Santa Barbara

IBIZA BLUE (LA CORRIENTE)

Interview with Director: Jesús Lloveras

July 2020. The lives of three young professionals intertwine in the post-pandemic Ibiza of confinement where they will try to overcome their personal tragedies, rediscover themselves and move on.

By Emmanuel Itier and Roxanna Bina

The Trailer

Interview:

Such a charming tour de force put with grace by actor/director maestro Jesús Lloveras. You will find yourself suck into the vortex of love and the desire to connection with this splendid breath of fresh air, especially since it was shot during the pandemic in a deserted Ibiza. Let your romantic side come up to the surface of your existence and see how you feel more than alive and kicking. Enjoy the journey.

Q: How did this film come together and the inspiration?

Jesus: The inspiration was about my own mortality. I didn’t know if I was going to die during this pandemic. So, I wanted to do a least one film during this tough time we all went through. I wanted to direct at least one film! I was interested to do a movie that focuses on dealing with grief and loss. How do we feel when we lost people dear to us and too soon. And this was what was happening during these horrible times of the pandemic. So, I mixed in this film my own experience and what happened with a dramatic version of the reality. I really wanted to show the convergence and the crossings of the stories of these three main characters and how they end up dealing with each other.

Q: Tell me about the filming during covid?

Jesus: Yes, there were tough measures for traveling and for filming. I had to put a very small filming crew together to make it work. I really wanted to portray Ibiza and what was going on during these strange times. Everything was closed, all the clubs and it felt like a more natural state of being. I wanted to show the beautiful nature of Ibiza beyond the cliché we have of it.

Q: What is this film truly about for you?

Jesus: Well, I’m a positive person. It’s about being positive no matter what you go through in life. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel as they say. There is always hope and good reasons to continue in life, in spite of the adversity you face from time to time. Life is precious and bad things are going to happen anyway. Try to enjoy the little things. You can’t control what’s going on around it. Just accept it and try to live with it. This is about friendship and about love.

Q: You both act and direct in this film, is this an additional challenge?

Jesus: I don’t think so. It’s all about the choices you make as an actor or as a director. It’s great to give myself a direction about what the acting is going to be. It’s a big job but it’s about trusting the people you work with. And you also have to accept that the process is going to be a little bit slower since you have to go back and forth between your performance as an actor and your direction as the director. It was a beautiful experience for me.

Q: What does it mean to be at the Santa Barbara film festival?

Jesus: I’m honored to be in a great film festival. I was here in 2015 with the first film I wrote and produced: “Day release”. So, it’s great to be back and it’s important for me to be back with my directorial debut.

Q: What’s coming next?

Jesus: Well, I love both acting and directing so I’m opened to collaboration. Meanwhile I’m about to finish one or two script and for sure I will direct again, I love it. I love working with talented people, music and technology. As a director I have more opportunities to work with so many diverse types of people. As an actor you focus mainly on your relationship with the director and a few other leads, but you don’t focus necessarily on the rest of the team, the crew. I love to have the responsibility of the entire process. It’s amazing the process that comes with directing and telling great stories.