For Alfonso Cuaron, cinema came first in his youth. That’s what life is like these days, says the Oscar-winning director.
He made the comment at a Busan International Film Festival master class on Thursday, a day after he and his son Jonas Cuaron, who co-wrote the 2013 space survival drama “Gravity,” revisited the film following its Imax release.
Alfonso’s relationship with filmmaking changed over time. “When I was young, cinema was everything and life was a part of it. Now it’s the opposite,” he said. “Life as an experience is now what I care about most.”
In this conversation, the duo talked about their shared love of cinema and technical experiments behind “Gravity,” which won Alfonso the Oscar for best director. Jonas also brought “Campeón Gabacho” to Busan for its Asian premiere in the World Cinema section.
For Jonas, the essence of “Gravity” was rebirth: two characters confronting loss and finding a path forward, with limited dialogue and a setting that makes every action matter. Alfonso recalled their discussion of how setting and movement could express the desire to survive.
Their collaboration also benefited from the movies they watched together. At a press conference, Alfonso recalled Jonas’ childhood love of Robert Bresson’s “A Man Escaped” and Vittorio De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves.”
“I grew up watching the movies he loved and then I discovered what I like, I tend to tell a story that is simple but strong in terms of emotions,” Jonás said.
Alfonso cited Hitchcock’s approach of placing ordinary people in extraordinary situations as a reference for “Gravity” and emphasized the human stakes behind the show. Extended shots were designed from the beginning to maintain the emotional involvement of the audience.
Senior Cuaron recalled being inspired by LED screens at a Rolling Stones concert. For “Gravity,” the production used robot-controlled cameras and extensive CGI, as well as a custom-made LED lightbox to simulate the changing light of digital space environments on the actors.
In the masterclass, Alfonso expanded on his approach to long takes and framing by turning to French filmmaker Alain Resnais. “There are 1,000 possibilities to place a camera, but only the right one,” Alfonso said. “It’s not what you see, it’s what you don’t see that matters.”
This emphasis on choosing what lies outside the frame has shaped his view that virtual reality cannot replace cinema.
Meanwhile, Jonas expressed his admiration for Korean style filmmaking and humor, quoting the songs “The Host”, “Parasite”, “Hope” and “No Another Choice”. He added that his younger son’s “Train to Busan” excitement made the trip especially exciting for his family.
When asked about his future work, Jonas said he continues to focus on his recently completed film while exploring different approaches to projects in development. Alfonso expressed interest in making a comedy and learning from the younger generation of filmmakers.
“I believe in the audience,” Alfonso said. “Before I am a filmmaker, I am a cinephile.”