Filmmaking duo Gerardo Coello Escalante and Amandine Thomas are showing viewers Mexican-American relations in unique and emotional ways—via a short film about to show at this year's Sundance. As co-founders of Thumper Films, they're currently working on a trilogy of shorts that examine this complex relationship. Their first film, Viaje de Negocios, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Their second film, Susana, is set to wow this year's festival audiences. The short follows an American tourist in Mexico City who finds herself alone, experiencing the rich culture in ways that might not always be appropriate or sensitive, even as she experiences heartaches of her own.We spoke with the filmmakers via email ahead of the festival to learn about their low-budget approach and their festival experiences. How did they find locations, and what was it like working with non-actors? They share their insights. Susanavia Sundance InstituteNo Film School: You mentioned taking a "grassroots approach" to casting and location scouting. Could you walk us through your process of finding and securing locations across Mexico City, particularly for a low-budget production?Gerardo Coello Escalante and Amandine Thomas: We wrote the script with the specific locations in mind, and we spent about a month of pre-production repeatedly visiting these locations, creating relationships with people there, and pitching them our film. We were able to secure locations by developing a personal relationship with the owners of the venues and the locals, as well as by casting people in these locations who deeply understood the ideas...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Tuesday, 28 January