5 Questions with Esteban Pedraza
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
It’s kind of random. My best friend and I saw Knocked Up in theaters when I was 17 and we were inspired to write our first script, a ridiculous romantic comedy about two adults who meet online and somehow have never heard about sex at all. They have zero inkling of its existence. We never wrote that and even though that was a silly idea, I began thinking more seriously about being creative. I got inspired and made some shorts, watched lots of films, and discovered directors from all over the world thanks to DVD special feature interviews. A year later, I got to go to NYU for film school.
2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?
The initial idea for The Nurturing came from these collages I was doing on instagram (@estebanpedraza). They were like visual streams of consciousness. One of them is called “Disgorging,” and it features a Super Nintendo controller. After finishing the collages, I would write a story for each one, just following wherever the image took me. I really liked the story for “Disgorging” so I decided to turn it into a short film. It changed a lot and the main theme I ended up exploring was faith and how it can challenge the status of a relationship. Rebecca and her devotion are heavily influenced by the religious women in my family who I love and admire even though I’m not religious. I also dipped into my Nashville hometown roots for Octavio. Finally, I wanted to explore the supernatural in a stripped down way because I’m obsessed with that. I think it more accurately reflects the state of being human than realism does. Paul Schrader’s book, Transcendental Style in Film, does a good job of explaining this. The original Twilight Zone, The Sacrifice, and Breaking the Waves are the main influences.
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?
The hardest part of making this movie was acting and directing at the same time for obvious reasons. It’s exhausting but worthwhile. / The best part is having brought together so many talented people and coming out of it with the exact film I wanted to make. That’s incredibly satisfying.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
I really loved Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I love a slow, stylistic burn if you can’t tell. I also respect it because there are so many reasons why that movie shouldn’t work as well as it does in my opinion. It could have been corny but it’s exquisite. Celine Schiamma deserves an updated chapter in Paul Schrader’s book.
5) What’s next for you?
I’m currently represented as an editor by Forager.tv and before the quarantine I got to direct a couple of fashion films, including one for Yeezy. Now, I’m working on my next short which is set in Bogotá, Colombia, where my family is from. It takes place in the early 90s and it's loosely based on my parents.
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http://estebanpedraza.com
IG: @estebanpedraza