Making “a different kind of cinema that breaks away from the conventions of marketing” was the main objective of Mexican film director Fernando Barreda when he decided to shoot ‘Café Chairel’ in his hometown of Tampico (Tamaulipas, northeast), far from the chaos of the capital, a decision that “attracted attention” and gave the film a “unique” identity.
“It’s a city where nothing had been filmed for years, so taking the film there was much more difficult (…) I wanted to make a film that was digestible for festivals, but not one that you can’t understand what it wants to communicate,” the filmmaker joked to EFE at the film’s premiere in Mexico City.
Starring Tessa Ía (Katia) and Mauricio Isaac (Alfonso), ‘Café Chairel’ is the story of two lonely souls who come together to run a coffee shop, a business that will end up being the perfect excuse for them to solve their personal problems and find their way in an increasingly alienated society.
For the Tampico native, returning to his home has been a phenomenon of nostalgia that he has tried to transmit to the film’s viewers, to whom he has not wanted to offer a kind of commercial about the city, but a love affair with different places in the tourist enclaves of the northeastern Mexican city.
“I didn’t want to tell a story with a logic and a specific context, but a personal and intimate story that can also allude to anyone anywhere,” he said.
In a box office plagued by commercial films such as the new Star Wars installment, ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’, Isaac wanted to highlight to the audience present at the premiere the great effort made in the industry to bring forward these Mexican films, which if it were not for government subsidies in many cases, would not be produced.
“It’s a joy to share this work, it’s been three years since we filmed it, and I thank the team of this film, because cinema is always made as a team,” said the 51-year-old actor.
In addition to the main character, actress Nailea Norvind attended on behalf of her daughter Tessa, and together with members of the rest of the cast, such as Ana Valeria Becerril and Argentine Leonel Deluglio, celebrated the premiere of the film after its screening in the official section of the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
Café Chairel’ film fights for Mexican cinema
“You have to fight like dogs” many times to be able to make a film in Mexico, defends Barreda about the production of his films such as ‘Atrocius’ (2010), which are often relegated to bad schedules in theaters or very little exposure time.
“Many very good films end up not being shown in theaters or only have two weeks of exhibition and in the second week we only receive 80% of the first,” says the filmmaker about the distribution problems of Mexican cinema.
That is why the filmmaker tries to get out of the formula of his favorite genres such as horror or comedy to surprise an audience increasingly accustomed to the cinema of streaming platforms.
“The script is more important than marketing. We try to make films that break out of their genres and people thank us for it. We have to fight to bring different products and not just follow the trends and tendencies,” he said.
Café Chairel’ opens in Mexican theaters on May 21, reported Agencia EFE, after an international tour of film festivals such as Dallas, Seattle Latino and the Hola Mexico Film Festival.
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