An amateur Puerto Rican actor with delusions of grandeur is thrown into a night of excesses where his whole life could change before the possible arrival of the role of his dreams.

Director’s Vision for ‘Asterión: or, (if you mess with the bull…)’

I have always been fascinated by technology. Watching it evolve over the years and seeing what we have been able to accomplish with it has been incredible. The accessibility of technology today has also made it easier than ever for people like me to create films. Many of the tools that once seemed impossible to access are now available to anyone with enough curiosity and determination.

Technology has also changed the way we communicate. Through social media, we can connect with people from all over the world instantly and share our lives with others in ways that would have been unimaginable only a few decades ago. Yet, despite all these new ways of communicating, it often feels like we are becoming more distant from one another. We spend so much time presenting ourselves to others that we forget how to genuinely connect.

That contradiction became the starting point for “Asterión: ó, (si te metes con el toro…)”. I was interested in exploring the difference between the person we present online and the person we are when nobody is watching. Social media encourages us to create versions of ourselves designed for approval, attention, and validation. We carefully curate what others see while hiding our insecurities, fears, and vulnerabilities.

I was also interested in how these ideas intersect with masculinity. Many men grow up feeling pressure to appear strong, confident, and in control at all times. Admitting loneliness, uncertainty, or emotional vulnerability can feel like failure. The pursuit of status, recognition, and online clout can become another way of performing a version of ourselves rather than confronting who we really are.

One of the things I enjoy exploring as a filmmaker is the complexity of male characters. I am drawn to characters who are flawed, contradictory, and often morally gray. People are rarely heroes or villains in their own minds, and I believe the most compelling stories emerge from that ambiguity. Rather than judging these characters, I am interested in understanding them: their insecurities, their mistakes, and the ways they hurt both themselves and others. Those complexities often lead to harsher, more challenging character arcs, but they also reveal something honest about the human experience.

“Asterión: ó, (si te metes con el toro…)” comes from a desire to explore those elements. It is a film about loneliness, self-image, toxic masculinity, and the walls we build between ourselves and others. More than anything, it asks what happens when we become so focused on how we are perceived that we lose sight of the people around us and our ability to empathize with them.