Netflix People who love UFOs (A man who loves flying saucers) tells the story of Argentinian television journalist José Dezer and his cameraman Chango. The year is 1986, the synopsis on the San Sebastian Film Festival website explains, and they travel to La Candelaria in Córdoba after receiving “an unusual proposal from two shady characters,” where the film is set The world premiere was celebrated at the festival on Tuesday. “Arrived in the village, there was nothing to see, just a charred field surrounded by mountains. What happened next was the work of an artistic genius with a hidden talent for exaggeration: able to create the most famous story about an alien presence in the history of Argentine television. audio-visual recording.
Or, as Netflix puts it in its summary: “What follows is the invention of the most famous alien sighting in Argentinian television history.”
Yes, the film is inspired by a real-life person and a true story that is unknown outside of Argentina.
Directed by Diego Lerman (refugee, a kind of family), who co-wrote the script with Adrián Biniez, hopes to change that. His cast brings the story to life, including Leonardo Sbaraglia (pain and glory, Barcelona Bird Box) depicts Zell, who died in 1997, Sergio Purina, Osmar Nunez, Renata Lerman, Maria Merlino, Daniel Arauz, Monica Ayos, Norman Briskey, and Augustin Ritano.
The film will premiere globally on Netflix on October 18.
Lerman and THR On what drew him to this story, going back to the 1980s, fake news and whether he believes in UFOs.
You discuss domestic violence refugee and adopt a kind of family. Now you bring us the story of an entertainment journalist who claims to have evidence of UFOs. What drew you to this story?
Well, this is a movie I’ve been wanting to make for years. I had spent holidays in Córdoba, where the story takes place, so I remembered those stories and I always wanted to write something. I remembered the character Jose, so I started researching it, and it made me think there was an interesting movie to make about him and the origins of fake news.
At the same time, as a filmmaker, I wanted to make a film about creating fiction. Our character Jose can also be a filmmaker. Deep in the mountains, he fought for more resources, tried to tell stories with local people, and thought like a movie director.
It’s also a film about faith, about the mystery of what is possible or not, the meaning of life or the mystery of death. So, in a more serious way, this is a movie about that: faith, you can call it religion, or whatever you want, whatever you choose.
So I wanted to develop several layers, different layers. It’s a comedy, so I tried to tell everything through the eyes of José, a character who starts to lose his mind and mixes fiction with reality. Perspectives are very important. But what I try to construct depends entirely on which perspective you look at things from.
Did you believe in UFOs as a child?
In Córdoba, there were always strange lights in the sky that people used to see. I remember, I never thought it was a UFO. But why not? I have no idea. Last year, NASA officially said it had documentation of their existence. Jose is a strange character, but to me, he’s very interesting. He was a man who tried to create novels and stories, and had a desire to tell stories that people came to believe.
To what extent do you feel you need to point out to audiences possible connections to today, rather than just leaving the story in its historical context??
Well, you know, the media in the ’80s was a lot more naive in a way. In Argentina, at least, there are only four television channels, each with only one news program. Now, we have similar messages all the time. It is said in the film that this is the future of television when he goes to see his boss. He was a very naive visionary, right? Because he just wants to sell a story, nothing more. But what he saw was that the news spectacle could also be a business.
At certain points while watching the movie, including at the end, I was unsure where reality ended and fiction began. I guess you did it on purpose?
This movie does the same thing as Jose. You don’t know if it’s true or false. These are all imaginary machines used to construct dreams or whatever you imagine. I did the same thing. It was a lot of fun making this movie, it was great. I loved it so much, like a kid. The film shows that this is a machine that can make you dream for a while.
Sounds a bit like something I heard while watching the news recently…
When Jose discussed things with his boss, he said this is what people want. People are tired of hearing bad news and talking about economic and political issues. They want to believe in something.
Is there a lot of material about the protagonist and his life that you could use to write the narrative, besides his original TV coverage?
You don’t know much about the character. He does his public business, but he protects his private life. So I imagined a lot.
Since it’s all about television and imagination, did you decide sooner or later where to end the film and with what image?
This is the seventh movie for me. As a writer and director before, I always wanted to find the ending, and it always came in the ending, sometimes during filming. With this particular movie, I knew from the beginning that this was the ending. I don’t know a lot of things, but I have a very, very clear image of how to achieve this. It was clear from the beginning that this was the end.
What was the most difficult thing about this movie?
The hardest thing for me was working with visual effects. I have never used it before or only in very small situations [doses]. So, in this particular project, that was really a challenge. I had to research it and I had a lot of people helping me, as well as the VFX guy. This is something new for me, but I always like things I don’t know, the challenge.
Now that you’ve finished UFO, what story would you like to tackle next?
I have a new idea that I don’t want to spoil, but it’s relevant to this project. It has a certain relationship with the time period.
Is there anything else you’d like to mention?
The person who plays Jose’s daughter is my daughter. So it’s like a real life game [and fiction again].
Additionally, I worked with a team that I had worked with on a few movies before, and we really enjoyed making this movie. It’s like a party.
Diego Lerman
Provided by Netflix
