During the filming of There and back, and metafiction by recreating the filming of the last episode of the legendary series Aida, who decided that they would also record that episode as a gift to the fans.
For the director, screenwriter and actor, both audiovisual projects complement each other. “Although we have not succumbed to the fear of the fans,” and therefore There and back It is not a long episode, it does not even take place in the real year in which the series ended (it actually happened in 2014; the film takes place in 2018, as if Aida would have continued longer and Machi would have returned to recording), “I was very interested in this turn.” The gift of this chapter will be made from January 30, the day the film is released. A QR code will appear in its final credits that will allow this episode to be downloaded with your mobile phone – which will last about 23 minutes, much less than the originals – on a platform created for the occasion. “It is a very interesting narrative exercise, because you see different things that develop the film. And at the same time you understand moments of the film that will be understood only after watching the episode. For example, there are jokes that change depending on what you hear in the film or in the episode. Because if the actor, who embodies himself in the film, tells it to you, you understand it in one way. If the character played by that actor says it, you understand it in another. It changes the code with the same phrases.”
This release has a lot to do with the exploration that León already carried out in 2012, when it appeared simultaneously in movie theaters, on a website and on DVD. “I know that I drive the executives crazy. I think the public appreciates these efforts, that there is an extra… The system is very standardized, and it seems to me that we have to go into unexplored paths. Everything is constantly changing a lot, both commercially and in the narrative,” says the filmmaker.
Furthermore, León insists, who is even prepared for the chapter to end up leaked on the internet, “you don’t have to be afraid of giving away free products.” “They told me that if the public sees the episode, they won’t go to the cinema. Let’s see, why? If people will go to the theaters to There and back because he has previously seen 250 episodes of This is like the eye cream they give you in department stores so you can buy the fat cream. Give, don’t be shy. And I’m not just saying this out of instinct. marketing, but because this is how you create a community, you share, you combine language… Therefore, giving or having a gift with the public means that we do not see them as clients.”
