Laura Herrero Garvín on “La Mami,” a Doc About Women Who Connect & Transform in a Mexican Night Club

Born in Toledo, Spain, Laura Herrero Garvín is the co-founder of Sandia Digital, a company through which she has made about 20 short documentaries. Her professional career is closely linked to Mexico, and she now lives in Barcelona and works between Spain and Mexico. Her debut feature film, “El remolino” (“The Swirl”), premiered internationally in Locarno, and was selected for more than 70 festivals and awarded at several of them, such as Documenta Madrid. Her most recent film, the feature-length documentary “La Mami” had its world premiere at IDFA Main Competition and has participated in more than 40 international festivals so far.

“La Mami” opens April 7 in NY.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

LHG: The person watching the film is going to encounter a sort of bathhouse, a kind of bubble of women who transform, who connect, who share wisdom, who love, and who hate — women of contrasts who suddenly go down to the dance floor to dance, and from there they will discover much more.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

LHG: During a night of celebration with friends in January 2015, I met La Mami. On a visit to the bathroom of the Cabaret Barba Azul, I heard a girl who worked there tell the lady who takes care of the bathrooms: “Mami, he asked me for my hand [in marriage]. I don’t know what to do, I’m very excited.” The lady answered very serenely: “Daughter, don’t worry, you know how it is. He has already told you many times — stay here for a little while and then come down.” I was surprised by such a familiar, maternal relationship in such a dark place for women. I stayed for a while observing what was going on there and suddenly I realized that girls kept coming in: “Mami, can you put on my dress for me?” “Mami, I need some advice.” “Mami, I am fed up with…”

In the midst of this frenetic and hostile place for women, La Mami represented an embrace, a feminine alliance, the resistance. She is the mother that we all need when we don’t have or are far away from our own. This is why I dared to approach her and proposed the making of this documentary with her. She is tough with girls from outside of their world, but I don’t know why she was different with me. I told her that I was dedicated to telling stories, and that I wanted to tell hers with a great amount of respect and intimacy.

She made an appointment for me for the following Tuesday at 9 p.m. in the bathroom. That Tuesday at the end of January 2015 started it all.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

LHG: I love when I hear that people feel very different things about the movie. I think that films always have to have cracks in order for viewers to make them their own.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

LHG: We needed to carry out almost three years of research to make this film. I knew that I wanted to make an intimate, close film that did not assume anything. The initial approach was through La Mami. She was my first contact and my key to entering their environment; we quickly empathized with each other, but establishing trust with the girls was the biggest challenge. The women, and there were around 25 of them, come and go, and the world of the night has made them suspicious and alert, which I understand completely.

I started [the process by spending] many months, even years, by just being; sharing conversations with them and getting to know their dynamics. It was a long process of listening and observing, and little by little it became more clear to me what it was that I needed to record while gaining their trust. The exposure of identity was a [common] theme, as some agreed to participate only with their voice, while others with their voice and from behind, and a few with everything, that is, showing their identity. But in the end, when we started recording, most of them told me that they would participate with everything.

In the end, they all felt part of the project and wanted to participate. The film is mostly recorded observationally, but there were starting points that provoked situations and conversations that brought out certain feelings. There were also more controlled sequences like on the dance floor. At the time of filming, I knew most of them very well, and I understood them perfectly.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

LHG: “La Mami” was a co-production between Mexico and Spain. Most of the support came from the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE) and another segment of support from the Ibero-American co-production fund, Ibermedia.

We also received various prizes and in-kind support in Spain and Mexico for the completion of the film, as well as small funds for its development in the U.S., such as from the Ford Foundation.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

LHG: I think my characters are what inspired me to become a filmmaker. That’s what happened to me with most of my projects. I meet the protagonists, Esther, Pedro, La Mami, Priscila, and I become obsessed with looking at and understanding their way of dealing with the world.

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?

LHG: That they trust their intuition and be loyal to their gaze as opposed to what is expected of them, and that they break internal and external morals.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

LHG: I like many, many! Chantal Akerman, for example. Her cinema is free and at the same time very affectionate to women.

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?

LHG: Of course! I have continued to make documentaries and TV documentary shows. I have also been working as a cinematographer.

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make it more inclusive?

LHG: I believe that auteur cinema, like the one I make, has to do with the gaze and is conditioned by the backgrounds that each author carries: our origins, whether we are racialized or not, the social class to which we belong, our gender and sexuality, and multiple other elements. To have enriching and valuable cinema, we need this tool of expression to reach all races and genders equally. Having multiple perspectives on the world will not only enrich the creators, but more than anything the viewers.