An upcoming short film, “Castaway” by director and writer Nathan Marquez, shines a spotlight on the intersectionality between being queer, growing up Latinx and Catholic and learning to find community.
The film is currently in pre-production with Z Marc Productions both producing and supporting funding for the short film by hosting the Queer Creative Lounge on Aug. 26 at Wil’s Martini Lounge, 1478 W. Catalpa Ave. The networking event is also meant to provide community for other queer filmmakers.
“I think with what’s going on politics at this time, it’s so important to see from the grassroots up that we can still network and can still be inclusive as a networking venue,” said Thomas Z. Seffernick, the founder of Z Marc Productions.
The short film centers on a father, Victor, who reconciles his relationship with his queer son, Jamie, whom he kicked out years ago when he was a teenager.
In many ways, the protagonist is similar to Marquez himself. “Castaway” is based on his lived experiences growing up in suburban Chicago as a queer Latino man in a Catholic household.
“I went to church school like every Sunday and I was like, ‘Okay, what I’m reading is telling me I’m not like accepted. So how can I find my community?’” said Marquez.
For Marquez, the intersectionality between these two identities of being queer and Latinx are integral to show on the big screen. He hopes that with stories like “Castaway,” a dialogue can open with audiences’ families.
“I think that it’s important to shed light or just embrace that, and have Latinx families watch a story like this so that they can communicate better with the children they’re raising, or maybe [even with] themselves who are also feeling that way,” Marquez said.
He also hopes that with the intersectionality, the film will feel more universal, especially since it is done through the story of a father and son. The film unfolds through the perspective of Victor, Marquez said, because he wanted to represent someone who is learning how to care for someone in the LGBTQ+ community.
Marquez didn’t set out to become a filmmaker. He was initially studying mass communications at his community college, and decided he was going to be a journalist. It wasn’t until he took a video editing class that he started having second thoughts on his career.
Eventually, he decided he that he was going to go big and try to become a director.
“I love storytelling. I think that was like why journalism like spoke out to me too,” Marquez said. “I just realized like, you know what? I actually think I could make a career out of film.”
He transferred to Columbia College Chicago and from there, he started getting his foot in the door in the entertainment industry and learned how to create a film. What remained a constant for him throughout all of it was his desire to tell stories.
“The reason why I love storytelling so much is because I really enjoy like my relationships that I have with my friends and family and a lot of stories that I do tell focus on the relationships of people,” said Marquez. “I feel like that’s always something that fascinated me.”
The short film is three years in the making, and for Marquez, part of the motivation to continue making it was by “just being alive” and going through the motions of his daily life.
“We have small interactions throughout the day, like when we meet strangers on the train or walking through the city—small interactions that really like leave an impact on you,” Marquez said.
