Hombre Al Agua is the Mexican star’s third feature as a director and premieres in Venice before journeying on to TIFF
Gael García Bernal takes on multiple roles in Hombre Al Agua, a passion project he has been nurturing for years: he stars, directs, produces and co-writes the screenplay with Argentine playwright Mariano Pensotti.
Premiering in Venice Spotlight before playing at TIFF as a Special Presentation, Hombre Al Agua (meaning “man overboard”) tells the story of Camilo, a Cuban lifeguard who rescues a rich Mexican executive and, as a thank you, is sucked into the man’s manipulative world, ending up as his right-hand man in business and son-in-law in life.
La Corriente del Golfo, the company founded by García Bernal alongside fellow Mexican star Diego Luna to house their projects as filmmakers, is producing alongside Mexican-based Cárcava Cine and Redrum. The Pool Films handles world sales, and the ensemble cast includes Esmeralda Pimentel, Débora Nascimento, Natalia Oreiro, Anna Díaz (who also stars in Luna’s Ashes) and music star Ricky Martin in a surprise supporting role.
Shot in the Yucatán Peninsula, Hombre Al Agua is García Bernal’s third feature as director after Déficit (2007) and Chicuarotes, which played in Cannes’ Special Screenings in 2019. It’s a comedy that he has put together while maintaining the pace of his busy career as an actor, after films like Amores Perros, Y Tu Mamá También and The Motorcycle Diaries made him an international star.
Among his most recent work as an actor are two Cannes premieres: Lav Diaz’s Magellan in 2025 and Maria Martínez Bayona’s The End Of It at this year’s festival. More recently, he wrapped the shoot of Netflix’s HG Wells adaptation In The Valley Of Shadows, a film directed by Sebastián Cordero.
Given how busy you are with your acting career, what triggered your desire to return to directing?
I didn’t quite have a Eureka moment. I started writing [this script] about eight or nine years ago and it was more a matter of layers, starting with the need to direct again in itself, and to make a film to explore themes that are close to my heart, from social critique to exploring the concepts of the couple, the family and masculinity. From a logistical point of view, I also wanted a project that allowed me to shoot in a controlled environment, close to where I live and close to my family.
Which aspects of that social critique did you want to focus on?
I love the quote in one of the films of Cuban filmmaker Tomás Gutiérrez Alea: “In the end, the bad things they said about capitalism turned out to be true and the good things they were saying about socialism turned out to be false.”
I think we are now experiencing this to the full, on one hand being ruled by the so-called algorithm, or rather by the people behind it, who are extremely rich and in charge of the narrative; and on the other hand, the welfare state that most people want has been a casualty of political corruption.
How challenging was Hombre Al Agua to set up as a project?
We started La Corriente del Golfo to produce projects made by Diego and me with brilliant timing: at the end of 2019. But we navigated the pandemic and survived. The problem is that producing independent films has become increasingly complicated. In Mexico, public funding schemes have been very helpful, but we couldn’t access them for Hombre Al Agua. Unfortunately, the points system doesn’t acknowledge previous professional experience. Backing new talent is great, but ideally I think there could be a bit more balance and also include more established filmmakers.
The film was privately funded and the way everybody worked elevated the production value. I couldn’t be happier, and we are launching the film theatrically in Mexico with Cinépolis on September 24.
Which filmmakers would you say have shaped you the most in terms of how you approach filmmaking?
Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu for their rigour and relentless energy. They both had a deep impact on me, having worked with them at the start of my career. I felt that was what cinema should be. Then came Walter Salles and his search for a fraternal environment, almost taking the filmmaking experience to a spiritual level. From Michel Gondry [who directed Bernal in 2006’s The Science Of Sleep], I learned that everything is explored and sorted on set, and I love how fearless and bold Pablo Larraín is.
There were also other inspirations for Hombre Al Agua: Milos Forman, Federico Fellini, Ettore Scola and Luis Buñuel. My dream was to make a film that Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière would have enjoyed.
Are you intending to carry on combining acting and filmmaking?
Yes, I love acting. At the risk of sounding weird, one of the reasons is that it allows me to get away from my phone, staying focused and in touch with the cast and crew. I adore that moment, being part of something that is slowly taking shape. When it works, a film transcends time and you are blown away. I think we would not understand Mexico as a country without Amores Perros.
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