Interview with the director: Guillermo Asensio

Is Absent a film for women?
Obviously it’s easier for women to identify with the main character, but for me the short deals with much broader issues that also affect men, such as loneliness, lack of communication and the passing of time. Perhaps nature and society are less harsh on men and so we can trick ourselves for longer, but sooner or later we are plagued by the same doubts.

How is the narrative structure different to your last short Yellow Fever?
My new film marks a return to the type of narrative style that I’m interested in developing in my work: less linear and more expressionistic. In this sense I’ve gone back to the idea of playing with different levels of reality, something that I first explored in Are you there? I suppose what’s new is that Absent has a cyclical structure, it starts and finishes in the same way.

What would you highlight about Mònica Muntaner’s performance?
Mònica is introspective by nature and that gave her character great depth. After writing the script I instantly thought of her for the part because I saw certain parallels with the doubt-ridden character in her solo Momunt. When I offered her the role she accepted immediately, almost without thinking. Afterwards she confessed that the text seemed very abstract to her at first. Gradually she began to make the words and character her own, adding small details here and there until she finally reached the state of mind that we were aiming for.

How is the photography in Absent different to the rest of your shorts?
Technically speaking, we’ve taken a giant step forward in terms of image quality because we’ve used the Red One camera, the latest in digital technology. It’s a camera that’s going to revolutionise the film world and that is being used by some of the most innovative directors in the US, including Steven Soderbergh. The great thing about this camera is that it allows you to work with the same lenses and depth of field as in traditional film but with all the advantages of the digital system. To be honest, working with the most up-to-date technology has given us a lot of headaches, but the staff at Ovide and Image Film Digital have helped us get the most out of the Red One system to achieve a result that is worth seeing on the big screen.

What role does the music play?
Right from the start I decided that this short film needed a weighty soundtrack, something that would reflect the cyclical element and the character’s state of mind. By coincidence, I came across a beautiful piece of music composed by Sergio Moure for the Spanish feature film Inconscientes directed by Joaquín Oristrell. When I approached Sergio about my project he was instantly enthusiastic about collaborating and set to work straight away. Using a rough cut of the opening sequence with Mònica walking to beat of a waltz, he quickly composed a piece that I couldn’t get out of my head and that summed up the feelings of the character in a mere matter of seconds. There are few composers in Spain with the same level of musical training and rigorous standards as Sergio.

How did you record the soundtrack?
We couldn’t afford to record the piece with a full set of strings, so we had to record a few instruments separately and then put them all together. Ernesto Briceño plays a number of instruments on the soundtrack and there’s a viola fragment of his that I think is outstanding. Ernesto is an exceptionally talented and versatile musician, capable of conducting the Symphonic Orchestra of Prague and who has collaborated with many top-name artistes including Peter Gabriel. The soundtrack mixing was done by José Vinader, a professional in his field with more than 200 feature films under his belt. He’s worked with the best musicians and directors in Spain as well as with internationally renowned figures such as Milos Forman.

What projects do you have for the future?
Absent is a study of one of six characters from the feature film that I’m working on called El Zoologico. I plan to try out another one or two of the characters from El Zoologico in future short films. Once these shorts have been made I hope to quickly find funds to make the feature.