The director of Ceniza en la boca says becoming a father made him feel ready to tell stories. His film about a Mexican woman and her daughter’s migration to Spain opens in Spanish theaters on October 9.
In an interview with ABC, Luna linked his interest in absence to an early loss. His mother, British artist and production designer Fiona Alexander, moved to Mexico in 1972 and died in a traffic accident in 1982, when he was two. She was working with director Carlos Saura on Antonieta.
Ceniza en la boca is based on Brenda Navarro’s novel. It follows Lucila, a young Mexican woman who follows her mother from Mexico to Spain. The daughter experiences the departure as abandonment, while the mother sees it as a sacrifice for her children. Luna said the film observes both perspectives rather than taking sides.
Luna said he began directing after becoming a father. Parenthood changed how he viewed the conflict between mother and daughter. He described a scene in which the two women sit down and speak as equals after a terrible event as the film’s emotional center.
The director said his filmmaking develops slowly and draws on his work as an actor. He has directed five feature films and appeared in more than 70 films. Acting gives him a chance to observe other directors’ methods and continue searching for his own voice.
He also pushed back against a sharp divide between large Hollywood productions and small films. The scale changes the tools and resources, he said, but the creative process remains similar: working on set requires vulnerability, exploration and room for mistakes. Ceniza en la boca reaches Spanish theaters after screenings at Cannes and San Sebastián.