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Amat Escalante Celebrated 20 Years of His Debut SANGRE at the 23rd FICM

Sofía Alvarado

The restored version of Sangre (2005), Amat Escalante's debut film, was screened at the 23rd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of its premiere.

Amat Escalante told a full room what it was like to film his first movie in super 16, with poorly framed shots and background noises made by their own production team.

Sangre premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 20 years ago. It tells the monotonous life story of Diego, a government worker who has a violent dynamic with his wife Blanca. The story takes place in Guanajuato, between misunderstandings and the couple's jealousy.

The director talked about intuition in this film and about people chosen at random or because of certain physical characteristics. It's a movie in which he did not use professional actors or a screenplay.

Laughing, he said he had been influenced at that time by Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson, as well as by the soap operas of the time, like Class 406.

The production team shared some anecdotes from their time filming, telling the audience that all the art was made with ten thousand pesos and that the ending was modified at the last minute.

The director stressed the importance of embracing the accidents and symbols that the creative process itself generates in the development of a film.