Hamish Downie’s Five Questions With Anthony Aguiar

Editor Note: Hamish has another in his series of Five Questions With…

Hamish came up with this idea because he was accumulating too much material for his Famous News Sushi column and asked if he could do these mini-interviews. Why would we say no?

Thank you Hamish for being such a trooper for us. We really appreciate all for your hard work.

Let us know what you think of these interviews in the comments below.

TGG: We have another great indie filmmaker for you this week. So, without further ado, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

AA: I’m a San Francisco Bay Area based gay filmmaker. I’ve been in love with films for as long as I can remember. I wanted to be an actor before realizing I was more in love with creating the film behind the camera.

TGG: I love San Francisco. Could you tell us about your debut feature film, “How to Grow a Tiger Lily”?

AA: Yeah, How to Grow a Tiger Lily is a labor of love, LGBT film and is my debut first feature film. It was made in the spirit of the Dogme 95 movement, of making films with just minimal gear and practically no crew and focusing mainly on actors and performances.

In terms of the story, before the film even starts, the main character Lily has already come out to her mom, and then, we begin to tell her story. She is struggling with anxiety and OCD and she just isn’t where she wants to be in her life. Also there is a surreal twist to it all. I told a story like this, to fill the gap on a topic I hadn’t seen before because It’s not a coming out story but it’s about what can happen after you do. That you have to maintain that courage throughout your life, to be who you are, not just a one time coming out event.

TGG: That’s certainly a unique twist on the coming out story, but a great one to tell. What was the biggest thing you learned while making your film?

AA: There’s so much I learned. Although I guess it was how much endurance you need to make a feature film and also how to deal with overall pacing and scene transitions.

TGG: I definitely know that. Four 20-minute short films do not equal one 80-minute feature film. So, what’s next for you?

AA: I’m currently working on another new film project.

TGG: I can understand wanting to keep it close to your chest. Be sure to tell us about it when it comes out! So, finally, how can we best support you?

AA: “How to Grow a Tiger Lily” is currently streaming on Tubi Tv, Revry and at the moment free on Youtube!

TUBITV https://tubitv.com/movies/577079/how-to-grow-a-tiger-lily?start=true

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ldU2B_VVI

For more information:

Website: www.AnthonyAguiar.com
IG: @AnthonyAguiar
Twitter: @antsfilm