Write What You Know, When A Personal Story Becomes A Movie - Carla Simón [FULL INTERVIEW]

[@meg-k-waldren]

I really love what she said about limiting dialogue and not force feeding the audience too much. Stories like that I find more engaging. And kudos to her. I for one would struggle directing a pseudo autobiographical movie. Not to sound grim but... some stories just aren't meant to be told.

[@sallyelbaba]

I met her Todayy!!! She came to my university ALBA in Lebanon! I was so flattered to meet her and we watched her movie and we were soo amazed by it and we asked her many questions and she was so nice and smiling!! She is writing right now a new script for a movie so i’m so excited!!! Thank you Carla❣️

[@filmcourage]

This makes us so happy. Thank you for sharing. Carla is very sweet. SUMMER 1993 is an excellent film. Looking forward to seeing what she does next. Glad you were able to speak with her and be inspired. :)

[@Von_McKnelly]

Thanks for the interview Carla. The one thing that stands out for me, "do I want to shoot this scene?". "Am I passionate about shooting it?" I will always remember that, thanks again.

[@davidpoa7775]

Von McKnelly You seem really educated to me. I don't know why but that's how I feel thought I'd just let you know that!😊

[@Von_McKnelly]

David, that is quite possibly the nicest comment I have ever received. Thank you David.

[@davidpoa7775]

Von McKnelly all good buddy have a good day or night wherever you are!😊

[@marieb5251]

In the US, they tell us not to write auto-biographical scripts mainly because they're not commercial. I believe it was Richard Walter who said in one of his Film Courage interviews, that hardly any writer has lived a life interesting enough to make a movie. It's true that slice-of-life stories barely get made as independent movies anymore, but they're still quite popular and loved in Europe. Being originally from Europe, I still enjoy these stories, specially anything dealing with children. This movie looks lovely.

[@muzikmanner6019]

So glad to see this interview. I am now working on a script based on a personal story. Until I saw this interview, I wasn't sure if I could or should do it. I was writing it only for myself. The script doesn't follow the "formula" that so many script writers say must be in a script. Real life doesn't have a formula. Real life has events. I feel much more confident going forward with this script now, but I am also working on turning it into a novel as well. Thank you Film Courage.

[@Sweetdude64]

How is it going now, over a month later? What steps have you taken to achieve the final product?

[@muzikmanner6019]

I'm working on both the script and novel simultaneously. The script furnished most of the dialogue for the novel, and the novel gave me more insight to define the characters for the script. I don't know how well this would work for others, but it gives me a certain freedom to really express what I want about the characters in two very different formats.

[@burgesssam]

Her Summer 1993 is SO good. Highly recommend it.

[@filmcourage]

We agree! Thank you Sam.

[@oshun459]

Would it be possible to get an interview with Wes Anderson?

[@filmcourage]

Hhhmmm...Would be wonderful. Don't have a contact, though. Maybe some time in the future (fingers crossed)? Thank you for watching Ocean. :)

[@mjw12345]

Yes, lovely interview, lovely lady! I hope I'm not being nosey but I read an interview with Carla where she says her parents were sometimes there when she was shooting the movie. I assume she means her adoptive parents? If this is so, when was she adopted? At what age?

[@PAJA63]

Have you seen the movie? Two clues: Carla Simón was born in 1986. And her film deals with things that happened in the Summer of 1993… ;-)

[@mjw12345]

@@PAJA63 Thanks, it's quite a while since I saw the movie. If I recall well, at the start of the movie, her mother has died, her father previously. So, she's moving to the countryside to live with her aunt and the aunt's partner. So, your reply doesn't seem to answer my question, i.e.., she says her parents were sometimes there when she was shooting the movie.

[@PAJA63]

@@mjw12345In the interview above Carla talks about the moment when she herself began to talk to her "aunt" (wife of her maternal uncle) as "Mother". I believe the film deals with events happening in 1993. Carla was born in December of 1986, so her biological parents had died more than two decades before the start of the filming. As "Estiu 1993" is not produced within a time warp, it should have been Carla's adoptive parents that were present during the filming. ;-)

[@mjw12345]

@@PAJA63 Ah, thanks Per for taking the time to reply - it's clear now.