Scene 2 Seen Podcast: Elegance Bratton And Raul Castillo Discuss ‘The Inspection’ And What It Means To Find Community
Valerie Complex here with another episode of the Scene 2 Seen Podcast! Today’s episode is a double whammy as both Elegance Bratton and Raul Castillo are with me to chat about The Inspection, which debuted at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and was the closing-night film at the New York Film Festival.
Bratton is a director, writer and producer who began making films as a U.S. Marine after spending a decade homeless. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, his work captures stories untold with an intention to show the universal power of our shared humanity.
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The Inspection, which debuted in theaters in November, is his semi-autobiographical narrative fiction debut. The A24 film centers around Ellis French, a young homeless gay man who joins the Marine Corps to win back his mother’s love. Through the harsh discrimination he faces while at basic training, he finds community, and respect for himself. The film stars Gabrielle Union, Jeremy Pope, Bokeem Woodbine and Castillo.
Bratton made his television debut as the creator and executive producer of Viceland’s My House. The series, which chronicled underground competitive ballroom dancing, was nominated for Outstanding Documentary at the 2019 GLAAD Media Awards. In 2021, his documentary Pier Kids, which explores the lives of Black, homeless queer and transgender youth in New York. won the Truer than Fiction Independent Spirit Award, which is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
So far The Inspection has been nominated for several Spirit Awards and Gotham Awards including Best Supporting Actor for Castillo. In The Inspection, Castillo plays Sgt. Rosales, a man who loves the Marine Corp and acts as a sort of mentor to new recruit Ellis.
The actor is best known for his portrayal of Paps in the acclaimed independent feature We the Animals, based on the Justin Torres novel of the same name and directed by Jeremiah Zagar, which brought him a Spirit Award nomination. He also starred in the HBO series Looking, for which he earned the Lupe Award from the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Upcoming in the new year is Hulu’s Miguel Wants to Fight, directed by Oz Rodriguez; the feature film debut from Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams, Cassandro for Prime Video; as well as FX limited series Class of ’09.
Bratton is currently in post-production on the upcoming feature documentary Hellfighters, which highlights the story of African American Jazz pioneer and music mogul James Reese Europe, who was a lieutenant in the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters.
If you like what you hear on today’s episode, but sure to like, review, and subscribe to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast on Apple and Spotify.
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