Quotes

[on casting newcomer Luis Silva] My biggest challenge was to find a young male lead. I wanted a young 17-year old non-actor with a great talent. I think I found the next Edgar Ramírez. He's a natural. While at a casting agency in Venezuela, I saw the picture of a youth who was not even there to audition; he was there to accompany a friend. But I saw in his face great compassion, rage, great humanity and pain. He comes from a dangerous barrio in Caracas. I met him, we had lunch, saw a movie and I knew he was right for the role. I never did a camera test, which was quite risky. I didn't want him to meet my older male lead, the great Chilean actor Alfredo Castro, before the shoot, as I knew there would be a lot of tension in their scenes, and wanted that to register on camera.[2015]

I think it began with my short Los elefantes nunca olvidan (2004), because I have an obsession with the theme of paternity. I see it as a trilogy, starting with my short; while From Afar (2015) is the second part and the third part, will be my next film, "The Box," which I will shoot in Mexico with Lucia Films producing, and I hope Edgar [Edgar Ramírez] will be involved in it, too. As a whole, they deal with the theme of absent or terrible fathers. I don't know why I have this obsession when in fact, I had a warm and close bond with my father who is a famous painter, and passed away two years ago. He's one of the most important painters of Latin America, Oswaldo Vigas. I think it has more to do with the archetype of a father; I have a need to discuss the father archetype. (...) My lead actor never knew his father. It's a common story in Latin America. My home life was an exception. In "Elephants Never Forget" two young kids go after their father who has abandoned them. I told Guillermo [Guillermo Arriaga] my story idea who said he wanted to help me make it so I moved to Mexico to collaborate with him in 2001. These were great learning years. I wrote the short in Mexico and filmed it in Venezuela. (...) In between these two, I made a documentary about my father, which took nearly seven years to make. It's still in post and will be released next year. And I wouldn't have been able to make my feature "From Afar" if I hadn't grown in all aspects; I matured emotionally and honed my craft. Learning about my father and my ancestors was very cathartic. It plunged me into a two-year depression but I emerged much stronger... but it was a path I had to take.[2015]

I have an English-language American film in development, I'm working with a writer. It's set in a university, about an American student and dwells on the theme of impossible love.[2015]