Spotlights
Rogelio Robles
A spotlight conversation with the filmmaker behind Dark Room.
Hello, could you please tell us a little bit more about your submitted project? How did you come up with such an original story?
So it’s a short film that really shows how loss can affect a person. In my film he does end up losing his mind and becoming a serial killer, which will be seen in my first feature film Red Room Requiem. You know I was going through a pretty difficult time myself, dealing with depression and stuff like that. So I channeled a lot that dark, negative energy into this short and Chris, my actor in the film absolutely delivered a killer performance.
Tell us something about yourself and your background. Do you remember the first movie you watched? Were you enthralled?
I’ve always been enthralled by film and filmmaking. Ever since I was a kid growing up we would pretend like we were shooting a film or a sitcom on TV. I remember the first horror film i watched as an 8 year old boy I remember watching the original Texas chainsaw massacre. That movie was amazing to me but it also freaked me out. I slept with a baseball bat next to my bed just in case leather face wanted to throw down haha.
Who are the directors that inspire you? What would be your favourite movie?
David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Christopher Nolan and Ari Aster. It’s funny my favorite film of all time isn’t by any of these directors. My favorite film all time is American Psycho.
Was there a particular time when you recognized that filmmaking is your way of telling stories?
Most definitely a few years ago I tried writing books, but to me it just wasn’t it for me I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to see my writing in action. So i made the leap of faith from books to film and it’s been fantastic so far. Having a great time doing it and meeting a lot of fabulous people.
What are some of the biggest challenges you encountered in making this film?
Time. Our schedules were different and it was hard to get together. But once we did get together we made magic thankfully there were no hiccups when we were together filming.
What were the production realities from casting through editing that you had to accommodate?
It being my first time filming something from finding the right actor to working on a wonky schedule all the way down to the editing that was a lot of work. I had to pretty much do everything. Thankfully I have Matt my cinematographer and Steven my music guy because they saved me a lot of time doing their part in the film.
What are the audience reviews of your project?
I’ve shared with tons of people and I’ve yet to get a negative review. People just get it, you know? They understand the film and they appreciate it for what it is.
Do you believe that a filmmaker should bring always something original or he/she should stick to classic but cinema styles?
For me I feel like a filmmaker should always be original, be themselves. I don’t like that they remake everything nowadays it’s annoying. Like be original and have your own vision in the industry.
In Their Words
“For me I feel like a filmmaker should always be original, be themselves.”
Rogelio Robles
Do you think that film festivals are playing an important role in filmmaking industry? Why are they necessary? How do you get the most out of them?
I love film festivals. They’ve helped me grow as filmmaker and they’ve helped extend my audience to all kinds of different places and different cultures. I feel like that’s why they’re necessary they help us filmmakers in so many ways especially with interviews such as this one. I get the most out of them because I submit and they love it and it just keeps traveling ear to ear and everyone wants to see my work so I grow as a filmmaker and everyone gets to enjoy my film.
What are your future plans in your filmmaking career?
I plan on submitting a new short film to festival circuit very soon it’s called Thaumaturgy and I’m excited for that one and what it’s going to do. I also start filming the follow up to Dark Room, Red Room Requiem this year so I’m very excited it is my first full length film and I can’t wait till it’s done and we can all watch and enjoy it.
Curtain Call
More Voices From the Spotlight
Meet the other filmmakers of this season, then bring your own story to Barcelona.