INTERVIEW with Christian Ramirez

 

Can you explain to the audience your career?

My career is just beginning, but I've worked in technology creating software in Boston and Miami, and now I'm beginning to create espionage films with a cyberpunk influence like the films I've loved my entire life. 

 

How many years have you been making movies?

This is my first short film. 

 

Why did you start making movies?

 It's what I love the most. It's the most impactful artform to me. I wanted to dedicate myself to what I loved. 

 

Tell us a little about your project. What will the audience be able to see in your film?

This is a science fiction film set within the espionage genre. It uses an unconventional narrative, reminiscent of films such as Tarkovsky, Malick, or Carruth's Upstream Color. I wanted to have it in Colombia and in Spanish in order to create a "Latino-futurism" or a more vibrant and distinct cyberpunk and technological landscape. 

 

Why did you do this project?

I wanted to attempt to create a sample of what "latino-futurism" would look like. 

 

One of the problems some directors encounter is directing actors and dealing with some actors, especially in the amateur world. How do you see this topic? What kind of work do you do with them?

It's important to work with talented and dedicated people. This does not correlate with experience. Similar to football, when you find talent from smaller clubs, it's worth putting in the extra effort to scout from unconventional places and find good talent. 

 

A good movie takes care of all departments. But normally we can not allocate all the resources to have a good photography or spend a lot of money on sound post production or budget to hire actors. In your project what % have you allocated to. I don't just mean money but time as well. Of 100% of the time/money, what % did you dedicate to each department?

 

-Direction: 20%

-Photography: 40%

-Sound: 5%

-Postproduction: 10%

-Work with actors: 10%

-Art direction/locations: 15%

 

If you could go back, what would you change about this project? (1 thing only)

Writing with sound in mind and creating a sonic landscape equivalent to a visual landscape. 

 

What are you happiest about this project?

The cinematic grammar.

 

Make a wish to the movie gods. What do you ask?

To allow me to direct a Splinter Cell movie. 

 

What movie would you have liked to direct?

 Any James Bond or Tom Clancy film.

 

What kind of cinema do you like? Genre, directors, actors?

 I prefer the espionage genre. Especially when combined with cyberpunk/science fiction. But in terms of directors, I really admire The Wachowskis, Paul Thomas Anderson, and David Fincher. 

 

Imagine that all the movies are going to be lost. If you could save 3 movies, what would they be?

Phantom Thread, Children of Men, Jurassic Park

 

If you have more projects underway, can you give us a bit of information?

My next project will be filmed in Miami later this year. Titled: "How the West was Won". It is a series of short films about intellegence agency funding and international sovereignty.