It is not uncommon for a financial services company to produce a short video designed to hone sales techniques or to market specific products and services. But it is highly unusual for a lender to produce a feature-length film and screen it in a theatrical venue.
In this case, the lender is Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU), a 50,000-member institution based in Durham, N.C. Last spring, LCCU received a grant from the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to create an educational production designed to introduce the concept of homeownership to Latin American immigrants.
Initially, LCCU planned to create a straightforward educational video. In reviewing that option, however, it was decided that another approach might work better.
‘We thought it would be fun, attractive and easier to follow in a fiction manner, with actors and some humor in it,’ explains Angel Romero, director of marketing and communications at LCCU.
Thus came LCCU's initial contribution to the worlds of independent cinema and financial literacy: ‘Angelica's Dreams’ (also marketed as ‘Los Sueños de Angélica’). The 90-minute production follows an immigrant couple seeking permanent residence status in the U.S. The film involves challenges and sacrifices – some humorous, some serious – the couple must consider if they wish to remain in the U.S. for the rest of their lives.
A local filmmaker, Rodrigo Dorfman, wrote, produced and directed the film, which took a breathless three months to complete, from screenwriting to the post-production wrap. For Dorfman, the narrative fiction format made more sense from a viewer standpoint.
‘When you hear 'educational video,' you cringe,’ he says. ‘There's a lot of baggage attached to that. So we decided to make it a feature film in a telenovela style.’
The telenovela style is emphasized by having most of the film in Spanish, with English subtitles (a few scenes involving business transactions are in English). In the flow of the film, the couple agrees to pursue homeownership. Being new to the concept of mortgages, this takes them into new territory – and, in a particular plot twist, directly into an LCCU branch.
‘The credit union is featured in several important scenes,’ says Romero. ‘Some of these scenes involve loan officers, who are played by the credit union's staff.’
‘Angelica's Dreams’ premiered on Oct. 21 at the Carolina Theatre in Durham. Romero recalls the audience was caught off-guard by the film's style and approach.
‘Many people though this was going to be an financial education documentary,’ he says. ‘They were surprised it was a feature film.’
Dorfman adds that the film's plot also had a broad appeal beyond the Latino audience. ‘I know a lot of people who said: "I'm not an immigrant, I was born here, and I know what they are going through,'’ he says.
‘Angelica's Dreams’ played again at the University of North Carolina's Latin American Film Festival in November. Although no additional theatrical screenings are planned, DVD distribution is currently in the works.
‘We are making DVD copies and will be sending them to credit unions and community organizations across the country,’ says Romero. ‘We already have requests from California and Wisconsin.’
Beyond the big and small screens, LCCU is planning to divide the feature into three episodes that will be shown on big screen monitors in the credit union's branches. A special manual has been prepared for viewers of both the in-branch presentation and the DVD.
Romero is also looking at possible television broadcasts of ‘Angelica's Dreams,’ and he notes another original production could happen in the near future.
‘We're thinking of doing a second one,’ he says. ‘They're expensive, but we'd love to do it.’