INTERVIEW: First-time filmmaker makes psychological horror movie set in Cuba
Photo: Osvaldo Doimeadiós and Gabriela Ramos star in Is That You?, the debut feature from Rudy Riverón Sánchez. Photo courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures / Provided with permission by Cinema Tropical.
First-time filmmaker Rudy Riverón Sánchez combined his upbringing in Cuba with his appreciation for horror films to craft his debut feature, Is That You?, now playing the Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles and coming to DVD and VOD Aug. 13.
In the movie, a 13-year-old struggles to survive with her mother in a small dwelling in the Cuban countryside. They are both fearful of the child’s father but also questioning his absence. To understand where he went, this young teenager, named Lili, decides to stage a ritual taught to her by a spiritualist, and the revelations that this ritual produces are truly surprising.
“My first official film is going to be out there in the United States,” Sánchez said proudly. “I cannot ask for more, to be honest.”
Is That You? began when Sánchez was working a few years ago in a cinematic workshop where he was asked to write a short film. That experience opened his eyes to the creative possibilities of the horror genre.
“I always respect them because it’s a quite difficult genre,” he said. “Then it opened my eyes and gave me a lot of not only satisfaction, but I knew I could do it. … I finished the workshop, and I came out a year and a half later with the idea of a girl whose got a problem with her family, parents and stuff.”
After the idea of the story and this central character of a young teenager was in his mind, he started to think about the best setting. That’s when Sánchez leaned on his upbringing in Cuba. Quite simply, he wanted to be the first director to film a psychological horror film in the country.
“I thought I would like to come back to Cuba,” he said.
In the back of Sánchez’s mind was some sage advice he received from a mentor, who was also a writer of horror tales. This influential figure in his life told him that when writing one’s first feature film, know exactly the route to travel. In other words, if Sánchez knows Cuba best, then that’s where the movie should be set.
“Then I thought, well, I’m going to come back to Cuba, and also there was no psychological horror film made in Cuba before this one,” he said. “I spent two years watching horror films from different directors and classical [movies].”
He also tried to recall emotions he encountered as a teenager in order to bring Lili to life in the story. “When you mature, you understand that you’re a creative person, and it gives you a lot of tools to understand emotion and to understand characters, to understand how to develop deep emotions within the characters,” he said. “So I think watching horror films, watching classical films from Ingmar Bergman, and I think other influences came from when I grew up in Cuba. I grew up watching anti-heroes from Soviet film and Soviet cartoons, so that’s why I think I identify and develop a taste for dark, deep, moody stories.”
As the movie began to take shape, Sánchez started to think about the different themes he wanted to tackle. His finished product covers such issues as gender violence and poverty, and how these issues impact Lili and her family’s life.
“I thought this is an opportunity to write something and to bring certain subjects to the Cuban cinema that haven’t been told much,” Sánchez said. “It’s really when you write the film, you grab elements from everywhere, even life experience. So, yeah, the influence and why it inspired me, it’s a combination of elements.”
He added: “I knew the Cuban context. I knew that I could use that context and introduce the psychological horror genre because I know my country. I was born there, so as a first-time director, I think I tried to do something that made me feel really comfortable and develop a story that was, I wouldn’t say easy, but it was close to me.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Is That You?, directed by Rudy Riverón Sánchez, is currently playing the Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles. The movie comes to DVD and VOD Aug. 13. Click here for more information.
