I had seen all the movies at my local AMC except one in the horror genre: Talk to Me. It’s a genre that I had learned to appreciate through a friend that was a dire-hard fan. Then, thanks to another friend, I was selected (partially due to my knowledge -or assumed knowledge- of most aspects of film, to form part of the panel of judges of Montevideo Fantástico the first Uruguayan film festival dedicated to promoting national and international film productions related to horror, fantasy and science fiction genres. For these reasons, as far as I am concerned, horror and friendship are interconnected.
I often ponder on the “whys” of things. I became an actor lured by the possibility of escaping to inhabit other lives, becoming someone else, and revealing them to others, but it was my first and main land at the time only ove. Others work parallelly, sometimes in unison, on diametrically opposite endeavors, loves, or careers. This led me to my friend Marcelo Fabani, who is a recognized and successful architect, yet has delved into the horror genre as as a producer, writer, director -and more- with a passion worthy of note.
Do you find a connection between Architecture and the Horror genre in cinema? His answer surprised me and made me want to know more about his journey into horror.
“I consider the German expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as the most tangible example of the relationship between an artistic movement and cinema. The distorted interpretation of reality as a premise, had its materialization in architectural spaces as well.
One can also find numerous spaces designed for everyday use such as housing, exploited in their claustrophobic facet or power over the person, such as the Overlook Hotel in the film “The Shining”
Did your love for the genre come before or after you becoming an architect?
“Horror is the genre that I have seen first in my life because when I was 4 or 5 years old, the series “Dark Shadows” was shown in Uruguay and despite the fear that Barnabas Collins transmitted to me, I was fascinated by all its gothic environment and climate.”
How did you get involved in films?
“My only academic background in film is in Screenwriting. I graduated from the Uruguayan Film School. I decided to go from a story I had written, to filming the script I had turned into a story called “Omnibus 48″. That was the first story I filmed.”
Film in any genre is not an easy field to tackle or to stand out in. What obstacles did you find along the way and how did you overcome them?
“The main obstacle was, and still is, learning and mastering the technique in all its aspects. I had to apply myself to my own cinematography course, which is both fascinating and eternal. There are always aspects to learn, study, understand, master and apply. But at my own pace and that is why I use my own productions as test elements.”
How did the “internationalization” of your efforts come about?
“Mainly through internet platforms for film festivals. Additionally, I had the honor of being invited to participate in exhibitions and to be part of short story anthologies in the United States of America and Argentina.”
What was the reasoning you used to choose the festivals to enter?
“Although I have paid to enter some of them, the idea is to submit to free entry festivals. The reason is that in that state of participation, there is no bond or favoritism when it comes to being selected. It is your production that speaks for you and not your money. Additional criteria, was to visualize the previous editions and to understand whether the spirit of the festival favored form or content. I preferred to submit to those that privileged the story over the production budget.”
Marcelo Fabani, the filmmaker, has the goal that by 2025 he will produce a feature film. His main goal, he says, is to express himself with greater strength and give his point of view on the times that we have been given to live in. Based on his past efforts (his short films have won numerous awards worldwide), I have no doubt that whatever goal he has, he will see it to fruition.
Lastly, the film industry is one that erodes relationships. Yet your wife, Silvia Bruno, has been an intrinsic part of your participation and evolution in film. Was it at your request or by mutual decision?
My wife has always supported me when it was necessary to fulfill a commitment. And she did it in such a wonderful way, that she surprised herself when the story she starred in won awards and prizes in Spain and the United States. Her participation was a product of her greatness, of what she considers should be an unrestricted support in a couple, a concept that we share and have fully practiced in our 20 years together.
what I consider the original energy drink. And the journey back in time starts. At the first sweet sip I remember how my mom allowed me to have a soda only once a week before the Saturday feeding feast. No sodas at any other time. The waitress talks to me in Portuguese which I am fluent in, and it further transports me back to the days that I could count my age on the fingers of my hand. 
and the farofa (made of toasted cassava/yuca flour). 
And what may seem odd to many, a slice of orange that is meant to be eaten to aid in the digestion of this very heavy meal. 
I stare at my plate and put a little bit of it all in my mouth. 
The finale comes in an artful shape and incredible taste. 
with chanting going on and a place for me to sit. 
I believe our docent said the congregation is of only 14 Orthodox Jewish families. 
which I am quite impressed with. I opt for a ceviche at a Peruvian stall, Don Ceviche, which was quite authentic and delish. 
to subdue in part the spiciness of the fish and continue a super interesting conversation on future plans and on 
an animal my mother was deathly afraid of. I inherited her aversion if not her fear. And it reminds me of a friend that loves her White Russians (the drink, not the guys) 
and of another who has a son bartending at La Pecora Bianca 
and of my Los Angeles which, as New York has, remains in my heart, as I pass The Ace Hotel which I didn’t know was in Manhattan as well as in LA 
and of a time when The Village Voice was a newspaper I read weekly in Washington Square Park as I walked my dog 
and again of Los Angeles with the Standard Hotel. 
and the writer in me spins tales of a lost civilization being desecrated, the only vestige of their existence this stone wall that did not properly protect its people. A few more steps and my mood is echoed by trees that seem to cry with me expressing their sadness of these people’s demise through a strange vine, weeping willow style, that hangs from its branches. 
, and another 
indicates that I would not die from starvation. Or would I die from popping any of these in my mouth? 
that reminds me of a group of “rock painters” that a dear friend, Grace Kono-Wells created – 
their rocks meant to be put along various paths to brighten someone’s day. Her beautiful “Breathe” rock probably has reminded me more than once to take a breath. The painted one on my path, “mask up”, gives us a much needed reminder of the life we lead now. The sign on its side 
(Nottely Hidden Cove) is displaced, for it seems to belong to a farm in Georgia that oddly advertises as “a great place to social distance” so I figure it is somehow appropriate that it be paired with the “mask up” rock. 
Others that give out a set of rules so long that my enjoyment would be marred should I stop to read it all. 
Please don’t ask me why I denominated her a female for I’d be at a loss to answer. And another that was named Jazmin. She had yellowish markings on her shell. She was quite pretty.
and those that resemble slender bells, 
and there are the leaves that seem to try to outdo the flowers in shades of green and red. 
await in the rest of the house for some love, food, and water… in reverse order. So all in all I find a sense of purpose in my isolation. 
They have a parking lot and as I park I hear the sounds of a language I have not learned and probably never will. 
Lidia The Explorer 