In-depth with the Directors - Ana Gonzales and Frederick Bernas

Tell us a little about yourselves and your background in filmmaking
Frederick and I (Ana) both started working as freelance journalists. I was a correspondent for the Spanish press agency (EFE) in Paris and Bangkok and Frederick was freelancing from Buenos Aires. Besides writing, we always took pictures and shot video as part of our work.

In my case, I went to study film at the Paris International Film School – which helped me get together with other filmmakers and start producing low budget pieces, which I later combined with my journalism experience and led me to work as a documentary filmmaker.

Frederick and I founded Eye Rise Films (our audiovisual studio) at the beginning of the lockdown – we got stuck in London – and Flamenco Queer was the first independent production of our studio.

How did Flamenco Queer first come together as a project?
Before the pandemic, Frederick and I used to live in Mexico City. When the mayhem started we were on a work trip in Saudi Arabia – making a film for the BBC. We weren't able to go back to Mexico as flights were canceled and had to take the only route available: a flight out to London. We got stuck at Frederick's parents' home, whom I hadn't met before, for three months. And, after 10 years traveling outside Europe, we thought we wouldn't find any interesting story but then we saw a picture of Manuel wearing a flamenco female attire and decided we needed to meet this guy.

Flamenco as an artform seems very rooted in the live performance. How did you successfully capture the magic of live flamenco performance through the camera?
We spent a lot of time with the artists. They're genuine people and they dance and sing when they feel like – I found it pretty easy to capture their essence as their behavior didn't change because there was a camera in the room.

For many, Manuel might represent a new or evolving Spain. What has the reaction been to the film by Spanish audiences?
We've received very beautiful messages from a lot of people. Some people told us they went through similar stories and they admitted having cried when watching the film.

However, there's a lot of homophobia and transphobia out there. Although our film doesn't directly touch on these topics, it's what people interpret. The film was published by the New Yorker and received more than a million visits in less than 24 hours but many of the comments were of disgust and queerphobic.

We peek behind the creative process of an artist throughout the film, including the nerves, trials and tribulations backstage. How much did this resonate with yourselves as artists when following Manuel's life?
Manuel is a choreographer, which is pretty similar to directing a film. You have an idea that you want to develop. You must believe in it and transmit this feeling to the rest of the people you're working with and others – this can be very frightening but if you manage to do it, it feels great. Manuel is older and has walked a longer path – he's an inspiration for us.

What was the biggest challenge in making this film?
The biggest challenge was the pandemic. At the beginning, we had booked tickets and equipment to bring a London DP and his assistant to the shoot in Granada. Due to COVID restrictions, they had to cancel at the last minute. Luckily, a colleague of mine (Sacha Rolland-Benis) was visiting from Seattle and he very quickly decided to come on board. This was amazing, we thought we would have to cancel everything but, in the end, it worked out pretty well.

What projects are coming for you in the future?
We would like to work on a feature film. There are several topics we're interested in...but it will take us a few months to decide where we want to put our time and energy for the next couple of years. Then, we'll have to find the funds – that's the most difficult part.

Do you have any message for our Melbourne audience?
Yes! I'd love to be there and watch the film at Cinema Nova. I used to live in Cardigan Street, a five minutes walk from the cinema....it's a full circle and it means a lot to me. I know some of my friends will be there and watch the film...it makes me really happy! Thanks so much for choosing Flamenco Queer as part of your festival. We feel honoured.