Director Mateo Bendesky
Cinéfondation, Festival de Cannes 2015
“The Magnetic Nature is a film about two brothers who live together in a house where they conduct a religious practice that preaches over the internet. The practice was invented by their father, who is now dead. The story is mainly seen from the lives inside the house. Aldo, the main character,is slowly growing tired of the religion, but he doesn’t know how to say it. I think of it as a very slow process, but he still has a slightly rebellious attitude. It’s only slightly rebellious because he is still very restricted by not only himself, but his brother too. However, he wants to experience the outside world as everyone else does – the world outside the system created by his father.”- director , Mateo Bendesky
GFM:
In your films, you create worlds for your characters to live in that are very unusual. How do you approach storytelling?
Mateo:
My first feature film, Acá Adentro, was about a young neurotic. It’s a day in his life told only through his thoughts via voice over. It’s one hour and 10 minutes of his thoughts. What I can see in both of my films, as well as my new project, is that I’m very interested in seeing the inner world of the characters. I’m interested in how being in that world affects their relationship with the outer world, and understanding how bonds between people exist and work. I like looking at how we feel about our own reality, and the perspective we have from our inner self.
In my first film this was a lot more tangible because the character was an obsessive neurotic that had a specific problem; he couldn’t stop thinking. But in my new film, I’ve tried to work on these subjects without being so literal. I wanted to work around the same subject, approaching it from a different theme.
GFM:
Director/actor Iair Said who played the lead character in your film Acá Adentro also has his own short film, Presente Imperfecto in competition at Cannes this year. What are your thoughts on the presence of Argentinian short films at Cannes this year?
Mateo:
It makes me extremely happy for Iair, he’s such a talented filmmaker. It was very nice to work with him on my feature, and I’m excited that he has a short film in competition this year. There’s also a third Argentine film, in the Directors’ Fortnight competition, El Pasado Roto made by two guys who I studied with, Martin Morgenfeld and Sebastian Schjaer. We went to the same school, and I’m so happy about that. It’s a great year for Argentine filmmakers.
GFM:
What project are you working on next?
Mateo:
I have a new project at the moment and it’s my second feature. This one is working on some of the themes I worked on in El Ser Magnético, but, it’s not the same subject. It’s still focused on family relationships, but it’s not going to be about “philosophical magnetism” at all, which is what the short focuses on.
GFM:
What are you looking forward to at Cannes?
Mateo:
I’m looking forward to meeting the other Cinéfondation filmmakers, people from my generation who are doing different things. I’m very curious about that. Of course I also want to see how El Ser Magnético does, and hear people’s thoughts. I’m very intrigued to see how the industry and audience react. Hopefully this leads to something good for my new feature project!
Director Mateo Bendesky