1. Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background as a filmmaker?

 

I am Alex, I am Mexican, I studied film in Mexico and Argentina, I specialized in scriptwriting, directing and editing, I have been a teacher in film schools for 15 years, also being as active as possible as a screenwriter, director and editor.

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2. What inspired you to pursue filmmaking, and how do you approach storytelling in your work?

 

I fell in love with cinema from a very young age, I became obsessed with movies, I could watch the same movie over and over again, I learned dialogues, the names of the characters, the actors and a little later I learned that there were writers and directors behind all that. , then I started to learn their names too. I remember that back then it was very fantastic to think that I could make movies, it was like thinking about being an astronaut or an NBA player, but I grew up a little more and I knew that you could make movies in Mexico and that I could study and dedicate myself to that.

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3. What was the inspiration behind the storyline of your film "Descend," and how did you approach creating its tense atmosphere?

 

The writing of this story began many years ago as a faithful adaptation of a fragment of the novel Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, over the years it became something else, I realized that what I wanted to tell was a story of love and sacrifice, many influences from Juan Rulfo remained but I also began to integrate elements of the divine comedy and the legend of Orpheus from Greek mythology. Finally we realized all the opportunities that the simple fact that our protagonist was a woman offered to our story, and that dictated some other fundamental changes, one of them being to portray a context that spoke of the reality of our country.

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4. "Descend" has been praised for its cinematography and gripping performances. Can you discuss the techniques you employed to achieve these elements in your film?

 

Speaking of cinematography, I would like to mention Daniel Blanco

who, despite being young, I believe is the best cinematographer in Mexico. He suggested that we use only natural light.

 

Even in the night scenes, in reality for those we use the light of sunsets and sunrises, and then do day by night. After talking about the actors, I had two great advantages, the first is that they are super talented but also the other is that I already knew them, I know their range and how they work, we also did a lot of table readings and rehearsals.

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5. As a finalist in the Best Horror Short Film category, what do you think sets your film apart from others in the genre?

 

I think that the tremendous work that the entire cast and crew did was key for the film to achieve everything it had set out to do in emotional and aesthetic terms. This is a great advantage for the story to transcend and connect with the audience.

 

6. How do you approach building suspense and tension in your storytelling, especially in a short film format?

 

My favorite filmmaker is the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, who was also very methodical and theorized everything. There are books that talk about his work that for me are like the Bible, especially the one about conversations between Hitchcock and Truffaut. There are many great things you can learn in that book to build suspense. For example, the most fundamental thing you have to know is the difference between suspense and surprise and how to dose the information.

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7. Can you discuss any particular challenges you faced during the production of "Descend," and how you overcame them?

 

We are looking to film in the desert during the heatwave to avoid the possibility of rain at all costs. so we had to endure a lot of heat in return. In addition, the fact of doing the night sequences at sunset and sunrise left us only a maximum of 40 minutes a day to film the night scenes. The calls were long because we had to start before dawn and finish after dusk, but We talked to the team and

everyone agreed that the reward for that effort would be great.

 

8. What draws you to the horror genre as a filmmaker, and what do you believe makes a successful horror film?

 

I consider myself an omnivore when it comes to cinema, but horror stands out among my favorite genres since a good horror film always really talks about the most current problems of human beings and society. Monsters are always representations of something else that is usually very real and important.

 

9. Beyond "Descend," do you have any upcoming projects or themes you're eager to explore in your filmmaking career?

 

Just this year we are going to release a short film that is part of a transmedia universe of Mexican fighters in a very fantastic and noir world with horror overtones.

 

10. As a filmmaker, what do you hope audiences take away from your work, particularly in terms of the emotions or themes you aim to evoke?

 

 Each project has a different intention that is also shared with the rest of the team. but in general I would say that it is precisely the internal thought triggered by emotion that is the constant that we look for in each project.

 

11. How do you balance staying true to your artistic vision while also considering audience reception and feedback?

 

For me it's easy because I'm still a fan, and I always will be, so I'm not someone who values my vision above all else, what I'm looking for is to connect with others who are like me and make movies with people I love.