Pitchbox Interview: Gemma Ventura, creator of “North Point” talks to us about her upcoming project
A Sitges Pitchbox Special Mention 2018
We talk to Gemma Ventura, screenwriter who has participated in passed editions of Sitges Pitchbox with various projects; the excellent “All the names of God” at Sitges Pitchbox 2015 and now she brings us this new, very exciting thriller, “North Point”, Special Mention of this year’s Sitges Pitchbox edition. In the interview, Gemma told us about her inspiration to tell this spine-chilling story of an isolated high security prison in Mexico, in the middle of the desert, surrounded by a halo os mystery, claustrophobia and supernatural situations, difficult to explain rationally.
Brief synopsis:
This is a story of atonement and redemption in the Mexican prison of “Punta Norte”, situated in the middle of the desert, which keeps the 50 most dangerous criminals in all the country. And also, the Dama, a specter like presence which spreads panic and fear amongst prisoners, who die from internal combustion in her presence. The prison head warden, a dying man, will try to desperately save them and, by confronting the Dama, will have to confront his own demons.
FMH: We’d like to know a bit more about your trajectory, why did you choose this profession? Where did you study? Where did you start your career?
G.V: The truth is, I don’t think I can say I chose this profession in a reflected or meditated way. I write since I was 8 years old and I’ve always had a lot of imagination, so writing and all that it comes with, is my way of life, I don’t know another way.
I studied Audiovisual Communication at the UPF University, in Barcelona. I graduated in 1999.
My career after university was totally self taught. I decided to sacrifice my economic independence and to stay at my parents place to be able to go deep in the knowledge and craft needed for writing, for the amount of time I deemed necessary and without any pressures of any kind.
FMH: What other stuff have you worked on? Can you talk to us or show us your most noteworthy work up until now?
G.V: After a couple of years of sacrifice, I had written two feature film scripts; one of the was read by Judith Colell (catalan film director). Ovideo TV produced it and I obtained my first nominations to Best Screenplay at the Barcelona City awards, as well as a Montblanch award at the San Sebastián Film Festival. The film is “53 days of Winter”.
After that I kept writing, directing and producing a couple of short films, which also got some awards and were nominees in national and international film festivals. I also did a feature documentary which got a Spanish release in cinemas — “Waiting for a miracle”.
FMH: Talk to us about the project “North Point”. How did you come about with the story? What is it about?
G.V: The story comes about a brief mention this theme had in the Spanish TV program Cuarto Milenio (a TV show dedicated to analyze real life paranomal phenomenons). A piece of news from Colombia, where the apparition of a nocturnal specter like figure, in a woman’s prison, had spread absolute chaos. It seems the news appeared in many press outlets of the continent and it got me thinkin: “Be it true or not, how does the warden of a prison confront to a phenomenon like this one?” I found it to be one of those kafkaesque life situations which seem an interesting challenge.
The story is about a prison — Point North — isolated in the middle of the Mexican desert. It carries 50 of the most dangerous criminals in the country. Ezequiel Garza, the warden, starts seeing the prisoners die during the night, when a ghost, called the Dama, appears. In her presence, prisoners die immediately due to internal combustion.
As in any good ghost story, in this case this isn’t anything else but the metaphor of a profound existential anguish. In an asphyxiating and isolated space, full of men who have committed terrible crimes, who most of them are profoundly religious, a lot of vital anguish is being concentrated. At the same time, Garza finds himself in a very similar emotional journey, as he’s dying from a disease. So, in front of these facts, I present the possibility of, can we give fear a physical form? And if we achieve that, how do you end it before it ends with you?
FMH: What was the process of writing a script like this?
G.V: Well, like any script I’ve written. You start threading it and pulling the string, making your own reflections and conclusions the more you research and learn about the subject you’re trying to write about. When you have enough information on it, so no stitch goes missing, then you allow yourself a period of dreaming, to connect emotionally with the characters and their conflicts, and then…¡to writing every day!
FMH: How long have you been working on this project?
G.V: Less than a year.
FMH: Where does the project stand now? What does it need to further be developed?
G.V: Honestly, I think the script still needs more work. Though I obtained a mention at Sitges Pitchbox, it wasn’t selected in the oficial section for the pitch, which is a clear indicator that, before presenting it to production companies, I still to do some rewrites.
FMH: North Point develops in a prison where some of the most dangerous criminals of the country are being held. With that premise in mind, we can almost now consider it a horror film, without including the supernatural element of the Dama. Where does this desire to create and explore a story in the context of a prison and more so, in Mexico, come from?
G.V: Mexico is the ideal country to give credibility to a story like this one, for its deep cultural relation to shamanism, mystic and magical references.
The theme of the prison is also very related to the cultural factor. The prisoners of North Point are profoundly religious though they are criminals of the worse kind and therefore, the fear the feel of being condemned to hell when they die, becomes much more credible, than if they were prisoners from another culture.
The reason I wanted to establish the story in a prison, apart from maintaining the essence of the piece of news from Colombia, on which I based my story, is the one of wanting to create that claustrophobic ambiance, where bad conscience and the dread to the ire of God are the detonants to the supernatural aspect of the story. But also, of the fear of death and the guilt, North Point is also about redemption, compassion and the dignity of the human being.
FMH: What would you stand out most in the project?
G.V: The atmosphere. Everyone who has read the script coincide on the fact that it has an original and credible atmosphere.
FMH: Had you tried to shop it around before getting to know us at Filmarket Hub? How was the experience?
G.V: No.
FMH: What made you submit it to Sitges Pitchbox?
G.V: It is the best way that there is right now to present your genre film project to high level production companies.
FMH: At Filmarket Hub sometimes we have difficulties finding projects lead buy women. In your experience, how has it been (up until now) working in film and trying to lift up a project? Who are your role models, if you have any?
My experience up until now has been like that of many women and men. It is a profession exaggeratly hard and sacrificed for all involved. Personally, I can’t say I feel I’ve had a harder time for the fact of being a woman, though the numbers seem to indicate that there is a certain disadvantage for female directors and screenwriters. The only thing I can say is that sometimes I have perceived that it is expected of women to write and direct a certain type of films, like dramas and comedies and not action films, thrillers or genre stuff, in general. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong with that perception, but I don’t see in Spain any woman leading a project of this kind, and it is something I do see myself doing, completely.
I’m not someone who “follows” anybody, but if i have to choose someone as a “role model” that is, without a doubt, Kathryn Bigelow.
Quick Questionnaire
Three favorite screenwriters:
Steven Zaillian
Stanley Kubrick
Francis Ford Coppola
Three favorite screenwriting books:
I don’t read any. Only screenplays and interviews to screenwriters, directors and producers.
Three favorite directors:
Denis Villeneuve
Roman Polanski
Kathryn Bigelow
Three favorite films:
E.T
American Beauty
The Exorcist
