Escribe a fxBarcelona film school Llama a fxBarcelona film school934814391

News

Events

Blog

  1. Inicio
  2. Blog
Entrevista a Leandro Sosa – Director de Cine y Ex-Alumno de FX ANIMATION

Interview with Leandro Sosa - Film Director and Former Student of FX ANIMATION

THE FILM INDUSTRY NEVER STOPS

The world of Cinema is currently experiencing one of the strangest episodes in its history. On one hand, film shoots have been extremely limited due to the impact and management of Covid, while on the other hand, the consumption of audiovisual productions has skyrocketed, with platforms like Netflix, AmazonTV, and CBO at their peak. It's no wonder that many students and professionals in the film industry are observing this scene with perplexity. In any case, the film industry may be in many ways, but not standing still or inactive.

Today, we have Leandro Sosa, a Film Director from Argentina who recently participated in the longest film festival in the world. Taking advantage of his visit to Barcelona, we interviewed him to explain how these last few months have been.

Good morning, Leandro. Would you mind introducing yourself so that our readers and viewers know who you are?

Hello! I am Leandro Sosa, a Film Director from Barcelona originally from Argentina, and a former student at FX Animation.

This year, I have been completing my Master's in Directing, Production, and Screenwriting. We finished just as the whole Covid situation unfolded. From there, I completed the Master's, didn't know what to do much, and was contacted by a festival called Cinema da Mare in Italy, which is the largest film festival in the world.

What does a Festival of this kind entail?

Cinema di Mare is a festival where you are selected among 3000 filmmakers from around the world who apply. It is a festival that moves around. Each week, you travel to a different city in Italy, and within a week, you must locate, write, rehearse, shoot, and edit everything to deliver by the end of the week, making it a full-fledged competition.

How many shorts have you participated in at this festival?

Seven of mine, directed by Leandro Sosa, about eight as Director of Photography, and two or three as Assistant Director.

How do you stay inspired as a Director?

This festival is really tough when it comes to maintaining inspiration and energy, but when you are surrounded by incredible people from all over the world, who are filmmakers like you, but instead of being from Spain, are from Russia, for example, it creates a creative and friendly environment that makes you want to be constantly working.

What would you say to Cinema students affected by the Covid situation?

Well, especially in Cinema, which is already complicated; where we have shoots but it's hard to get into the ones we want, and it's kind of like we are always waiting for the Great Film or the Great project, my advice is to do the opposite: Don't wait, let others wait because you already have four projects and are working on them. This continuous motion, having that energy to always be looking for projects, is what keeps you active, not being still and demotivated all the time.

Yes, demotivation comes and goes in life and in our careers a lot, but stay active, keep doing things, talking to people, writing your own scripts. Don't wait for permission, go ask for the permit. Everything should be a bit like that, life doesn't give you anything for free, and in this profession, either you are crazy about what you do, or you won't get anywhere.

What is the secret to a good short film?

For me, the secret to a good short film is based on two things, and I'll keep it simple: Acting and the script. If you also have a location that stands out, then you nail it. Now, the secret? There is no secret. The secret to directing is to have everything perfectly harmonized and understood so that when it comes to shooting, everything goes as it should, with no issues in pre-production, production, or post-production. The only flaw that can occur at that point is not having approached the script in a certain way, or having chosen the wrong actor. But the secret to a good short film is to not encounter problems during filming, for everything to be understood, each part doing what it needs to do, and in that way, you will achieve the best result you can at that moment.

Are you currently involved in any projects?

Yes, I am currently preparing a visual effects short film with the FX Animation production company. I am preparing a couple of short films for other independent contests, and besides that, I am writing my first feature film. In fact, this year I want to go for the second one, even if the first one isn't written yet, if you know what I mean.

You were a student at FX ANIMATION for 4 years. What do you value most about studying there?

This is crystal clear to me. If there is one thing that FX provided me that other universities did not, it was that all the faculty were industry professionals who currently work in what I want to work in the future; therefore, there is no better incentive than having in front of your own face the image of what you can become. That motivates you to turn yourself into what you are seeing. Let's forget about "learn this book" or "study that chapter and it will be on the exam," forget about that. Go out, find a company, do the work, and then we'll talk.

Do you want to say something to current Film students?

Yes, to those who get demotivated, who are not sure if they love Film, I would say two things. Cinema is beautiful and challenging. If you work hard, stay motivated, seek projects, surround yourself with the right people, this could be the best profession you've chosen. Now, if you are demotivated and prefer to sink rather than wait for projects to come to you as I mentioned before, it can be a very heavy profession.

I recommend you go down the first path, which is the one I chose and is perfect so far.

Thank you very much for your time, Leo.

You're welcome, delighted.

You can watch the complete interview below or on our Youtube channel.

- The World of Cinema is experiencing one of the strangest episodes in its history. On one hand, film shootings have been extremely limited due to the appearance and management of Covid, while on the other hand, the consumption of audiovisual productions has skyrocketed, and platforms like Netflix, AmazonTV, and CBO are at their peak. It is not surprising that many students and professionals in the film industry are observing this scene with perplexity. In any case, the film industry can be in many ways, but not stopped or inactive. - We have with us today Leandro Sosa, a Film Director originally from Argentina, who recently participated in the longest Film Festival in the world. Taking advantage of his visit to Barcelona, we interviewed him to explain to us how these last months have been. - "Good morning, Leandro. Would you mind introducing yourself so that our readers and viewers know who you are?" - "Hello! I'm Leandro Sosa, a Film Director from Barcelona of Argentine origin, and I am a former student of FX Animation." - "This year, I have been finishing my Master's in Direction, Production, and Screenwriting. We finished just when everything with Covid happened. From there, I finished the Master, didn't know what to do, and got a call from a festival called Cinema da Mare, in Italy, which is the largest Film festival in the world." - "What does a festival like this involve?" - "Cinema di Mare is a festival where they select you among 3000 filmmakers from around the world who apply, and it's a festival that moves around. Each week you travel to a different city in Italy, and in one week you have to locate, write, rehearse, shoot, and edit everything to deliver it in 6 days by the end of the week, making it a competition." - "How many short films have you participated in at this festival?" - "My films, directed by Leandro Sosa, seven, as Director of Photography about eight, and as Assistant Director two or three." - "How do you stay inspired as a Director?" - "This festival is really tough when it comes to keeping inspiration and energy, but being surrounded by amazing people from all over the world who are filmmakers like you, but instead of being from Spain, are from Russia, for example, it creates a creative and friendly environment that makes you want to be constantly working." - "What would you say to Film students affected by the Covid situation?" - "Well, especially that Film is already something complicated; where we have shootings but it's difficult to get where we want to, and as if we are always waiting for the Great Movie or the Great project, and my advice is to do the opposite: Don't wait, let others wait because you already have four projects and you're writing. And a little bit of not stopping, of having that energy to always be looking for projects is what gives you the ability to be active always, not being stopped and demotivated." - "Yes, demotivation comes and goes a lot in life and in our career, but stay active, keep doing things, talking to people, writing your own scripts. Don't wait for permission, go to see if you get it. Let everything be a bit like that, that life doesn't give you anything and in this profession, either you're crazy about what you do, or you won't get anywhere." - "What is the secret to a good short film?" - "For me, the secret of a good short film is based on two things, and I'll make it simple: Acting and the script. If on top of that, you have a location that rocks, then you rock. Now, the secret? There's no secret. The secret to directing is that everything is perfectly harmonized and understood so that everything goes as it should during filming, with no problems in pre-production, filming, or post-production. And at that moment, the only mistake that can happen is that you haven't thought about the script in some way, or you have chosen the wrong actor. But the secret of a good short film is to have no problems during filming, that everything is understood, that each part does what it has to do, and in that way, you will achieve the best result you can at that moment." - "Are you currently working on any projects?" - "Yes, right now I am preparing a visual effects short film with the FX Animation production company. I am preparing a couple of short films for other independent competitions, and besides that, I am writing my first feature film. In fact, this same year I want to go for the second one, even though the first one is not written yet, if you know what I mean." - "You were a student at FX ANIMATION for 4 years. What do you value most about having studied here?" - "I am very clear about this. If there is something that FX provided me with that other universities did not, it was that all the faculty were industry professionals currently working in what I want to work in the future; therefore, there is no better incentive than having in front of your face the image of what you can become. That motivates you to become what you are seeing. Let's forget about "study this book" or "study this chapter and it will be on the exam," forget about that. Go out, find a company, do the work, and then we'll talk." - "Would you like to say something to current Film students?" - "Yes, I would like to tell those people who get demotivated, who are not sure if they actually like Film, to say two things. Cinema is beautiful and it is difficult. If you work hard, if you are motivated, you seek projects, you get together with the right people, this can be the best profession you have chosen. Now, if you are demotivated and prefer to sink rather than wait for projects to come to you as I mentioned before, it can be a very tough profession." - "I recommend that you go by the first path that I have chosen and for now is going perfect." - "Thank you very much for your time, Leo." - "You're welcome." - The full interview can be viewed below or on our Youtube channel.