“La Defensa del Dragón” is Natalia Santa’s directorial debut. The film will premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival on May 24.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

NS: This is the story of three old friends unable to change who are finally forced to change in order to rebuild their lives. It is a story about friendship, second chances, and the possibility of taking risks at any age, both in love and in live.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

NS: The universes we portrayed in the film were part of a series of pictures that Iván Herrera, my husband, took in downtown Bogotá, Columbia years ago. He is a professional photographer and he’s s been obsessed with these places that seem to be frozen in time: coffee shops, bars, a traditional chess club, a watchmaker workshop.

The characters in the story emerged from these old places and the images that captured them.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

NS: I hope people leave the theater with a feeling as opposed to a clear idea of what the film meant to say. A feeling of hope, I guess.

Although I portrayed these three old men struggling to survive in a world that is changing, I wanted to trivialize their day to day dramas because they are victims of themselves only. And at the end they face their fears [and are able to adapt.]

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

NS: Directing actors. It was my first experience doing so and I was terrified. I didn’t know how to talk to them, por how to ask to do the things I wanted. Fortunately, I had the support of the crew and the guidance of a great director and friend, Kiki Álvarez, who worked with me during the shooting.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

NS: In 2014 we won the Colombian film fund to produce the movie. That was the main part of the budget, and then producer Ivette Liang of Galaxia 311 made a great effort for finding the rest of financing. She did a lot of small negotiations and she made people fall in love with the project. It took a lot of passion and hard work, but she always believed we could do it.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Cannes?

NS: Cannes is the best [festival] to premiere in — it is the place where everybody in the film industry is looking for films to distribute for the next year, so there’s an opportunity to show the movie in many more places.

On a personal level, is an honor to be part of the selection of the Directors’ Fortnight, with directors that have been making movies for three decades such as Claire Denis, Bruno Dumont, and Amos Gitai. In my wildest fantasies, I never thought this could happen, so I’m overwhelmed.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

NS: This being my first movie I have received a lot of advice.
The worst advice I was told: “That’s not the way to do it!”

My best advice came from Pablo Stoll, a great director from Uruguay. We worked together before shooting started on the movie. We talked a lot about the screenplay and how to go from the paper to the image. I guess his best advice, said in many different ways, was to trust. What I got from him was that there isn’t a right way to make films.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

NS: Do it your way. It is better to make a unique wrong movie than a conventional film.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

NS: I’ll say Lucrecia Martel’s “La Niña Santa,” or, “The Holy Girl.” The first time I watched it, I realized that was possible to show inner sides of characters without putting them in extreme situations. Her films show a dimension and a poetic side to day to day life that I’d never seen before.

W&H: There have been significant conversations over the last couple of years about increasing the amount of opportunities for women directors yet the numbers have not increased. Are you optimistic about the possibilities for change? Share any thoughts you might have on this topic.

NS: I’m very optimistic. In Colombia, there are a lot of new women directors, both in documentary and fiction. This year there will be at least five premieres from women. We didn’t have that ten years ago, and I know it’s going to get better.