Eduardo Verástegui

by Gerri Miller

EDUARDO VERASTEGUI photo by © Larry Marano / Retna Ltd.

A little independent movie about the friendship between a former soccer star and a pregnant waitress, Bella has grossed two and a half times its $3 million budget and racked up accolades, including a Latin Legacy Award, Movie Guide Award and a People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Now set for DVD release May 6, it was a labor of love for star Eduardo Verástegui, whose company Metanoia Films produced it. We talked with Verástegui about what the film has meant to him personally and professionally.

Estylo: Did you expect the response you’ve gotten to Bella?
Verástegui: No. You can have great intentions and boom, it’s a disaster. Of course you hope for the best with whatever you do, especially when you believe in something so much and put all your heart and soul into it. It’s not just a film, it’s an issue for me—to make a film that would have the potential to elevate human dignity and have people leave the theater uplifted and inspired. We started this company in my house in my living room, and made Bella on a very small budget, in 24 days in New York City. Somehow this little Latino film not only won an award at the biggest film festival, but broke box office records in its category. It’s amazing.

Estylo: Why do you think the message of the movie is so important?
Verástegui: Latinos have been stereotyped in a very negative way in the media. We have to do better about the message. There are very few times you see Latinos having the opportunities to be heroes—an everyday hero, a man who is honest, who lives with the spirit of gratitude in his work, to serve and give, not take and steal, a man who is willing to sacrifice everything for his family. And women are not sex objects, you know. So I made a promise that I will never use my talents or be involved in any projects again that will offend my culture, my faith, or my family. That’s why I opened this company, Metanoia Films, so I can have the power to control the message of whatever I produce. As an actor you don’t have that power. You take whatever comes. I want to tell stories that have the power to touch people’s hearts and minds.

Estylo: So what’s next for you?
Verástegui: Another film that will be very different. We have three concepts out there. We will know very soon.