‘Marisol’ Interview: Director Zoé Salicrup Junco Discusses The Importance of Empathy and Perspective
Zoé Salicrup Junco is a director and producer who has won numerous awards for her films, and who has created commercial work for Sony and Bausch & Lomb, among others. Her latest film, featured on HBO, is titled Marisol, and is an official entry at this year’s Pitch to Screen Film Awards.
Before the official ceremony on October 26th in New York City, Salicrup Junco sat down with screenwriter, filmmaker, and critic Michael Mazzanti to talk about making timely but timeless narratives, shifting perspectives, and creating empathy through storytelling.
Read the full discussion below:
Mike Mazzanti: So, my first question is kind of a basic one: where did the premise — which I think is very simple, but is also very elegant — come from? And how involved in the writing of it were you with writer Tim Eliot?
Zoé Junco: I came into the project when the script was already written and Tim (Eilot) and Lauren (Sowa, producer) were looking for the right director to help them bring the story from the script to the screen.
I believe the premise came from a combination of things. You can double check with both of them, but I believe Lauren had an incident where she was in the back of an uber and the driver sort of got lost; even though he was the driver, he didn’t know his way around the city and, unfortunately, he got stopped by the cops and Lauren noticed how, when the cops realized she was in the back of the car — a white woman — their questionable behavior toward this driver (who was clearly not from the United States), completely shifted. So, that gave her a lot of perspective about, wow, what would have happened to this driver if she wasn’t in the car.
That, combined with a nightmare that Tim had right after the election of 2016, I believe is what catapulted Tim to write this script. Just to open up the dialogue, specifically for people who are not necessarily on, you know, what is my side of the conversation; which is to have more tolerance towards immigrants and really everyone in general.
So, this film is catered towards people who are on the fence about the topic, or maybe don’t even think about it, because at the end of the day, we’re telling a human story. Instead of putting labels on people, let’s connect with them in a very human and primal way. Most people have a family and anybody would suffer if their family is taken apart or broken apart because of government regulations. So, I think that’s how it came about.
Then, when I came in as a director, there wasn’t too many re-writes. What I realized was that I really wanted to get down to the backstory of Marisol. Whenever I’m directing, I put a lot of thought into the backstory of the characters, because even if that backstory is never alluded to in the actual film, it really feeds into the performance. It helps the actor build their own world and understand the choices the character is making and the reason why they’re making those choices. So I think that, for me, my main concentration of the re-write was figuring out, very specifically, what the protagonist — and the antagonist’s — backstory was.
MM: Keeping with the subject matter, it’s about an undocumented mother who is trying to provide for her daughter and just kind of live her life. What I found really interesting is how that feels like a very timely and urgent topic, but also, because it’s so simple, it also feels timeless. I think that’s really important, because it feels like a story that anybody can connect with.
ZJ: Exactly.
MM: So how does it feel when you’re approaching the film? How does it feel, how do you approach it when you’re tackling both of those things?
ZJ: Good question. When I read it, my first reaction was that it was super timely. There’s no other way to describe it. But when it came down to directing it, I left the social commentary on the side. Because I feel like that social commentary is going to come organically into the film if I’m able to successfully achieve a human connection between the characters and the audience.
So, once I was directing, I was just focused on the characters; I wasn’t focused on politics or anything that was not Marisol’s world, Maria’s world, and Frederick’s world, and all of their interaction.
MM: Speaking of that connection to the world for the viewer, I think the style of the film is very raw and there’s a real immediacy and intimacy to it. How did you go about planning the language of the film?
ZJ: When I read the script and I started talking to our director of photography, I wanted to figure out how we could put the audience in the shoes of Marisol. So, you’re inside a car for an entire day and you’re out and about and, in a way, you’re experiencing freedom. However, you’re still having to hide within these shadows because you’re scared someone is going to uncover you.
I had an idea to show this stylistically, so we decided to shoot it anamorphic. Automatically that was going to give us a narrower visual frame. We decided to use the fact that we were in a car to our advantage; we thought, let’s pronounce that confinement, and hopefully that will translate to the audience and they will begin to feel just as confined as Marisol does in that car.
MM: Did you have any visual references you were pulling from to help you establish those ideas?
ZJ: Andrea Arnold’s American Honey for the color palette. Additionally, Lila and Eve with Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez. There were a few driving shots in that film that really spoke to me, which were really tight on her, and you could sense her uneasiness.
MM: Going back to the combination of the film feeling both timely and timeless, I think that creates a really great unity for creating both empathy and understanding for Marisol in the film. The way the film is structured and the way it escalates over 15 minutes, it makes it very relatable and puts you in her shoes.
I don’t really have a question there, but I think that being able to establish that empathy — especially with this subject and knowing how many people may be able to see it — I think that’s just a really great thing to achieve.
ZJ: That’s why I make films, honestly. If you’re not creating that connection, what’s the point?
MM: Absolutely. And speaking of the structure, the tension is put on the forefront by the end of the film. I think the way it is ratcheted up is really nice and I eventually felt queasy watching it. It’s elevated gradually until you’re like, ‘oh shit.’
ZJ: Yeah! Like a boiling pot of water! [Laughs]
MM: Exactly. I think to be able to have the film not just feel like an exercise in tension, but to still be able to ratchet up tension in 15 minutes — along with establishing all these other components — is impressive. How challenging was it to create that pace and balance?
ZJ: That wasn’t one of our main challenges, quite honestly. I think the script was nicely written. We also had an amazing editor, Min Dai, who came in and worked really hard with me to massage the film and make sure we established that delicate pace.
Organically, the fundamentals of that pace were already in the script. Then, it was just enhanced in post-production with our editor. The music, too, written by Agatha Kaspar, plays a really big role in helping us string along that balance; keeping you uneasy but also engaged. I don’t want the viewer to feel queasy at the very beginning of the film, because they’re going to shut down and not want to connect or see what happens.
MM: As a bit of an aside, the film depicts the very multi-cultural nature of driving for a rideshare service, especially in a big city. On one hand, it’s great to see that representation on screen. Then, it also hit me and subtly spoke to the bitter irony of Marisol’s situation; because there are people from every corner of the world there in this American city, and they’re free to just simply be.
But then, at the same time, Marisol has to live on the edge of her seat and live in fear of being pulled over or discovered. I think that’s a fascinating contrast.
ZJ: Yeah, I think it serves both discourses. It highlights the melting pot of New York City, but it also highlights how you can begin to feel isolated because none of those passengers spoke her language. Even if they did, she may not feel comfortable talking to them, because she’s not the driver of that car.
[POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW]
MM: Can we briefly discuss the ending and what that means to you? I think to choose to end a film about this subject matter in this way, right now, feels very powerful.
ZJ: The ending spoke to me. I thought, ‘this is what it’s about.’ It’s a very sobering moment. For me, sometimes, the moments I learned the most are the moments where I’m pretty sure I’m going to get in trouble or something is going to go wrong.
But, for whatever reason, it doesn’t. it’s such a sobering moment for me that I have no other choice but to still down and evaluate what I’m doing. It gives me perspective. It lets me know that you can gain perspective and learn from your mistakes, even when you don’t end up in a dooming situation.
For me, the ending of Marisol brings it back to the core of the story. It’s about a mother trying her best for her daughter, but along the way, she loses sight of what’s important. She has to be pay the bills, but she also has to reign it back and make sure she’s not getting herself in trouble; because by default of her current immigrant status, she will most likely get herself in trouble, unfortunately.
MM: I think so many stories that are trying to talk about social issues, they choose to go really dark. But I feel like, sometimes, at a certain point, audience members detach from that because it seems too macabre or so absurdly bleak — I don’t know what it is — but at a certain point, something is maybe lost.
ZJ: Like I said, you don’t have to be a mother (to connect with this film), but everyone has something or someone they cherish. You can lose that thing in so many different scenarios. Going this route opens up so many possibilities for connection (between the audience and the characters).
MM: What first drew you into storytelling?
ZJ: I’m always wondering what was the first thing was that drew me to storytelling. I come from a dancing background, so at a very young age I learned to express myself and tell stories with my body. So, eventually, it got to the point where I was choregraphing and it took me closer to traditional cinematic storytelling.
MM: That’s fascinating! I don’t hear that answer a lot. A lot of people talk about books or something, but it’s cool to hear something that’s perhaps, at first, less directly connected but still is obviously very intertwined when you approach it from the right perspective.
ZJ: It’s so useful. As a director, when you’re blocking, you have to be so aware of your body and space. Having the ability to have that in my tool kit is really helpful.
MM: That’s awesome [Laughs]. Lastly, are you working on anything right now?
ZJ: My biggest thing is I’m about to have the U.S. premiere of this short that I directed at the beginning of this year. It’s a very personal project; I wrote it, directed it, and produced it. It’s called María.
I’m from Puerto Rico, and when the hurricane hit, everyone went through a horrific time on the island. Me being in New York, it was one of the moments where I felt the most uneasy in my life because I didn’t know what was going on. I had someone very near and dear to my heart that has struggled with mental health for a while now, and I didn’t hear from them for 2 or 3 weeks, and I started to think the worst.
That lead me to write a story about the mental health crisis communities must endure after natural disasters. In this film we see it specifically through the example of the rise of suicide rates on Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. It’s a very alarming subject, and we’re not talking about it enough.
To find more on Marisol and Zoé Salicrup Junco, visit the following:
Marisol’s trailer can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/315672353
Zoé’s Social Media:
Website: www.zoesj.com
Instagram: @zoesj_
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoesj_
Marisol’s Social Media:
Website: www.formandpressurefilms.com
Instagram: @formandpressurefilms
Twitter: www.twitter.com/form_pressure
The writer:
Michael Mazzanti is a filmmaker, critic and writer. He is the resident genre enthusiast at The Film Stage, and a lover of everything from the outré to the everyday. You can find him on Twitter @BeTheGeese, on Vimeo @MichaelMazzanti, on Letterboxd @RidleyScotch, on Instagram @Lionsgatepictures, and via email at MikeWMazzanti@gmail.com.
