30/05/2022 - CANNES 2022: The Colombian director’s coming-of-age drama shows that what makes a real man are his core values

With A Male [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabián Hernández
film profile], premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, Colombian director Fabian Hernández presents an intimate film that deals with the codes of masculinity in Latin American society. We met the filmmaker and spoke with him about his own emotional link to the topic, and his wish to depict his home country in a less exploitative and more respectful way than it usually is.

Cineuropa: Why did you wish to tell this story?
Fabian Hernández: The film stems from memories I have of my adolescence. I lived in the neighbourhood we see in the film, and my parents still live there. It's in downtown Bogotá. It's a neighbourhood that is unfortunately very well known because it has significant social problems, like drug trafficking and violence. When I was young, I was also part of a rather brutal group. Later, when I started to think about why I was interested in this world, I realised that I was doing it because I wanted to act out a certain type of masculinity. I have been reflecting this since then. It has to do with the tools that we have as teenagers to enable us to grow up in this kind of context. At that age, it is very important to be part of a group and to be accepted. I remember that as a teenager, I had many worries that I could not express in front of others. These are things that I think about a lot and that I wanted to talk about in this film.

It is a rather dark vision that you show here.
I see a certain optimism in the movie. The character is able to make decisions, even though the context is always going to be difficult and it is not possible to change his reality. I wanted to show something where there is space for people's ambition. These types of neighbourhoods or countries continue in a very constant dynamic: the past, present and future do not change much. There is not so much hope for the future. The hope I find is more within the character. He has the possibility to choose, as do I. I, too, chose to stop hanging out with people who weren't good for me.

You seem reluctant to use the typical setting that we usually see in other films from Latin America.
Often, the characters in these surroundings are described as victims; they have almost no possibility to decide anything. For me, it was important to have characters that speak, that express themselves. I didn't want to show only the superficial violence of the gangs, as we see it in most films. We see poor neighbourhoods, gangs, young people without any ideas and without the chance to choose non-violence. My protagonist, on the other hand, renounces violence. I didn't want to reproduce the same images that we already know. In many films, there is a stigma of drugs, especially in Colombian films. I see the film crews arriving, taking shots of the neighbourhood and then leaving without ever coming back. This makes me angry: it is a form of exploitation and produces a certain economy based on clichés, an economy based on the pain of the people. For me, it was important to do it differently. My protagonist is not into drugs or violence. I am interested in people's emotions and intimacy. I think my approach is deeper and more respectful of the people and the neighbourhood.

So the main message of your film is that we always have a choice, even if we are in a dire situation?
Yes; it is always possible to think and to choose. But another important aspect of my film concerns the burden of society, which pushes us towards something that may not be in line with what we want. Society, in different contexts, pushes us to adhere to certain codes and moulds us in this way.

How did you find your protagonist?
I went out in the neighbourhood every day and looked for him. One day, I was invited to a rap concert, where I met my protagonist. He was there surrounded by several big, strong guys, and in his eyes I saw a burning desire to be part of their circle.

How did you prepare him to play the character?
We talked a lot; we shared a lot of moments in our everyday lives. We didn't rehearse too much, and I didn't give him any dialogues to memorise. I gave him a context and indications. The character is a mix of my experiences and his.

What were the most important aspects for the visual concept of the film?
We usually think of a movie that unfolds in such a setting as having the aesthetic of a handheld camera. We produce dizzying images to accentuate the emotions and create dangerous situations. I wanted a more delicate film, with a certain distance, so I chose more stable images. I decided to observe, instead of letting myself drift.