Sebastián Silva: "Crystal Fairy Was Something That Really Happened to Me"

By Diego Molano

Thirty-four year old Chilean director Sebastián Silva has received numerous accolades throughout his skyrocketing career. Among his most acclaimed films is 2009’s La nana / The Maid which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Few days ago, he stuck around after a special Cinema Tropical screening of his new film, Crystal Fairy, to answer a Q&A from a buzzing audience.

Tell us about the process of the film. How did Crystal Fairy come about?

Crystal Fairy was something that really happened to me twelve years ago in Chile. Me and my best buddy wanted to take mescaline down in the desert. At the Whalers concert in Santiago we met a woman from San Francisco that had hairy armpits and she actually went by the name Crystal fairy. And I invited her to tag along but then we regretted it. But when we were there, in Copiapo, and she was there and she was getting attacked by the gypsies and we had to adopt the fairy, exactly like the movie. The only fiction thing was that there was no confrontation between me and her. We were actually really good friends. Everything was smooth and fun the entire trip. The movie is based on a true story, what I learned from that experience was compassion. I actually cried for her pain when she told that story. And I felt that the birth of compassion was so important in a young adult and it was such a new feeling. But I kept it there on my computer desktop forever. But it was something I wanted to do, not necessarily a movie, I didn’t know what it was.

Then two years ago we were planning on making Magic Magic and Michael Cera, whom I’d previously worked with on a web series for HBO, he read Magic Magic and he really loved one of the roles. He asked me if he could do it, and I adapted the character for him. So, I got the financing and he moved to Chile because the character had to speak really fluent Chilean, not just Spanish. So I told him to go stay with my family. And he was with my family for three months. Then I went down there and we supposedly got the money but then it got delayed again, and I’d kinda foreseen that so I spoke with Gabby Hoffman, who I’d also worked with on this other HBO short. I told her maybe Magic Magic wasn’t going to get done immediately, but maybe she’d be down to do this road trip movie, ten days, with Michael Cera and my brothers – no food, no make up. And she said yeah. So she came down. Michael Cera agreed, and I wrote just an outline, twelve pages. And we took off to the desert; we filmed it with a lot of improvised dialogue. But everything was pretty clear, because I’m pretty controlling and the directions were really specific for each actor. Right after we finished editing Crystal Fairy the money for Magic Magic was right there, so we shot it immediately.

You had worked with one of your siblings in The Maid. Is that harder or easier to work with three of them in this film?

I wanted to work with only Augustin, the same kid that was in The Maid. But he’s so bad at auditions. So I tried with Champa, the oldest in the film, and he was great. But I felt bad and had all my brothers in there. But it worked great. Production wise, it worked – it was great to have three kids that all looked alike and had such great chemistry. It’s great to work with family, since you can bully them around, no sympathy. I wanted them to be themselves, especially that scene around the fire—those are actually there fears. Except Michael (Cera) we rehearsed that he was going to say sharks, just to fuck with Crystal Fairy.

There’s this flash moment with Michael Cera that felt almost like a horror movie. What is that?

I love when people ask about that. You know, most people don’t notice or forget it. That’s a frame from The Exorcist. And there’s no real meaning behind it, except as an homage to YouTube videos. You know, like videos that have something really cute, and you’re staring at it and all of a sudden a really haunting image pops up.

What happened to the real Crystal Fairy?

I hope she is alive. I mean, it’s a possibility, people die. I’ve tried googling her but I don’t remember her real name—her real name wasn’t Isabelle. She was a dominatrix, so I’ve looked up “Crystal Fairy Domintatrix” and the weirdest things come up. We showed the film at the San Francisco Film Festival, and we gave her a shout out you know, "Crystal Fairy, wherever you are, fly to us we are looking for you." But yeah, I have no idea how to find her. I think she’ll come around when the movie comes out.

Why did you have such an abrupt ending?

Um, there were other alternative endings. There was one ending we tried where she’s walking away but instead of just going behind the rocks she flies away and Michael is so scared starts throwing rocks at her, and it didn’t work. I mean, the real story is, we had breakfast and she took off with another batch of Chilean guys. I mean, it wasn’t so abrupt, she said goodbye. We were eating eggs and free styling rap and she just took off to another adventure. But I mean, for me, the ending is, both characters had a pretty specific journey. They’re in a completely different place from where the story started. She shares her real name, and eats cookies, and Jamie cried for somebody else pain.

Why did you decide to put an American in the film? Was there an American with you on your trip?

Michael is actually playing me. Uh… I’m a nice guy. I was really driven to get the cactus but… I guess it’s that Michael is Canadian, and he speaks English. It made sense that he’d be American, an American drug fanatic, and he’d invite an American girl. I guess there’s some sort of political message to have American guys behave the way that they did in the foreign country. But politics are so intrinsic to any story that I didn’t even pay attention to that. I mean I was just treating them as people. I kinda forgot about language.

Did you read The Doors of Perception?

Yes I’ve read it. I’m pretty open about the fact that I’ve tried a lot of drugs. I think that we’re not painting mescaline as a party drug. There are so many drugs that aren’t party drugs. Its been characterized as a drug movie, but I think its more of a friendship movie, and it happens to have mescaline in it.

I love the use of sound, especially when he starts to feel the effects of the mescaline. Can you elaborate on that?

That is the only moment where I put the audience in one of the characters mind. Almost everything else is from outside. We see Crystal Fairy playing with the shells or the guys playing games or saying “genes are so weird”. The panic attack that Michael taps into, I thought it was good for the audience to feel the fear in that moment because he’d been so insensitive with Crystal Fairy. E had to be really careful because I didn’t want to go as far as having the audience feel the high if the characters. I guess we broke the rules in that moment. We wanted the audience to have a very objective view.

Crystal Fairy opens in theaters and on demand on Friday, July 12.

Mexican Films HELI and HALLEY Top Munich Film Fest

Mexican film Heli (pictured) by Amat Escalante was the big winner of the 31st edition of the Munich Film Festival receiving the ARRI/OSRAM prize for Best International Film. The award comes with a cash prize of €50,000 ($64,000 approximately).

The controversial and violent drama, which was awarded the Best Director prize at Cannes, tells the story of Heli tells the story of a seventeen-year-old boy living with his wife and his sister, Estela. The film follows the arcs of these characters and Estela's boyfriend as they struggle with drugs, violence, and corruption.

Additionally, Halley (pictured right) by Mexican director Sebastián Hofmann was the winner of the 2013 CineVision Award, ex aequo with the Slovak-Czech drama My Dog Killer by Mira Fornay. The award, given to the Best International Newcomer, comes with a cash prize of €12,000 ($15,000 approximately).

Halley tells the story of Alberto, who is decomposing and can no longer hide it, so he decides to withdraw from the world. Before yielding to his living death, Alberto forms an unusual friendship with Silvia, the manager of the gym where he works as a guard.

The 31st edition of the Munich Film Festival, which ran June 28-July 6 in Germany, featured a tribute film retrospective of Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky. The Chilean director was also competing in the main CineMasters competition with his most recent film La danza de la realidad / The Dance of Reality.

Chilean Film LAS COSAS COMO SON Awarded at Karlovy Vary

The Chilean film Las cosas como son / Things the Way They Are (pictured) by Fernando Lavanderos was the winner of the Independent Camera Award for Best Film in the official competition Forum of Independents in the 48th edition of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival which ran June 28 - July 6 in the Czech Republic.

Lavanderos' film tells the story of Jerónimo, a mistrustful loner who rents out rooms to foreigners in Santiago without respecting their privacy. His life is turned upside down when the beautiful Sanna, a Norwegian, comes to stay. Jerónimo starts to come out of his shell but then he discovers that the girl is hiding something in his house.

The Chilean film was the only Latin American contender in that section which feature 12 films from around the world.  

Lisandro Alonso and Mariana Rondón Receive World Cinema Fund

Latin American filmmakers Lisandro Alonso and Mariana Rondón were among the five winners of this year's World Cinema Fund totaling $200,000 in funding. A total of 130 submissions were received for this round from 48 countries.

Argentine director Alonso (La libertad, Liverpool) was awarded €50,000 ($64,000 approximately) for his most recent film not yet titled starring Viggo Mortensen. The film is a co-production between Alonso's 4L company, Kamoli Films from Denmark, Mantarraya Films from Mexico, and Fortuna Films from the Netherlands.

Venezuelan director Rondón (Postcard from Leningrad) was awarded €30,000 ($38,000 approximately) for Pelo malo (pictured), her latest project, a co-production between Sudaca Films (Venezuela) and Imagen Latina (Perú),

The World Cinema Fund is an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in cooperation with the Goethe Institut, with the support of the Federal Foreign Office.

Since its establishment in October 2004, the WCF has granted production or distribution backing to a total of 111 projects, selected from 2,011 submissions from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, and the Caucasus.

Agüero's THE OTHER DAY and Oesterheld's CROWD Win FIDOCS

The documentary film El otro día / The Other Day (picture) by Ignacio Agüero was the big winner at the 17th annual edition of FIDOCS, Santiago's International Documentary Film Festival, winning the prize for Best Chilean film. In The Other Day, filmmaker Agüero begins filming the objects around his home and the people who drop by, and finds himself drawn into the layers of Chilean history and the complexities of documentary filmmaking.

The jury comprised by Marcelo Panozzo, director of BAFICI Film Festival, director Teresa Arrendondo and journalist Daniel Villalobos also gave a Special Jury Mention to José Luis Torres Leiva's ¿Qué historia es esta y cuál es su final? / What Is This Story and How Does It End? which also features Agüero as one of its main protagonists.

The winner of Best Film in the Latin American competition was the Argentine film La multitud / Crowd (pictured), the debut feature film by Martín M. Oesterheld. The film is a portrait of two entertainment places in the outskirts of Buenos Aires that were built under different local military regimes, and that are now on decay. The Latin American competition jury was composed by Mar del Plata Film Fest programmer Cecilia Barrionuevo, Mexican director Juan Carlos Rulfo and Chilean director Pablo Larraín.

The Cuban documentary film Mejunje (a co-production with Chile and Spain) by Juan Carlos Gamazo won the Audience Award in the Latin American competition, while Cristian Soto and Catalina Vergara's La última estación / The Last Station was the winner of the Audience Award in the Chilean competition.

Founded by Chilean documentary master Patricio Guzmán, the 17th edition of FIDOCS took place in Chile June 24-29.

New York Latino Film Summit: Profiles

     

The New York Film Summit on Friday and Saturday saw over eighty of the area’s film professionals come together to discuss the future of Latino and Latin American multimedia in the United States. After two grueling brainstorming and organization sessions, several of those present were approached to give their thoughts on a few of the most pointed questions that came up during the summit. 

Felipe Tewes

Profession:
I work in the HBO film-programming group, film acquisitions group, I’m the manager of film program.

What is the most pressing issue facing Latinos in film in the US today?
For me, the most pressing issue is audience support.

The most pressing issue facing Latinos in general?
You got me with that one. I didn’t know you were going to go so big. I think the biggest issue is… the biggest issue is how to balance integration while retaining your own culture and the community that come from retaining your own culture, that’s what I think.

Any final thoughts on the Summit?
I think it was absolutely necessary and I think you could feel the need and the urgency we all felt because we were all here giving up our weekend. I think it was really a success and I’m very glad it was organized and I just hope that its only the first step in momentum to a much tighter more mutually supportive community, and not just in collaboration but also in support, in us, being a better audience, better filmmakers, and just help each other out.

Maria Christina Villaseñor

Profession:
I’m an independent writer and curator.

What is the most pressing issue facing Latinos in the US in film today?
I think its really one of a united front, of realizing the different angles at which we come into the industry and having the industry be a far broader term, looking at the art in terms of commercial and noncommercial aspects from it and cultural organizations and understanding the difficulties which we all face in those different areas and really exchanging information and creating a united front to deal with some of the issues we face in terms of representation.

What is the most pressing issue facing Latinos in general?
Oh there’s so much. I think really equal representation. That were seen as a growing demographic, and we need equal representation in terms of broader cultural representation, broader policy.

Any final thoughts on the summit?
Its an amazing show of energy and thoughtfulness and of, you know, commitment to working through the excitement and messiness of what’s involved in fixing this situation. I feel like there’s a ground swell, but its going to dig its heels in and its not going to be a fleeting thing.

Rodrigo Brandão

Profession:
I do marketing and publicity for a film distribution company called Kino Lorber films
based in New York, we specialize in documentaries, independent films and foreign titles.

What is the most pressing issue facing Latinos in general?
In general, I think its immigration reform. It’s affecting so many people in our population in such brutal ways. Its not fair or acceptable that millions of people don’t have access to even the most basic set of rights, no access to education or health depending on the state where you live, they really are dealing with immense obstacles.

What is the most pressing issue facing Latinos in film in the US?
In film I think it’s a variety of questions. I think we need to have a better grasp of our history, our culture. We need to expand the conversation to make sure people understand that film is also part of you know, community, the history of Latinos in the US, that you can see the history of Latinos in film and viceversa. We need to pressure the institutions that are already in place to really represent Latinos and Latin Americans in the work that they do, because those institutions are out there and their mandate is already to serve the public but they insist on pretending that Latinos are invisible, that we don’t exist. And I’m talking about from newspaper to cultural institutions to museums to distribution companies, for profit and not for profit. There has to be a way to pressure them to represent our community. So I think we need to do this for us to advance the cause, to reach critical mass.

Any final thoughts on the summit?
I’m really excited to be here. Its so many people – you know I’ve been in New York City for ten years and its amazing to see there’s so many people I don’t know, I got to meet them because of the summit. We really need to follow up on the solutions we proposed. We really need to make those proposals happen.

Paula Heredia

Profession:
I’m a filmmaker, I make documentary films.

What is the most pressing issue facing Latinos in film today?
What we agreed on is the lack of community, and the desire to build that missing
community. We are in a moment, and this event proved it, that we all see the benefits of embracing our cultural differences while embracing all of the things our shared heritage has given us.

What is the most pressing issue facing Latinos in general?
I think each one of us is a microcosm of the issues going on with the Latino community at large. Our struggles and wishes as filmmakers, working together, building community, even re-identifying ourselves as first class citizens – is something that reverberates with the entire community.  I think the dreams are the same.

Final thoughts on the summit?
I think we’re all really excited. Despite the fact that we all have such busy professional lives – I don’t think any of us really needs another project at the moment – we’ve all dedicated ourselves to try and explore what everyone is thinking, and come to the table with ideas to execute everything we want to do. And people have volunteered for things they have personal passions for. I haven’t seen this level of passion or interest in a while. I expected a much smaller group.

Cristina Ibarra

Profession:
I’m a filmmaker, I mainly do documentaries for PBS, I also make fiction, but I haven’t worked in the fiction side for a long time.

What’s the most pressing issue facing Latinos in the US in film today?
I hate to say it, but I think it is about funding. Because the project I’m working in now, for PBS, has been funded every step of the way, from development to, well we haven’t done distribution yet. And what I’ve noticed is that the way that funding for PBS has been cut, there’s been severe cuts to the development of film. I think that’s the most crucial part of the process, the development stage, that’s where you put your ideas to test, where you go to the field to take footage and see if your approach is really viable. And now with the funding cuts, Latino public broadcasting is really not funding development. I don’t know where id be if my development hadn’t been funded. Along with that, it the projects are coming from your own voice, and that you’re not writing a story that is based on limitations programmers, expectations that they have about you because your Latino. That’s a horrible way to think because you’re not going to make a good project like that. You’re going to make something that’s whitewashed and watered down. So you need to have this watchdog mentality on yourself, make sure you’re not doing it.

Any final thoughts on the summit?
It was a reminder that I’m not alone. There’s this collective frustration born out of love… I’m walking away with the feeling that yes, there’s a crisis, but also the feeling that there’s a movement of like minded individuals trying to change the way things work.”

Roberto Alcázar

Profession:
I'm a writer/producer of documentaries like Yasuni, and narratives like 200 Cartas half of the time. The other half is dedicated to creating social content for brands and advertising through EO Integration.

What is the biggest issue facing Latinos in US today?
There are many issues, from immigration to adaptation. There are big differences between the ones who crossed the border to the one who were crossed by the border. It's definitely a fascinating moment in the history of the US that needs to be documented and voiced in an intelligent and relevant way.

What is the biggest issue facing Latinos in multimedia today?
Finding that relevant POV that can take the message further for the audience, not just the filmmaker. In my opinion, filmmakers that just want to tell stories without thinking about their audience, are just holding a camera.

Any final thoughts on the summit?
The summit was definitely a good platform to bring together ideas and propositions, but in my opinion, it was also used by a few people to ignite their individual agendas. Some people proposed the problems they're facing as the problems that all of us need to solve. Not the case. When you have the amazing opportunity to listen to a Pulitzer Prize winner give an amazing talk but then the following question repeats exactly what he said, you realized that people were not listening. I think that some people were just waiting for their turn to talk.

Alex Rivera

Profession:
Filmmaker, digital media artist.

What is the biggest issue facing Latinos in the US in film today?
Well I think it’s hard to say which is the most pressing. There are challenges and issue inside us as artists and creators in terms of your own imaginations, and where we want to go, where we think we can go, basically stretching the envelope and imagining ourselves in every expression of the medium. So, imagining ourselves in dramas, and science fiction, and horror and documentaries. I think that we need to know that the Latino experience can be expressed in myriad ways. And knowing that and gong into those shadows, and having confidence to do that. Of course the other part of the puzzle is that you usually need partners to get things done. And unfortunately I think the evidence so far is that participating with institutions, whether they’re museums, guarantors, corporations, for one reason or another have not bought the community in and that’s why the numbers are so low. And so I think that it’s a dual challenge. One is for us to bring the radical, expansive, exciting, new visions, bring that out, but we also have to exert political pressure, economic pressure, on the partner organizations so they start to open up space for us to do our work.

Any final thoughts on the summit?
I think this gathering we had tonight, I hope anyway, is about what can we do differently. Because there have been attempts to address these crisis for the last 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, there’s been a crisis for a long time. My personal opinion is that the problem just gets bigger and bigger as our numbers get larger. And something has to change, because our numbers are too big to be shut out. We’re going to be a majority in this country, and it’s a scary scenario that we’re going to be a majority still not on TV, that we still have no access to make our films, tell our stories. We need to change structures in this country so we start to own a piece of it, because we have a strong presence in the streets. But if you go into boardrooms, places where power is, places where money is, we don’t. We are America now and we deserve to participate.  

     

OTHER NEW YORK LATINO FILM SUMMIT ARTICLES:  

New York Latino Film Summit: Changing our Paradigms
by Carlos A. Gutiérrez

On Friday and Saturday, June 21 and 22, a special gathering of Latino film professionals under the banner ‘New York Latino Film Summit: Changing our Paradigms’ took place at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. It was an exercise in bringing together local Latino film and media arts professionals to discuss the most pressing issues affecting the group, to try to find ways to face these concerns, and most importantly, to create a common front, a sense of community.

The New York Latino Film Summit Raises Questions, Pushes for Community
by Diego Molano

The weekend of June 21 and 22, the New York Latino Film Summit brought together dozens of filmmakers, media arts professionals and intellectuals from the greater New York area. Over the course of Friday and Saturday, the combined group explored the most pressing issues facing the Latino community in the film and media arts world, from questions of identity to commentary on the funding sources available.