Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, the Writer-Directors of La Mesas

By Lucy Spicer

One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there's always more we can learn about them as people. This year, we decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!

Collectively - and lovingly - known as los Javis in Spain, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo are a formidable duo who began their individual creative journeys as actors before teaming up on the directorial front. Outside of Spain, very few people know that our careers started as theater directors of an underground musical, the pair explain. That musical, La llamada, was later made into a film, also written and directed by Ambrossi and Calvo. The duo's multifaceted artistic backgrounds would go on to uniquely influence their work in television, including their recent series La Mes as, which may be their most ambitious to date.

Taking place over three decades, La Mes as follows siblings Enric and Irene as they look back at their cult-like upbringing and how the echoes of their trauma continue to reverberate years after the two have broken from their abusive mother. Most of our efforts are focused on getting the truth in performances, and we put a lot of effort into making all interpretations excellent, from the lead actor to an extra, explain Ambrossi and Calvo. We have professional backgrounds as actors and acting teachers, and that helps us to experiment for the benefit of acting. Audiences got a taste of the series at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where the first episode screened as part of the Episodic Pilot Showcase.

Learn more about los Javis and La Mes as below, including what the duo found most challenging about making the show and what advice they have for early-career storytellers.

LINK:	https://www.sundance.org/blogs/give-me-the-backstory-get-to-know-javie...
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