Latin Beats 2014: Colombia's Ruben Mendoza Talks on 'Tierra en la Lengua' [EXCLUSIVE]
The Film Society of Lincoln Center's yearly "Latin Beats" program recently unveiled some of the best Latin American films of the year.
Of those films, there was one Colombia selection called "Tierra en la Lengua (Dust on the Tongue)" directed by noted auteur Ruben Mendoza. The filmmaker spoke with Latin Post about his experience making the film, his inspirations and what making movies means to him.
Latin Post: Can you tell us a bit more about La Leyenda de Don Julio, on whom the film is inspired? What is your relationship to him?
Ruben Mendoza: He is a divine monster. A wizard. A diabolic enchanter. A man with whom you can discover the world. He is potent and marvelous!
I was capable of saying things to him and when I chose to judge him with this film, he wound up having the last laugh because my love for him is so transparent.
LP: What was the greatest challenge of making this film?
RM: The greatest challenge was dreaming it up, writing it by hand, with my camera and in editing.
LP: What was the biggest surprise you have encountered with this film?
RM: The laughter from the audience was not something that I expected. But that is the beauty of making a film. The unexpected can happen.
LP: What was the experience of shooting on the mountain? Were there any safety precautions taken?
RM: The mountain is only the first part of the film. There were not many precautions because I have made my other two features ("La Sociedad del Semáforo," "Memorias del Calavero") and almost of all of my shorts ("La Cerca," "La Casa por la Ventana") on mountains. The only real precaution we took was to be humble with the climate, the scenery, the harsh conditions of the filming and of course with the owners of the homes. Humility is a sophisticated way of being prudent that does not restrict one's daring during the filming, the dreaming and the editing.
LP: Did you actually roll a tractor into a lake? Was it an abandoned vehicle? What was the process for that sequence?
RM: It was a damaged vehicle that we repaired a bit for the sequence. It was from my grandfather's ranch. The only special thing we did was create a mechanism in which the motor shut off when it started to fall into the lake. We needed to avoid a disaster to the small ecosystem in the lake. It was the only take and the tractor was taken away afterward.
LP: In what part of Colombia did you shoot the film?
RM: The first past was shot in the tunnel of Suesca, Cundinamarca but the majority of the film in the valley of Boyacá. Some places included Tibasosa and Sogamoso. We also shot Casanare and the lakes of Tota and wastelands of Toquilla, Pajarito and Aguazul. We also shot on the road between Maní and Aguazul, the one called Providencia in the movie. And then we also shot at the canyon of Dumagua, which is just as far from Aguazul as it is from Maní.
LP: Who are your greatest cinematic idols?
RM: My grandmother who did not make any films, but was the definition of cinema. The same with my father. Along with them I look up to Luis Ospina, Herzog, Erice, Kiarostami, Kaurismaki, Peckinpah, Bergman, Fassbinder, Genet and Godard. If I keep thinking then I will drown in my thoughts.
LP: What is your next project? How will it differ from this film?
RM: It is completely. I like to reinvent and betray myself. My life has been completely dominated by the feminine spirit in all of its ages and stages. I am moving away from a male-dominated film, though I think that the ghost of "Tierra en la Lengua" is the dead grandmother and the plains are the real protagonists of the film. I am making a documentary about a woman that was born as a man in the Andes of Colombia. She is called María Luisa, "La falda de la montaña." I just made another short film "Montañita," under the tutelage of the great Abbas Kiarostami and if already wrote my next project. I am also thinking about the next film as well. Cinema and filmmaking is how I survive, even if it isn't my subsistence.