(Robert Rodriguez and the cast of Red 11, © Lindsay Bellinger 2019)
By LINDSAY R. BELLINGER
Athough I waited in line for three hours to try to get into one of the two press screenings for Quentin Tarantino's much-anticipated Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood and didn't make it in either screening the day definitely wasn't a total bust. Instead, I rushed over to Director's Fortnight to join the Masterclass that Mr. Robert Rodriguez was so generous to offer at Cannes this year. Boy was I lucky that a friend reminded me about this. By the end of the evening, I was thrilled that I attended the masterclass because I know that I will always have a chance to catch the Tarantino film somewhere in the cinemas.
The audience was quite appreciative of Rodriguez's knowledge, tips and encouragement. He said several times throughout the evening that he thinks that passion does not have to be in full force before taking to action and just trying one's luck at being creative and making some film magic is all worth it. Doing is the key. His positivity and energy was contagious. The audience was thrilled to see some behind the scenes documentary footage of his work, just a mere 20 minutes from his two and a half hour documentary but with commentary it was quite enthralling. Red 11 was an entertaining ride that was all the more interesting because of the little secrets to filmmaking that Rodriguez shared with us. The bare bones crew, basically him and his son who worked the sound, was a callback to his early start with Mariachi, which was also made on a 7,000 dollar budget.
(Robert Rodriguez giving notecards to a film student, © Lindsay Bellinger 2019)
When Rodriguez introduced his cast to the stage after the screening he commented that he wouldn't be surprised if his son, Rebel Rodriguez who was 19 at the time, was the youngest person to score a movie that screened at Cannes. What were you doing at age nineteen? The family involvement of Rodriguez's two sons with his low-budget film Red 11 seemed to mean a lot to him, not just because it's a somewhat biographical account of a part of his life.
(Rebel Rodriguez second from the right, © Lindsay Bellinger 2019)
The evening with Rodriguez was one of the most memorable moments of Cannes. It was truly a cinematic experience that I will always treasure!
