10 · 10 · 08

Guillermo Arriaga dedicates his film to Morelia.

Clara Sánchez/Translated by Caroline MacKinnon

[imagen]Guillermo Arriaga won the applause – and the hearts – of the public last night with his film The Burning Plain: directing his directorial debut to the people of Morelia, “who have stood up without fear to fight in support of culture.”

Starring Charlize Theron, José María Yazpik, Jennifer Lawrence, Tessa Ia and Jorge Daniel Pardo, the film tells the story of two families marked by a pair of tragic accidents, the burning of a trailer and of an airplane.

Representatives of the cast José María Yazpik, Jennifer Lawrence, Tessa Ia and Jorge Daniel Pardo caused a stir on the red carpet, greeted with applause and admiring whistles, especially the stunning Jennifer Lawrence, winner of Venice’s esteemed Mastroiani Prize.

After the packed-house screening, Arriaga, a five-time participant of the FICM, hosted an entertaining exchange with the public, dominated by praise for the film, the acting and of course the directing.  

[imagen]In response to a question about the difficulties encountered during filming, Arriaga said: “I had the advantage of having written [the screenplay], but then certain of my conceits really cost me. When I found my set locations on the plains, for example the producers told me that to film there would mean five days of shooting, and they were right. Later, to film by the ocean meant three more days. I had just two weeks to do the casting and a month to prepare the film.”

The actors addressed the experience of bringing to life characters as complex as Arriaga’s. “We all in a way live our lives like this, knowing what has happened and is happening – but not where we’re headed. I worked to create a beginning, a middle and an end as I would in real life,” Lawrence said.

“Each day was tough because Santiago was a character struggling to feel sorrow for his father and not able to, because of guilt and shame. Guillermo would ask me, ‘Why are you so sad?’ and I would answer, ‘Because my father died in a fire.’ He would answer, ‘It’s a comedy: Even in the painful moments you can find love, and even when you’re sad, you can find flashed, however brief, of happiness.’ I am grateful to Guillermo to have given me this experience,” said Jorge Daniel Pardo.

Yazpik said, “We were confident about the project from the start. Someone who writes his own material and then directs it has an advantage over other directors. I have worked with excellent directors, but have only directed films twice. Guillermo aimed high with (Oscar winner) Charlize Theron, and then succeeded in keeping the rest of the acting up to par.”  

Twelve-year-old Tessa Ia, who made her film debut with “The Burning Plain,” was shy before the crowd, saying that “the first time on the set was really hard, but really fun.”