ANDREA SAMBUCCETTI

JOURNALIST, FILMMAKER AND MS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Your project has entered in our festival. What is your project about?
The Water Wall is a short documentary about the biggest illegal immigration ever registered by US Border Patrol from Cuba to the United States. Meanwhile investigates the reasons for this massive exodus it also pretends to show what is going on within the Florida Strait, giving voice to the migrants detained by authorities. The film main character is Andy de la Torre, a 45-year-old Cuban who tried more than 40 time to leave his country in a rustic vessel to reach the American Dream. In the middle he will suffer deportation, incarceration and will witness death. You must see the full film to know if he succeeds or not.

What are your ambitions with your project?
I only wanted to show the big journey and suffering that Cubans are having trying to get out of the island. That is why I did this film in English because I wanted this problem could be known by people from other countries. What I never imagined was how many festivals were interested in the project and how many critics, interviews and awards this short film accumulated in less than 3 months since I finished it. Since this huge response, I would like to continue the project as a series of shorts.

Tell us something about your shooting? What pleasantly surprised you?
The most emotional moment occurred when I was recording inside of Border Patrol’s facilities and several of the detained migrants asked me to call the families in Cuba to let them know that they arrived to the US. This is something that I didn’t record but it was special because each family that I called on the other side of the line, they were yelling “your dad is alive”, “your son made it to the freedom land”, “finally your sister is on the other side”. I have to confess that I cried as I was listening all these reactions.
For what group of spectators is your film targeted?
For people interested in human rights, investigation, news, politics and immigration.

Why should distributors buy your film?
I didn’t think about this but I received several media requests for parts or full material to talk about it in different shows, from news to analysis.

How would you specify your work? What characterizes your film?
It is a complete indie-independent short film made with no budget but a lot of work and serious research that informs and at the same time tries to offer a good storytelling.

Why did you decided to become a filmmaker?
More than a decision, I do believe that it was a construction. I studied music, editing, photography, psychology and journalism. Actually, I am a news correspondent for the show Aquí y Ahora, Televisa-Univision, a National Network in United States. This year I decided it was time to accomplish a lifelong desire: doing documentaries. So I did it.

Who is your role model?
I have lots of teachers and people that I admire. One of them is Luis Beldi, a big friend and a best seller writer that has an immense talent for storytelling and he is always pushing me to become a better one.

Which movies are your favorites? Why?
Documentaries are always my favorites. “Born into brothels” that won an Oscar in 2005 is within my top 5 movies and mainly because it is life changing.

Where do you look for inspiration for your films?
From each interview. I try to focus on the emotions of the main characters, the ones that lived the stories and I tried to think how they could feel about what they lived.

Which topics interest you the most?
Investigation, biography, emotional stories, human interest topics.

What do you consider your greatest achievement in your career?
A National Emmy Award that I won in 2018 and two other nominations as a correspondent and storyteller. But as an indie filmmaker, everything surprises me, a festival invitation, an official selection, an award, feedback.

What do you consider most important about filming?
The emotions.

Which film technique of shooting do you consider the best?
In documentaries I like to produce, investigate and elaborate a possible idea of how the film could be. But at the end it is about reality and all that you plan could change. The best is being flexible.

How would you rate/What is your opinion about current filmmaking?
I believe there is no roof for what it could be done with the technology and the much better access to it that we have.

What can disappoint you in a movie?
A bad structure in the storytelling or common places, such as cutting scenes with music. But in general, all that has the power to turn a great story in a bad one.

Who supports you in your film career?
My biggest support is my 9-year-old daughter that is always interested in the film process and helps me with English. She is a very creative girl and I always listen her ideas. Also my parents (finally now because they didn’t believe it was an option when I graduated from High School) and my boyfriend that is always cheering me up and tells me that I can do this.
What are the reactions to your film? (Opinion of spectators, film critics, friends and family)
Mostly that the film has a strong message, lot of emotions and let you think about at the end.

Have you already visited any of the prestigious film festivals?
I visited a lot of important festivals but not Sundance, that is one of my favorites. I went to Utah several times but couldn’t visit it. So I will definitely do it soon.

What are your future plans in filmmaking carriere?
I would love to dedicate fulltime and completely to make documentaries.