Kids these days often leave me scratching my head. However, in what I would describe as making my entire scholastic career look like an extended daycare session, 17-year-old Alex Fischman created La Vieja Quinta.
Fischman, a student at Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Lima, Peru, created the short film for a high school project. It is an impressive film for someone of any age, let alone a high schooler, and is unlike any other I’ve seen produced from students in a similar age bracket. With elements of humor and a look at human connection, it carries with it a deep sense of emotion.
(Warning: The language in the film is not for the easily-offended.)
A project of this size is not for the feint of heart, and Fischman and his team struggled greatly with assembling a quality cast on a very small budget and scouting the perfect location in which to film. But, perseverance paid off, landing them Enrique Victoria, one of the most notable actors in Peruvian cinema, to play the lead role.
As intended, the last shot is the most captivating and emotional scenes in the film. In an interview with No Film School, Fischman explains how the beginning of the final sequence didn’t come off as planned.
The problem was, that since we didn’t rehearse, Enrique took too long to get to the mark, but the ending of that shot was simply perfect. When I told him to do it again, he said, “No, it would be impossible to recreate that moment.”
And, I think that’s true. The emotive tone of the scene would be hard to replicate. After considering the options, Fischman decided to swap in another shot at the beginning, bringing the scene together while retaining its original impact.
To see this level of creative vision, adaptability, and outright tenacity in someone who hasn’t even finished high school is exciting. You can see more of Alex’s films on his website or follow him on Twitter.
[via No Film School]
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