Viola Davis has managed to combine productions to which she has been invited and those that she has generated through Juvee Productions, her producing company. With her he did The Woman King and now, G20a film in which he plays the president of the United States who, in the middle of rulers in South Africa, must save the world and, above all, his family.
“For Viola Davis it is important to develop roles that are not normally offered to a woman, an African -American woman, to a woman of a certain age – he says in an exclusive interview with Forbes the Mexican filmmaker Patricia Riggen, director of this blockbuster who premieres on April 10 by Amazon Prime.
Riggen’s career in the United States dates back to Lemonade Mouth (2011), youth comedy he made for Disney. In Mexico, the filmmaker had already directed the short film The Milpa and the length The same moon (2007). In her posterior filmography, the Guadalajarense has directed Eva Mendes, Patricia Arquette, Benicio del Toro and Juliette Binoche, among others.
Now, Patricia Riggen became with G20 the fifth woman to direct an action film in the American industry with a millionaire budget after Kathryn Bigelow, Patty Jenkins, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Nikki Caro.
– What attracted you to history? – I ask Patricia.
– Look, first of all, I am very attracted to the opportunity to direct action, because it is a genre that is not yet very common for women to be offered directors. I think there are not even five in the world that have done it, so for me it is a great pride to have that opportunity, and even more so being Mexican, that they have given me the confidence of directing a high -budget film, a super male genre. The other thing that attracted me a lot, obviously, was that Viola Davis was the protagonist. He is a worldwide fame actress, undoubtedly one of the best actresses of his generation. So, anything they offered me with Viola Davis would have interested me. If you add to that he plays the president of the United States, then what better, right? I believe that films have the opportunity to change culture, to influence culture, and put a woman in the presidential chair of the most powerful country in the world, and above all, an African -American woman, because what better contribution.
“And in these times,” as the new Trump era.
– Yes, however we started before these times, but since then it was important to normalize the path to a woman can at some point direct this country, right?
– Would you consider that it is a feminist film or female empowerment?
“Look, not necessarily.” That is not the goal of the film. The objective of the film from the beginning was to entertain, entertain, make a very escapist movie, very entertaining, as they call it from Palomitas, right? To sit and forget everything for two hours. However, because it is a female protagonist in a role of so much power, because that is already a feminist. Although not with that intention.
Sneakers and challenges
When the character of Viola Davis, Danielle Sutton, he prepares to attend the G20 summit in South Africa (by the way, the true G20 summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November of this 2025), his image advisor shows him the gala attire that has prepared him: an elegant and striking red dress that will accompany (and will be modified throughout the History) with very high heels shoes that she opts to change for some tennis.
“Interestingly, at this point in life, in 2025, the woman still has to suffer the fact that you have to put a shoe that hurts to be able to see presentable, right?, We are still with that monserga, with that thing – says Patricia.” Then we made it fun to give her that element but also, imagine, it is an action movie, she has to go to the event, we have to dress with heels because we are in this society. To bring in heels for all the fights?
Danielle ends up in Cabo Cabo along with his whole family because his Serena teenage daughter (Marsai Martin) has escaped from the White House, mocking the secret service, and has been captured by taking party in a club, turning viral and causing the president’s leadership capacity to be questioned. So when the terrorist group takes the summit attendees hostage, a war veteran, he is concerned not only with the world muddy that is about to unleash, but to save his family (his youngest son and his husband also go with her).
To film the action scenes, which include Viola fighting by clean hand, with knives and causing tired of enemy terrorists at the tip of a high -power rifle, Patricia Riggen filmed with three simultaneous chambers on average, but even used up to four. “They are big, complicated scenes, with many characters, many elements and always the lack of time, right? So you have to film as quickly as possible.” And he leaned on the work of cinephotographer Checco Varese and, also, with a storyboard artist to plan each scene.
– What was the biggest challenge you faced as director, as a woman director when doing G20?
– Look, the greatest challenge is always that they believe in me and that they trust me, because living in the United States I am a Mexican, Chaparrita woman, with an accent and that always gives them distrust. Although they hire you, in the background they are very afraid and are not sure you know what you are doing. Then there is always an element of trying each other. In a way, it mirges or reflects a bit the story of the president, right?, That there is that doubt that he has the strength and ability to lead. It is always one of the things I face with.
And he adds: “After that, because obviously all the obstacles and difficulties that a film has, no matter if you are a man or woman or of any nationality, the movies are very difficult, today they are almost a miracle that happen. And once they happen, they are always very complicated because there are never enough time, there are always so many elements that have to be combined at a time to do that everything works is always the great challenge.”
– In these difficult times for migrants in the United States, what is the relevance of being a Mexican director behind a blockbuster of this size?
–You were very important, also in G20 There is a Latin character that is very important, the head of the president’s secret service, and Ramón Rodríguez interprets it. The character is called Manny and for me it was very important to put a Latin in such a positive role because we are always with all the characters that Latinos interpret in the films in the United States are negative: they are criminals, drug addicts, hitmen, narcos. On the other hand, the character of Manny, of Ramón, is full of dignity, of honor, professionalism, loyalty, intelligence, in addition to everything he is handsome, is nice. It was very very important for me to give rise to a Latin character in such a positive role, because that helps change perceptions. I do believe that the cinema changes the culture, can modify it without also realizing, and in a massive way, then it has always been my intention, as Mexican director in the United States, put the Mexican characters, Latinos in general, Mexicans in particular, in the best of lights.
– What motivates you to keep telling stories?
– I think it is something that one has, it is the vocation, and you have to have a super strong vocation because it is a very difficult, very demanding job, that takes you months and years, which are schedules of 14, 16 hours a day six days a week, with a tremendous tension. One has to have the vocation and passion for telling the story very strong and I have always had it, so, although I have faced many things throughout my career, always the greatest joy is to have the opportunity to tell a story through a film.
*Javier Pérez He reports, chronicle and interview, as well as film critic and coverage of cultural issues. Directs Hole. Nobody wants to accompany him to the cinema: he does not stop eating popcorn or talking about anything else.
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