Narrating ‘Problemista’

An immigrant from El Salvador who needs a job, a sponsor and whose visa is running out, is the premise of filmmaker, comic, and actor Julio Torres’s movie “Problemista.” Torres, who wrote, directed, and stars as the main character Alejandro, the struggling toy designer, with Tilda Swinton as the difficult art critic who wants him as her personal assistant, tapped into his own experiences, crafting a movie with humor as he showcases the absurd bureaucracy that immigrants go through, as in: you need money for a visa, but can’t get the money for it without a job.

Bellport’s Isabella Rossellini narrates the film. She’ll be at the Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center for a special screening, Friday, March 29, for a Q & A after the 7:30 p.m. show. The movie, two shows a night, will be shown starting March 22, leading up to that date.

Rossellini spoke to the Advance by phone about her involvement.

Long Island Advance: Had you known Julio Torres before and how did you connect with him for the film?

Isabella Rossellini: We have the same agent, Huston Costa, who is with the United Talent Agency, and Huston said to me, “I have this young comedian. Do you know him?” I said, “No, not really.” I’ve seen him on “Saturday Night Live” and at the Theater of the Absurd. He used a kind of conveyer belt with items on it like a shoe, a stone, and an egg, and made comments about each of them. He cracked me up and I’d never seen anything like it. Then I learned Tilda Swinton accepted the lead role. I love her. Her choice of films is very daring—even this one, to work with a young person (Torres is 37) on his first film. So, I knew he was a talent. He is adorable and very funny. In the film, as an immigrant, he gets caught in these absurd circles—you can’t work but have to pay $6,000 for the visa—and he illustrates his internal agitation, like an imaginary staircase that keeps going up.

LIA: How did it work with the voiceover? Were you on the set?

IR: He shot the film in New York City and did the voiceover in Brooklyn. I went to the set just to say ‘Hi.’ The movie was made during the end of COVID. But I did visit it and met with Tilda. We met only two or three times, but I felt a sympatico right away. We talked about the film and our farms; she inherited one. (Swinton lives in Nairn in the Highlands of Scotland.) We talked about sheep and what to do with the wool. Julio asked me to go to Greenpoint in Brooklyn. We did do attempts with iPhones to record my voice and edit it differently. It was fun to visit Brooklyn and see the film evolve. While Julio goes into these internal dreams in the film, I think my voiceover helps to make these scenes be clear.

LIA: Julio came here from El Salvador in 2009 looking, like his character, for a work visa to establish and live a creative life. He’s done amazingly well with stand-up specials for HBO, Comedy Central, short films for “Saturday Night Live” and “Los Espookys,” an HBO Spanish-language comedy series he wrote and acted in, and now his first film. (It’s been nearly a year since the film premiered at the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals SXSW; it had its New York City premiere at the Village East by Angelika on Feb. 27.)

IR: He’s a star with the young generation. I recently had lunch with an older woman who said, “Oh, you made the film with Julio Torres. My daughter loves ‘Los Espookys.’” Her daughter is in her 30s. I was amazed at how focused he is. He’s really clear-headed and knew what he wanted as a director. I think it’s a delightful film and I think the Latina population, especially in Patchogue, will identify with the visa problems. I hope they come and see the film.