ISM: Having forayed into directing a feature film as well, what were the most notable differences you came across between short films & feature films? Personally, which do you find to be more challenging?
LQ: Both formats are challenging. Directing a feature-film is a huge task and everyone who has been through it knows it. In my case I wasn’t able to control the final result as much as with my short-films. I do not think making a short-film is easier than a feature film. You have to find a good idea and everything has to fit in perfectly and go in the same direction so that the message you want to convey comes to life. Being specific and original is complicated. But the great lesson I learned by doing short-films is that “less is more”. In the case of GRAFFITI, in which I’m the director-writer-producer, I could control the film from the beginning and it’s exactly how I wanted it to be. That is such a luxury.
ISM: Your films often examine the complex nature of human emotions, the underlying, unexplored dimensions that most tend to overlook. What part of human emotion do you find most interesting to capture on screen?
LQ: I like films that try to represent those things that are difficult to name. I think language is somehow limited, sometimes we can’t summarize all human emotions with words. If something can be explained in words, perhaps the best way to speak of that emotion would no longer be through cinematography. I think life is full of mysteries, in fact, life itself is a mystery and I appreciate movies that try to capture it. I like films that try to face the human being with those mysteries.
ISM: Graffiti has warmed our hearts. When can we expect another one coming from you? What are the future projects you are working on?
LQ: For my second feature I want to tackle identity in what I would describe as a psychological thriller with fantasy undertones. A mix between John Carpenter’s “The thing” and Polanski’s “Death and the Maiden”. It will follow in the same vein as my most recent shorts and I penned the screenplay myself.
I’m also developing a series project based on a new short film called “72%” that will be shot in 2017.
Indie Shorts Mag wishes Lluís Quílez the very best for all his future endeavours and thanks him for his time and the fascinating insight that he let us take a peek into. It is because of filmmakers like Lluís Quílez that movies continue to reach out to us, making us want to surrender to the spell that it casts.