Interview with Gema Hernandez Felipe
Gema Hernández, (Tenerife, 1996) started as a photographer in 2016. She had her beginnings in a magazine called "Made Now Magazine", she also worked for some theater companies such as O'Clock Teatro. In addition, she has held exhibitions in places like TEA (Tenerife Espacio de las Artes) or Aguere Espacio Cultural. After some photography projects she started collaborating in short films like “Bucle” (2015), Änima (2016), Reset (2022) and spots for brands as a Making Of photographer. From that moment she became interested in video, so she has several collaborations in projects as a camera operator in videoclips, such as "Amanecemos" (2019), "Como Quiero" (2020), participating in the last one as a director. She has also worked as still photographer for a series of music videos for the artist Aydan Rei (2022 - 2023). She currently combines photography with the world of film production.
5/22/20223 min read
First of all we would like you to introduce yourself so that we can introduce you to our audience. Who are you? How long have you been making films?
My name is Gema Hernández,I’m 27 years and I’m from Tenerife, Spain. My official occupation is photography. I have been linked to the world of photography and therefore to the audiovisual world for the last 8 years. In recent years I have worked a lot doing the still photography of several audiovisual projects and "A New Day" is officially my first shortfilm.
And now we talk about your project. What the audience will find?
A New Day is a story that I hope will move the audience. We will see a love story between two young people in a peculiar and intimate way. James will be our main character, who will help us understand the situation he finds himself in with his girlfriend Kim. It’s a beautiful and sad story at the same time.
Were you inspired by any other movie to make the film?
In this case, it is a script written by Rubén, our own James and producer as well. Once Ruben showed me the script, I thought it could be a good challenge for me to create my first shortfilm along a good film crew.
And now we would like to know about your cinematographic preferences:
What does cinema mean to you?
For me, cinema, meaning movies, series… are a kind of escape from our routine. It is a moment that we have to take a rest and enjoy a story that we are passionate about, or to reflect on a particular topic. It allows us to understand some things or know new things about other countries, cultures, times in the human history… I think that cinema is an important part of our lives.
What was the first movie you remember seeing?
Well, this is a funny story, I've probably seen another movie before, but the one I really remember is "The Haunted House." with Eddie Murphy. It was my first movie at the cinema with my best friends, and I remember it as something great.
Which movie is the best for you?
I think it is difficult to choose a movie as the best, but if I have to choose one, I would say “Amelie”, it is one of those movies that I never get tired of watching over and over again. I love the telling, the photography, the cast, etc.
What do you think a movie must have as an essential ingredient?
I think that a movie with a good story, good actors and good photography is going to be a good movie
Your favorite actor or actress?
I suppose this varies depending on the kind of movie I'm going to see. Jim Carrey is my favorite if we talk about comedy, but in general I really like Leonardo Di Caprio's movies.
What qualities do you see in that actor/actress to have such consideration. What do you like most about them?
I usually like Di Caprio’s movies because of the plots and I think he has the ability to adapt to his different roles. I really like his interpretation in the famous “Titanic”, but I also like his role in “The Great Gatsby” and finally I think his best movie was “The Revenant”.
A good movie has to…
A good movie has to make you feel something, make you think deeply on a topic, make you laugh, cry. I think that if a movie touches your feelings we can say that it is a good movie.
What genre of cinema do you prefer?
Drama or Thriller are my favorite genre and also documentary.
How do you define yourself professionally?
I consider myself a person committed to my work and highly self-demanding.
What movie have you seen most often
“Amelie” is definitely my most viewed film.
What topics are the most inspiring for you?
If it is about creating a project, I would say topics that talk about psychological, personal and/or social conflicts.