‘Zeus’ Helmer-Scribe Miguel Calderon on Falcons, Humans and Relationships
MORELIA, Mexico – Mexico City-born Miguel Calderon, 45, is renowned for his work in a wide range of artistic media: From painting and sculpture to video and photography. Sometimes described as the ‘enfant terrible’ of contemporary art in Mexico, his work has even appeared in Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Even though “Zeus” is his first feature where he cast non-pros, including his father in a pivotal role, he credits his ease with actors to his participation in the 2013 Sundance Director’s Lab. His BFA degree from the San Francisco Art Institute as well as his participation in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab also prepared him for his striking debut, which he penned and co-produced with Cinepantera. “Zeus” participated in Morelia’s 2015 work-in-progress program Impulso Morelia last year, and explores the dysfunctional relationship between a mother and her over 30-year-old son, also delving into the similarities between animals and humans.
Working with actors must have been a new experience for you. How did you manage?
Yes, but I had done a whole series of experimental films before this, and in my photography, I’ve had to direct the subjects of my pictures. But yes, it was a new challenge. My lead actress said that my casting process felt like a rehearsal as I had her do several scenes. We didn’t rehearse and we had to do a lot of improvisation. Both my leads [mother and son] have had no acting experience and are actually writers.
You have said that “Zeus” has some autobiographical elements in it.
I think every project has an autobiographical aspect to it. Some are closer to reality but some are fictionalized. I thought about basing this film on my teenage years but a teenage character tends to elicit sympathy in a film. I wanted this to be about two adults and so devoted a lot of research on adults living with their mothers, and was surprised to discover this was all too common, even among my friends.
The character Joel, the son, finds solace in hunting with his pet falcon. You have said that you were also into falconry when you were young.
I started falconry when I was around 12 after I won a bet from a guy who was selling the birds. I really wanted it very badly so I surprised him by doing the more-than-100 pushups he challenged me to do. I learned so much from this hawk, about animal and human instincts. It was a young hawk so we grew up together. After I lost interest in it, it flew away and never came back. Losing it marked my coming-of-age years in a very raw and traumatic way.
I found the scenes where the mother would not even flinch every time she’d open her fridge and finds either a dead hare, rat or crow on a plate so disconcerting. If I were her, I’d scream each time.
I’m so glad you noticed that. Those scenes show how used she is to her son’s ways. That their relationship has evolved.
Have you got another feature film in mind?
Yes! It will probably be related to falconry again, and I hope to use a real falconer to play the lead this time. I’ve only got the first draft of a treatment, no title yet. But I’ve decided I want to produce my own films. “Zeus” cost 13 million pesos ($703,000) to make; I want to work with a smaller crew in order to have more mobility and be able to improvise more. It’s complicated to move people around. I’m used to working with smaller budgets and crews; that’s how I shoot my video installations. My passion for filmmaking is similar to how I feel for falconry. My new obsession is filmmaking.
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