First Impressions
An Interview with Josué Méndez Early in the Mentorship
What was your initial reaction when you were contacted by Rolex?
I first received an e-mail and thought it was fake. I thought it was spam. I had no idea! What is this? Then when I was told [on the telephone] that I was a finalist, I thought: “I'm going to be seeing Stephen Frears.” That's a huge thing, just to have somebody like him working one on one. So I was excited about that!
Stephen Frears came to see you in Peru, having read the script to your forthcoming film, Dioses (Gods).
We sat down and said: “Okay, what do we do?” I was completely unsure of what he wanted to talk about. So he started the conversation. He started asking questions about the writing – to make everything more precise. He would help me decide what I was trying to say in any given scene. He'd tell me not to try to say three things at the same time. He asked: “What do you want to emphasise?”
He wants you to be sure of everything… There are many questions that, even now, I'm trying to answer. I should leave certain answers to the audience, but, as a writer, I would like to know, and then decide what I want the audience to know.
You went with Frears to Peru’s ancient, mountain-top Inca city of Machu Picchu. Did you talk about the film there?
That was when much of the talking took place. There isn't a lot else to do up there. The first few days [in Lima], we were very serious, very formal. But in Machu Picchu, I felt a change. I could say whatever I wanted to him.
How will Frears participate in the making of Dioses?
We're going to send all the dailies [film footage] to London. We'll edit the first cut here [in Peru], then the editor and I will go to London and spend some time with Frears. We'll spend a few weeks editing and then come back to Lima and finish it. I don't worry that much about having a script that's perfectly structured. I want to find the film in the editing.