Back to selection
“It Was Really Important That I Was Able to Lean Into the Intimacy of Interviewing My Subjects and Not Just Rely on Archival Footage” | Eva Longoria Bastón, La Guerra Civil
Oscar De La Hoya appears in La Guerra Civil The last two years have prompted much contemplation and reconsideration of the reasons why we make our films as well as the ways in which we make them. What aspect of your filmmaking—whether in your creative process, the way you finance your films, your production methodology or the way you relate to your audience—did you have to reinvent in order to make and complete the film you are bringing to the festival this year?
Given the nature of La Guerra Civil, it was really important that I was able to lean into the intimacy of interviewing my subjects and not just rely on archival footage. We made this documentary in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. To achieve that intimacy and make sure we got the breadth of representation on screen, I knew I needed to be in the room with our subjects. We encountered various challenges and multiple spikes in positivity rates throughout our shoot, but fortunately we were able to get most of the interviews in-person, as everyone was eager to share their memories and talk about the significance of the fight and what it meant to them.
