Lung Health News, Spring / Summer 2008
After watching some of the doctors and nurses at the medical center where he works huddle outdoors with their cigarettes, Wagner Portocarrero was inspired. He had been looking for an issue to tackle in his first professional film when it hit him – smoking must be incredibly addictive if those who truly should know better still do it.
“If these health professionals who know firsthand about the dangers of smoking continue to smoke, the power of addiction must be overwhelming,” says Portocarrero, who studied filmmaking at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.
Out of this realization came “Smoking Frustrations,” a 3.5-minute short film that shows the power of addiction. Portocarrero donated his film to the American Lung Association of California and edited it down to 30 and 60-second public service announcements that promote the association’s Freedom From Smoking® program.
“Instead of preaching about the dangers of smoking, I wanted to show it in a humorous way,” he says. “I thought if smokers could see how their addiction drives them, they might decide to stop.”
The film begins with a man trying to light his cigarette with a lighter. But the lighter doesn’t work. Next he tries matches, but he can’t get one lit.Then he moves to the stove and attempts to fire up a burner, but no luck. He goes outside and grabs a grill lighter, but it won’t ignite. Finally, he starts rubbing two sticks together.
“The concept of ‘Smoking Frustrations’ is that modern man can metaphorically go back in time until he becomes a cave man to satisfy his addiction,” Portocarrero says.“At that point, he realizes he has gone too far and it’s time to quit smoking.”
MAKING FILMS FOR GOOD
Portocarrero decided early on that he wanted to make films that change people’s lives in a positive way. He first thought about being a filmmaker after watching “The Godfather” at age 13, a year after he emigrated to the U.S. from Peru with his parents and siblings.
“That movie covered everything – loyalty, devotion, trust, with the family at the center,” says Portocarrero. “I want to make movies that get people talking.”
It looks like he has succeeded with his first film. “Smoking Frustrations” has been a big hit, showing at the Action on Film Festival in Long Beach last year and at the Show Off Your Short Film Festival recently. He’s even been approached by producers who are now interested in working with him based on what they saw in “Smoking Frustrations.”
It’s all good to Portocarrero, who had to save up money from his “day job” as care coordinator at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center to make the film. It took three days of shooting and editing – working every waking minute – to complete the film.
Now he is working on another public service announcement to donate to the American Lung Association of California focused on lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in this country. (See related article.)
“It’s very exciting to me to be able to do what I love and make a difference,” Portocarrero says.
You can view “Smoking Frustrations” at the American Lung Association of California’s website at www.californialung.org
