I met with Ramon Salisar, the Writer/Director of 20 Centimeters and let me tell you, this man was truly enjoyable and very friendly.  He lives in Madrid, Spain and had broken English so we had a translator present.  However, we rarely needed him.  He was so much fun we ended up chatting it up for 45 minutes after the interview was over.  It may have helped that I also truly loved this movie.  

Misty:  How did you come up with this story?  You have a Narcoleptic Transsexual prostitute with a midget roommate.  Your ideas are so brilliant where do they come from? 

Ramon:  I met all the prostitutes during the two years I lived where the characters did, I actually lived in the main building where the girls were yelling up the windows at each other.  It is the biggest prostitute area in Madrid.   They were always talking to me about their life cheerfully and in a positive way.  They were always optimistic and never wanted to have their life portrayed in a negative way.   This inspired me and that is when I decided to contrast the horror of their real lives with beautiful and colorful music.  I was looking for a way to incorporate music...  and that is where the narcolepsy came in.  So when she fell asleep--it was a huge musical. 

M:  The musical numbers were one of my favorite parts, they were great.  I loved the way you incorporated music into your film was simply brilliant.  Many people will not go see a musical but this one is not too much and it’s not overwhelming.  Do you see music in your upcoming projects? 

R:  Always.  I love music.  When I'm writing - I'm always thinking about music and new ways to incorporate it.  I want to use music in another feature.

M:  Ok, I have to know about the midget...was he a friend that you wrote into the movie or did your script require a midget from its inception? 

R:  I wanted to put discriminated people in the same community, the unwanted, the anti-heroes.  I wanted to put them all together and search the life of that community.  How did society treat them?  There was such a love-hate relationship between the transsexual and the Midget.  They are both unwanted--yet they need each other.  They don't want each other--but they need each other and they fill each other's need when it was necessary.  She became maternal when she had to and he became the provider. They filled the gaps in each other's lives. 

M:  How did you find the actors you chose for this movie? 

R:  I wrote the script thinking of the prostitutes in the street, for example the old silicone lady who is 80.  She is a real prostitute and has been her whole life.  She cannot learn dialog, but she was able to repeat the lines with such talent. She was amazing.  I tried to mix the real actors with the real prostitutes.  I used many of the real prostitutes from Madrid however the main character was Marietta, and I wrote this role for her.  She is my best friend and I always thought because of her face and I always told her, "You are going to be great in a transsexual character." 

M:  So she really is a genetic woman isn't she? 

R:  Yeah, she's a woman. 

M:  What is the craziest or funniest story that took place while shooting? 

R:  Well, we shot on the real street that the prostitutes really work on.  At the beginning it was funny, but after a few weeks the clients stopped coming because of the cameras and the prostitutes were getting mad for the needed to work - so they did a protest. 

M:  This is your 3rd movie as a director? 

R:  Yes, This is my second feature and I did one short before.   

M:  What did you learn from 20 Centimeters that you will take with you for the rest  of your life? 

R:  I learned about discrimination while shooting this film.  Many of our permits were denied because of the subject of the film.  For example, at the end of the movie they denied the permits because she was playing a transsexual and they wouldn't allow a real trannie to work in the subway.  So they wouldn't allow me a permit to shoot a transsexual role in the subway - it was quite a controversy.  It was in the Madrid papers and we received a lot of negative press and I learned that the Spanish are very hypocritical. 

M:  So is America, not just for transsexuals but its also filled with Homophobia. 

I researched you on IMDB.com and found that you are also an actor.  Now as a Director and former actor which role is your favorite? 

R:  I studied acting, and then I studied writing (scripts).  I think a Director has to learn how to manage the actor, and I have to know about the story you are telling.  I love acting, yet I hate acting and Directing at the same time.  It is strange because the actors don't respect me as a Director when I'm also an actor.  I love directing, however I cannot live without acting, but I can live without directing, but I like both. 

M:  What is the next project that you are working on? 

R:  It is a film called "Why Do We Wait" - it's about a girl who does make up but has the talent to speak to the dead.  It is not done in a eerie way but in a very natural way.  She is the girl that prepares them, does their hair and their makeup.   The people do not realize or understand that they are dead and she talks to them as she is getting them ready not just for the showing, but for the afterlife.  One of the main dead people in this story is an old lady and she introduces the makeup artist to her son, and it then becomes a love story.

M:  You are so brilliant.  everything is so colorful.  How were you discovered and was it for being an actor? 

R:  No - Monica and I made a short film called "Locos".  It was a big success...and within a year we were making a feature. 

M:  What are your favorite top three movies?   

R:  The Nun, West Side Story, and Splendor in the Grass are definitely my 3 favorite.

M:  In my research I found that you were born in Malaga?  Do you still live in Spain? 

R:  Yes, in Madrid, but in my next film I want to shoot in south of Spain and also in Paris. 

M:  Who is your favorite actor/actress? 

R:  Kate Winslet, I loved her especially in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. 

M:  What are your favorite television shows? 

R:  I love television series.  I would love to work on TV... and make a good series.  However, my favorite is Six Feet Under. 

M:  Hence, your new project--similar.  If you could come back in your next life as someone - who would it be? 

R:  (Laughing and I think stalling for time to answer) Someone who travels a lot.  I love traveling. 

M:  Are you're Out?

R:  Yes, and I have a boyfriend. 

M:  Ok, as an out actor/Director - do you want to focus on Gays in your filmmaking? 

R:  No, its actually not something I think about when Im writing but Gay stories came out in my script in a very natural way because it is a piece of me.  I think we need to talk about Gay people... it's not a Gay movie--but Gay people are always in the movies. 

M:  Is there a big Gay community in Madrid? 

R:  Yes. 

M:   What is  your Astrological sign?

R:  I am a Gemini.   

M:  Gemini is the perfect sign for this movie, for in general they are two people coexisting in one person. 

R:  Yes, that is true, I always need two Points of View to every character. 

M:  How did you find such a hot actor that would be willing to get naked? 

R:  He was a Teen Idol, and played on a weekly series for teenagers.  He did a complete 180 in this movie to become more of a serious actor.  The girls were going crazy in the street when we were filming - but he took the film seriously and he made a big decision to do the nude scene.  It was great.

M:  I know its difficult to answer with a boyfriend, but what is your "type"? 

R:  I'm open.  (he laughs) 

M:  Then, who is your dream boyfriend?  

R:  An actor.  Matt Dillion.  I love him.

M:  Gosh Me to, but my "Dream" Boyfriend would be Antonio Sebato Junior, Yumm.   What is the craziest question someone's asked you in an interview? 

R:   I think the one you asked...the one about coming back as someone.  I liked that. 

M:  What question do you wish I would have asked?  Maybe something you secretly wanted me to ask, or something that often goes over looked. 

R:  I wish you ask something about my mother - my mother was very supportive.  My father was against it yet she was always for me... even behind my father's back. 

M:  Assuming that you even have a deleted scene, what is your favorite deleted scene? 

R:  Ok, you remember the musical number where she flies?  Well, originally in the end of that scene she actually became a Giant, and she went through the city and broke down telephone poles and buildings.  She was filled with rage... We filmed it infront of green screne but the producers thought it was too expensive to build the set.   

M:  As a drag queen I related to this film on many levels... However she was most conflicted with her penis and the desire to cut  or not to cut.   

R:  It is a story about having to pick which is your favorite and what do you want more--the man that loves you or the body you want.  Her dream is to be the perfect woman, and pretty.  He loved her penis but she didn't and she had to choose. 

M:  This movie was great.  The struggle was genuine, we all search for someone to truly accept us for who we are, and once she did find that one guy that would love all of her she couldn't deal with it, because she didn't love all of her.  Wow.