Blood is thicker than water. It’s what keeps the twin protagonists in Lucy Mulloy’s award-winning feature debut from keeling over, and perhaps best describes the uniqueness of belonging to a family of filmmakers who’ve worked diligently, and very much on their own terms. Produced by her BAFTA award-winning brother Daniel (who we’ve previously profiled), filmmaking is not only in her blood, but with Una Noche, the filmmaker exceeded the norms of the conventional indie film route by setting up shop in a socialist, not known for film nation of Cuba. Triple award winner at 2012’s Tribeca Film Festival, the portrait best described in our review as a “slickly paced narrative not only manages to click along with surprising agility, but warmly portrays three adolescents as they take action to pursue a courageous and dangerous dream for a better life.”
In our interview with the filmmaker, we find out how her five-year labor of love was comprised of several trips Havana (including a full year of active character development) and in the end, would see her actor set mimic the actions of their own characters. The interview took place just prior to its theatrical launch (IFC Films) – Una Noche opens in Los Angeles this weekend. Here’s our sit-down with Lucy Mulloy.
