In his superb documentary-style video for Landshapes’ In Limbo, Ian Pons Jewell follows the fortunes of a girl in the Bolivian capital of La Paz, who turns out to be part of the city’s wrestling community.
It’s a fascinating snapshot of a city and its people, and an intriguing world, where women in traditional national costume (bowler hat and all) wrestle clowns…
“It was magical,” says Ian. “Luisa from Landshapes asked if I could direct their video, and I happened to be going to Argentina for a couple months anyway and I speak Spanish, so it was perfect. We went out without a solid plan and wrote the script together after meeting the fighters and seeing the incredible city of La Paz.
“The music ended up working beautifully with everything we saw, allowing us to really hone the narrative to the track timings, despite it being sort of documentary. We were so lucky in getting Marta (Mirian Lidia Mamani) as our protagonist as she was incredible. The production was pretty hard at first, working in a new country, but ended up meeting a great crew here who I have worked with a few more times.”
And Ian, currently unsigned in the UK, and working through his production company collective Studio Murmur, is still in La Paz, and having the time of his life by the sounds of it. “I came for the shoot, for two weeks, and I never left, and am still here after three months,” he confirms. “I’m now shooting Naughty Boy´s next video and hope to do more projects out here. It´s a mad place.”
Ian’s full account of the making of the video is at Brain Wash.
Landshapes
‘In Limbo’
Director: Ian Pons Jewell
Prod Co: Studio Murmur
Written by: Luisa Gerstein & Ian Pons Jewell
DOP: Doug Walshe
Editor: Gaia Borretti
Colourist: Luke Morrisson @ The Mill
Producer Bolivia: Gabriela Gemio Zumaran
Production Assistant: Edson Chambi Bohorquez
Focus Puller: Bruno Travers
Post Producer: Serena Noorani
Assistant Editor: Simone Balduzzi
President of Lucha Libre Asssociation: Juan Mamani
Cholita Wrestler: Mirian Lidia Mamani
Cholitas Wrestling Manager: Denys Sanjines
Yatiris: Juan Cruz & Julio Choca
Very Special Thanks: Vice, Titanes Del Ring, Yecid Benavides Jr
