The
Massie Twins (MoviePulse.net): Why did you decide to make the film
in English?
Jose “Pepe” Bojorquez: This is a fable that can take place anywhere. English was the perfect tool for us. To me it was like the sea. It connects all the nations. We're like a united nation there, a family - it's amazing because we all have different backgrounds, different cultures, but we all want to tell the same story. With this film you can see that I believe in miracles and beauty, one-hundred percent. MP: How do fantasy and myths influence the film? JB: My goal was to tell the story - if you close your eyes you can still feel the film. It’s the same thing with the sound. If you close your eyes you can hear the sea and all the elements - to be able to separate the elements and still tell the story. I wanted to connect human beings with nature and love - love is in the colors, textures, connection with the sea, and the stars. MP: Was the myth of a woman from the sea based on any pre-existing legends? JB: There are stories in Mexico for everything. People really believe that we can connect with nature. The story came to my mind because the sea can take everything – it can destroy cities. But can it take away from you the woman that you love? What about feelings? I have a lot of respect for the sea and I wanted to present it without it being Cancun or the Caribbean. I wanted a sea that was dark and tumultuous, sometimes beautiful, but with a lot of character. You find symbols and meanings to everything in life. I'm not superstitious but I believe in the things that I love. MP: Can you tell us a bit about the casting process. JB: I wrote the story for Sonia Braga because I thought she was the only woman that could play that role. I went to individual people's houses and said, “I want you to read this.” I spent so many months looking for the cast. I didn't want to shoot the movie until I found the right cast. Jonathan and I connected because something happened in his life with the sea. He probably mentioned it to you. MP: Actually he didn’t.
JB: The first thing he said to me was, “This is real and I believe in it.” I've known him a long time through his movies. His character represents absolute freedom. The most important thing about a character is the spirit. Beauty doesn't matter. MP: How was the transition from making short films to directing your first feature? JB: I'm very confident and I never had time to be nervous. It was overwhelming - it was a roller coaster. I was very sure about what I wanted to do - that was the most important thing. I knew the material very well. In a way, I'm all of the characters, because you write what’s in your heart. I had a really good connection with the Director of Photography because he was my first professor in USC when I started film. He knew my style and we talked for hours and hours and months about it. So much passion we had for this - everything was made by hand - all the sets, her house, her dresses. Nothing was computer animation. Nothing was fake. If you see something in the film, it exists. MP: Was filmmaking something you always knew you wanted to do? JB: I was in Mexico and I had a girlfriend, so I had to keep going with my father's business - I went to business school in Mexico. There was a moment where either I get married, or I keep going with my dreams - so I went back to USC for another five years to study and focus only on directing. I needed to take my abilities to the best possible level and to learn from the best possible people. I have been in this roller coaster for four years and every day I’m still excited. There's so much passion behind this.
MP: What are you currently working on and what are your future projects? JB: I'm working on another story about the moon and the night. It’s about love -when you don't have love, half of your life is empty - if there's no moon at night you won’t be able to see the stars or the sea. It's a beautiful story with a lot of sensuality. It's a little more aggressive - the pure beauty of cinema. If everything goes well we’ll begin in February-March. MP: Do you have any concerns about the marketability of the film further north? JB: When you have a film this unique, it doesn't fit into any of the models of distribution. So the studio doesn't really know how to market it. It was very well received in Mexico. MP: So now that you're a writer, producer and a director, do you have any thoughts of getting into acting? JB: (laughs) No!!!
- The Massie Twins |
