HFF 2015 Interview: Mouth Shut Director/Writer Anna Farré Añó

Emma is fifteen and has an uncontrollable temper. Today she has run into trouble as usual, but in the principal’s office there are two people that she was not expecting: Her parents. Mouth Shut is a 2015 Heartland Film Festival Official Selection, Narrative Short.

We spoke with Director/Writer Anna Farré Añó about her film:

HF: What is your film about, and how did the project come to be?

AA: Mouth Shut or Con la Boca Cerrada which is the original title, is a Degree’s Final Project. The short film talks about the struggles of adolescence and communication. Emma is a 15 year old with a few issues concerning her strong bad temper. The whole story happens in the principal’s office when she is about to be expelled from school.
The idea came from the feeling of not being capable of communicating properly with the environment. It happened to me mostly when I was a child and didn’t have the skills to express myself.

Besides, I believe that if we all were more communicative and empathetic our problems would drop significantly. In the end, this is what happens with this family. They don’t know how to communicate to each other and everyone is blinded by their own situations. We are all stuck in our own egos and problems and that doesn’t let us see what is really going on outside.

HF: What was your role in the production?

AA: I was the writer and the director.

HF: Why did you submit to the Heartland Film Festival? Have you been to the Festival before?

AA: Well, my distributor did! And I’m glad about it! And, unfortunately no, I haven’t been to the festival. (I’d love to, though!)

HF: This year’s tagline is “Movies That Stay with You” –what last effect will your film have on moviegoers?

AA: I guess it will be a mix between the feeling of loneliness and hope for things to be fixed.

HF: What has inspired you to become a filmmaker?

AA: I’ve always loved cinema. I think is the art I was more familiar to. I also think it’s a really special way to communicate with others through an amazing language: Emotions.

HF: What is something that you know about filmmaking now, but you weren’t told when you started your career?

AA: That knowing how to put a bunch of concepts and emotions together is a hard thing to do. When you speak from a personal and honest field it’s quite hard seeing things clear and being objective. You have to put your things in order so you can tell what you need to tell. This involves reflection and facing some of the fears that live with us.

HF: What are some of your favorite movies? What’s your favorite worst movie (you know it’s bad, but still love it)?

AA: I think there’s a movie for each moment. But I guess there are films that stuck with me in a certain moment: Breaking the Waves or Melancholia (Lars von Trier), La Pianiste (Haneke), Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman), Holy Motors (Leos Carax) are some of them. My guilty pleasure would be… every single super bizarre asian movie.

HF: How many film festivals has your film been a part of? What do you like the most about the festival experience?

AA: Mouth Shut has been part of more than 100 different film festivals, we are still amazed because we never thought that a short film conceived to be a degree’s final project could make it that far.

For me, the most fulfilling thing is getting the feedback from people. When an old couple or a teenager, that have nothing to do with cinema industry, approach and start asking questions, show interest or even thank you for telling something they relate to. And, of course, getting to know other filmmakers and what they do is great!

HF: Heartland Film Festival moviegoers love filmmaker Q&As. Let’s say a Festival attendee wants to earn some brownie points—what is a question that you’d love to answer, but haven’t yet been asked?

AA: This is a really hard question. I’d like to be asked whatever they really want to know. Mostly things concerning emotions and the characters.