Interview with Filmmaker Adrian Ramirez Leon (ACCOMPLICE)

ACCOMPLICE was the winner of BEST FILM at the May 2019 Thriller/Suspense FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Adrian Ramirez Leon: Back then I had just finished the first draft of a bigger project I was writing on, a feature. I thought that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to first do a short film of the main themes of that feature script as a proof of concept so to say, about the feeling of paranoia and of being followed.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

The writing was very smooth, after only two drafts I was already quite happy with the result. And for the lead actors, I already had Erwin Janke and Paula Utrilla in mind when I was writing the script. Erwin had already worked with me in our short film “Mirror Shards”. He liked our collaboration that much that he flew over to Spain for a week to shoot “Accomplice” – and sip a Mojito on the beach after the shoot. It took us three filming days and around two months of editing until it was completed.

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Hitchcock-esque Mousetrap

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Filming the dark alleyway scene. It was a one shot and difficult to coordinate as every time we started shooting, some people appeared in the background out of nowhere to ruin the take. In one take, a man was climbing unto a balcony in the background to retrieve a suspicious bag. That looked so surreal that I had to cut it out from the final version. I’m quite happy with the final result of that scene though.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

It made me quite happy. It’s always nice to get some feedback for your films, more so if it’s constructive feedback. It’s interesting to see how other people perceive your film and whether you succeeded with what you wanted to convey or not.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

The idea came to me after thinking about how I could turn the feature I had previously written into something slightly different, but with the same essence. Finally, I got my main inspiration from Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a train”. I experimented with that scenario and thus, “Accomplice” was born. Originally, the main character Angela would chat up Alex on the subway or on a train, like in Hitchcock’s classic. In the last minute, we changed it to a park, as that was easier to film and didn’t alter much of the rest of the storyline.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

I think that would be the film “Hook”. It’s not the best film on earth, but for my little childhood me it was. I must have seen it about a dozen times, that and the Lion King.

8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are your feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?

It’s very comfortable and straightforward to use. Nowadays, it’s so easy to get your film out in the world thanks to platforms like FilmFreeway. You can now be a filmmaker and distributor at the same time.

9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?

Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2, so beautiful.

10. What is next for you? A new film?

I’m currently working on another short film that takes place in a self-help group setting, but instead of anonymous alcoholics, everybody there believes that they are vampires. I’m not sure whether to shoot it in London or Málaga yet, as I’m about to move back to England’s capital this summer, but it’s going to be a lot of fun either way.