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When the Story Finds You: Interview with Alejandro Rugama on YĀTRĀ

What happens when the search for answers around the world ultimately reveals our own story? In Yātrā, Alejandro Rugama turns an expedition through Asia—undertaken in his youth—into a voyage of self-discovery, guided by spirituality, illness, and the ties of family. What began as a search for extraordinary stories among distant cultures and traditions ended up being an intimate exploration of his own identity, particularly after confronting a life-threatening experience.

In this conversation for the 24th Morelia International Film Festival, the filmmaker opens up about the deeply personal and creative process behind his documentary. He speaks of the compass inherited from his great-grandfather and of the challenges of reconstructing, years later, the experiences that defined his life. Through animation and a dynamic narrative, Rugama invites us to reflect on memory, resilience, and inner discovery, reminding us that sometimes the stories we most need to find are not in the most remote corners of the world, but within ourselves.

FICM: At what point during that expedition you decided to undertake did you realize that the great story you were searching for was, in fact, your own? That the extraordinary tale was you. 

Alejandro Rugama: It wasn’t until much later, at a crucial point in my life when I found myself literally between life and death because of illness. It was at that moment when life gave me the chance to realize that perhaps the story I had been searching for wasn't lost in a jungle in Vietnam, or in a monk from the Himalayas, or in someone else—but in the one place I had never dared to look: within myself.

That moment came precisely when I was with my grandfather. He too was gravely ill, mirroring my own condition. I went to say goodbye to him before my bone-marrow autotransplant. Right then, I was completely aware of the real possibility that it might be our last time together.

In that farewell, my grandfather handed me a golden compass that had once belonged to my great-grandfather. Looking back, I think that being there with him was the first time he helped me realize that perhaps the story was right there.

FICM: At what stage of that inner journey are you at this moment?

Alejandro Rugama: I firmly believe that the journey of finding oneself—the inner journey—is as long and deep as the one through the world. I think it never truly ends, but what matters is that I’ve begun to live the journey from within. 

FICM: Right after everything you experienced, after all those places you travelled to, and finally sitting down in the editing room, how was the process of revisiting all that material you had collected and weaving it together into the essay that became Yātrā?

Alejandro Rugama: It was a very long process because I started filming Yātrā… Well, without knowing it would eventually become Yātrā—when I was between 20 and 22, during the years I was on the expedition.

The second part of the film was made when I was around 25 or 26, and the editing came later, when I was about 28 or 29. It was indeed a long journey, where not only the story transformed but also the way I chose to tell it. If you saw the first cut and compared it to the final one, you’d find two completely different films.

Yes, definitely, it was a process that took me a long time—especially the ending—because I didn't know how it would end. The end itself took me nearly three years. It was, in every sense, a journey.

FICM: What did you feel, Alejandro, at 28 or 29, when you saw the images that the 20- or 22-year-old you had lived?

Alejandro Rugama:  When I finally sat down to edit and immersed myself in all the material from my expeditions, it was a difficult process. There was a deep sense of melancholy as I watched all those stories and everything I had experienced, but at the same time, it helped me immensely to remember who I truly was. Later in life, there was a time when I lost myself. Sitting down to build this story and remember was deeply meaningful in the process of finishing the film.

It was hard, yet that period helped me immensely; it was like a support that kept me walking forward and reminded me that I could still be brave, capable, and adventurous.

FICM: In Yātrā, there’s a dynamism in your storytelling that relies on animation and gives the narrative a rich and layered dimension. What led you to use animation, and where does this narrative energy originate?

Alejandro Rugama: I made this film with young people in mind. I’d love for the young audience to be the one that watches this documentary the most. I was thinking of parts of the story where I might lose the audience, such as when explaining a disease with scientific or medical language. That’s when I asked myself, “How can I narrate all this creatively and engagingly?” Not only for younger viewers, but also because the first part is so dynamic with all the expeditions, the journeys, and all of it. Suddenly, this second part—the one about the illness—became somewhat slower, not as dynamic. 

Ultimately, I think these narrative devices helped the film keep a good rhythm and remain engaging. Besides, it’s a style I love, because I really enjoy creating the animations—the little characters, the city, the robots, all of that. 

FICM: What fascinated us was the fact that you were in Asia, in places where theology and the way of understanding life revolve around looking inward. How do you think being in those countries, surrounded by their culture, influenced your process and this expedition? And how different do you think it would have been if you had carried out this expedition on another continent?

Alejandro Rugama: During those years of traveling, I was still very young—around 20 and 22—and perhaps I hadn’t yet developed the hunger to deeply explore the history, the culture, and different religions.

However, they did influence me in a meaningful way. Being around monks, priests, and people who practice religions so different from mine—since I was raised Catholic—and, at least in my experience, the idea of an inner journey isn’t common in Catholicism. Being there helped me profoundly, it made the idea of traveling within myself less remote, more familiar. I’m sure that if I had done it somewhere else, it would have been a completely different experience. If I had done it in Europe or South Africa, where most people are Christian or Catholic—not everyone, of course. Still, I believe that being immersed in these cultures was essential. 

If I had traveled somewhere else—like the Middle East, with its Islamic traditions, or Africa, where there are also so many different religions—I don’t know what would have happened, but it would have raised a fascinating question.

FICM: While you were there, and inspired by your grandfather, did you ever feel at home? Did you say to yourself, “My grandfather is here with me. I’m here, as if I were with my family. I’m somehow in Mexico"?

Alejandro Rugama: Not quite. The expeditions were hard, to be honest. I traveled in the most modest way possible so I could stay as long as I could. I never went to tourist places; I stayed in villages, in small towns, and, well, sometimes it was rough. In India, I was always sick to my stomach, sleeping beneath a thin veil so I wouldn’t wake up with cockroaches crawling over me.