Eva López-Sánchez Talks About La Ultima Y Nos Vamos
January 24, 2010 § Leave a comment
In her latest feature film, Eva López-Sánchez takes us along with three 20-year-olds on a Friday night in Mexico City. Each gets pulled into a different party crowd throughout the film, away from the safety of their bodyguards and parents.
La Ultima y Nos Vamos (One for the Road) made its public debut at the 23rd Annual Guadalajara International Film Festival and its California debut in the Bay Area. The filmmaker attended three Bay Area screenings to entertain Q&A.
Her remarks
“It’s a take on Mexico that isn’t seen by American audiences,” says López-Sánchez. “You’ve only seen a violent and corrupt Mexico City. My film showcases the music and lifeblood of our Friday nights. We’ve all had one of them, thinking ‘what am I doing here?’ Meeting with people who we wouldn’t regularly meet with, the story is universal.”
Cine+Mas Film Festival chose La Ultima y Nos Vamos as its closing night film. November of 2010 was the last time the film screened to audiences before it toured cinemas in France and Mexico.
“I love the film. I love how you captured a bird’s eye view of Mexico City in your intro and your soundtrack speaks to me,” an audience member said in San Jose. “I grew up in Mexico City and your film took me back home.”
“We took six flights over the city, shooting various districts. It’s Mexico City today with its mix of cultural influences.” She filmed the capitol, nightlife, and the dark alleys like only a native could. “The city is full of surprises. I can be anywhere in the city at any time of day or night and still discover a new amazing neighborhood jewel.”
The audience at the Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco responded, “What inspired you to make this film? ”
“My son came to me with an incredible story line about these kids ending up with completely different crowds – in neighborhoods they shouldn’t have been in.” The film explores how people relate with others who are completely different and “can find something human. It’s about relating despite our differences.”
Her writing process
“I told my son to write it all down and we’d make a movie out of it. He told me, ‘I don’t know how to write a film.’ So I told him to write what ever he could and to write it in the first person and I would help him with the rest.”
She attended Mexico City’s Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, has made six full length films and several short films since. Her directorial debut was with Francisca, a political period drama that looks at Mexico City’s Tlalteloco massacre of 1968, where hundreds of student protesters were killed. Her first three films were documentaries and the latest works have been feature films.
“I didn’t want to write this film because I would write it with all of my experience- through my old eyes. I wanted a fresh perspective. I wanted his young eyes to tell the story.” He brought her the story on eight handwritten pages. “It was fresh and it was fun.”
During a radio interview, Margarita of San Francisco’s Pirate Cat Radio mentions that films from Latin America often emulate their European influences instead of portraying Indo Latinos the way La Ultima y Nos Vamos does.
“The characters have different backgrounds, but they’re tied together by predominant cultural influences. They’re very Mexican in character. They use Mexicanisms. They share Mexican music roots.”
The score
Music in the film complemented each character’s personality. “As a filmmaker, you have to be in the know. I have a network of different artists that keep me up to date with their latest work.” Among the artists are MC Luca a hip-hop artist and Big Metra. “Niña Dioz is a reggae artist who wrote Criminal Sound specifically for the film. She’s from Monterrey, Mexico and is only 20 years old.”
The film’s instrumental music was a collaboration between López-Sánchez and Renato y Ramiro del Real who are well known music production artists from Mexico City. La Ultima y Nos Vamosis is their second feature film project.
“Film is important because it’s a universal way to communicate facts of life and human nature. You can have the notion of an experience, but by watching it play out on film you can live that experience almost first hand. Film resonates with you and affects you the way that no other medium can.”
Eva López-Sánchez Talks About La Ultima Y Nos Vamos
November 24, 2009 § Leave a comment
La Ultima Y Nos Vamos
In her latest feature film, Eva López-Sánchez takes us along with three 20-year-olds on a Friday night in Mexico City. Each gets pulled into a different party crowd throughout the film, away from the safety of their bodyguards and parents.
La Ultima y Nos Vamos (One for the Road) made its public debut at the 23rd Annual Guadalajara International Film Festival and its California debut in the Bay Area. The filmmaker attended three Bay Area screenings to entertain Q&A.
Her remarks
“It’s a take on Mexico that isn’t seen by American audiences,” says López-Sánchez. “You’ve only seen a violent and corrupt Mexico City. My film showcases the music and lifeblood of our Friday nights. We’ve all had one of them, thinking ‘what am I doing here?’ Meeting with people who we wouldn’t regularly meet with, the story is universal.”
La Ultima y Nos Vamos toured cinemas in the U.S., France and Mexico before its release onto DVD.
“I love the film. I love how you captured a bird’s eye view of Mexico City in your intro and your soundtrack speaks to me,” an audience member said in San Jose. “I grew up in Mexico City and your film took me back home.”
“We took six flights over the city, shooting various districts. It’s Mexico City today with its mix of cultural influences.” She filmed the capitol, nightlife, and the dark alleys like only a native could. “The city is full of surprises. I can be anywhere in the city at any time of day or night and still discover a new amazing neighborhood jewel.”
The audience at the Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco responded, “What inspired you to make this film? ”
“My son came to me with an incredible story line about these kids ending up with completely different crowds – in neighborhoods they shouldn’t have been in.” The film explores how people relate with others who are completely different and “can find something human. It’s about relating despite our differences.”
Her writing process
“I told my son to write it all down and we’d make a movie out of it. He told me, ‘I don’t know how to write a film.’ So I told him to write what ever he could and to write it in the first person and I would help him with the rest.”
She attended Mexico City’s Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, has made six full length films and several short films since. Her directorial debut was with Francisca, a political period drama that looks at Mexico City’s Tlalteloco massacre of 1968, where hundreds of student protesters were killed. Her first three films were documentaries and the latest works have been feature films.
“I didn’t want to write this film because I would write it with all of my experience- through my old eyes. I wanted a fresh perspective. I wanted his young eyes to tell the story.” He brought her the story on eight handwritten pages. “It was fresh and it was fun.”
During a radio interview, Margarita of San Francisco’s Pirate Cat Radio mentions that films from Latin America often emulate their European influences instead of portraying Indo Latinos the way La Ultima y Nos Vamos does.
“The characters have different backgrounds, but they’re tied together by predominant cultural influences. They’re very Mexican in character. They use Mexicanisms. They share Mexican music roots.”
The score
Music in the film complemented each character’s personality. “As a filmmaker, you have to be in the know. I have a network of different artists that keep me up to date with their latest work.” Among the artists are MC Luca a hip-hop artist and Big Metra. “Niña Dioz is a reggae artist who wrote Criminal Sound specifically for the film. She’s from Monterrey, Mexico and is only 20 years old.”
The film’s instrumental music, which is also known as the score, was a collaboration between López-Sánchez and Renato y Ramiro del Real who are well known music production artists from Mexico City. La Ultima y Nos Vamosis is their second feature film project.
“Film is important because it’s a universal way to communicate facts of life and human nature. You can have the notion of an experience, but by watching it play out on film you can live that experience almost first hand. Film resonates with you and affects you the way that no other medium can.”
Novella to Film: What’s the Diff?
October 23, 2009 § Leave a comment
You can’t deny that novel adaptations to film change everything about the delivery of the original story. These mediums carry different visual and verbal cargo. Words execute emotions and film is like art.
It’s limited to the screen you’re viewing it on, like a painting, whether it is on the silver screen or your TV. Film is movement, lighting, color and timing-exactly how the director, cast and crew want you to see it.
Novels, however, whisper the narrator’s inner-most complicated dialogue, line by line, quietly describing to you their plight with love and heartache, death and excitement. Novels leave the visual element up to the narrator’s exaggerations. Story lines may change, but the heartbeat from novel to film drum the same beat.
Film exercises your mind via visual suggestions in a way that a book uses words. For example in film The Commitments Jimmy’s dad had a strange fascination with Elvis that wasn’t written in the book. What does this Elvis loving, wannabe band member tell the viewer? Personally, I was embarrassed for Jimmy and secretly wanted to quiet dad down when he sang Fools Rush In at the kitchen table.
Jimmy, in a funny way, is takes after his father in the film. He peruses music as his passion, in an over obsessive and too cocky for his own good kind of way. Jimmy’s character in the novel; however, doesn’t have much influence from his parents. He’s more of a lone star. His borderline overzealous fascination with music is illustrated by his “never coming back from town without an album.” Jimmy was a slave to his obsession and made it obvious that, “he knew his stuff.”
Both scenarios on paper and screen project to reader and viewer, that Jimmy’s character is of the fool embarking a on a journey to the unknown. He’s innocent in both cases and had musical influences growing up.
When watching motion picture, our eyes are hungry for movement and symbolic queues to trigger meaning. Filmmakers work at satisfying that urge. The literal narrators whispers don’t translate on screen as effectively as they do when they are read. Our minds eye is allowed to elaborate on the written version in a way that satisfies the reader-because we can make it our own.
In the novella, The Commitments, music played a key role. It took up more page and eye and head space than it took up time on screen but didn’t change the heartbeat of the story. The music in the novel cried out soul, nearly beating the notion of the band’s soul music mission to the ground.
Build up is created when Jimmy suggests the bands covers Get Up by James Brown. Sexual tension ensues, Jimmy plays the record for the boys and-while sitting with his legs between the speakers. James belts out “the best -HUH they’ve ever heard.” This scene in the book turns the reader on and builds on something to look forward to.
The film set a different stage for the first music scene. It was awkward, unprofessional and everyone was so green. Derrick steps up to the mic and belts out in an impressive harmonic shout -“MUSTANG SALLY.” I was sold. It was as dramatic as their “best ever” experience with “HUH”. Everybody knows the “HUH” and everybody can hear it in their heads-this is what made the novel effective without actually hearing it real time like you do with film.The film gives you a sexy lead man singing his heart out. Same effect.
Music is filled with emotion and it is what made The Commitments exciting to watch. Adaptations from novel to film are all about character development. Novels spend more time with the main characters thoughts, intentions and history. Without such background, the reader looses the character’s persona.
In film, personality can be covered by casting and costume, soundtrack and lighting. The pulse of The Commitments didn’t skip a beat from novel to film even though scenes were manipulated for silver screen success.
The Archives of My Mind 