Paulina Kaucz and Jagna Lewandowska talked with Rigoberto Perezcano, the director of the film ‘Northless’.

Does your film examine the stereotype of a Mexican macho? The main hero appears in the houses of two women and has an affair with both of them…

Yes, he represents the stereotype of a Mexican man who walks into a house, tells women what to do, is lazy and not willing to take up any job, wakes up very late and drinks a lot of tequila (laughs)

Your film raises a very important issue, we could even say that it’s a socially engaged cinema. But at the same time there is no political tone or violence- that seems less important.

Political conflicts and violence have been brought out in films many times. Everybody knows that those problems won’t go away easily. In ‘Northless’ I decided to concentrate on the feelings and thoughts of a man who tries to cross the border. Other films about immigrants don’t bring these issues- they just tell a story about a man, leaving his feelings aside. The viewers have to guess them. ‘Northless’ is a portray of the inner life of the hero rather than of political problems.

Most films about immigrants are made in the USA.

Being a Mexican myself, I wanted to make my film from a different perspective- from the one I know. ‘Northless’ presents the problem of immigration to the USA from the point of view of a Mexican citizen. I also wanted to convince the audience that the two countries- Mexico and the USA- aren’t that different. The desert looks the same on both sides of the border and people can be equally happy on both sides, too.

Shots taken on the desert made a great impression on us. What were your photographic or film inspirations?

In case of these scenes I didn’t have any specific inspirations. But my favourite directors are Abbas Kiarostami, Aki Kaurismaki and Luis Bunuel.

Have you seen Kiarostami’s latest film ‘Certified Copy’? It was featured a few days earlier at TWO RIVERSIDES Festival.

Yes, I adore this film!