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Alonso Ruizpalacios' Mastery in Directing Actors: LA COCINA Press Conference at 22nd FICM

Omar Sosa

As part of the 22nd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), a press conference was held for Alonso Ruizpalacios' new film, La Cocina ( 2024). The press conference was attended by Ruizpalacios, producers Ramiro Ruiz, José Nacif and Marco Polo Constandse and some of the actors, including Raúl Briones, Anna Díaz, Eduardo Olmos and Bernardo Velasco.

La Cocina (2024) is currently in competition in the Mexican Feature Film Section at this year's festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The Q&A session began with a question about Alonso Ruizpalacios ' decision to go back to black and white, a choice he had not made since his debut feature, Güeros (2014). The filmmaker was looking to convey a sense of timelessness and perceives the film as a work that borders on realism, but transcends it – approaching a fable. “I wanted it to be something timeless, not a pretentious sense, but in the sense that you wouldn't know if it was happening right now or 20 or 30 years ago,” Ruizpalacios explained.

As for the creative process, the director explained that his film is based on Arnold Wesker's play with the same name. Before thinking of La Cocina as a film, Ruizpalacios staged the play. He also mentioned that the idea for this project existed even before Güeros.

“I had always written my own scripts in shorts and other feature films. This time it was a process where adapting was difficult, as I realized that the original material suddenly got in the way. It took a long time before I was finally able to put it down and not look at it again. That's when it started to work and make sense to me,” he commented on his experience adapting the play into a film script.

Raúl Briones talked about his experience in La Cocina. The actor has been in this project since its beginnings as a play, although at the time, he was playing a different character than in the film. From his perspective, if he had played Pedro at that time he would not have achieved the same result, since he didn't feel mature enough for it. “This film would not be possible without that ensemble. Pedro could never have shone as he did if each of the elements of La Cocina had not been in tune,” the actor commented, recognizing the collective effort of the team to achieve this film.

Anna Diaz also shared her experience working with Ruizpalacios, highlighting the director's maturity in interacting with his actors. “I'm fascinated, it's a dream come true, because I think he is a director who takes the time to play each scene, to rehearse it, to improvise it and see in what other ways it can be told,” she added.

Briones added his appreciation to Ruizpalacios for his extraordinary work directing the actors, as well as his openness to the decisions the actors made regarding their characters. “I have to thank him because I feel he was very respectful of all the personal details that I put in the film, there are several personal details that are handled in a very beautiful way,” he said.

Ten years ago Ruizpalacios was at FICM to present Güeros. The audience's applause showed that the affection for the filmmaker is still intact since he captivated us at this same festival with his debut feature. The conference ended with the announcement that La Cocina will be released in theaters throughout Mexico on November 7, 2024.