Alx Through The Labyrinth
Introduce yourself and tell us what you are working on.
My name is Daniel de Jesus,
My name is Kristal Sotomayor,
We are two people who were lucky enough to survive getting Coronavirus.
Why did you decide to start working on a short documentary about Latinx folks and COVID 19?
In the US, over 33.8 million people have contracted COVID-19, and over 606 thousand people have passed away due to the virus. The CDC has reported that Hispanic or Latino persons experience 1.7x more cases, 4.1x more hospitalization and are 2.8x more likely to experience death according to rate ratios when compared to White, Non-Hispanic persons. The pandemic highlighted a lack of access to resources.
There are few bilingual visual stories about non-binary people and how the pandemic has impacted the Latinx experience. Often, stories about Latinx communities, even before the pandemic, sensationalize the trauma of their identity. The docu-animation film, Alx Through The Labyrinth, will be based on the real-life experiences of two nonbinary Latinx artists, Kristal Sotomayor and myself, that tested positive for the coronavirus in 2020. To showcase a wider scope of Latinx experiences, we will incorporate additional interviews, real life stories, and research throughout the film. We will use fantastical elements to show how the protagonist Alx, a nonbinary Latinx service worker, falls into the deep rabbit hole of seeking treatment for a potentially deadly virus. The film will incorporate dream-like animation with whimsical sound design to create an Alice In Wonderland-like canvas.
Why did you choose animation?
We chose the format of an animated docu-fiction short because this style allows us to portray our experiences in a way that is authentic and culturally relevant. Like many lower-income and BIPOC Latinx community members, we experienced inequitable access to COVID testing. Utilizing a magical realist approach is culturally in line with Latinx storytelling. Fantasy allows us to explore our shared experiences and collective healing from the trauma associated with seeking medical care while having COVID-19.
Tell us about your team
Our team is primarily Latinx and queer: Daniel de Jesus and myself are co-directors. Daniel is also the Animation Designer, and I am the Producer. Our team includes Gabe Loredo, the Graphic Designer, Kirsten Senske, the Background Animation Designer, and Sofia Mondragon, the Writer’s Assistant and Assistant Producer.
What do you expect the film to do for folks who watch it?
The impact we envision this project will have at the local level is to spark conversations around the inequities in the medical field for both LGBTQIA+ and Latinx communities. In particular, we aim to advocate for additional Spanish language healthcare resources to be readily accessible to Latinx communities. We will make our film available with a toolkit that outlines essential issues impacting our communities with action steps to make a change at the local and national levels.
You recently won a grant from Good Pitch Philadelphia, so congratulations. What are your goals?
In order to reach our impact goals, we seek support from
queer and/or Latinx animators
Sound designers
Foley artists
Voiceover actors
Impact producers
You can follow our progress on Instagram @AlxThroughTheLabyrinth. Please join us on this journey!