I read Gil Jawetz's DVD review of Valentin at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=13047 and...

I thought you guys would be interested to know that the film is based on actual events in the writer/director Agresti's childhood, specifically the day out with his father's girlfriend. He has stated that it was a seminal event in his life and one that always stayed with him. Much of the dialogue in that sequence is as it was in real life.

Amazingly, after the film was released, the real woman that Leticia is based on contacted Agresti and told him that she remembered him and that that day had always meant a great deal to her as well.

I did mention that portions of the film are autobiographical and the story you mention is touched on in the supplemental interviews. He does talk about his day with Leticia and how the rest of the film was built around that. It's an interesting approach to semi-autobiographical storytelling.

Thanks for writing!