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A Journey of Introspection: Press Conference for PEDRO PÁRAMO by Rodrigo Prieto

Daniel Grajeda

Preceding the Grand Gala of Rodrigo Prieto's Pedro Páramo at the 22nd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), a press conference was held with the film's director, producer Stacy Perskie, screenwriter Mateo Gil, and part of the cast, including Manuel García Rulfo, Roberto Sosa, Ilse Salas, Giovanna Zacarías and Mayra Batalla in attendance.

Daniela Michel emphasized how happy she was to present this film: “I always dreamed of seeing a vision of Pedro Páramo like the one created by Rodrigo Prieto and I believe it will be a very important film in the history of Mexican cinema."

Pedro Páramo is an adaptation of the book of the same name written by Juan Rulfo, considered one of the most important novels in Mexican literature, and marks Rodrigo Prieto's directorial debut. The film tells the story of Juan Preciado's illusion-laden journey in search of the wealth of a father he has never met. But when he arrives in Comala, where he was told he lived, he finds only the atrocious memories of a town subjugated for decades by that man, Pedro Paramo, condemned for his violent crusade for power and for the rage his frustrated love for Susana San Juan sparked in him.

“I am very excited to share this moment with this cast. This film took me on a personal journey in which my emotions, my traumas and my blood are included,” said the director. 

Prieto explained that this new adaptation strives to maintain the essence of Juan Rulfo's original work, while adding its own distinctive expression that characterizes the new version. Without neglecting the viewer's participation in the film through the visual and narrative representation of the film's world.

According to Mateo Gil, the story maintains a very close and everyday connection with Mexican culture. However, it is a universal work that captures the listener: “The approach I have with the novel is totally personal, my homeland is very similar to what Rulfo describes and there is a certain humanity in it that keeps me connected to the work.”

During his intervention, actor Roberto Sosa highlighted the scope of not only this version, but also the different versions that have been produced: “One of the virtues of the universality of a work is the number of readings that we can give it. That is why I invite us to give ourselves the gift of seeing this new version of the story”.

“I invite the audience to open their hearts and have their own journeys with this new story,” concluded Rodrigo Prieto.