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Nicolás Pereda's COBRE Presented at the 23rd FICM

Sofía Alvarado

Cobre, by Nicolás Pereda, was presented at a special screening at the 23rd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM).

The film tells the story of Lázaro, a miner who finds a dead body and becomes a suspect, giving the story a comical twist through the excuses the character makes for not going to work at the mine.

At the end of the screening, part of the team spoke to a full room about the work done during filming, as well as the challenges involved and how to manage these small productions. 

Producer Paula Mónaco said they only had thirteen days to shoot, using materials, tools, and settings from the same community where they filmed. She also spoke about the challenges of working on small projects, the freedom that this entails, and the way Pereda works in a kind of anti-industry with low-budget films and non-traditional elements.

Actress Rosa Estela Juárez Vargas shared her experience during this project and Nicolás Pereda's “inward-looking” style, a style that speaks of everyday life and a commitment to the collectivity of cinema. As well as laughing at existence, a sentiment which is present in this film.

Miguel Tovar, the film's cinematographer, also agreed on the director's different approach to his work, which is to move away from the obvious and turn the story on its head. The name itself refers to a mine, but at no point does one actually appear on screen. 

This work, as the team said, presents life as a landscape in a scene that departs from traditional aesthetics, but is characterized by those silent shots that give the viewer an everyday perspective on the world; what we see and how we see ourselves from multiple points of view.