23/01/2024 - Political and creative complicity defines this pair of filmmakers who plan to continue making docufiction films with a message after the success of their magnificent environmental fable

Sergi Cameron (left) e Pau Faus

Fauna [+see also:
film review
interview: Pau Faus and Sergi Cameron
film profile], a documentary about animal experimentation, has been screened at numerous international festivals since its premiere at Visions du Réel. It is now screening at FIPADOC and we therefore had some questions for the director and co-screenwriter Pau Faus and the co-screenwriter (together with Julia R. Aymar) and producer Sergi Cameron (Nanouk Films).

Cineuropa: How did you come together as filmmakers?
Pau Faus: In 2015 I knocked on Nanouk Films' door with 200 hours of footage that I thought could be made into a film. Nine months later we premiered Alcaldesa in Malaga. The film was then screened at around fifty international festivals, spent six weeks in cinemas and won the Gaudí Award for best documentary.

Sergi Cameron: Pau didn’t come from the world of cinema, nor did he have any academic training in it, but his debut film is a documentary that leaves a valuable mark on Catalan filmmaking. His intuitive and intelligent approach and empathetic way of working inspire me to continue to grow together. 

What moves, motivates, mobilises you as filmmakers?
PF: To make central elements of our society visible through secondary characters. In Alcaldesa we learn about the ins and outs of institutional politics from a young, inexperienced activist. In Fauna we see the contradictions of scientific research through the everyday life of a humble sheep herder. I find this clash between innocence and complexity both interesting and necessary to refute dominant discourses. 

SC: A kind of crusade against cynicism, at a time of widespread distrust and disillusionment. Fear is dangerous and that creates individuality and fascism, so I’m politically driven.

Do you feel that you make films that make the audience think?
PF: Alcaldesa is political and Fauna is poetic. The great challenge of the latter was to talk about something controversial such as animal experimentation without compromising on beauty. What could have been frivolous turned out to be the project's greatest success.

SC: A committed political look is the axis that unites all of Nanouk's projects, from risky ideas to those focused on entertainment. 

What have viewers' reactions to Fauna been like?
PF: People appreciate this clash between tradition and technology, melancholy and dystopia. This pastoral science fiction fable gives them a special take on a universal theme. 

SC: When I have the chance to travel with a film, I like to test the thermometer by observing how the humour is perceived. Fauna's humanist and light-hearted approach has surprised audiences, especially in North America, where they are more willing (or have a greater need) to tackle complex issues from a more innocent perspective.

Why docufiction to tell this story?
PF: It’s not a matter of preference, it’s just another form of dialogue. Sometimes, for something good to come out of it, the best thing to do is to film discreetly from the corner. However, other times you need to intervene and propose situations. Every documentary is a creative interpretation of reality, how you arrive at it in my case depends on the moment and the story I want to tell.

SC: I think that each methodology has its own film and not the other way around. As a creator, I’m more interested in the path we take to get there than in the result. As a spectator, I’m interested in everything.

Watching Fauna makes it clear that it is impossible to escape from technology...
PF: The mistake is to believe that technological advances will save us. Salvation lies in finding a balance and that can only be achieved by slowing down. The environmental movement has been warning us for decades: no degrowth, no solution.

SC: In this regard, Pau (as director) and I (as producer) have had divergent views that have led to fruitful discussions. I cannot be a technology denier because right now it’s what gives meaning to our existence as a species. Let us first question our way of life and then let technology fix what we have not been able to save. Let's use technology for peace and happiness... use it to do good!

After Fauna, what projects do you have planned together?
PF: Making a documentary means moments of uncertainty and you need to know that there’s someone at your side who trusts you. Fauna was our second experience together and confirmed that we understand each other well. There’ll be more projects, for sure.

SC: Pau is working on a new documentary, but it’s still too early to talk about it. We can say that it’ll be more ambitious than the previous ones and that we’ll be looking for international partners to get it right.

(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)