07 · 21 · 08

Francisco Franco participates at Hola México N.Y.

Clara Sánchez/ Translated by Karen Green

[imagen]A graduate of directing and cinematography studies from the Centro de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC) at UNAM, Francisco Franco won the Audience Award and the prize for Best Photography (Erika Lice) with his first work Quemar las naves (Burn the Bridges) at the 5th Morelia International Film Festival.

Quemar las naves, whose script was co-written by María Reneé Prudencio, tells the story of two teenage siblings, Sebastián and Helena, who must find meaning in life as they face a dying mother and the arrival of Juan, a young roughneck from the coast.

Franco, who has also directed for theater and television, demonstrates his special levels of human beings, and from that point, create powerful characters that the public is able to both identify with and observe their own stories reflected within them.

The film, which has won such awards as the Ariel Award which went to Irene Azuela as Best Actress and the Best Original Music awarded to Alejandro Giacomán and Joselo Rangel, the Discovery Award in Toulouse and the Audience’s Award in Budapest, will be screened on Wednesday 23rd of July at the Hola Mexico Festival as part of the activities of the Latin American Film Festival in New York.

 

[imagen]How did your interest in this theme begin?
“I have a special fascination for adolescence because it is during this time that there is a particular frailty but at the same time incredible strength; you are capable of doing what later in life you would consider too much. Making your first decisions, ones that will make a difference to who you are, which way you will go in life, right at that time when there is so much social and family pressure and external expectations placed upon you.”

The work carried out with the actors is a key part in the story. How were the characters constructed?
“Our main concern as scriptwriters was not to give moral sermons to anyone, but rather try to see the characters in the moment as they experience it. We deal with the themes from an individual perspective, not from social movements. We speak from the most intimate part of the character which is why there is such strong identification with the audience. It took a lot of time to explore the intricacies of each character. We put together a workshop with a group of actors that lasted a year, and from there came the five principal parts. We then spent six more months working on the complexities and incongruities of each character, on their relationships and on bringing them to life.”

The siblings are such opposites and at the same time experience a symbiosis that is practically unhealthy…
“Yes, they contrast with one another: Helena is histrionic, domineering, generous and stifling. Sebastián is a passive creature, whose only means of expression is painting. Helena expects that nothing which already exists be destroyed; in fact the conflict begins when her world falls to pieces and she doesn’t acknowledge it: she doesn’t realize that the house is falling down around her, that her mother is no longer with them, that they are no longer just children, and she tries to maintain a protective bubble around both her and her brother. She ends up becoming her own enemy and that of her brother who wants to leave and get away. Sebastián is also building his own world in which Helena is not a part because with the arrival of a third character the theme of desire is brought into the story. In this sense the film is erotic. It is the story of our own lives, a normal process of when one person wants to leave and the other doesn’t want to let go.”

 

[imagen]Quemar las naves has been winner of the Audience Award on two occasions… what in particular attracted your attention in regards to the film´s reception by the audiences in Morelia?
“We still talk about that screening, especially the first one, which was one of the most exciting moments for us as a team. The film had already been shown to university students, but Morelia was very exciting. The actors still talk about it and it was one of our most memorable nights, and as practically the whole team was there it was an experience we treasure greatly. It was the beginning of something very special. When it comes to the public, it wasn’t a question posed that got our attention, but rather we were surprised how people shared their own anecdotes and talked of what concerned them. That was something new for us, but it established a pattern we saw at each of the places the film was screened: the film made the public think about their own experiences and emotions.”

How did it do at the box office?
“The box office is a horrendous problem, and at some point we will have to stand up and face it and see how we can protect ourselves from this monster beside us. Distribution in Mexico is cruel, unfair and merciless with the Mexican films. No time is given for word of mouth to work; if a film survives it is because people are really going to see it. We are very pleased because we’ve done well but the treatment continues being unfair.”

Quemar las naves, whose soundtrack was performed by Julieta Venegas and Eugenia León, has participated at the International Film Festivals in Palm Springs, Valladolid, Hungary, Austin, the Latin filmfest in Chicago, Toulouse, Zurich, Munich and the upcoming Cartagena Festival held in the month of September.