Night cap with Soy una Tumba
An interview with Khris Cembe, director of Soy una Tumba
It’s a very moving short. What motivated you to portray this story?
My motivation was the idea of talking about childhood, death and loneliness. That’s why I placed the story in my hometown, where I grew up and where I started to understand what life is about. Galicia is a seaside region that lives mainly from the sea and the sailors, very humble and punished by dramatic stories. There are long seasons of rain, wind and wild sea. I felt like making a film that talks about me and the place where I left my childhood behind.
Can you shed light on your choice of title?
Soy una Tumba is a Spanish expression that means you will keep a secret until you die. I think in English there’s a similar expression, “mum’s the word”. Also, there is a literal meaning: ‘I am a grave’. I think it’s very appropriate because the short film symbolizes the end of the childhood. Besides, the first person indicates acceptance, it’s resounding. Aesthetically it’s dark and funeral, like the essence of the film.
Tell us a bit more about your animation style and your influences.
This story demanded subtle animation, no overacting, naturalism and hieratism. It’s more important for me to tell more with less, and make the technique unnoticed. I’ve prioritized the narrative. My influences come from real action cinema, I do not use a lot of animated films. I’ve grown up watching real action movies and my passion for cinema comes from there. I learn more watching Hanneke films, for example, than Dreamworks animation.
Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
What I like the most is that I can do almost everything, I have total control over my story. I love the challenge of telling such a short story and provoke, thrill, touch and keep the audience’s attention. It also allows to experiment or try new narrative forms without the pressure that the public exercises in feature films when something goes out of the ordinary. Short films means freedom to me.
Soy una Tumba is being shown in International Competition I12.
