The loneliness of the city feels immense for an indigenous teen like James, who is fighting for his happiness, innocence, and above all, to not feel abandoned in the urban vastness. Only now James is beginning to realize that building his own path means destroying those of others.
Year of production 2024 Length 20' CountryGuatemala/Mexico Shooting Format 4K Aspect Ratio1,33:1 Dialogue Spanish, K´iche Director Andrés Rodríguez Production Cinespacio Producer Mario Estrada Writer Andrés Rodríguez Cinematographer Sebastian Lojo Editor Cem Demirer Sound DesignEduardo Marroquin MusicVicente Barcarcel Assistant Director Ana Lucia Reinoso Post Production Assistants Rafa Vela Diego Gobel Colorists Paolo Giron, Fernando Cum Art Alexander Sosa Art Assistant Jorge Martinez Cast James Maldonado, Jose Poz, Erick Maldonado Festival selections Venezia 81 - Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, Orizzonti Short Films Competition 2024, Italy - World Premiere Tetova International Film Festival 2024, Republic of Macedonia Director's Statement The short film "James" tells the story of one of many boys who stumble directly from childhood into adulthood while struggling to survive in a male-dominated environment. We explore the silences of a young man who hasn’t found his place away from his family and decides to turn to violence in search of happiness. The story was based on the Argument, used to guide the journey of our characters. However, the story argument didn't specify what the characters said or how they reacted, so we decided to collectively build the dialogues. Our main goal was to create a context that felt real: casual conversations, scattered, sometimes inconclusive, but which led us to understand that these were young people with their own anecdotes and aspirations. We filmed with a small group, often in chaotic and uncontrollable contexts. The primary intention behind this decision was to let these contexts contribute to the feeling of how the world is much larger than our characters and how it constantly influences them.I like to film my movies with "natural actors," people with no experience in front of the camera, but who bring all their knowledge and experiences to their characters. I believe this helps ground my characters and allows me to understand them. With James Maldonado, the lead actor of the short film, it has been different. I've known him as an actor since he was six years old, and although he is still young, he has grown significantly in his acting abilities. With this short film, James seemed to perfectly grasp what was happening inside the character, the feelings of helplessness and anger that his character navigates through in a world he is just beginning to understand.
