Our new staff writer Aisha Harris was able to pin down the very busy Yamin Segal and Julia Ahumada Grob, the creators of East WillyB to ask them a few questions about their new original series which we’re playing the first two new episodes of this Thursday April 25th at our Short Film Collective

East WillyB is an Original Web Serieschronicling the adventures of Bushwick Sports Bar owner Willie Jr., and his motley crew of bar regulars, as they deal with the trials and tribulations of living in an ever changing Latino community of Brooklyn, and the ways in which all their lives interconnect to create the extended family so integral to its character.  Their pilot season was extremely successful and official Season 1 began this year.  

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There are several moments in the first two episodes that candidly reflect Brooklyn’s gentrification and the tensions that arise when outsiders begin to move in (and in many cases, push out) the natives. What made you decide to address such issues through humor? How do you hope to contribute to the conversation around Brooklyn’s ever-changing neighborhoods?

Julia Grob: Both Yamin and I grew up in New York and gentrification was an issue which directly concerned and/or impacted us—here we were, both artists, unable to afford the neighborhoods (Park Slope & Upper West Side, respectively) where we had both grown up. We also are both the children of political activists. Using comedy to explore these issues was a way in to explore the issue without making our series a soap box series. We wanted to put forward a new perspective - that of the neighborhood’s original residents (in this case Puerto Ricans in Bushwick)- and show the different ways folks were dealing with the “hipster invasion of their neighborhood.” We see the show as a comedy about REAL New Yorkers trying to make it. 

This an extremely colorful cast of characters—Willy B, the hopeless romantic; Edgar, the artist; Manny, the guy who’s always recording “movies” on his cell phone. Are they inspired by real-life friends and family?

Yamin Segal:  We are definitely inspired by real-life friends and family, however, the characters were really developed around the strengths of our actors. Almost every single character was developed with an actor in mind, and in many cases, the actor really worked with us in the writing process to expand their character’s voice. 

You don’t see too many TV series featuring predominantly Latino English-speaking casts in the U.S. In creating East WillyB, have you had to face any skepticism about whether this could be done?

There has always been skepticism, especially when we first started sharing the pilot. This was before the results of the 2010 census had been published and people still thought “Spanish-speaking,” when they heard the word Latino. However, the trends are changing. 50,000 Latinos turn 18 in the United States every month. What language are they speaking? English. Do they consider themselves Americans? Most likely. The networks and studios are desperately trying to reach this population, but they still don’t know how because there are so few Latinos in positions of power in these companies. We are trying to show that authentic story-telling, delivered by Latino creators, is marketable and has an audience. 

Thanks Julia and Yamin!

You can meet them both and ask even more questions after you watch East WillyB along with other fine short films from Black & Latino directors at ActNow Foundation’s Short Film Collective - April 25th at 6:30pm at Rustik Tavern (471 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205 (Clinton Hill).