Jaume Claret Muxart: "When we watched the movie at home, my father cried."

BarcelonaJaume Claret Muxart (Barcelona, ​​​​1998) is part of the first promotion of Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in San Sebastián, and in just a few years has managed to position himself on the international scene with short films such as She and I (2020) and The Donau, (2023). This Friday sees the release of the first feature film, Strange river, in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival. The film will also be shown at the San Sebastián Film Festival and will be released on October 3. Shot on 16mm film along the Danube, Strange river Based on the bicycle trips Claret took with his family as a child, it unfolds as a fictional story about adolescence, transformation, and family ties. It stars Nausicaa Bonnín, Jordi Oriol, and newcomer Jan Monter.

How did the idea of making a film about your family's bicycle trips come about?

— I wanted to bring them together and portray their particularities. The last thing I did was when I was sixteen or seventeen, and I already imagined I'd do something because I already liked cinema. When I was nineteen, I started writing. Strange riverThe first version of the script was like a compilation of those memories, and little by little, it transformed into fiction. I wanted to distance myself from the autobiographical aspect, although there are moments that are. Film is a gateway to considering possibilities that didn't happen, but that could have, and this generates verisimilitude, allows for a certain ambiguity, and creates a dreamlike space.

How did the family react?

— We watched it at home with a projector we have. My father cried. I have to remind them that it's not them, but they still identify very closely. We remembered many things, and my father is an architect, like Albert, the father of the family ofStrange river.

Music and the sounds of nature have a very important presence.

— I always make playlists, and when I write, I combine music and silence. Many of these songs don't appear in the film later, either due to copyright issues or because I get tired of them, and new ones appear. There's the Penguin Cafe Orchestra at the beginning, a band we always listened to when traveling with the family. The last song is by Ryder The Eagle. We came up with it by chance because it has very few listeners, and now many people listen to it after seeing the film.

And the decision to shoot in 16mm?

— There are two things I love about this format: the capture of color and the material. It's often thought to be very expensive, and yes, but it's also economical because it uses a very organic approach to light, and color is easier to achieve. We couldn't shoot too much; we had a maximum of eight people, but most of the time we did it in two or three. This generated a really cool tension and kept everyone very focused. I'd done theater as a kid, and it reminded me of the moments before going onstage, having to get it right after a lot of preparation.

How has it been?

— With Jan, who plays Didac, we worked for four months. We also did a lot of family dynamics, like going away for the weekend to build the actors' trust in me. We only did routine rehearsals, so as not to lose the best characters who appeared on the first few runs of the scene.

Jan Monter, the protagonist, where did he come from?

— We saw more than 850 kids in three months and had very interesting profiles, but when Jan appeared, we knew it had to be him. He was at the same stage of his life as the character. We shot the film chronologically, and if you look closely, you can see how he grows. He's a very brave person and possesses a lot of mystery. There are volatile actors, but he, on the other hand, has a weight and a presence.

And what was it like working with Nausicaa Bonnín and Jordi Oriol?

— Incredible. Nausicaa has a wealth of experience and has been very involved, proposing things. Jordi was very supportive; he's a playwright and theater director and helped us write the film.

You say that adolescence seems like a cinematic subgenre to you.

— Adolescence is a time of vital change, due to the perception of time, and cinema is the art of constant change. Just as a film transforms, so does adolescence, and both elements coincide. In adolescence, you're open to many things, and when you make a film, you're very open to what's happening in the present and in the place. The film is like a teenager.

It makes you think about how the parents deal with Didac's adolescence.

— When the film is released, I'd like parents to go see it, even with their children. For me, cinema is a utopian space; it's much better to focus on that than on the misfortunes. If a parent has doubts about how to communicate with their child, I'd like the film to encourage them to try another way. The moment when the protagonist tells Dad, "I don't like boys, I like Gerard," is a true generational milestone.

At the same time, it's a very timeless film.

— My inertia is always this, probably because the cinema I like is from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. I also find it very difficult to bring technology to the screen, and I really like timelessness because it never expires. And the river is a very timeless space.

Perhaps it will make many people want to take this type of vacation, by bike.

I see that many people already do them and I said it on the team, we have a niche audience.