The film “The Pool of the Nobodies,” written and directed by Tec professor José Luis Solís, has won 12 international awards.
On August 22, 2010, a massacre occurred in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. 150 km from the U.S. border, the Zetas cartel executed 72 migrants who refused to work for them and left their bodies out on display.
This true and cruel story inspired the film “The Pool of the Nobodies” (2022), by José Luis Solís Olivares, the Tec de Monterrey professor who wrote and directed it.
Over the past 6 months, this film has been selected for more than 20 film festivals and has won 12 international awards.
In an interview with CONECTA, Solís talks about what went on behind the scenes of his film and the challenges of making films in Mexico.
Historical fiction: A way of making art and expressing views
José Luis Solís is a professor at the School of Education and Humanities in the area of film and creative writing for the degrees of Communication and Hispanic Literature.
He writes historical fiction, a genre that allows him to take a real event and construct a fictional story from it.
“This narrative is a way of making art, to express my passion for cinematography, but to also allow me to express my view as a human being,” he says.
His latest film is inspired by the Tamaulipas massacre, in which he tells the story of a group of Central American and Mexican migrants held captive in a drug farm in Tamaulipas.
The characters Alex and Anayeli are two indigenous migrants who do the unthinkable to survive.
Alex is played by Alex Bautista, while Anayeli is played by Maria Mercedes Coroy, who featured in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
“I wish I’d never had to write this script, but this is the reality, and it must be told,” the filmmaker says whenever he can.
The film shows how real violence makes us completely change our ethical and moral principles, he explains.
Over the past 6 months, “The Pool of the Nobodies” has won 12 international awards.
His film won Best International Film at the Fabrique Du Cinéma Awards in Italy and Best Narrative Feature at the Barcelona Planet Film Festival.
His screenplay was recognized by the Conarte State Award for Feature Film Screenwriting in Nuevo León.
“I wish I’d never had to write this script, but this is the reality, and it must be told.”
The challenges of filmmaking in Mexico
The Tec professor believes, as many other filmmakers do, that filmmaking in Mexico is like a competition of endurance, not speed.
His earliest challenge was at the beginning of his degree when he decided to study cinema: the degree did not exist in his hometown of Monterrey, but his family encouraged him to start at the origin of drama: the theater.
Later, when he decided to pursue a specialization in the United States, he encountered a new way of doing theater that was closer to cinema, which he adapted to with difficulty.
He later did a graduate course in playwriting and directing at Tulane University and postdoctoral studies in digital filmmaking at the University of California at Berkeley.
Solís is currently a member of Mexico’s National System of Art Creators in the area of film screenwriting, and he has won several awards since his first feature film “Gringo” in 2016.
However, there are always challenges. For example, during his latest project “The Pool of the Nobodies,” he struggled with painful documentary research and the challenge of telling a human story.
“My greatest joy was when this film was nominated by festivals dedicated to human rights and migration because this is where I truly see that it has transcended, that it was worth it,” said the 54-year-old professor.
In contrast to other filmmakers, Solis is happy to make art in his native country, although he has studied abroad and has had some productions outside. As he says:
“The film industry in Monterrey is established. There’s no need to go anywhere to produce films. 12 films were produced in Monterrey between November and December 2021 alone.
“The Pool of the Nobodies” was filmed in 2021 between November and December in the municipality of García, Nuevo León.
Cinema develops skills in students
“Tec de Monterrey was the first to recognize my training and value as an interdisciplinary professor specializing in audiovisual language.”
Solís always aims to provide his students with experiences that did not exist when he was a student. For example, he allows them to experience all the processes involved in a film in real time.
This encourages them to take an ethical stand, to be disciplined, to be punctual, to solve problems in real time, and to adapt to stories.
“Even if they’re not going to go into film, it’s going to help them learn about and become skilled in teamwork, in working with horizontal teams,” said Solís, who is also Artistic Director of the Ternium Latin American Film Festival.
He made his debut in the seventh art in 2003, with his short film Mañana sí, which was selected for several international film festivals.
Solís also directed the short films Los Amorosos (2007) and El Hombre Bueno (2016), the latter winning the Belize International Film Festival.
Awards for the film “The Pool of the Nobodies”:
- Best International Feature Film at the Fabrique Du Cinéma Awards (Italy, 2022)
- Best Narrative Feature Film at the Barcelona Planet Film Festival (Spain, 2022)
- Best Actress (María Mercedes Coroy) at FICMY Merida & Yucatan Film Festival (Mexico, 2022)
- LASA Award of Merit in Film at the Latin American Studies Association Film Festival (Canada, 2023)
- Best Iberoamerican Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actress (María Mercedes Coroy) and Best Actor (Álex Bautista) at the Caracas Iberoamerican Film Festival (Venezuela, 2023).
- Best Feature Film, Best Director, and Best Cinematography at the Tequila International Film Festival (Mexico, 2023)
- Honorable Mention at the New Delhi Film Festival (India, 2023)
- Honorable Mention at the MICMX4 International Film Festival (Mexico, 2023)
Official selections of the film “The Pool of the Nobodies”:
- ICARO International Film Festival in Central America (Guatemala, 2022)
- Punta del Este International Latin American Film Festival (Uruguay, 2022)
- Cuenca International Film Festival (Ecuador, 2022)
- Cinema Nahualli Film and Video Festival in Merida (Mexico, 2023)
- Houston Latino Film Festival (United States, 2023)
- SANFICI - Santander International Independent Film Festival (Colombia, 2023)
- Orlando Human Trafficking Awareness Film Festival (United States, 2023)
- Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (United States, 2023)
- Hueyotiplan International Film Festival (Mexico, 2023)
- International Migration & Environmental Film Festival (Canada, 2023)
- Des Moines Iowa Latino Film Festival (United States, 2023)
- Erronka Munduan Zinemaldia/Challenge for the World Human Rights Film Festival in San Sebastian (Spain, 2023).
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