Avarice: An Interview with J.V. Hernández

Please tell us about the projects you worked on before making ‘Avarice’. How did you start, and how did you learn to make films?

As far as I can remember I have always loved movies, I started making videos with my friends on our last years of high school, just playing around and having fun, learning about the process on my own, talking about movies on my social media, until the opportunity of actually studying film production on the Vancouver Film School came to my door and since starting my journey studying film I’ve worked on 3 professional short films in the last year and the last project I was a part of was a music video that I directed for a band based here in Canada.

Tell us about ‘Avarice’. How do you describe it?

The way I see it, Avarice is a modern adaptation or a story inspired by Othello infused with a gritty gangster approach. We aim to explore the timeless themes of jealousy, ambition, and betrayal against the backdrop of an urban underworld.

We have reimagined the story within the context of contemporary society, where power dynamics play out on the streets and alliances are forged and broken with the pull of a trigger.

Please tell us about your favorite filmmakers.

I wouldn’t be here without the work of Steven Spielberg, he’s always been my biggest inspiration as well as Martin Scorsese, Richard Linklater, John Carney, Damien Chazelle and many others, the thing that makes me relate to someone's work is their ability to perfect a style of their own and being able to replicate it on different genres to show their range when it comes to storytelling.

If you were given a good budget, what would be your ideal project?

My ideal project would be a musical coming of age drama in the spirit of John Carney’s Sing Street and Begin Again. On the other hand I’d also love to explore a Sci-Fi Cyberpunk story in the vein of Blade Runner or Cyberpunk Edgerunners. Both genres offer powerful emotional and visual experiences that really resonate with me.

Describe how you would ensure that production is on schedule. What steps would you take?

Make the 1st AD happy, for a set to work smoothly you need prepare a good pre-production plan with every member of your main crew, your producer, your DP, your PD and your 1st AD, you need to respect the process of how your actors approach the characters so you know exactly what to ask them right before the cameras start rolling.

What was the hardest part of making ‘Avarice’.

There were several challenges—from finding the right location and casting the perfect actors, to assembling the ideal team for the production’s key roles. But the biggest challenge was living up to the promise of the story. From the moment I read the script by our writer and director of photography, Javier Mezquita, I knew it had real potential. With the vision of our production designer Xiaobing Qi, we nailed the visual style and atmosphere we needed. Thanks to the organization of our 1st AD, Cecilia Talavera, we stayed on schedule, and our editor, Mathieu Gallon, gave the final cut the pace and tone it needed. In the end, we delivered a film we’re all proud of.

If possible, tell us about your next work. What plans do you have for your future work?

Right now I’m in the process of pre production for another music video, music has always been a big part of my life just like film so I want to keep finding opportunities to work on both, I’m also planning on shooting another short film based on a script I’ve been working on about my own personal experiences as an immigrant from El Salvador here in Canada. It’s something very close to my heart, and I hope to bring it to life soon.