I was very happy that people really seemed to get my film. Boxing films are a hard sell. There’s nothing so visceral, powerful and ugly as two people punching the s%&t out of each other with their fists. But weirdly enough, I think words have as much– maybe even more, destructive power! I wanted to make a film about human beings and the complexity of relationships. And how we can get so turned around because of our relationships.
I noticed that several people mentioned the cinematography. I was really lucky to have found Diego Jiménez. He’s a friend, of a friend, of a friend’s student’s husband. He lives in Bogotá, Colombia. Diego had won Best Cinematography 2012 at Sundance on a film called, All Your Dead Ones by Carlos Morano. The cinematography was amazing. His framing is so beautiful, I wrote to him right away and sent him the script. He liked it and said, “Well, I’ve never made a film in NYC. It could be fun. Okay, I’ll do it,” And then I found out what a superstar he is in South America. What’s amazing about Diego is, he doesn’t have a big ego that he swings around on set. I’d say to him, “I’d like to do a Steadicam shot where we’re on Cal as he enters the back room, I want to “dolly” back, then do a 360 with him as he checks out the space.” He’d smile and say, “Okay, let’s see how we can do this.” Bergman said (paraphrasing like crazy) “The most important person to have on your side is the cinematographer. Without him, you can’t do anything.” I really believe this.
WILDsound Festival 