Writer, director and star Julio Torres on his new film ‘Problemista’

First, he must find a sponsor for a work visa. Then, he must submit it by paying application and lawyer fees, totaling up to around $6,000. And only then is Alejandro allowed to earn money. Money that he needs so he can submit his application to, well, earn money. Ah, the storyline is so fascinating. I'm already hooked on it and I've only seen the trailer. Welcome back. That was Julio Torres playing Alejandro in his new film, Problemista. Yeah, Torres wrote, directed, and stars in that film alongside Tilda Swinton. Swinton, here to tell us more is the man himself. Please welcome Julio to the studio. Julio! Let's talk about this, the title specifically, Problemista. What does that mean? Well, I came up with it, so it means, I guess whatever I say, it means. No, but I define it as someone who feels like they attract problems, but manages to thrive in those problems or create art from those problems. It's really inspired by, because some of this movie is quite autobiographical, when I was trying to go from a student visa to a work visa, and feeling like one small problem was a domino effect to another problem, to another problem, to another problem. Like, you know, when like, your paycheck doesn't come through, and then you can't pay your phone bill, so then you miss an important call, and it's like, New York can feel very like that, and life, modern day life can feel very like that. So this is for people who've managed to find joy and optimism in that. For me, you are a prominent moment in my life. I had a really dark day, and I stumbled upon your work, a project that you had done from 2019, My Favorite Shapes, and I think I stumbled upon it in the best way. I had no idea what I was going to be expecting, and then it turned my dark day into something really, really bright. So I have to thank you for that. Oh my god, thank you for that! Of course! My question for you is, how do you find the beauty in these small objects? I just want to know, where does that come from? Yeah, so he's referring to a stand-up special that I did where I basically just show little objects. It's like a little show-and-tell, kind of. I don't know, I feel like everyone, when they're kids, like, bestow little stories and agency onto objects, and somewhere in our adolescence, we like, lose that. But somehow, I just never faced out of it. Speaking of objects, let's talk about the 13 eggs. What's the significance behind all of that? Well, in the movie, my character gets to stay in the U.S. if he manages to curate a show of these paintings that Rissa from the Wu-Tang Clan plays, the painter of these 13 eggs. And, I don't know, to be honest, the only significance I can think of about the egg is that it's like a powerful symbol, like, you know, fertility, renewal, and all these things, but they're also like, funny-looking. Right? I mean, there's something like, it's not an intimidating shape. But just funny-looking. We have a surprise for you. We have a 13th egg for you from our team here at GMA3, because we love you as well. Oh, my God! We don't think you're funny-looking, but we think you're powerful. Oh, my God, I... Oh, wow! Check out the bling! Hello! Wow! It's beautiful. Did you make this? I wish I could take credit for it. Just say you made it. I made it, I made it, I made it, just for you. That's beautiful work. But again, we can't thank you enough. I think what you're doing is so important, and it's a lot of fun at the same time. Thank you. Yeah, it's a compliment. You actually preface it by saying thank you. And good luck to you as well. All right, folks, and you can catch Problem Mr. in theaters everywhere this weekend. Every day, anytime. We thank you for watching, and we'll see you in the morning on GMA.