Name a Horror character you relate to on a spiritual/personal level?

On a spiritual level I think I can relate to Carrie White from ‘Carrie’. The tenderness of the character and her relationship with rejection and anger is something that could define parts of me as a teenager. It happened the same with Oskar, from ‘Let the right one in’. At this point of my life I feel I’m living in a mixed narrative between ‘Climax’ (Gaspar Noé), ‘Thelma’ (Joachim Trier) and ‘Tom at the farm’ (Xavier Dolan)

You’ve gotta go through some bad ideas to get to the good ones. Tell us one of your bad ideas. How do you get past the bad ones to find your spark?

I don’t feel there are good or bad ideas, I prefer to focus on finding a real connection to the stories that I create and direct. I feel that’s where the real spark lies, at least in my conception of an artist. I find the spark in the process of finding an authentic connection with the work and the characters from my film. I feel that my first projects were an exploration of how I wanted to express myself as a creator and, in that way, those little films were my playground in the path of finding my own voice. My biggest challenge is authenticity and that has taken years of working on personal growth and therapy. So, at the end of the day, I think that’s the only thing you can focus on, creating art that’s authentic to you, that’s the spark that I look for.

Do you consider yourself part of a horror community?

I consider myself part of the horror and monstruous community. As a queer creator and filmmaker I feel this is an open and safe space where you can experience being different on any level. I think we all have a great opportunity now to make horror genre expand and push the boundaries of cinema by opening paths for new narratives and characters. Let our monsters create a more diverse and inclusive world.

When you’re building the world of your film, where do you look for inspiration?

I usually try to be really present to find inspiration in my everyday life. In all my stories there’s deep connection with what I’m experiencing at that point in my life and I always try to be really honest with myself and the work to inject that spark, even though the story or the characters have nothing to do with me. I also find inspiration in the work of other artists and creators through graphic novels that I’m reading, with something that’s happening to a close friend or a shocking image from an art exhibition that I’m visiting. Obviously I also find inspiration in directors such as Michael Haneke, Julia Ducournau, Gaspar Noé, David Lynch or Xavier Dolan. My main ingredients include darkness, sexuality and twisted situations and characters, that’s what moves me the most.

Who would be on your ultimate horror villain squad?

I would definitely make a great mix of villains. Imagine having in the same squad The Creeper from ‘Jeepers Creepers’, this monster always fascinated me, along with Michael Myers, Ursula from ‘The Little Mermaid’, Norman Bates, Ghostface, Mister Babadook and Chucky. Would be a great squad, they would f*ck you up in every way.

Lightning round: Freddy or Jason? Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft? Practical or CGI? Post Apocalypse or Pre Apocalypse?

I like this!! Obviously always Freddy. I’m more of a Stephen King fan but obviously I love the monsters that Lovecraft creates. I prefer working from practical with a little help of CGI, it helps me create more physical and believable scenes with the actors/monsters. And about apocalypse I like both, but as a creator I always like to explore a daily situation that goes out of hands, so would choose Pre Apocalypse.

How do you go about creating the props and sets for your film? How do you create objects that are relatable but unfamiliar?

I’m really interested in working on the distortion of reality, this is the main idea for creating sets and props for my projects. I’m drawn towards body horror, so I feel that the distortion of the body is also a way of connecting with this psychological fear of losing control of yourself and, at the same time, resurfacing the real you through that distortion.

What scares you, and does it inspire your storytelling?

The things I’m most afraid of in life are uncertainty and fear of rejection, so both themes are always present in my stories. Also, I have a thing for body horror, since I feel that losing control of your own body is one of the scariest things that can happen to you. At the same time, I think that pain and painful situations shape the person you become, so the way you behave through pain can be an opportunity to grow and find your own strength.

And finally, Ghostface would like to know ‘What’s your favourite scary movie?’

I’ve always been fascinated by New French Extremity (‘In my skin’, ‘Inside’, ‘Martyrs’). I don’t know why, but those films had a big impact on me, they felt really disturbing and cathartic. I’m sorry Ghostface, but it would be difficult to choose just one movie, so here are a few of them: ‘Funny Games’, ‘Crash’, ‘Hard Candy’, ‘Dracula’, ‘The Shinning’, ‘Climax’, ‘Psycho’, ‘The Babadook’ or ‘Let the right one in’. Hope I pass the test and get to live :)