Nacho Vigolando is an emerging cinematic force that should be revered. Clearly loved by the Alamo crowd Nacho emerged yesterday as a returning champion, as if Caesar were returning to Rome after smiting the Gauls [I don’t care if this isn’t accurate it sounds damn cool]. Last year Nacho’s Time Crimes won the Next Wave Award, a jury prize, here at Fantastic Fest. It has also gone on to dominate pretty much every other festival it has ever been screened at. Yet, somehow I find myself in the enviable position of someone who has never seen it. I have seen more of his short work than I have of his feature work. How the hell does someone in my position manage to pull that off? What the hell, man?
Knowing that the man, the myth, the legend was returning to the Alamo once again there was no way in hell that I was gonna miss the screening of a collection of short films that he has done over the years. All of these films displayed his sharp whit and cracking sense of humor. Nacho was on hand to offer commentary on all of his films.
The program started with Limencello, a trio of short films made by other directors and produced by Nacho and his long time producer Nahikari Ipina. Three share enough thematically with the western genre but offer very diverse interpretations and stories. A Lesson in Filmmaking is Nacho’s personal tip on moviemaking using a cow and a Bat-ball. It is a very funny, single shot short film, which pits Nacho against Bovine Betsy. I seriously thought the cow was going to come after him. Changing the World, shot on a cell phone, was a short film commissioned to tackle the issue of climate change. Even when talking about a serious issue as such there is a genuine humor to it. We were also privileged to view his two 35mm shorts, Choque and 7:35 in the Morning. 7:35, a funny yet odd way send a love letter to a beautiful woman in a coffee shop, was nominated for an Oscar a couple years ago. But Choque is equally deserving of praise as Nacho plays a man determined to not let a group of young boys ruin his date in an underground arcade.
There are many other shorts as part of this program and all deliver big laughs and display Nacho’s gift for filmmaking and writing. He is wonderfully unconventional.
Nacho's presence at Fantastic Fest should be absolutely mandatory from now on. Not only was this shorts program one of my favorites, but having him in the theater for the Short Fuse collection and listening to him react to others' work was priceless.
Tim should consider having Nacho Day. He was priceless at the Karaoke Party last night/this morning. He is very much adored in the city of Austin.