Q&A: 'My Family & I' Director Gabriel Juduc

Gabriel Juduc's My Family & I takes a glimpse at the impact of our parents have on our values, our sense of self and our ever-slipping present. Editorial assistant Violet Conroy speaks to the director of SHOWstudio's latest Fashion Film Submission about attaining perfection, growing up in Eastern Europe and exploring identity through the medium of film.

Violet Conroy: How did you first get into filmmaking?

Gabriel Juduc: I have worked for more than 12 years in several multinational companies in marketing and somehow the universe directed me to end up here to do these beautiful short films. Starting the filmmaker career was similar to starting a new life in which I can be more authentic to the world. Now I've been a director since 2014, but I believe I have done relevant video content since 2018. So, now I can say that I'm a really young director at 39 years old. 

VC: Tell me about the concept behind and the making of My Family & I.

GJ: I've always been interested in the influence of parents on how we live our lives now as adults, whether we do things contrary to what our parents tried to teach us or whether we are just like them even though we don't want to be. It's a complex topic with many different perspectives. That's key message of this movie, how parents and family can influence our life. As for writing the script I can say it happened very quickly. I met Don Giapo (styling and performance) over coffee, the next day I had the script and after another 3 days I was already shooting. The post-production took a lot longer. More than 6 months. 

VC: How much of the film is based on your own experience of family? 

GJ: This is based on a personal experience, relevant for all of my generation who have experienced a norm education from parents in the 80s in Eastern Europe. I've studied this area quite a bit and most likely I would have ended up doing something using this topic. I will most likely do more projects like this.

VC: Did you set out to make a fashion film?

GJ: Not necessarily. I think I'll always end up in this fashion area in whatever project I do and whatever subject I choose. I really like to use the most interesting characters first and then put them in the context of the film. I want all the films I make to be perfect and so I think of them from the very beginning to be perfect in terms of aesthetics and storytelling, to have framing and camera movement, to integrate music and sound design as well as possible, to have the most eclectic set design and last but not least to have styling that matches the aesthetics of the film. This can be seen in my other two films, This is Marta and especially Veronica Now.