September 30, 2024

Franco Lescano Noriel: Navigating Challenges in Cinema

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What are the most formidable challenges inherent to the profession of filmmaking?

I think the main challenge has to do with finding your own voice that works within a narrative framework that always appeals to another. That another can be moved and feel represented in subjective terms, reflected in some situation, mirroring the spirit or desire of some character; The real challenge is to find a meeting point between that own voice and the hidden history of the world, in the forms of humanity or nature. I mean, in structural terms, probably all the possible stories have already been told, which return under a repetition camouflaged by aesthetics. In this sense, beyond the technique when building a narrative structure, I consider that the possibility of authenticity in the face of so much repetition is linked to memory, individuality in collective terms and, ultimately, to a kind of story. silent but present, which takes into account the power of images and the inherent symbolism inherited by culture.

Could you elaborate on the wellspring of your creative inspiration for this particular short film?

Broadly speaking, I would say that the covid-19 pandemic and the quarantine that we experienced during that stage. Partly because I experienced it as a parenthesis or a break from the daily routine, that is, a space-time lapse that allowed reflections to emerge that until then had not been deepened: the individual, isolation, the gregarious, violence, etc In any case, I think that the kickoff of the story told in the short film were the events that occurred during the police sedition in the province of Tucumán, a small city located in the north of Argentina, where I have lived for some years. The idea of ​​the short film was to take a real event, but approach it from the device of the mockumentary with the aim of constructing a kind of existential x-ray of a particular police officer, with all his uniqueness; an individual who is part of a deeply violent and corrupt institution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hide and Seek | Poster
Karolina Belka

Could you elucidate on the central thematic underpinning of your film?

If I have to identify a central theme, I think it is identity, or to be more specific, the identity crisis. The discovery of oneself, even arguing with that other that we have in our spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do you navigate the task of strategizing cost-effective promotional efforts when operating within a constrained budget?

I think that we must face this task with creativity and strengthening ties with other colleagues. Take budget limitations as a starting point from which to project ideas and solutions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In today's dynamic marketplace, how pivotal do you consider the role of film distribution?

It seems to me that it is of fundamental importance. The circulation of the work is an important part of the creative process of the work itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For individuals contemplating the path of self-distribution, what counsel or insights can you offer?

That they take advantage of the advantages that technology gives us today to be able to distribute our films. That they believe in the forces of work and leisure, and that they avoid falling into states of banal successism. Let them embrace the idea that the objective is the circulation of the work and not just its reception, for better or worse. I think it is useful to keep in mind that there are various factors of subjectivity that come into play in the path of self-distribution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In your estimation, what level of significance do short films hold for aspiring filmmakers seeking to embark on a career in directing?

Beginnings are important and in that sense a short film in a director’s career is also important. Regardless of the result of the short film, the experience of filming can represent fundamental learning when building a career. Furthermore, I believe that a short film is not just a step in a director’s career, a short film is a piece of cinematography that presents very particular difficulties, as occurs with any short story narrative format.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflecting on your professional journey thus far, could you share an instance of the most formidable challenge you encountered and how you surmounted it?

I think that filming in Argentina represents a constant challenge. Making films in a context of such economic instability, high inflation, and degradation of democratic institutions is, to say the least, difficult. To illustrate, almost a year ago a far-right government came to power and is destroying and defunding the INCAA (National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts); attacking and defaming the audiovisual community with fake news due to ideological biases. This year in Argentina very few films were made due to the lack of financial support, since INCAA went from being an organization whose task was the promotion of Argentine cinema, in all its territorial diversity, to a kind of bank that grants credits to an elite. Personally, I am facing this challenge that involves witnessing the coma state that Argentine cinema finds itself in, independently filming an observational documentary, through a smartphone camera. A project that I have been developing for some years now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What, in your view, are the critical factors that contribute to the creation of a cinematic masterpiece?

Desire and error. Above all the error, which often gives a work a certain tone of authenticity. The appearance of error always opens a door, a possibility. If a work is a synthesis of our way of seeing the world, then the error is the detail of our impossibility of containing everything; It is what gives the work a pulse of humanity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you could revisit the inception of your career, are there any aspects or decisions you would choose to alter in hindsight?

Si, me exigiría menos y disfrutaría más. Al final de cuentas lo que nos conecta al cine no es la perfección sino el amor al cine y a la vida.

KAAFFILM is an international network of distribution, production, and promotion of short films. #Kaaffilm

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