The Feast (For My Beloved Son), 1min., Canada
Directed by Sara Gonzalez Lopez
A loving Mother cooks for her son, who is currently distressed by his father s disappearance. Once the feast is served, so are answers.

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Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
I've always been fascinated by thrillers and how they manage to tell a deep message with its visuals. I wanted to experiment for my first time doing a film, so I dived into the experience! I was very motivated with the world and characters so it helped a lot with the troubles I had later on creating it! Also with the quote of "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable", I wanted to try out thas theory.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Since this was my graduation film, from the script to the end I only had around a year to make it on my own! I and some of my classmates agreed it wasn't enough time for only one person to make a whole film but we managed in our own way! I'm just glad my film turned out to be a good success for the amount of work I had to deal with!

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
A "Family Dinner" haha

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Telling the story visually in only a minute (ignoring the credits). Since I started I kept referencing past winning films of my school and how they managed to create such rich storytelling in just a minute! So I tried to work extra hard to be able to find ways to tell and not confuse viewers with my film, especially since I also did not want any dialogue involved. I kept changing the script over 20 times actually hahaa, the first script was so much different than this it's a bit funny. My teachers and friends' feedbacks were a huge help with the end of this story!

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was still very surprised I got selected, it made me very happy having reactions and feedback from more people! Everyone was saying different things, so it felt nice my film got understood in general and enough to form different opinions about it.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
Ever since I started my 2D animation program I wanted to make films! I love the art of visual storytelling and I really wish I can learn more and grow as an artist the more I make films in the future!

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
I have seen Pan's Labyrinth so many times in my life, it's hard to count. I watch lots of films from Guillermo Del Toro and they are a key inspiration for most of my work!

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
It's my first time being involved in a film festival and so far I have had no complaints! I really enjoy the feedback given, if i had to pick a favorite thing about it.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
It's been interesting. At the beginning I was a bit lost since I wasn't taught in school anything about entering our films into the festivals but it wasn't too hard after a bit of digging.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Haha i don't know if this is a question referring to the film but, I love rice mixed with tuna or pancakes!

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I'm seeking to try different mediums for storytelling in my art for now! I'm planning on making a comic then a game. Eittherway, what I know for sure is that I'll go back to filmmaking in the future once I try the other mediums!