I would never have made the same films if I had stayed in Mexico. It is that distance which makes my films possible. I have been living in Switzerland for eight years, a geographic distance which allows me to see Mexico through a magnifying glass. But the kind of cinema I make also raises other questions, and that is what fascinates me and which I am passionate about, to learn to better know ourselves in order to eventually transform ourselves. It is by making my films that I simply try to find the answers to complex questions about Mexico. It's a very complex country which today, as an adult and a mother, hurts me. And I was told that this country, we had to love and defend it because it welcomed us. I am, like Carmen, the daughter of Spanish refugees who fled the civil war. I am Mexican and have spent the first 30 years of my life in Mexico. Could we say that the complexity of this country inspires and feeds your work, which in return helps you better understand that very same country? Despite the fact that my film was motivated by the censorship suffered by Carmen and her listeners, I had also been very moved by the story of the 43 students who were kidnapped and disappeared. Finally, we had to build the film’s general structure in three acts. But there was also the challenge of not being repetitive for a Mexican viewer who is aware of many more things and for whom Carmen is an unmissable celebrity. Then, once I found the tone, I had to write and establish the context, which is absolutely necessary for non-Mexican viewers.
George Orwell, but also some books by Mexican writers and poets: Denise Dresser, and my main reference: Octavio Paz, without forgetting Mexican poet Javier Sicilia. I started by taking inspiration from literature. I was lucky because it was clear to me where the need to make this film came from: I was very angry. At the beginning, it was a little more complicated because we had to find the right tone. I was lucky to have an extraordinary editor, Yaël Bitton, who I’d already worked with on Muchachas. The writing of the voice-over was done in parallel to the writing on the film, during the editing phase. How did you construct and introduce this text in the film? That sincerity really helped me gain her trust.Ī voice-over, composed of impactful and poetic words, regularly comes up in the film. Lots of people pushed me to reveal this private side of her life, but for me, the film was going in another direction. Her private life had to remain hidden, for her security, among other reasons. Then Carmen established some limits, which I found perfectly understandable. I felt that we had made a big step with that trip. The trip we made to Washington together was decisive, we had more time to talk and that brought us closer to each other.
The encounter happened progressively, in little steps. I told her about my discomfort, about my frustration when I stopped hearing her voice, and about why I found making this film necessary. I got no answer, so I ended up writing her a very sincere letter.
When I arrived in Mexico, I began asking the people who had worked with her in the past if I could meet her. Juliana Fanjul : My encounter with Carmen was totally unexpected. Cineuropa : How did you contact Carmen Aristegui and how did you gain her trust?
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