Tea time with The Unnatural

Interview with Marcos Sanchez, director of The Unnatural

 What came first: drawings or music?
The film contains some sequences that I had animated a while ago for a video installation. These scenes already contained the characters of the film and the black setting they inhabit. Later came the music, when the musicians proposed me to animate a film for it. It really helped develop the story further, so I’d say is a mix of the two possibilities.

 Can you tell us more about this song? Are you part of the band?
I wish I was part of the band but, sadly, I don’t play any instrument. The song was written by Claire Cronin and John Dieterich. Claire sings in it and also and wrote the lyrics, while John collaborated on the arrangements and composition. They are both amazing musicians. Claire writes poetry s well as music, that’s why her lyrics are so beautiful. John is a friend of mine from a while ago. He plays guitar in the band Deerhoof and many other projects. We have collaborated before on other video and screenwriting projects.

 Why were you interested in the forest environment and the idea of cycle?
I’ve probably been interested in the d forest environment since I got to read about fairy tales and its symbols. I like how the forest is a place of change or transition, a rite of passage. It represents the journey into the unknown and the place where everything can change. For The Unnatural, though, it came as a less conscious choice. I liked how it allowed me to show the space only using shadows, without having to delineate it clearly. Also, as a place where anything can happen, it let me play with strange choices of characters and creatures without having to worry about context.

 Are the characters more wanderers or settlers?
I see the girl as a settler. She is a hermit, that’s why she wears strange clothes. Her clothes are strange, it sees like she could have stolen a bunch of clothes and made a dress out of different garments. The monster could be more of wanderer, his seems to be changing all the time by nature, so I would assume he would not stay for long in one single place. As for the man, He is not from the forest, he lives outside, in a small town nearby, but he seems to have a lot of power… Maybe that is a condition people gain from “settling down” or living inside society’s boundaries.

 Do you like camping?
I don’t dislike it, but I don’t really practice it. I am not an outdoors type. Last time I went camping was at least 10 years ago.

 How did you work on the shadowy style?
The shadows were the starting point of the whole film. It started as a formal exercise in which I projected parts of the video as a video installation. When projected, the black forest becomes absence of light, so instead of black you see the wall of the space. It looks as if the characters are inhabiting  weird space inside the wall. I wanted the shadows to give an illusion of depth and, also, suggest the presence of other characters, so I incorporated them having this in mind,

 How did you get into the shape-shifting idea for the third character?
Morphing images it’s a constant temptation when animating, probably because it can be done so naturally. Before there was a clear story for the film (it was written while animated) I had done this sequences with the blob monster and some with the kid. Both served as antagonists for the girl. Then, when a story started to take shape, I felt like the chase should be between only two characters, so I thought it would be cool to have this severe characters I had animated become one. I love the idea of an unpredictable character, or one with two personalities.

 Do you think black cats could bring misfortune?
Haha.  I guess it depends on the cat, if it is a mean black cat, sure, it can ruin your life. But, in general, no, I love black cats, they are beautiful. Black dogs are cool too.

 What were the films that have inspired you the most this past year?
Recent films I saw this year: The Witch, The Childhood of a Leader. Old films: Come and See, a Russian film from 1985. I was very impressed by its atmosphere.

 If you’ve already been to the Clermont-Ferrand, could you share with us an anecdote or story from the festival. If not, what are your expectations for this edition?
This is my first time attending the festival.

 Are other releases scheduled ?
Yes, it will be screening at the Flatpack Film Festival in the UK, on April. There isn’t another screening scheduled so far.

The Unnatural is being shown in Lab Competition L5.