At the South International Series Festival in Cádiz, the Spanish durecttors discussed horror, comedy, ambitious stunts and improvisation in a conversation which proved one of the event's highlights Spanish directors Paco Cabezas and Javier Ruiz Caldera compared notes on demanding shoots and creative risk at this year’s South International Series Festival in Cádiz. Their Nov. 2 conversation, “No Holds Barred,” was part of the festival’s Creative Talks program, moderated by South Boost coordinator Alejandro Ávila. South’s fourth edition ran Oct. 30-Nov. 4.
Cabezas, whose credits range from Netflix’s “Wednesday” to AMC’s “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,” summed up the pressure of the job: “I’ve always compared shooting to painting a picture during a fire or writing a poem on a roller coaster.” Before each shoot, he assembles a thick book of drawings, photographs and shot breakdowns. By the time he gets to set, he knows it so well he barely opens it. Ruiz Caldera favors leaving some things to chance: “Leave the window open so the air can come in and things can happen.” He has carved out a career from taking comedy into unfamiliar territory, from spy caper “Anacleto: Agente Secreto” to superhero romp “Superlópez.” Horror, he confessed, is actually his favorite genre.
After last year’s family drama “Wolfgang,” Ruiz Caldera changed direction again. Even a take running six seconds over meant starting again. Finishing early required finding a pause to fill the remaining time.
For this film, “I took that tool away from myself.” Produced by El Terrat and Ikiru Films as a Movistar Plus original, “5 More Minutes” premiered in competition at San Sebastián, where Cámara won the Silver Shell for best supporting performance. The film also earned the coveted Audience Award and a Special Jury Mention at Austin’s Fantastic Fest. Filmax handles international sales and will release the movie in Spain Jan. 22.
Ruiz Caldera wanted Romero in the lead, although the comedian worried that viewers would expect jokes from a screenplay containing almost none. The director felt Romero’s presence would bring humor to the film even without conventional comic dialogue. Cabezas put it another way.
There is also a danger in pushing the humor too far: “A bad joke can ruin a film.” When Ávila brought up action choreography, Cabezas grinned. His example came from “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,” where a catapult launches a giant flaming ball made of zombies toward the heroes. Reading the script, Cabezas wondered: “How do I make a giant meatball of burning zombies explode against the heroes?” The solution involved a van rigged to jolt on cue, a drone carrying a light to trace the incoming fireball and stunt performers attached to a constructed ball who broke away on impact.
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