4PLAY: TAMPA Carlos Treviño Int Pt 2

The second part of my interview with the screenwriter for 4PLAY: TAMPA, Carlos Treviño. To backtrack and read part one, click here. The film premieres at Directors' Fortnight in Cannes tomorrow, Friday, May 20th at 11:30AM in the festivals' JW Marriott theater. If you don't have any plans, why not jet over and give us the low-down? - Kyle

2) What issues or themes do you think TAMPA deals with for a straight and/or queer community regarding sexuality?

Every one of us has felt left out at some point, or to some degree. As much as the search for sex can be construed as a search for affirmation, this film is about a person searching for both in his particular place and way.

I think TAMPA addresses issues of looksism that run through the shallows of modern gay culture, and the anxiety and shame that can prickle up inside those of us who don’t fit into its templates. Queer culture should be a celebration of our differences as much as our commonalities. The plethora of body types represented in this film I think are reason alone for loving it.

(Speaking of that, I’m sad that, even searching every major city in Texas, we could not find a single African-American actor who would agree to be in this film. Even the queer ones wouldn’t come near us. Granted, the project is pretty outrageous, but still. Just to say, the script calls for more diversity than Texas was able to deliver.)

I think this film is also a visceral celebration of the baseness of sex and bodies. We don’t get enough reminders that humans are pretty much just squidge plus divine consciousness, so I’m glad to be able to provide that reminder with this script, in what I hope are completely disgusting and totally hilarious ways.