‘Wednesday’ Director Paco Cabezas and Javier Ruiz Caldera, Helmer of ‘5 More Minutes,’ Talk Genre Filmmaking and Creative Risk

Spanish directors Paco Cabezas and Javier Ruiz Caldera discussed creative risk and the demands of genre filmmaking at the South International Series Festival in Cádiz. Their conversation ranged from planning under pressure to improvisation, and showed how comedy can deepen suspense and horror.

Ruiz Caldera’s film “5 More Minutes”, a time-loop thriller starring Berto Romero, Belén Cuesta and Javier Cámara, was shot in continuous takes of exactly five minutes; takes that ran over had to be restarted. It premiered in competition at San Sebastián, where Cámara won the Silver Shell for best supporting performance, and also received the Audience Award and a Special Jury Mention at Fantastic Fest. Cabezas described filming a flaming “meatball” of zombies for “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” using a rigged van, a drone light and stunt performers; he also said he had filmed ambitious scenes for the upcoming third season of “Wednesday”.