Film Name: City of Pigs
Director: Juan Ángel Hernández
Writer: Juan Ángel Hernández
Starring: Alan Gibson, Juan Ángel Hernández Moreno, Andrew McDonald, Lora Thomsen
In a future where world leaders are appointed by lottery Lenny Hicks, a former rock star, becomes Prime Minister of the UK against his will.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got the chance to ask Writer-Director Juan Ángel Hernández a few questions about his film City of Pigs, which has been selected to play at The Horror-on-Sea Film Festival on Friday, 16th January at 10:00hrs.
Q. Your film City of Pigs has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. You can expect a funny and dark satire that deals with the dangers of populism, all set in a fictional and dystopian world that at times feels very similar to the one we are living in now.
Q. What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. My main inspiration was the political climate when I started to write it in 2017. Donald Trump was in power, Brexit had been approved, and there was a wave of far-right and populist governments around the world. I was very frustrated by this shift of politics and wanted to talk about it. I wanted to make a satire with a unique character so I looked up to movies and series that I loved and matched those criteria like Dr. Strangelove (1964), Bulworth (1998), and The Young Pope (2016).
Once I had the concept ready, I watched lots of videos from politicians around the world doing crazy stuff (e.g. Jean-Claude Junker calling Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán ¨dictator¨ and then gently slapping him in the face, Thai’s PM leaving a press conference and asking journalists to ask questions to a cardboard cutout of him, etc.), that were also a great source of inspiration.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. For the overall style I was influenced by movies like The Big Lebowski (1998), The Truman Show (1998), Being There (1979) and Bulworth. I wanted the film to have a realistic feeling without too many dramatic shots.
When it came to the look, I was influenced by films from Almodovar and Douglas Sirk. I did not want the colour in the film to be restrained and I also wanted to give it some meaning. For instance, I used Lenny’s wardrobe to differentiate himself from the other characters and stand out in the dark world of politics he is thrown into.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. There was a last-minute change to the scene with the Chinese president. I was not able to get an important prop for the scene, so I wrote some dialogue on the day that actually made the scene better and made it into the final film. There was also some ad-libbed dialogue here and there by Alan and myself while filming. Overall, I managed to shoot the original script as I intended, which made me very happy.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. The entire experience of shooting in York was great. I really enjoyed filming in several of the locations we shot at. I loved filming at Treasurer’s House and shooting the press conference scenes at The Grand, a historic hotel in York. I also enjoyed street casting people for some of the newsroom scenes.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. The entire shoot was very challenging because I was directing, producing and acting. Being a one man-band was very stressful, and on the first day of filming my scenes I forgot most of my lines because of how much stuff was going on. If there were issues on set with the location or something production-related I would have to deal with those myself and stop filming. Also, because I was acting in most of the film, I could not look at the monitor while filming. Therefore, I had to give up watching most of the takes in order to not lose time and get all the setups / coverage that I wanted. I also had to do some additional filming because I did not have enough extras for a crucial scene.
Q. What makes City of Pigs stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. I feel the horror of City of Pigs stands out because it is very subtle and psychological, it builds up slowly throughout the film, and it sets in once the film ends and the audience reflects on what they saw. I also think the theme of the film, and how real it feels at times, is what makes City of Pigs scary.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope people reflect on the world we live in, the importance of democracy, and if the politicians that we have are the ones we deserve. And if the film also helps people to have fun, laugh, and inspire them to do something good that’s even better.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I am currently working on developing the feature version of City of Pigs, and I am also working on a couple of new scripts for two shorts.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. I would tell them to write about something that they are really passionate about or an idea they want to share with the world, get an experienced crew that believes in your idea and is made of nice people (very important if you are spending the entire day with them), and do everything possible to finance and shoot the film. And only act in it unless you love acting, you have lots of shooting time, and you feel you add something to the character that no other actor can.
City of Pigs will play at The Horror-on-Sea Film Festival on Friday 16th January at 10:00hrs.
You can find out more about City of Pigs and purchase tickets for the film here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
