Jayro Bustamante about indigenous issues and his first comedy

On the Panama Int’l Film Festival (IFF Panama) to present his latest film “Rita” and give a master class, Guatemala’s much -praised filmmaker Jayro Bustamante sat down with sitting Variety To discuss his upcoming projects, “Mountains of Fire” (“Cordillera de Fuego”) that has just completed post production, and his first comedy, the adaptation of the Spanish Romcom “Nada and La Nevera” from 1998 (roughly translated into “nothing in the fridge”).

Bustamante, whose films have represented his country three times in the best international job category of the Oscars (“IXcanul”, ‘Temblores “and” La Llorona “), is known for the use of the power of film for dealing with thorny issues such as indigenous rights, systemic oppression and LGBTQ+ rights.

“Mountains of Fire” started as a social awareness project, of which he decided to be more effective as a feature film, according to Bustamante, who spent his youth in a Maya community by Guatemala’s Lake Atitlán.

In the action drama written by Bustamante, Luis Pineda and Margarita Kénefic, two volcanologists, played by “Ixcanul’s” Maria Mercedes Coryy and Tatiana Palomo, visit native communities to warn and evacuate from the fire range where a new Volkso forms. It is currently that they start discovering the corruption behind the country and its government, and how these ethnic communities are not a priority for the powers that are.

Bustamante remembers the last time that a volcano broke out in Guatemala in 2019, where three indigenous communities were buried under the lava. “It was described as a natural phenomenon, but for people to die there is a social catastrophe,” he noticed. “These people were already displaced and sent to live in these dangerous areas, so we are talking about a case of ethnic, racial and social discrimination,” he said.

To prepare his characteristic, Bustamante founded his wandering acting school, Academia Ixcanul, which he founded in 2012 and already trained no fewer than 1500 actors in Guatemala.

“We have involved the two indigenous communities, the Cakchiquel and Tzutujil, and gave acting lessons to entire families, from children to parents and grandparents,” he said about the pre-production process of four months.

Lessons in stunting were also given because there are quite a few action scenes, he added. Training in crews were also given.

The drama is produced by his company La Casa de Producción next to his Les-Film du Volcán and his IXcanul Foundation. He is proud to say that it is 100% Guatemalan, without foreign financing. “We want to prove that we are able to make 100% Guatemalek films, without support,” he said. His earlier films gradually increased their Guatemalse participation to “Rita”, that is 90% Guatemalan “and now,” Mountains of Fire. “

Regarding its distribution, Bustamante pointed out that, given the importance of the message, he would shun a festival berth or theatrical release and aim directly to a streaming platform for his distribution.

In view of the fact that only 9% of the population in Guatemala has access to a cinema and the majority uses their phones to view audiovisual dishes, he said: “It is not ideal, but if the phone is what people will enable to see content that will reflect, then I will put my filmmaker’s ego aside,” he mused.

In the meantime, he writes the first comedy he is planning to direct the setting of the Spanish Romcom “Nada and La Nevera” to a Latin -American background, probably in Mexico. Puerto Rico-based producer distributor Cynthia Wiesner van Wiesner Distribution (“El Cuartito”) is lead that the film produces.

The original Romcom concentrates on Carlota, a 27-year-old ambulance driver in Madrid, a hopeless romantic obsessed by finding the perfect man. Before her, being in love is the only thing that matters, and her growing fear forces her to look desperate the only one. During a routine shift, she meets a man with food poisoning and immediately believes that he is her only true love.

“What is really fascinating about the project is how humanity still has to make a meaningful shift in understanding emotional relationships and forming real connections. We are still deeply attached to the idea of ​​romantic love and the idea of ​​possession,” he mused.

“We willen ook de groeiende relevantie van zelfliefde verkennen. Hoe kunnen we zelfliefde cultiveren zonder dat het een barrière wordt om verbindingen met anderen te vormen? In plaats van ons te concentreren op onze relatie met onszelf en anderen, creëren we nieuwe systemen-het is geen polyamorie, maar een mix van zelfliefde, onafhankelijkheid, en, diep naar beneden, een constante zoektocht naar iemand om ons te begrijpen, ‘Bustamante zei dat ze beter are, “Bustamante said.

He added: “That is what I found attractive about the project, and I also liked his tone, because in the core it is a comedy,” he continued: “I believe that laughter is a very nice way to touch these deep subjects. And because I don’t have an answer to create a perfect relationship, the best thing to laugh.”