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Press Conference for CHICHARRAS: a Film Made Thanks to the Community

Omar Sosa

During the 22nd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), a press conference was held for Chicharras (2024, dir. Luna Marán), a film in competition in the Mexican Feature Film Section and part of the Indigenous Peoples Forum 2024.

The conference was attended by Pablo Morales, cinematographer and co-producer of the film, as well as some of its extensive cast: Yuliana Berenice Martínez, Ernesto Martínez, Víctor Robinson and Javi Meléndez. From the first minutes they took the floor, the filmmakers spoke of the deep sense of community and the openness with which they worked on Chicharras.

“We are a unit and we reflect a town's feelings,” said actor Víctor Robinson, enthusiastic about the process he went through in making this feature film. Robinson added: “All of us think better than a single person,” he said, referring to how the entire community contributed in some way to the making of the film.

Wanting to share some of her acting experience, actress Yuliana Berenice added: “In this film, there is not a single character who mimicked something. That is to say, everyone showed their essence, we all showed what we are”. From her point of view, this factor has allowed Chicharras to reach so far.

The young actor Javi Meléndez elaborated on what his colleagues were already saying about the feeling of community and mutual respect: “We didn't have a script as such, we just came up with what the character did and we, with the essence of our person, said what we had to say”. He seemed very happy with Marán's work style.

Pablo Morales, co-producer and cinematographer of the feature film, said, “It was a work that was very collaborative from the ground up. This not only involved people directly in the production but also included the community and its assembly in decisions about the film. A brief example is that the script was a joint effort by the director and the cast.

It was of utmost importance to everyone that the film be made this way, as they wanted to avoid talking about the problems they are going through from an external point of view; including the community allowed for an authentic representation of their reality.

In closing, Yuliana Berenice took the floor and added, with emotion and love for her community, San Pablo Guelatao, that Chicharras (2024) was created with a small piece of each of the community members' lives.