I filmed ‘Mitayero’ at PlayLab Films’ Director’s Lab with Apichatpong Weerasethakul in the Peruvian Amazon, as one of the 50 directors selected to participate from 25 countries. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to receive close mentorship from Apichatpong, an auteur I have long respected. It was my first time working as a solo practitioner and my intention was to experiment conceptually and technically to expand my vision and craft. I set out to make presence more palpable in my work, play with the concept of time and incorporate my subconscious creative instincts and impulses. The experience was an adventurous, deep dive into the creative process and a reminder that, ultimately, film is an artifact and its form the result of the process.

Apichatpong’s theme for the lab was ‘a conversation,’ and each morning he led a 6am meditation in the middle of a waking jungle. As the days passed we became immersed in the jungle’s wild nature and Apitchatpong’s theme. Time felt elastic—the 12 days felt like moments and years simultaneously. Intimate conversation emerged—between the participants, Apichatpong and ourselves, the forest and us, between everything within the forest. The interconnectedness of all things revealed itself to us, and at times the lab felt like a spiritual retreat or a hallucinogenic experience. Apichatpong encouraged us to make more than just ‘beautiful images’. I wanted to reflect elements of my experience by drawing attention to the multiple layers of reality that exist. By slowing the film’s pace and utilising long shots, I seek to immerse the viewer and activate their sense of perception, as if to ask “What do you see here? … And beyond that image?”.

The conversation I initially wanted to explore in the making of ‘Mitayero’ is the strained relationship between nature and humankind. I am a deep lover of wild nature and believe nature has a consciousness. I am motivated by the ongoing question of how humans can live in balance with the natural world, especially at this moment in history, when extinction rates are speeding up exponentially and wilderness is rapidly disappearing. There is immense grief in the destruction of nature, and I am not afraid of that grief. I feel it’s important to connect to it if we want to face the truth about what’s happening to the environment and use it as a driving force to bring about positive change and action.

During the making of the film my ‘conversation’ expanded organically. I recognised a parallel between the fear of, and attempt to control, nature and the feminine experience, both of which have long been subjugated by the patriarchy. In the film’s conversation between the hunter and his wife—inspired by a local indigenous story—there is a parallel between the tamed jungle space where he lives and the powers at play in the couple’s relationship. I echo the last line in the film, “Must I live by your dream?”—I dream of a world where the relationship between two people, or between humankind and nature, is a reciprocal, harmonious exchange.

Director Biography – Léo Fontaine

Born in Chatenay-Malabry in 1994, Léo Fontaine studied cinema and directing at the 3IS school, from 2013 to 2016. In his final year, he directed his first short film, Fils De, co-written by Nolwenn Marty and Julia Zahar. The film tackles the daily life of a young teenager living in an oppressive neighborhood, starring Anthony Bajon, Jean-Michel Correia, Najaa Bensaid and Yves-Batek Mendy.

With the help of his brother Brice Fontaine, producer at One Out, Léo went on to direct and produce two short films about adolescence; L’un pour l’autre, a film about soccer, starring Yves-Batek Mendy. The film made some fifteen selections around the world, including several sports film festivals such as Barcelona. Then he directed Emma Forever, co-written with Julia Zahar, starring Victor Bonnel and Flavie Delangle. The film was selected for some twenty festivals and received a special mention at the Festival de musique et cinéma d’Aubagne. It has been purchased and broadcasted on OCS.

In 2021, he shot his third short film, Les cœurs en chien, produced by Améthyste Films and starring an attractive quartet of actors and actresses: Victor Bonnel, Manon Bresch, Héloïse Volle and Bilel Chegrani. Distributed by Manifest, the film was selected for the Jean Carmet Festival and the Brest Festival, then purchased and broadcasted on Arte.

His last short film, Qu’importe la distance was produced by Offshore and distributed by Manifest. The film follows the journey of a mother who visits her son in prison for the first time.

His first feature film, Jeunesse, mon amour, co-produced by Poly Films and Améthyste Films and distributed by Wayna Pitch, will be released in cinemas in April 2024. The film once again focuses on adolescence, friendship and the passage to adulthood.

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