Keola Racela Talks About His Genre Film Porno – SXSW Filmmaker In Focus

The 2019 SXSW Film Festival is almost upon us and we can’t wait to have you here! Before you make your way down to Austin, TX, get to know films from our lineup a little bit better with our Filmmaker In Focus series. Dive into our Q&A with director Keola Racela as he tells us about his film Porno, which will World Premiere in Narrative Feature Competition.

In your own words, what does this film mean to you?

Keola Racela: I think in the end I just wanted to make the kind of film I would have loved when I was a teenager. Something a little outrageous, and with a lot of heart.

What motivated you to tell this story?

KR: A lot of it was about working with my friends. I think there’s also something about making a genre film where at some point it’s expected that you let the conventions of the genre take the wheel and character takes a back seat. But I think one of the things that gives a film real longevity, what make me come back to a film anyway, is the quality of the characters. I think it’s a real credit to the writers and to the actors that the jokers in this film were people I wanted to spend time with and whose story I felt like I wanted to tell.

What do you want the audience to take away?

KR: I hope they laugh. I hope we get in a few good scares too.

What made you choose SXSW to showcase your film to the world?

KR: SXSW was the first film festival I ever attended. It was insanely fun and inclusive and I couldn’t imagine a better place to share a film.

Add Porno to your SXSW Schedule. Stay tuned as we share more interviews with our SXSW 2019 filmmakers!

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Porno - Photo courtesy of film