THE GOLDEN DREAM: Q&A SESSION WITH ITS DIRECTOR
I mentioned in the Movie Mondays: The Golden Dream post that after watching the film, a Q&A session was held with its director - Diego Quemada-Diez. And what an interesting session it was. Hosted by the Cornerhouse's Programme Manager (Film & BFI Hub), Rachel, the interview of sorts was started off by her to get us all going and then opened to the floor for the rest of the session. It was so bizarre being given the chance to discuss the movie you had just seen with one of the people behind its production; hearing what exactly they intended us to get from their project. Let's see what that was shall we?
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Diego Quemada-Diez (La Morena; I Want to Be a Pilot; A Table Is a Table), who has taken on roles such as being a second assistant cameraman to director of photography, released his multiple award winning debut feature film, The Golden Dream last year. Throughout his career in the film industry, he has worked alongside a number of notable directors such as Ken Loach (Jimmy's Hall; The Angel's Share; My Name Is Joe) who was like a mentor to him and influenced his style of bringing thought to screen; Fernando Meireles (360; The Constant Gardener; City of God); and Tony Scott (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3; Man On Fire; Enemy of the State). And today I shall be sharing with you some of the stories he shared with us regarding the production The Golden Dream as its director.
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The first question that was voiced was, 'How did the film come about?'
Diego began his research back in 2002 and continued to make trips to different parts of Mexico for 6 years to speak to as many migrants as he could. From those travelling on cargo trains to those in deportation camps and prisons, he interviewed hundreds of people with nothing but a recorder, his notepad and pen. And made every effort to make them feel safe enough to open up and talk candidly about their experience. He made friends with a local taxi driver who lived next to the tracks and had offered him a place to stay. From there he was able to ask anyone that left the cargo train in search of food, water, shoes, a shower etc that was willing to talk questions about their quest and struggles. I was not aware of the fact that trains were privatised back in the 90's in Mexico and that there aren't any passenger trains. And from all the stories he heard, the general success rate is as one might expect- not high. The further North you go, the steady decrease in the number of people still on the cargo train.
Following on from the answer to the first question, the next one was, 'How did he write the script if it was based on the stories shared by over 600 people?' He said it was like, '...building a complicated puzzle', and that it was hard to detach himself from the story. He had to reach out to a couple friends of his, Gibran Portela and Lucia Carreras, to help him make sense of it all and be objective as possible. Condensing all that he'd learnt into the voice of 3 characters was no easy feat.
The next question that floated out of the speakers was if any of the migrants he interviewed had seen the film. To which Diego replied, 'I don't know'. He, unfortunately, does not know where they all are and how the end of that chapter of their lives that he was able to be a part of goes.
Due to the tone of the film and that it is told from the perspective of a few teenagers, someone asked, 'How difficult was it to cast the actors who played Sara, Juan, Samuel and Chauk?' 600 kids auditioned and they whittled it down to 4 with the aid of a local organisation that bring the kids art. They cast kids who genuinely wanted to go to the US; who could dance passionately; and who could improvise when given impromptu scenarios to act out. Karen Martinez, Brandon Lopez, Carlos Chajon and Rodolfo Dominguez were the ones that made the cut. He knew that wanted the character, Juan, to be a leader and not a victim; he did not want any of them to feel looked down upon.
When asked what the ages of the forming actors were by a member of the audience, he said, 'They were 14/15 when cast'. But that he was not sure about Rodolfo's age as he was registered within his community several times.
When someone asked, 'How difficult was it to make the film?', Diego said it was easy. They needed to find people that were interested in being observed. After the young actors were chosen to represent the characters from his script, they were sent to an intense acting school. Not one of them was given the script to read beforehand. Only one was told how the film ends as certain documents needed to be processed fairly quickly. In order to make creating the context of the film easier, the film was shot in chronological order. It was before each scene that Diego gave the actors a briefing of what that particular segment of the film was about. And their lines were adapted to how they would speak naturally. In terms of shooting locations, he said, '...you do your research to know where to shoot'. He made the choice not to go around with guards with guns but instead work closely with the locals; give them work for the duration of his stay.
And one of the last questions that was answered by Diego before we were kicked out as we had overran by quite a bit was, 'When did you get into film?' He said he knew at the age of 4, after watching George Steven's western Shane, that one day he wanted to make people feel the way that movie made him feel. His mother, who was a Literature teacher, travelled a lot and was very much interested in freedom. And it was hearing about her experiences that sparked his own interest in travelling and telling the stories of the oppressed.
The message he wanted to get across to us, the audience, was one regarding realism and that it is time we see beyond our differences- nationality, language, race. We are all human beings and live on this one planet; no one is illegal.
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Do you like the golden theme my trusty camera was trying to capture?
When the Q&A session, I readjusted my blogger hat and made my way down to the front of the theatre to ask him a couple questions I was curious to know his answers to. One being, 'What makes a great film?' and the other, 'You have been both director and writer for all 4 films you've made. Would you consider directing a film that is based on script/story written by another?' Would you like to know what he said? You know what I am going to tell you regardless. His answer to the first question was that the story of the film is told through subtext, not the dialogue, and that the film transports you to another world, leaving you feeling transformed. And the answer to the second question was that if the story is something that he connects with then he will consider it. And funnily enough there was a lady from the audience who gave him a copy of her book she had written to see if he would be willing to make it into a film shortly after I asked that question.
As you can see from the picture above the night was a success for both me and Mr Quemada-Diez. Not only did he kindly agree to have a picture with me, I also managed to score an autograph as well. Gotta love mid-week trips to the cinema. And what this particular trip has made me realise though is I need to get my hands on a voice recorder as I have stretched the limits of my ability to write shorthand. People talk really fast...
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I do realise that this quite a long one but if you did manage to read all of it and spotted any mistakes I made then I applaud you *gives round of applause*. I really do hope you watch this film if you have the chance (and then let me know if you liked it). To know more about the movie feel free to check out my "review" on it - Movie Mondays: The Golden Dream. And if you have watched it already what are your thoughts on the film?
What film has left you feeling transformed lately?
Mo x