‘Damsel’ Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Sets Fantasy on Fire (And It Looks Awesome)

If you want to succeed with fantasy and make it a transformative experience, you have to create real characters. To convey realness, you have to go beyond the “good versus evil” narrative of traditional fantasy movies. You have to create duality.

In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, to discuss:

• Why Juan Carlos became a filmmaker
• The complicated family dynamics in his film, Damsel
• Why he loves portraying duality in the characters
• Why you always have to have a plan, even if you don’t stick to it 
• How he prepares for production
• A happy accident that became one of his favorite shots
• The inspiration behind the violent fire in the movie
• Creating a proper fire simulation
• Why you have to chase your own voice

Memorable Quotes

• “I thought ‘oh my god I have to make movies like this.’ ” [5:46]
• “I’m much more willing to show the grey zone, because I think that takes you into the reality.” [11:35]
• “You have to give space to happy accidents.” [16:26]

Mentioned:

Damsel 

Find No Film School everywhere:

On the Web

https://nofilmschool.com/

Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/nofilmschool

Twitter 

https://twitter.com/nofilmschool

YouTube 

https://www.youtube.com/user/nofilmschool

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/nofilmschool

Send us an email with questions or feedback: [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices