! [laughter].
Andy Senor, Jr 34:19 This is gonna get done. But the more that we waited, and the more that we worked on it, the - you know, it also, I think it's, you know, since this is for documentaries, and a documentary podcast, Christine O'Malley and Doug Blush, who are pros in the documentary world, no one we worked with before and, you know, really knew what we were doing from the documentary space. Yeah, I mean, like, we had a lot of people that would come in that would, what's it called, that would advise us but as far as like, the dirty work of producing every single day, Christine O'Malley was incredible, and Doug, like knowing what to do with the cut, and how to bring life to it.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 35:15 And trusting and trusting ourselves, you know, like Doug really came in, and's like this is - you don't need - it doesn't need to be anything else. This is - it's all there, you know, and thank God, thank God.
Andy Senor, Jr 35:28 And then it came at a perfect time because the 25th anniversary, and then the pandemic, and all this, it was, like, of course, of course this is the perfect time to release this.
Matthew 35:39 We had a documentarian on, actually, the most recent one we've recorded, hasn't been released yet, but she's American-French documentarian, but she's a believer in these little angels, and she's not the first one to say that you've got on these projects...
Victor Patrick Alvarez 35:52 Movie gods.
Matthew 35:53 ... you have these little movie gods, whoever, however you look at it, your worldview, there's something that goes that just gives you a little nudge that no, this is going to work. This is the right thing.
Andy Senor, Jr 36:07 There is a poetic air that you ride. Take the chi, right? It's just there. And if you just let go of what you think it's supposed - how you think it's all supposed to go. And you're just like, you just ride and you just continue to just take it step by step, it's so hard to say because it's, like, it can be so maddening. But there's a truth that is just undeniable that's there, that if you just really listen to it, it will - for me, it's taken me to the most magical places, and it's taken me here- us here.
Matthew 36:55 And so you two, you've already said, you would consider doing a another doc, is that right?
Andy Senor, Jr 37:00 I would love it. Do you want to answer that, and then I'll answer it?
Victor Patrick Alvarez 37:03 Yeah, I am. I'm working on one right now. I'm really, really excited about it. It's essentially on - can't really get too into detail - but it's on American education, you know, through independent education, and how teenagers can kind of - like, what is the way to teach our youth? You know? Like, how, what is? What is that? Is it through a curriculum, or is it not? And I'm really, really excited about it. And yeah, I'm working on it right now, actually, so...
Matthew 37:39 That's very interesting, actually. It's a - to use the parlance of - well, maybe it's more of a business parlance - it's kind of, it's probably another one of these areas that's ripe for disruption, isn't it?
Victor Patrick Alvarez 37:51 Oh, yeah.
Matthew 37:53 Life is ripe for disruption.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 37:53 Bringing them all, we are revolutions all over! Well, which is a huge point to this film, I feel like, you know, and thank God for companies like HBO, who are, you know, who gave us the platform to tell - because, you know, you think of HBO and you think of, like, you know, top of the top, and here we are, like, them giving us a chance and, like an organic perspective. And I'm, I'm really curious to see what flourishes throughout this type of distribution and this type of film. You know, this film was made on our backs, you know, this film was made with our hearts, you know, and so, for HBO to give us that opportunity, you know, I'm so curious of how that's going to permeate into filmmakers around the world and documentarians. So, I'm really excited about that, and thank God for them, you know.
Matthew 38:02 I think, yeah, they definitely deserve a shout out. And I also think they also - they know what they've seen, and they wouldn't just be doing this for the, out of the goodness of their hearts, let's put it that way. But well done. And Andy, what about you?
Andy Senor, Jr 38:58 You know, I'm still, obviously, still doing theater. I do have an itch to act again. And as far as documentary, I really do love it. And there's no particular thoughts on what that might be right now. I'm mostly curious to - I need to finish this journey, which is now releasing the film and what and - you know, a large part of documentary I'm learning, and I've heard, is how it exists out in the world after you make it. And so, I'm - that's a big blind spot that I have right now. So, I'm excited to see how this lives, how it's received, what conversations does it provoke or doesn't at all, and I have no idea, so I'm curious about you know, what's next.
Matthew 40:00 If I may give my own personal feedback, and I know you've got a writer credit on this as well, I mean, I hope you make another one. And I hope you team up with Victor as well. I think you've made a lovely film.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 40:14 Yeah, I think Andy and I, we have, you know, before, before we go out of this world, I think we got one more Cuban project...
Andy Senor, Jr 40:21 Something. Something.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 40:23 Something but I don't know. I don't know. But, you know, soon.
Matthew 40:27 And if we haven't scared you off, we'd love to have you back on again when you do - whether it's that Cuban project or possibly that education project, Victor, or whatever is next...
Victor Patrick Alvarez 40:40 I would love to, yeah.
Matthew 40:41 ... in your careers. So, thank you so much for coming on.
Andy Senor, Jr 40:44 Thank you, Matthew.
Matthew 40:45 It's been a pleasure and honor to meet you. I really enjoyed it. And yes, best of luck with the release, and I'm sure it will do quite well. So, so thanks again.
Victor Patrick Alvarez 40:56 Thank you, Matthew, thank you.
Andy Senor, Jr 40:57 Thank you, Matthew.
Matthew 40:58 A big thank you again to Andy Senor, Jr and Victor Patrick Alvarez, the co-directors of the HBO documentary Revolution Rent, debuting June 15, on HBO and HBO Max. If you have any questions regarding how you can become a documentary director and producer, or other roles in the industry, I recommend you check out careersinfilm.com to learn more about careers in the film industry. I want to give a shout out to Sam and Joe at Innersound Audio just outside of York, England. And a big thanks to Nevena Paunovic, our podcast manager at Alamo Pictures who ensures we continue getting such great guests like Andy and Victor onto the show. And finally, a big thanks to our listeners. As always, we love to hear from you, so please keep sending us feedback and episode ideas, whether it is on YouTube, social media, or directly by email. And please remember to like us, and share us with your friends and family, wherever you happen to listen or watch podcasts. This is Factual America, signing off.
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