Since he was chosen by Daniel Monzon in 2009 to co-star in Cell 211, alongside Luis Tosar, Argentine Alberto Ammann has given us unforgettable performances, as with his character Diego, in Upon Entry. Dramatic thriller, debuted by directors Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastian Vasquez, that tells the horrifying experience of a couple, a Spanish woman, a Venezuelan, when they are detained and interrogated at a New York airport. A great performance with which Alberto won the Biznaga de Plata Award for Best Male Performance at the recent Malaga Festival, which you will enjoy in cinemas from June 16th.
The film is claustrophobic because it takes place in a few indoor settings, and on top of that, it was shot in just 17 days. Thanks to that special environment, was it easier for you to play your complex role?
I think that in this film there is a wonderful planning of shots by the directors and the production company, because with a few resources, in a short time and practically on one small stage, about 3 by 3 metres, they managed to create that climax.
Did the two directors, Venezuelans Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastian Vasquez, tell you if they were inspired by real situations?
Many things in the movie happen to themselves while trying to enter the United States. For example, the scene in which Bruna Kosi tells the agents who are questioning her to dance a few steps, to show that she is a dancer, happened to one of them’s wife.
Have you had a traumatic experience at the airport?
I had minimal experience in London airport, they held me for 45 minutes and then let me in. Currently, having a Venezuelan passport is considered a bad weight to enter the United States, because being submitted to a second-class checkpoint is a bad sign.
Where do you think the movie goes further; Because Americans distrust people from other countries when they enter their country or is it just racism?
It’s a combination of several things. It’s racism, but it’s also a disturbing thing about exercising power. The international policy of the United States is hypocritical, authoritarian, and utterly deranged, and there is a re-abuse of power and it has done so throughout history, through its maneuvers with the CIA in Latin America and Africa.
However, surprisingly in this movie, the agent who interrogates the couple in such a harsh manner is also Hispanic…
I’ve heard from Mexicans, whether they were born in the United States or whose parents immigrated from their country, who say we don’t want any more immigrants coming here because it’s already full…
