The Insurance Man
Inspired by True Stories
Written & Directed by:
Alex Lage
FROM THE DIRECTOR
The genesis of this film sprang from experiences many of us share - having to choose, every day, between following our passion and the reality of our lives. Of course, there are a lucky few who can make a living doing what they love, but for most of us we don’t have either the luxury or the good fortune. We are taken up with the need to put food on the table, keep a roof over our heads and pay the bills. In short… survive.
As artists living in a country where it’s money that matters, many of us live with these same struggles and conflicts. So, we felt inspired to research this idea to see where it might lead. Just by looking around, it didn’t take long to see how much great talent and energy is wasted in dead-end jobs and dead-end relationships. To say nothing about the misery this causes.
A few years ago, we needed to contact an insurance company, and through the interaction with the agent they sent to us, we ended up feeling less than human…Imagine that, feeling less than human! At a vulnerable time, we were feeling like products, statistics, numbers on a list. When what we needed was just a human touch, a kind word and to know that somebody…somebody was listening to us.
As the agent was being really tough on us, we tried to defuse his attitude; by taking an interest in him. We were interested to learn his likes, dislikes…about his family. In other words, we made him feel human, only to discover that he was a musician. A frustrated one at that. He had retired his instrument to put on a suit and start knocking on doors to put food on the table, keep a roof over his head and pay the bills for his family…In short… survive.
This gave us a great platform to create the concept for this film: The Insurance Man. An insurance agent who goes door-to-door to sell policies: But he is not good with that though, and instead of being tough with the clients, his empathic nature makes him more of a friendly shoulder. Then we decided to portray some pertinent problems middle and lower-middle class families are going through today in the US, and much of the capitalist world.
In this film, our insurance man, Carlo Miranda, takes us to five homes, creating five stories that most of us can relate with. As these stories come to life, they naturally lead us to issues that are a fact of everyday life for many. Issues such as physical and emotional illness, isolated elders, single parents, adoption, the challenges of small businesses, etc.
As we were pre-producing this film, we were hit with COVID-19: Masks, lockdowns, financial constraints, restrictions of all sorts. We had to postpone the shooting schedule four times. This gave us the opportunity and time to incorporate the pandemic into the story – not the effects of COVID-19 but the expectation of COVID-19. The film leads us to observe the actions of the characters in relation to their pre-pandemic problems but, as viewers, we know the challenges they are all about to face…
To make this film, we decided not to hold auditions, but to invite certain actors that we knew would be the best representation of the characters. Some of these guest actors have lived or live the circumstances that their characters present in this film. In a way, this film gives them a voice to express to a large audience the weight of their problems and the joys of overcoming them, in addition to inspiring others who live in the same conditions.
Through Carlo Miranda, in ‘The Insurance Man’ film, we are invited to observe how we deal with our own desires, dreams, passions… as well as our obligations and difficulties. And we are encouraged to empathize with the lives of others while examining our own.
We hope you enjoy this film and get as much from it as we did from making it.
