On May 24, the film “Latinos in Taiwan” by Gustavo V. (‘22) entered the round of “Best of Festival Selections” for “Short Documentaries” under the nomination for the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. The round of “Best of Festival Selections” is a collection of the best films the juries saw. 

His five minute documentary, which was initially a simple video project for Gustavo’s Honors Film Production class, is now competing alongside Oscar nominees and winners of the Canne Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. 

With a school-borrowed camera, a few lenses, a microphone with an audio receiver and a MacBook Pro, Gustavo put together the documentary that follows the stories of three Latino chefs in Taiwan and their motivation to share Latino culture with the local Taiwanese by cooking Latino food. 

As a Minnesota-born Latino, Gustavo’s desire to embrace the Latino community in Taiwan inspired him to highlight the stories of these chefs. “When I came to Taiwan [last year], I was kind of shocked to know that there’s a large Latino community here,” Gustavo said. 

Gustavo’s proudly acclaimed title as a food enthusiast further encouraged his pursuit of a film on Latino culture that showcased the culture and history of food. 

Along with the stories of two other chefs, the short documentary features a Peruvian chef fleeing Peru in the midst of rising political corruption. “He basically packed his bags and went off to Taiwan where he met his wife and decided to open up a restaurant called ‘Mama Inca’,” Gustavo said. 

Gustavo’s dedication to his film is evident through the risks he took to get a compelling shot; he had to put his own camera into the oven at one of the restaurants. “I was basically risking my camera getting melted,” Gustavo said. 

Gustavo is working on many more film projects, including a short documentary about how the COVID-19 coronavirus has affected farming in the American Midwest.