Q&A with Diego Murillo
A conversation with director Diego Murillo on his short film, Antelope.
How did you first get into filmmaking?
I got into filmmaking through an accumulative process that made me realize I wanted and needed to create, and cinema as a medium and art form was just the right one, or so I believe it to be. As a kid, I loved going to the theater so much, but it was a distant act of distraction and nothing more. As a teenager I got deeply interested in music and became a guitar player, then for some reason, I dove into poetry, after photography, and sooner than later I was discovering that movies could be more than a sum of different disciplines. I saw that cinema was the space in which I could materialize all my emotions and fascinations. First, I started watching a lot of films, especially from Hollywood, and then I felt very drawn to more particular filmographies that explored a less narrative-driven cinema. I realized movies could be very free, imperfect, intuitive, and emotional.
What was your creative process for this film?
It was a direct response to what I and my partner and colleague Amanda Isea Lopez were living. We migrated by necessity to Brooklyn, NY, from Venezuela. We started a new life there, dealing for the first time with winter, restaurant jobs in a new country, immigration uncertainties, and family back home. We were excited about a lot of things, but some situations always arose to remind us, like prowling ghosts, of what we left behind. We used everything around us to construct a film that could be both quotidian and fantastic at the same time. We just wanted to build an atmosphere, a constant emotion. It was my first time working with a crew, and we had an incredible team.
What projects are you working on next, and how can people who are interested best support or follow you.
I’m working on the post-production of a hybrid short film and on the development of my first feature film. You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, or by email, as well in my website murillod.com or in my film production’s website malditofantasma.com.
I’m always open to co-productions and looking for different financing methods, as well as for creative collaborations with other artists.
