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.
Lidia The Explorer 