Vagabond in Red: Iquitos, 52min., USA
Directed by Tom Lonero
A recovering addict and filmmaker from Pittsburgh sets off across Peru on a personal healing journey in the aftermath of a global pandemic. Shot entirely solo with modest gear, Vagabond in Red: Iquitos blends raw handheld imagery and poetic narration to explore the human condition through history, culture, social issues, and resilience. Legendary Amazonian landscapes provide the backdrop, but it’s the people Tom meets along the way who reveal quiet truths about survival, faith, and connection. This is not a luxury travel film—it’s a lived-in journey into what remains when the world goes quiet and we start listening again.

https://www.hardmonkeyproductions.com/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

It began with pain. Travel was the entry point, but over time that pain gave way to wonder and a need for answers and about how places carry memory, trauma, and resilience, and the connections that pull the world together.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

From initial conception to completing the 6th and final episode - Iquitos, roughly two and half years. That includes travel, filming, post-production, and living with the material long enough to understand what the film actually wanted to be.

3. How would you describe your film in two words?

Raw reflection.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Sustaining momentum as a single-operator project. When you're responsible for every creative and technical decision, the challenge isn't just logistics, it's also knowing when to stop refining and let the film stand on its own. I'm my worst critic, but most filmmakers are.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process. What is your favorite stage?

Post-production. That's where the film reveals itself.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

When I realized film could hold multiple dimensions at once like sound, space, movement, and ideas. Voices still matter in a world increasingly trying to edit them. I want to contribute and not just take.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Jaws. The cinematography and the Indianapolis speech. It's a masterclass in restraint and how framing, light, and a single monologue can carry dread, character, and history without excess.

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with or collaborate with on a film?

Werner Herzog, not for scale or spectacle, but for his insistence on personal truth over conventional objectivity.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experience been working on the platform?

It's efficient and functional. It does what it's supposed to do, which matters when you're managing multiple submissions as an independent filmmaker.

10. What is your favorite meal?

It depends. The meal I love and the meal I should be eating are often two different things. Ideally, it's something simple and local. That diner with a story has the best breakfast even if it doesn't.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Yes. I'm developing the next chapter of Vagabond in Red and already filmed an episode in Costa Rica, but I am also advancing a standalone documentary titled Nunnehi, which focuses more on America's deep history and the Appalachian cultural resilience. It will build on the same methodology and long-form observation, respect for place, and author-driven storytelling. It will hopefully dive into some deeper truths. I'm a strong believer in connections.