{"id":137,"date":"2019-03-15T16:34:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T16:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=137"},"modified":"2026-02-03T04:09:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T04:09:41","slug":"interview-with-the-directors-of-parivara-winner-of-best-documentary-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=137","title":{"rendered":"Interview with the directors of \u201cParivara\u201d, winner of Best Documentary in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What was the most significant decision in shooting Parivara?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> For\nme it was sharing the children\u2019s stories and doing this in a positive and\nresponsible way which could help others learn from our experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> The\nmost significant decision for me was to spend the time listening the children\u2019s\nstories, without that we would have had a different approach to the filming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What part of the script\/story\nbest stood out for you and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> Again,\nlistening the children\u2019s stories was key to have a censorial approach the film\nneeded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without giving it away, tell us a\nlittle bit more about the characters and the lead actors.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> They\u2019re\nchildren! : )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> Exactly,\nthey are not actors, but it was very interesting to spend time with them and\nnotice how they are getting more comfortable with us and the camera around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you bring this story to\nlife while staying true to your vision as director?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> The\nstory comes to life when you are shooting it so you have to deal with it as a\nlife entity that might change. At the end the story finds you, sometimes in the\nediting room, the best you can do to stay true to your vision as a director, is\nembrace the change and accept it, and after that find a compromise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What excites you about this project?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong>\u00a0As a person with a disability it was exciting to work with other people with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What other works are you most\nproud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> My\ntwo daughters, Gabriella, and Augustina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> I\nagree with Alex, in my case Eloise and Enzo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What films have been the most\ninspiring or influential to you and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> There\nhave been so many. I keep a pretty current list on IMDB. When I saw this\nquestion I recall a movie from the 1930s called \u201cFreaks\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s a morality\nstory. Beautiful trapeze artist seeks to take advantage of a sideshow\nperformer. Karma is not a pretty thing in this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> In\nregards of what Alex is saying I think it\u2019s a good reference because this movie\ncan be misunderstood. It\u2019s very easy to find the monster in the other, and call\nit \u201ca freak\u201d while forgetting that having a difference or a disability, the\nmost of the times can make you even more human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you do to enhance the\ncollaborative process when working with actors, screenwriters, producers and\nothers creative members?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> I\ndo my best to make it a family environment that is safe and conducive to the\ncreativity and needs of all project members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> It\u2019s\nvery important to hear what others have to say. In this sense, our producers\nToland Samba, Flavio Alves and Val\u00e9rie, always had interesting things to say\nthat were key in the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What experiences have you learned\nfrom in life? How did that change you and your creative process and the way you\ngo about making films?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> You\nlearn by doing. The why usually justifies the how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong>\u00a0In my case I learned a lot about loss, it teaches you that sometimes you have to let go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How do you see your role as a\nfilmmaker?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> Servant.\nReflect the mirror up to our many faces without judgement. Ugliness, Beauty,\nthey are all part of the same thread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> It\u2019s\na way to get to know you better while making an effort to understand the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which film festivals that you\nhave been part of would you recommend to other filmmakers looking to screen\nhis\/her films?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora: <\/strong>Sundance,\nIDFA, True\/False, Guadalajara, Berlinale, but any film festival is a good\nopportunity to share your film with audiences and open conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> Sundance,\nCambridge, Sydney, Action on Film, Milledgeville, and IFFNY. I agree with Al,\nany film festival is a good chance to share the story and possibly touch\nsomeone else in a positive way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do filmmakers have any\nresponsibility to culture? What message do you want to convey with your\nfilms?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> Content\ncreators always have a responsibility. What we create, in turn creates us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Message\nwant to convey in our films? In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. \u2013 \u201cWe must\naccept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What other hobbies do you have?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> I\nlike iron horses (motorcycles) and real horses when I get a chance to ride\nthem. Fencing, Archery, and just generally being in nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> I\nlike writing bad poetry, walking in the nature and finding secrets spots in the\nmountains or an empty beach on an island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you want to be remembered\nfor in life? What valuable lessons have you learned that helped you become the\nperson you are today?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> What\ndo I want to be remembered for in life? \u2013 Compassion and Kindness. Lessons I\u2019ve\nlearned that helped me become the person I am today? \u2013 My lessons are not the\nsame as yours but it\u2019s the journey not the destination that is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> I\u2019d\nlike to be remembered as a good man, at least for my children, so what you do\neveryday to achieve that is a responsibility. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your top five principles\nof success?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> 1.\nStay true to your purpose. 2. Work smart but work hard. 3. Be kind. Help\nothers. 4. Take time to smell the flowers. 5. Fall down \u2013 get back up or die!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> Success\nis something very subjective and arbitrary. Modern society, specially with\nsocial media, puts a lot of pressure in the concept of success and in my\nopinion just ruins people\u2019s live. I\u2019ve seen many talented people who don\u2019t do\nanything creative anymore because they are afraid of failing. I\u2019d just say the\nopposite \u2013 embrace failure, and just fail, fail more, and fail best!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex K. Rojas:<\/strong> We\nhave a few writing\/directorial projects we\u2019re working on, but as an actor I\u2019m\nlooking forward to the festival premiere of \u201cThe Garden Left Behind\u201d by Flavio\nAlves sometime soon \u2013 It was a blast working opposite Michael Madsen, and Ed\nAsner. Just watched a bit of it recently and think it will do very well and has\na timely message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Lora:<\/strong> The\nfeature version of the documentary \u201cThe Fourth Kingdom\u201d and then we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What was the most significant decision in shooting Parivara? Alex K. Rojas: For me it was sharing the children\u2019s stories and doing this in a positive and responsible way which could help others learn from our experience. Alex Lora: The most significant decision for me was to spend the time listening the children\u2019s stories, without that we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19404,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137\/revisions\/19404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}