28/11/2024 - With his sci-fi feature debut, the Asturian director zooms in on a family that falls apart under strange circumstances

Boreal [+see also:
film review
interview: Pelayo Muñiz Cabal
film profile] is Pelayo Muñiz Cabal’s first feature: a genre film that centres on four characters over the course of one night, under the eerie Northern Lights that appear in Madrid. Guille, Bea, Anna and Pablo are old friends who are about to discover the hidden parts of each other, with a little help from the supernatural. At the world premiere in his hometown, Gijón, the director sat down with Cineuropa to discuss the technical and psychological aspects of his debut.

Cineuropa: Why did you decide to set the film against the particular natural phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis?
Pelayo Muñiz Cabal: We were seeking a natural element that, at the same time, would have an eerie aspect to it, so we could play around with its strangeness. Having the Aurora Borealis appear in the sky of Madrid, out of nowhere, makes you wonder whether it’s a natural phenomenon or not; is there something different or more sinister going on?

What were the technical aspects to consider when portraying the Northern Lights? Its green is very striking, so how much of that was computer-generated, and how much of it was lighting and grading?
Everything [Aurora-related] was CGI! During shooting, there was no Aurora, obviously, no chrome lights: it was all generated digitally in post-production. Well, for the green effect in the characters’ eyes, we used special contact lenses, but then, that colour was also reinforced in post-production.

The colour scheme of the film is also rich in greens, but with different nuances and vibrancies. Can you talk about the use of that colour on set?
The idea was to have a colour grading that would be both natural and realistic, to contrast with the reinforced colours of the Aurora. But in all aspects, we were looking for more naturalistic grading. For instance, we had painted the house green beforehand, and that was done on purpose.

Since the film is centred on the four characters, how did you ensure the chemistry between the actors would work, not only within the couples they are part of, but also between each individual?
None of the actors had worked together before, so we didn’t know what would happen. But there was this great chemistry that, I guess, happened completely by chance. We rehearsed a lot together, but during the rehearsals, we also tried to create situations so that they would bond – like eating and spending time together – and create a personal connection that later on would make the scenes very credible. And frankly, I think that’s one of the best aspects of the film, the way the four of them work together. Okay, I’m passionate about it, but I think I’m objective as well: they were great!

What was it like making your first feature in the science-fiction genre? Did you encounter any challenges?
I love the genre, and personally, I feel very comfortable within it. I don’t feel at all out of place. Now, I have to say that, originally, the story was just about this group of friends, and there was no fantastic or science-fiction element in there, but it came in quite naturally, and incorporating it allowed us to play with the structure of the story.

My last question is about the narrative structure of Boreal, since the film skips between the past and present, and suggests another possible world. Was it all in the script, and how much of that structure was decided during the editing?
Yes, this structure was already in place in the script: the idea was to reflect on how one person actually contains multiple, different people. So, we had a structure that would make the viewer see the characters in different situations under different circumstances, and through different points of view. For example, of course, we first see Guille as an aggressor, but then we have these time gaps and time jumps; we also get to see him in the position of a victim. Everyone’s beating him up and locking him up. We wanted the viewer to ask themselves: “Who am I, and how many different people can I be?” Actually, in the editing, we did try to put the film together in chronological order as a test, but honestly, it was really boring. We realised that the whole point of the movie was dependent on that fragmented structure.