"The Shadow of the Sun": Miguel Angel Ferrer Brings Venezuela's Oscar Bet

Have you heard any news from Venezuela lately? Chances are that they have to do with the politics. But now, thanks to "The Shadow of The Sun," you can get some wholesome headlines. Miguel Angel Ferrer's second feature has been chosen to represent the country as its candidate for Best Foreign Film. The crowd-pleasing family drama aims to break a long spell. Since 1978, Venezuela has submitted 33 films for award consideration. The closest they've got was with 2014's "The Liberator," a biopic of Simón Bolivar with international star Edgar Ramírez in the leading role. It made it into the shortlist but failed to get a nomination. Close, but no cigar.

Venezuelan cinema is turning more cosmopolitan. Last year's candidate, "The Box" (2021), was directed by Lorenzo Vigas. He lives in Mexico, and the plot, following a teenager losing himself in a path of crime by following a shady father figure, takes place in that country. Now, Ferrer, a Venezuelan-American with much experience doing advertising, music videos, and short films in the US, is going back home for "The Shadow of The Sun." It's quite a change of register; His first movie was "Female Fight Squad" (2016), with Dolph Lundgren as an elder statesman of action.

Nothing further from Hollywood than “The Shadow of The Sun.” The plot takes place in Acarigua, a provincial city of Venezuela. It follows two brothers joining forces to redeem themselves by entering a music contest. Leo (Carlos Manuel González) is a strapping, handsome lug who drinks too much, can’t hold on to a job, and withers under the sight of a shrew of a wife (Greisy Mena). His baby brother, Alex (Anyelo López), is a deaf bookworm with a knack for writing poetry. Angling to lift his brother out of his rut, the boy sets out to write a killer song that will make him get his groove back. You see, as a teen, loser Leo was a rock god.

We spoke with Ferrer the day before the Oscar announcement, revealing which of the 88 foreign films would make it into the shortlist of 15 finalists. Update: The movie did not get an Oscar nomination, but you can catch it at the 2024 Miami Film Festival. Movie buff, stay tuned for other screenings around the country.

Back Home, Straight from Hollywood

Popflick: You developed most of your career in the United States. You identify as a Venezuelan-American. How does it feel to go to Venezuela and make this movie there?

Miguel Angel Ferrer: It’s a dream come true. I always wanted to return and make a movie there. I’ve written many scripts using Canaima or Los Roques as the backdrop, but they were too expensive to film. But this one happened. And it has been an unforgettable experience. I knew there was talent in Venezuela, but not the caliber of it. The technicians behind the camera and the artists in front all have talent that equals the best film industries in the world: Mexico, South Korea, and the United States.

Popflick: Many directors working in Latin America tell us that funding is the most difficult part of making a movie. How did you manage to make “The Shadow of the Sun”?

Miguel Angel Ferrer: It was very difficult! We reached out to people in the film industry and people outside of it. You explain to them how the project will work. Many people were interested because of my experience, or Wil Romero’s, one of our producers. You can line up to five sources, then one passes, then another. In the end, there was one, and they bailed out. We had to decide: kill the project, wait for someone to come around, or put our resources into it. We realized the opportunity we had in front of us. We had all the cast and crew and were already in Acarigua. So I decided to go ahead. I gave myself the chance. I had faith in the team, and they had faith in me. We did the whole shooting in just 18 days.

Popflick: That must have been a logistical nightmare!

Miguel Angel Ferrer: It was 18 days. 15 in Acarigua, 3 in Caracas. We worked on 63 locations, with three lead actors, five supporting roles, and deaf performers. How did we manage? With a lot of effort and a lot of love. We only went over the schedule for a day or two. Our producer, Maritza Carbajal, was crucial. She is Mexican. She traveled with me from Los Angeles and put everyone in line, especially me! All these Venezuelan technicians, with over 35 years of experience, followed her lead. In a matter of 3 days, she had everyone in her pocket. We were all like, “Yes, ma’am!” She is a great producer. She has an iron fist with a velvet glove. That’s how we managed to get this done in 18 days. I wish I could keep making movies this way, even if we get bigger budgets. I want to keep doing this with people I love.

Switching Gears: From Ads to Movies

Popflick: Most of your previous experience comes from advertising and music video clips. How did that prepare you to direct this feature film?

Miguel Angel Ferrer: in advertising, you have to reign in your ego as a director. Because there are many directors at play: the client, the ad agency, and many people who have been working on the campaign for months on the product, sometimes, they have years working out a concept. And then, you arrive in the last three weeks to direct a spot. So, you have to come humbly and recognize the value of the work they have been doing. You can’t just change everything! So, I learned to recognize and value the work everybody in the film crew does, from the assistant producer to the actors. Everyone comes with their own story. I learned to have empathy and value them as collaborators in the process. They all add up to the movie’s story. This is the only way to make this work, whether it’s low-budget movies or a blockbuster film production with a budget of millions.

Popflick: Where did the idea for “The Shadow of The Sun” come from?

Miguel Angel Ferrer: from my travels through Venezuela's provinces. My producer, Will Romero, is also from Venezuela, from Acarigua. In 2020, before the pandemic shutdown, he brought me back to the country after 13 years of living abroad. We did some commercials and music videos and traveled through a Venezuela I did not know, meeting new people. It gave me an itch to portray the Venezuelan spirit. No matter the obstacles, they always push forward to overcome the barriers. They achieve their goal, even if it's to go across town and buy chicken because it's the only place they sell…and you don't have gasoline. So you borrow from your aunt. You do whatever it takes to put dinner on the table for your family. That's the Venezuelan spirit. And once everyone gathers around the meal, they laugh out loud about their troubles. I saw that and thought, 'How can I make a plot out of this?' That's how I got to the idea of two brothers coming together to achieve a dream.

Popflick: This is the first movie for one of your lead actors, Angelo López, who is also deaf. How was it working with him?

Miguel Angel Ferrer: We wanted a deaf actor for the role, but the deaf theater community in Caracas is very small. We saw two kids from it. They were very good but didn’t quite fit the character. Being good producers, the producers told me we had to search elsewhere: Mexico, Colombia, wherever, and fly him in. But I’m a Taurus! I can be hard-headed, although I prefer to say I’m persistent. I knew the kid was in Venezuela. We worked with two sign language interpreters teaching us the sign language for a few months. We asked them to look for deaf boys between 20 and 30 years old all over the country and bring them to Caracas within five days. They have seven or eight kids. None of them had any acting experience. They arrived sweaty and nervous. Anyelo was the fourth one we saw. In just 30 seconds, I knew he was the one. We saw magic, a natural-born talent.

I realized deaf people act all their lives because they communicate physically, with gesture and their hands, not their voices…depending on the degree of their deafness. When I realized this, I figured Anyelo had been acting since birth. The only thing I had to do was to modulate it, like saying to him, ‘You gave me a 10, go down to 7.’ He was like an athlete. He would do it with breathtaking precision. And he could do it once, twice, thousands of times.

A Late-Game Gamble That Pays Off

Popflick: Without spoiling anything…as a screenwriter, you take a bold risk towards the movie's end. You deny the audience something they are waiting for. How did you arrive at that creative choice? Weren't you nervous about not satisfying the audience?

Miguel Angel Ferrer: No, because this movie is about two brothers in the end. How the youngest, deaf boy pushes the eldest to recuperate his vice, giving him the strength to shine, not just on the stage, but in life. To fix his emotional problems and his work problems. Leo has a voice. He has all the gifts, but he lets them waste away. Most people see the ending and tell me, ‘yes, this is how it’s got be.’ Because in the end, that’s what matters: the bond between the brothers. In the movie, as in life, the road you travel is more important than the goal.

Popflick: How does it feel to represent Venezuela at the Oscars?

Miguel Angel Ferrer: We are waiting for the Academy’s decision on the shortlist, but I already feel as if I won the Oscar with everything that has happened, the people I met, the bond we forged with the Aracagua deaf community, and the people from Valencia, Maracay, and Caracas watching the movie and seeing themselves on the screen. That’s the true award. The prize is the path we covered by making the film.

• "The Shadow of the Sun" will play at the 2024 Miami Film Festival in early April.