Elizabeth Rodriguez Talks California Winter

8th April 2016

A companion piece to topical, award-winning triumph The Big Short (though, as opposed to it, this is seen through the eyes of ‘the people’) California Winter – available this month On Demand from Indie Rights – tells of an ambitious young real estate agent who must fight to save her integrity and her father’s home from foreclosure when the risky loan she advised him on send his home into foreclosure.

Golden Globe Winner Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) features alongside Michael Ironside (The Flash), A Martinez (Longmire), Rutina Wesley (True Blood), Walter Perez (The Avengers), Erik Avari (Hachi : A Dog’s Tale), and Elizabeth Dominguez in an Odin Ozdil film.

We spoke to Dominguez about the film.

Pleasure to speak to you – and about a really important movie. Was this one shot a while ago? Has it been a long time coming?

We shot the film about five years ago. So yes, the release has been a long time coming. I’m thrilled that the film is finally getting out there. It really was a labor of love.

Take us back. How did you get involved in the project?

Odin and I became friends and I ended up co-producing and acting in a short film that he wrote and directed. We worked so well together and had so much fun that we decided that we wanted to work together more. Odin was working on a documentary where he interviewed and met actual families that were dealing with the housing crash and he was inspired to tell their story. I was thrilled to be a part of it from the get go.

Was there something that especially intrigued you about playing this character?

Yes, definitely. There is something fascinating about naivety and intention. Clara never meant to harm anyone and definitely didn’t realize she was part of the problem but I think she also didn’t realistically analyze her role. She was so caught up in chasing the “The American Dream” and so swept away by her success that she didn’t realize the implications of her actions until it directly affected her family.

That dichotomy is what intrigued me about this character; she is ultimately a kind intelligent woman who loves her family and wants to do things right but she gets so caught up in chasing that dream that she looses perspective on what is right and what is wrong. Dealing with that struggle and that responsibility is something we can all relate too, it is part of the human experience.

Were you affected, yourself, by the crash?

Fortunately I was not affected by the crash.

Have you seen the film with an audience? How’s the feedback been?

Yes I have and it is has always been a very positive experience. The feedback has been great. The audiences always seem to connect the most with the relationship between Clara and her father, which couldn’t make me happier. For me that relationship is the driving force of the film.

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