Inside a director's mind: An unconventional film unraveled

By Anisah Khan     10/21/13 7:00pm

Cuban film director Miguel Coyula brought an unconventional film to Rice University Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. Rice University was Coyula's first stop on his tour across American colleges for the screening of his film Memories of Overdevelopment. 

The film portrays an intellectual, Sergio Garcet, who abandons the Cuban Revolution and finds himself in a developed nation. Unfortunately, Garcet feels like a stranger in this new, strange land; he is alienated and holds little control over his political ideology, old age and sexual desires. 

Through a collage of flashbacks, dreams and hallucinations, Coyula focuses more on the main character's wide range of emotions than on the storyline in an effort to create what he calls a mosaic of sensations. 

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Associate professor of Caribbean and film studies Luis Duno-Gottberg said he encouraged and helped bring Coyula to Rice, both as an avid supporter of his films and as one of his oldest friends. 

"[Miguel is] the most interesting contemporary Cuban filmmaker because he represents clearly where Cuban cinema is going with the use of new technology, the development of a new source of funding outside the states, and the new circuits of distribution," Duno-Gottberg, the Duncan College master, said. 

In his career, Coyula has made 11 short films and features and is currently producing his 12th feature titled Blue Heart. 

During Coyula's stay at Rice, the Thresher took the opportunity to interview him to gain insight into his thinking and career. 

The Rice Thresher: What inspired you to start making films at the young age of 17? 

Miguel Coyula: I had been writing short stories since I was 12 years old, and then in high school, I started drawing comic books. When I was 17, my aunt from Miami gave me a VHS camcorder, and as soon as I started playing with it, it became the perfect combination of writing short stories, literature and comic books. It became a better way to express myself.

Thresher: What were some of the messages you tried to portray through earlier movies such as Piramide (1996) and Valvula de luz (1997)? 

Coyula: I wasn't thinking much in terms of messages, but more in terms of feelings and a sensorial experience. One way or another, they are apocalyptic films; they don't have a traditional narrative because it is more about the feelings and sensations. There is always a feeling of characters that just don't fit in society and the imminence of an apocalyptic event that will destroy society.

Thresher: What makes your films stand out? 

Coyula: The fact that I do the camerawork and editing completely by myself gives me a lot of freedom to basically construct a story, shoot it and edit it with intuition. If you work completely independently, you have the freedom to be editing a scene, come up with an idea, and go out and shoot it immediately. This creates a narrative flow that would otherwise be impossible within a film industry. You also have the time to work the images and perfect every shot by digitally adding or removing elements. I try to make the films I would like to go see and

appreciate.

Thresher: Would you classify your films under any particular genre?

Coyula: I usually mix different genres. I am interested in science fiction, drama, film noir, suspense and animation. My films are usually a hybrid of many different styles.

Thresher: What has been your biggest obstacle as a filmmaker?

Coyula: My biggest obstacle has been raising money for my films and finding people who believe in the project when it's starting up. When I have completed a project, it begins to win awards, but it is very hard to convince people when I'm starting because I don't have a fixed script.

Thresher: Have your budget limitations affected your work?

Coyula: Yes and no. I actually don't know how to work in any other way. Growing up in Cuba has been good training because there were so many limitations for making films, so it was clear for me that what I didn't have in terms of budget, I would have to make up for  with the time I spent on the movies. 

Thresher: What message do you think your movies will bring to Rice students?

Coyula: The idea behind Memories of Overdevelopment is that it is about a man who cannot function in any political structure - communism or capitalism. A lot of people from my generation in Cuba wanted to express the feeling of being unable to trust politicians and the political system in general. The film expresses the need to be individualistic as the only way to obtain real freedom. 

Thresher: Where do you see your career going in the future?

Coyula: It is hard to say because I still function the same way as when I started making films. I work on a small scale, but the projects themselves are ambitious. I actually don't see what I'm doing as a career, but more as a necessity. It is something I have to do to be able to sleep well at night. There are so many little things in life that we have no control over, but having complete control over a creative work is the biggest satisfaction.

This interview has been edited for clarity

and length.

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