“Working with children on film is a lesson in adaptation, rather than complete improvisation,” says Mexican director Fernando Embuque, who first captivated audiences with his acclaimed feature debut, “Duck Season” (“Temporada de Patos”). “They’re essentially filmmakers. They’re drawn to drama, and by drama, I mean action,” he mused.
His latest work “Flies”, currently in the official competition of the Berlinale, focuses on Olga, who lives an ordinary life in an apartment complex. After an unexpected expense wipes out her savings, she ends up renting a room to a man from out of town, who sneaks her 9-year-old son in during the night. But as she bonds with the boy, her carefully orchestrated world begins to unravel. The clip will be published exclusively on Variety.
Like “Duck Season,” he shot “The Fly” (“Moscus”) in black and white. Boys and video games are also central to the story. “Flies” also stars Enrique Arreola, the actor who played the pizza delivery man on “Duck Season.”
Bastian Escobar, a non-professional, plays the boy, and Hugo Ramirez, also a non-professional, plays the father. Olga will be played by Teresita Sanchez, known for her starring roles in Totem and Dos Estaciones.
“I had seen Teresita in the Nicolas Pereda movie, and then I saw her in the Lila Aviles movies The Handmaiden and Totem. She’s one of my favorite actresses and I’ve really wanted to work with her ever since the Nicolas movie.”
Einbke points out that the story’s premise is universal. “This is the kind of classic story you see in Nick Cassavetes’ Gloria or Wim Wenders’ Alice in the City: an adult who suddenly has to take care of a child, and how that child changes the entire adult world.”
“A fly is an unwanted living entity that comes into your life. You want to get rid of it, but you can’t ignore it. That’s how life works. Once something gets in, it changes everything. In that sense, father and son are flies. There’s a clear metaphorical play there,” he explains.
Of his choice to shoot in black and white, he says: “It was one of those very happy accidents. I was drawn to the balanced black and white with melodrama and a bit of farce. I’ve always appreciated that kind of humor, and there’s a Chaplin influence there.”
“Black and white has a geometry that makes the gag neat. Then a coincidence happened: the real world and the video game world merged perfectly. Both already exist in black and white, so when the boy enters that world to find his mother, the fusion feels seamless.”
Einbuke’s ties to Berlin date back to his participation in the festival’s first Talent Campus. I have lived in the city for 6 years. He was here again in 2007 with his second film “Lake Tahoe” and his latest picture “Olmo” published in the Panorama section.
“There’s a Berlin vibe to The Flies. I was deeply inspired by the huge apartment blocks that were built in East Berlin. I saw strong similarities between those buildings and the buildings in the film, and I really love that connection,” he says.
“Flies” was produced through Kinotitlán with Erendira Nuñez Larios and Michel Franco of Teorema, who also produced “Olmo” in parallel with Plan B.
He credits his co-author, novelist Vanessa Garnica, with shaping the story, which he wrote decades ago and hid in computer files. “We worked hard on every little detail, every little weave, digging deeper and deeper into things. Working with her, the story took on a completely different shape. The original script I wrote 25 years ago was much wilder and clumsier. It was only 45 pages. Working with Vanessa breathed new life into this story. It wouldn’t have been the way it was without her.”
Garnica was also involved in the previous film, “Olmo,” and is collaborating on the adaptation of the next film.
“You choose when you want to make a movie. It took time and experience to make this. When that moment came, I felt more confident and had a clear sense that I had to do this. It wasn’t driven by fear or second thoughts, it was driven by a willingness to take a risk and make it.”
