With thousands of graduates all over the world, the VFS network has a long reach. For proof, look no further than Film grad and cinematographer Ivan Vilchis Ibarra.

Ivan has often found himself collaborating with fellow VFSers. A year after graduation, he returned to Vancouver from Mexico to coproduce and shoot the short film The Plate, directed by his VFS classmate Dave Roncin. He recently worked with VFS grad Roberto Arochi on this music video.

And he also served as cinematographer on the short film Carretera del Norte, alongside camera assistant and VFS grad Sandra de Silva de La Torre. (In fact, Ivan will be collaborating with Sandra and Roberto more in the future. But we’ll get to that.)

Carretera del Norte was produced and promoted by IMCINE, the Mexican film body, and the impression it’s making on the international festival scene is really something to behold. It’s been honoured at festivals as far afield as Paris, Greece, and Korea. Ivan was kind enough to bring us up to speed on his career as a cinematographer in Mexico.

What first drew you to VFS and the art of cinematography?

I wanted to be a still photographer when I saw Steve McCurry’s picture of a Thai dad who was bathing his children after losing his extremities, so I took photography classes in high school. After two years or so, I enrolled in a film and TV class, where I made my first short film. I directed, photographed, and edited the film. I fell in love with moviemaking. Then, my parents saw my enthusiasm, and suggested that I should study film.

I went to film school in Mexico City for two years. There, I photographed around 20 short films that my classmates directed. I was very lucky to be the second guy who was interested in cinematography in a class with 20 people.

After two years of studying in a theory-based school, I decided to apply to VFS’s Film program, seeking a hands-on experience and an opportunity to get a taste of the big Canadian film industry. There I found myself surrounded by great people from different backgrounds who shared my passion for film, and gave me the opportunity to participate as a cinematographer on my first 16 mm short films: Tainted and Noel.

I got to say that I’m especially thankful to my VFS teachers Ricky Choi and Larry Lynn, who taught me to see the world through the eyes of a real cinematographer.

You graduated a little over 3 years ago. What have you been up to professionally since then?

When I graduated from VFS, I went back to Mexico City, where a friend who was a director invited me to work with him in commercials. I photographed several campaigns for government institutions, and shot a couple of short films. I was practically getting my hands on anything I could work on. All of these shows were shot on 35mm film, so I started to build confidence and a better demo reel.

Since then, I’ve shot almost 30 commercials, a couple of music videos, and several short films. Right now I’m developing a feature film project that resembles Paris, je t’aime for the city of Oaxaca.

Also, I’m starting my own company with VFS alumni Sandra De Silva and Roberto Arochi – we are a commercial and music video production house. I currently collaborate with five directors that work with me in almost everything that they are called for.

And how did you come to be involved in Carretera del Norte?

Originally, Carretera del Norte was a 30-minute script that had won several awards, and my friend Ruben Rojo Aura, who was the director that helped me get started in Mexico after I left Canada, wanted to make a new short film, but wasn’t sure about Carretera – we thought it was too theatrical. So he invited me to get involved in the creative process from the beginning. We sat down on his couch and worked on the adaptation of Carretera del Norte until we finally finished the 9-page script that was submitted to IMCINE’s short film competition.

This contest is really important in Mexico, nearly 800 people submitted their projects, but there are only five winners every year. Carretera gained funding from the government.

What can you tell us about the making of the film? Where was it shot? And what were the challenges of the production, from your position as DoP?

We shot Carretera del Norte entirely on location at the desert in San Luis Potosí, nine hours away from Mexico City. I had chosen the Arricam Lite for the shoot, but it wasn’t available, so I decided to shoot with an Arri 535 camera and Cooke S4 Prime lenses. I shot everything on Kodak 50D 5201 because I wanted to interpose the rawness of the story with the beautiful environment where the image had very little grain and the composition was well-balanced.

My camera package also included 400-foot steadycam magazines and an Easyrig support to make the setup lighter. I guess one of the most difficult challenges was carrying 66 pounds worth of camera and film for five days in the desert. Ruben and I decided to shoot everything handheld to add a documentary feel to the story and that decision made me lose a couple of pounds!

We scouted locations maybe 4 months before we started shooting, but global warming made the desert very rainy two months before we came back to shoot the film, so by the time I started production everything was very green and I had to make tests to shoot with a Chocolate Filter Series to warm up the image a little. Fortunately, I got to digitally colour correct the film at New Art, one of the best post houses in town, and those guys helped me achieve the look I wanted without filtration.

We scanned the negative for dailies, and edited on Final Cut Pro. Then we did a 2k scan and went into an IQ for colour correction. One of the advantages of being sponsored by IMCINE is that we got to shoot and finish on 35mm. Also we used a Panther crane for the final shot of the movie.

All in all, what’s the experience been like for you, now that the film’s out and people are responding so well to it – and responding in particular to the cinematography?

We are very excited to see Carretera out there. It’s an amazing feeling to see your work on the big screen. I haven’t had the opportunity to travel abroad, but I received three awards in Mexico City, including the Best Cinematography in a short film Award from Pantalla de Cristal.

I think film is a medium that explores life on so many levels, and it’s an honour to participate in festivals and screenings where people get to see our work, and hopefully feel what I intended to transmit with the cinematography. Every time I see Carretera I can’t help it to think that I could’ve done this or that, but it’s a gratifying feeling when you see that a single frame can express so much and move people to the point of tears. Feels good to see that it was all worth it.

Thanks, Ivan! Here’s the video he worked on with VFS grad Roberto Arochi:

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