THE VIOLIN—Interview With Francisco Vargas

Francisco Varga’s multi-award winning Mexican drama, The Violin, opens January 11, 2008, in Bay Area theatres (including the Roxie Film Center in San Francisco and the Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley). The Violin, a Film Movement release, runs 98 minutes, is in Spanish with English subtitles and is not yet MPAA rated.

Film Synopsis: Shot in glorious black & white, The Violin tells of Don Plutarco, his son Genaro, and his grandson Lucio who live a double life: on one hand they are musicians and humble farmers, on the other they support the campesino guerilla movement’s armed efforts against their oppressive government. When the military seizes the village, the rebels flee to the sierra hills, forced to leave behind their stock of ammunition. While the guerillas organize a counter-attack, old Plutarco executes his own plan. He plays up his appearance as a harmless violin player, and makes it back into the military-occupied village to try to recover the ammunition hidden in his cornfield. His violin playing charms the army captain, who orders Plutarco to come back daily, consequently developing a relationship in which arms and music play a tenuous game of cat-and-mouse.

After studying theatre, at the National Institute of the Arts, Francisco Vargas studied Communications at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, as well as Dramatic Arts at the Hugo Argüelles workshop. In 1995, he began his studies in directing and cinematography at the University Center of Cinematography Studies. Conejo, his first short film, obtained a solid reputation while touring the international film festival circuit. For five years, he produced radio shows that helped preserve and promote traditional Mexican music. Since 1997, he has worked as a director or director of photography on several commercials, documentaries and short films. In 2004, he made a documentary, Tierra Caliente, se mueren los que la mueven, which was an acclaimed hit in Mexico and the rest of the world. In 2006, The Violin was chosen by the Cannes Film Festival as an Official Selection—Un Certain Regard—and won Ángel Tavira the best actor award. It is Francisco Vargas’ feature length directorial debut. Recently surpassing Amores Perros, The Violin has become the most internationally awarded Mexican film in history with 46 awards from festivals around the world.

The following interview (which is not for the spoiler-wary) is cobbled from personal conversation and a Q&A session while Francisco Vargas was accompanying The Violin at the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival, supplemented by a follow-up email exchange with Vargas, negotiated through Film Movement. My profound thanks to Rebeca Conget for her facilitative translations.

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