Breakfast with Con Sana Alegria

Interview with Claudia Muñiz, director of Con Sana Alegria

 Firstly, could you tell us a bit more about your choice of title?
The title responds to a fragment of the Cuban Happy Birthday song “que lo pases con sana alegría”. It is meant to be ironic since it means that you will have a day full of joy and health. This is what Zayda, the main character, is trying to find. Also a place of peace, mental peace, to be more specific. That is why she tries to get her previous life back – the life she used to live before she had to take care of her grandma. The thing is that sometimes that place of peace is not exactly what you think. Sometimes you already have it even if you are too close to see it clearly.

 The first couple of scenes are striking. They are drawn out and shot from a specific angle with the grandma with her back to us and a religious song playing. Could you tell us a bit more about your artistic choices in these scenes and the impression you wanted to create?
It is interesting that you asked me that. When I conceived the story, it was not the first scene. The film had a different structure. It was like a circle, something like a thriller. Now I feel it is more like a terror film, but that is another story. The fact is that it was not the first scene and we did different shots because it was supposed to have cuts. When we where shooting this particular angle, I thought, “This is it. This is the scene.” I knew it! I will never be too thankful to Héctor David Rosales, the DP, for helping me choose this angle. He was an amazing partner, the best of the best. Then with Liana Domínguez, the editor, we tried to cut the scene and have a variety of shots. Mostly because I was still thinking about the structure I had written for the script, but it did not work. So we decided that that one was the first scene and that it was going to be a long, quiet beginning to the story so we got rid of the thriller structure. We ended up with a more powerful, non-artificial film I think. Sometimes what works on paper does not necessarily do it for the final product.

 Is there a significance to the recurring fly?
The fly was a difficult one in terms of production. It was the crew’s inside joke during the shooting days. It is an important element in the story because it defines Zayda’s capacity for decision-making.

 What motivated you to tell Zayda’s story?
I have a project for a feature film entitled La Ciudad de las Mujeres Altas (City of Tall Women) that is a love story that occurs in 1994’s Havana, during the Maleconazo. Con Sana Alegría is very close to it. The point is that I needed to make myself visible as a director. I has already been writing for Kiki Álvarez’s films for a few years at that moment, but as I wanted to direct this feature, I needed to have something to show. I needed a work that would be about my obsessions as a filmmaker and showcase my way of shooting. The first idea was to make a teaser for the feature but it didn’t feel so interesting for me, so I decided to write a story that was close to Yelena, one of the characters of City of Tall Women. The feature’s plot has nothing to do directly with Con Sana Alegría, yet some elements of Zayda’s life are similar to Yelena’s. In that sense, the short film is the feature film’s child, but it is a child in the end and has a life of its own.

 Any cinematic coups de cœur in the past year you’d like to tell us about?
Believe it or not I haven’t seen too many films from last year. However, I have seen one more than once; Mad Max: Fury Road. My fiancé, Pablo Zequeira, who is Con Sana Alegría’s graphic designer, is a Mad Max fan and he watches the film almost every single day, or at least one or two scenes per day. He is a comic book writer and I think he has influenced me a lot. He has opened my eyes to other kinds of films. If I think about it, Mad Max is not my type of film, even if I really enjoy action movies. Anyway, I have loved it since day one. It is a great film. It is almost perfect. I have also discovered some old gems like Gus Van Sant’s Last Days that I totally adore and have influenced me a lot as a creator. I have re-watched Dogtooth too. It is an old love that I can never have enough of.

 If you’ve already been to Clermont-Ferrand, could you share with us an anecdote from the festival? If not, what are your expectations for this year?
What can I say? This is huge. I am thrilled by our selection to participate in the International Competition. Last year there were a lot of great short films made in Cuba. The fact that we are the only one selected really surprises me. My only wish is that the film connects with the audience. It is all I can ask for.

More information about your film:

 Con Sana Alegria will be screened at Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival as part of the International Competition. Are any other screenings scheduled?
At this point the film has been screened at some important festivals around the world. In Latin America, for example, it was at Curta Cinema, Rio de Janeiro, and Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana as well. Unofficially I can tell you that there is some great news for the future like a screening in Paris that is being organized by Boris Prieto, from Vega Alta Films, who is the film’s distributor. Fingers crossed!

 Are you taking part in any other events during the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival (Espressos, conferences, other)?
There are no confirmed dates, but besides the film’s projections, there will be an encounter with the press and maybe some other events that I will be pleased to tell you about when it is all set.

Con Sana Alegria is being shown in International Competition I7.