Embracing Your Limitations: Diego Andaluz On His Short "Dante: A Replication"
Diego Andaluz is the writer, director, and producer of Dante: A Replication, which he shot during the ongoing quarantine lockdown with no budget. The film successfully blends sci-fi, horror, and thriller elements into a brisk three-minute head trip. Atmospheric and visceral, its never-ending loop serves as an apt metaphor for life in quarantine. You can check out the full short and our review here.
We had the pleasure of chatting with Diego about his film, Dante: A Replication, working under limitation, finding inspiration, and much much more!
The short follows a young man who attempts to discover the source of a mysterious phone call, leading him towards a terrifying discovery of replication as his reality begins to unravel.
You were drawn to film and filmmaking at an early age. I’m curious, what was the first film you fell in love with, and what is the film that made you want to make them?
There’s been a ton over the years, but Inception was definitely the first film I fell in love with. I saw it when I was younger, and it just changed my life. I’ve broadened my horizons since then, but that was the first film I remember watching that showed me the potential of what film could be. The sheer ambition and scope of its narrative and the way it was handled by Christopher Nolan just blew my mind and opened my eyes to a whole new world.
After that, I quickly went down a rabbit hole of films, and I haven't looked back since. I don’t think there was a specific film that made me want to devote my life to filmmaking… Maybe Villeneuve’s Arrival as it was around that key time. I just remember watching film after film and when I realized that I could be the one to create stories and worlds like the ones I saw depicted on screen, I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker. I mean, I’ve always had a love for the Arts from an early age. I actually painted and played the cello since I was five, and I loved making up short stories in grade school. When I was exposed to the fact that film was one of the few mediums where I could combine all of my artistic passions into something special, I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Dante: A Replication is an ambitious undertaking. Can you tell us a bit about how the idea came about?
For my whole life, I’ve been very musically oriented, so my creative process almost always starts with me having a glimpse of a tonal idea. Once I get that glimpse, I create a compilation of film score tracks that fit the atmosphere of the tone I was going for, so my ideas almost always come as I go on walks or meditate as the playlist is on repeat. I’ve always been a big fan of sci-fi and ambiguous narratives that suck you in, so I started there and used it as a jumping off point a few months before quarantine.
However, after including ideas that were rooted in a conflict with duality yet were part of a larger conflict at hand, I ended up with a very ambitious script. I thought that if I could force myself to scale some of my ideas down to match my limitations, I could preserve the essence of my original goals while still being able to make a film properly (and still leaving the door open for the future). Since the core of my original sci-fi thriller idea revolved around a house and used the same concept of “replication,” I found that I could easily scale it appropriately to be able to produce a story I was proud of.
You were able to make something special using very little, just the resources available to you. Tell us a bit about how you used the environment to create a sense of a palpable atmosphere.
A very important part in crafting the narrative was actually seeing how it could be adapted to fit into my home. It’s not like I had the time or resources to scout out the perfect location, so I had to learn to work with what I had available. I had the general outline planned out, but as I was trying to see what could fit where, I actually shifted around some of the beats and added some new ones that could benefit from the architecture of the home.
Additionally, another key part in this was the lighting. I obviously didn’t have access to any quality lights, so most of the lighting was done by small lamps I had lying around the house, and just finding the right combination of preinstalled lights on the ceiling that were already a part of the house, and flicking the right switches. For the opening scene, I was lucky that my brother had actually installed some of those color-changing LED light strips, so I was able to take advantage of those too.
Honestly, for me, the use of sound is key to creating a palpable atmosphere, and because I didn’t have the proper sound equipment to ensure that any lines spoken would have the proper audio quality, I chose to strip out the dialogue, which I was thinking about doing anyways. I ended up only having to mix the score and some sound effects, which actually resulted in a pretty visceral and atmospheric experience from my point of view. Ultimately, crafting the proper atmosphere just came to using unconventional lighting sources and adapting to the architecture of my location, so I’m glad that was able to translate properly outside of the film!
What is it about time loops or cycles that fascinate you as a storyteller?
I actually don’t quite know why i'm drawn to telling stories in that way. This is my first film, but I have a few more ideas that do have a cyclical nature and have always appreciated films that use it well. It’s probably because I’ve found that if used correctly, it can result in a powerfully cathartic moments that can change the way you interpret a story. Also, I like having my stories be somewhat ambiguous and open-ended so that it can leave one thinking about what they just saw, and I feel that at least in this film, with certain aspects of a cyclical structure, I was able to provide that air of uncertainty that gives a peek into something larger going on while having a semblance of a conclusion. I don’t know if I’ll use it much more in future projects, but I definitely won’t make a film that doesn’t challenge you to some extent anytime soon.
What was it like working with your brother? Did you have to do much convincing to get him to star in your debut?
Definitely. It was a great experience and it was really fun to shoot it with someone I know so well, but it took a LOT of convincing on my part to get him to star in it at first. I’d wish I could say that he fell in love with my vision and that’s why he did it, but honestly, I think what got him to do it was the fact that he had nothing better to do after months of being stuck inside, but either way, that worked perfectly for me!
The score and sound design for the film really take things to another level. You found composers Ben Winfield and Gašpar Muženič through Reddit. Tell us a bit about that process, how you collaborated with them and blended their individual work into one cinematic score.
Well, it’s probably influenced by my background, but at least for me, the sound of a film is really what carries and shapes the atmosphere, so it’s by far one of the most important aspects in my book. I mean, the fact that my creative process originates from music should show how crucial it is for me. I’ve written a few things before on paper so I thought I could do it myself, but at that time, I had zero experience in producing music digitally (although I’m planning to devote some time to learning how soon). So, I hadn't even started shooting, and I was already looking for composers. I’m surprised that more student filmmakers just starting out don’t use it, but Reddit is a great place for all creatives, especially those starting out, as the majority of the people there have a similar mindset, you know? Most of us are in the early stages of our careers and you’re all ambitious and trying to find people you can collaborate with to elevate each other and become better.
Anyways, after messaging a few people that resulted in dead ends, I decided to post on a few subreddits and wasn’t expecting much, but the next morning I had more than 30 messages from people who were interested! I didn’t want to unfairly exclude anyone who wanted to collaborate, so I had people send in a few samples to see what was the best fit. There were a TON of great tracks in different styles, but I was looking for a specific sound that would elevate the film while respecting the shift in the last half of the film. It was hard to decide, and I honestly didn’t know what to do, as there wasn’t one piece that truly fit that vision, so I was getting really worried…
One guy (Lukas Losking) had actually taken it upon himself to mix some of the sounds I had recorded for the background, and they fit nicely so I decided to include them. However, in terms of the score itself, I remembered that in the temp music, I personally mixed three different tracks taken from my writing playlist (from Benjamin Walfisch’s The Invisible Man and Mac Quayle’s Mr. Robot) to properly capture the tonal changes I was going for, so I decided to play around with the same approach. Ben [Winfield]’s tense first section of his sample and Gasper [Muzenic]’s eerie last section really blew me away. After discussing a few adjustments (in terms of the key and tempo), I was able to take their pieces and fade them into each other right as the film begins to shift gears, so it turned out great, and the transition of the two played right into the change I was looking for!
What films or filmmakers influence your personal style or approach to storytelling?
I’d say my influences aren’t restricted solely to film, but from a lot of different Art forms. I’ve taken a lot from paintings (like Caravaggio’s 16th century work) and music, but in regards to films, I have so many. Honestly, pretty much every film I’ve watched has influenced my personal style to some extent. Even if it was just a frame here or a story beat there, they’ve all impacted me heavily and developed my style. For this specific film though, I’d have to say that my approach to the production was heavily inspired by Primer and filmmakers like David F. Sandberg (with Lights Out), Jim Cummings (with Thunder Road) and Damien Chazelle (with Whiplash) regarding how they were able to distill ambitious ideas into short films that still reflected the core concepts successfully. The story, though, apart from the Lynch influences, was heavily inspired by the films of many recent horror filmmakers (specifically Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, and John Krasinski) as well as the unconventional structure of Parasite and Get Out. I wanted to create a sense of uncertainty as to where the story was headed, and the way in which both Get Out and Parasite were building up to something unclear, but then showcased the true nature of the film by capitalizing on the midpoint was something that was extremely effective for me so I chose to adopt that structure for the film.
However, on the technical side, I’d say my style is primarily driven by a need to capture a specific atmosphere and apart from Kubrick and Jonathan Glazer’s Under The Skin, the filmmaker that has influenced me the most by far is Sam Esmail. I mean, apart from Comet, he’s only done television work that many wouldn’t consider “films,” but still, his directorial efforts in both Homecoming and Mr. Robot really had a HUGE impact on me, and I’d definitely consider them revolutionary. He knows how to capture the exact atmosphere he’s looking for with his score selection and cinematography, but his ability to take directorial risks with the television format, that he successfully pulls off, is really what I took to heart. His precise vision shines through in every aspect of his work and it’s probably the clearest I’ve seen. Those qualities are definitely something that I hope to reflect in my work and all my future projects, so he was definitely the largest influence throughout the production, from the storyboards all the way to the camera movements and even the score. Despite all those influences though, I feel like my storytelling approach throughout future works still has its own unique voice that can’t quite be boxed into anywhere or anyone; I’m not one to let myself get stuck in a certain genre or style.
Can you tell us a bit about your production company, Andaluz Films.
So Dante was actually the first film we produced, but even though it’s small, the goal is to become a place where young, passionate, and marginalized filmmakers can have an avenue through which they’ll have the ability to execute their bold, experimental visions, and showcase their unique voices in a widely accessible fashion. I haven't found a place where ambitious student filmmakers without a wide-reaching voice can come under one banner and gain a large audience for their incredible work, so even though I’m young and just starting out, I wanted to create something that could help others out with that as well. I’ve actually been in touch with a few other filmmakers who are interested in creating things with us, and we’re currently accepting submissions and inquiries, so hopefully some more variety on our platform will be seen in the coming months regarding the creatives behind the camera.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
I hope that during the time that audiences watch Dante, it is able to truly transport them into that atmosphere, and give them something to be shaken by that takes their mind off of everything that has been happening these past few months. I feel it would be an understatement to say that it’s been a terrible year for all of us in some way or another, but if even one person comes away with a sense of hope and optimism that anyone can find a way to create art even during difficult times — and with the major limitations at hand — and that brightens someone's day, then I think i will have achieved my goal.
Do you have any future projects in the works that you can share with us?
Yeah, for sure! I mean, I always have 5 or 6 ideas floating around that I pick and choose from, and have around 10 scripts laying around ready to be made, but actually I’m in the process of finishing post production for my second film that I also shot in quarantine, Redemption. It’s more of a drama than a thriller (even though it still has science fiction undertones), but I’d say it’s more personal to me and is much more grounded than my first short.
That being said though, in this world that Dante takes place in, the events surrounding the film are not only happening to him but to others as well, and you also instinctively wonder: what happens next? The original short that I wrote is more ambitious and explores a bit of what’s going on with other families experiencing the same things (while still keeping it surreal), so I’m hoping to shoot that soon. It’ll definitely need a larger cast and crew though, so it all depends on when it’s safe to get out there and go back to work, but I’m hoping to get that out. I’ve also been developing an idea for a possible feature surrounding similar events that goes on to explore a bit deeper what's truly going on and what happens next as it begins to influence the world around them. But I’ll definitely need some help and interest from bigger parties to get things moving on the feature, hopefully it’s soon though!
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!