About
Pepino Mango Nance was a class project made under the strict "rules" of CNTV 508 (at USC). The rules of the class were: the film had to be non-sync 16 mm, the number of shoot days could not exceed 10, the shooting ratio could not be more than 1:3, only two sessions of 4 hours each were allowed for the sound mix, and the finished film could not be longer than 400 Feet in length (approx. 11 minutes).
Bann and Gillian chose to be partners for this class but were considered to have very different approaches in style and method. They were inspired by Mike Davis's book City of Quartz, and so they started conducting research about day labor and their own work experiences in the households and businesses of the rich.
The filmmakers met Joseph Julian Gonzales, a second generation Chicano and music composer, who was beginning an experimental composition for a string quartet inspired by hawker calls of the vendors of downtown Los Angeles. Most of the street vendors were first generation immigrants - many of them undocumented migrants from Central America.
The film and the developing score influenced each other. Joseph's main concern was the "emotional pull" of the piece; the filmmakers' interest was the political scenario in which the project was situated. There was a considerable amount of conflict and tension among all parties in the making of the film, which was ultimately resolved.
During the course of shooting, a close friendship evolved between the filmmakers and Marta-Julia Lemus, the street vendor whose story runs parallel with Joseph's in the film. The street scenes were the most difficult to shoot, as they involved visual evidence of police action against the street vendors while not calling attention to them or placing them in any compromising situation.
In the end, the film is a complex mix - weaving art, politics, law, and culture into a whole package, experienced in 10 minutes. Pepino Mango Nance serves as an example of what is possible under very restricted means to other students of film. It also can be used in classroom discussions of immigration, urban America, politics and law as well as providing an inside look at the act of creation.
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