Alfonso Cuarón is 55 years old today, and in honor of this, the director of Gravity and Child of the Human gives professional advice: about studying in film school, working with an actor and the ability to say “no”
- You don’t have to go to film school. Although this has its advantages
Film school is great. In the sense that communities are emerging there. It was in film school that I began working with Emmanuel Lubezki, who was eventually expelled, like me. But I don’t think that new generations need film schools as much as we needed them. For us, filmmaking was a mystery, something unattainable, very expensive and required a huge number of connections. Now any child can shoot their own movie on iPhone. It is easy to find materials about the filming of famous films and study how cinema is made. Therefore, film schools are not so necessary. But they are still important as a medium for the formation of communities. This is where you can find people who are eager to go on the same journey as you. It is most important. This is how I found Emmanuel Lubezki, with whom I still work.
- Study the history of cinema
When studying cinema, it is important to become familiar with its history and understand the evolution of the film language. This will help you develop your own. More importantly, it will expand the boundaries of your worldview and acquaint you with the experience of other people.
- Be optimistic
When you are going to make a film, tune in to a positive mood. I remember when I was just starting out, I was thinking about the budget, and I decided that if I could find very little money, I would still somehow get out of it, but I would make a film even in two weeks. My point is that it will work out if you really want it.
- Make a movie that you yourself would like to see
I once rented about a dozen cassettes of films that inspired me to make films. That was just when I called Emmanuel Lubezki to shoot “And Your Mom, too.” We then decided that we would make the film as if we were not in film school, as if we were doing one of those films that we liked before, such a low-budget, but very personal film. That is, try to make films that you yourself would like to see. However, this does not mean that I revise my paintings – I am, as a rule, unhappy with them.
- Eat porridge and get a reward
Working in the film industry can be compared to a childhood situation when your mother first forced you to eat a plate of porridge, and then gave you a toy as a reward. Making a Hollywood movie is like eating porridge. That is, you shoot a Hollywood movie, and then you are allowed to do something for yourself. True, the point that neither mom nor Hollywood took into account is that I love to eat porridge.
