How the documentary about Cabezas Case, “The photographer and the postman”, aired by Netflix, was made

If only we didn’t know that all this really happened … Coincidentally, a photographer was killed -worked for José Luis Cabezas News, a magazine that makes power uncomfortable. He was already assassinated in Pinamar, the summer center of political power in Argentina Model Menem.

That they were involved in the case La Bonaerense, Yabrán, Menem, Cavallo and even a gang of criminals led by Pepita the Gunslinger… Therefore, if all that is not true, one would say that it looks like a Netflix series.

But not. It really happened. And here it happened.

One more, reality has once again surpassed fiction, this time only in the most violent, inhumane and cruel way. It happened, first of all, to photographer José Luis Cabezas, to his wife and children, family, friends and only then to us, to society.

He talks about it all The photographer and the postman, the crime of Cabezasthe Netflix documentary that starts this Thursday the 19th, and about where its director, Alexander Hartmannand its producer, vanessa ragoneThey started saying how they did it.

Movie or series

-The film has many political thrillers. Faced with public and published facts, what problem do they face when it comes to solving “how do I say this”? Is it a movie or a series, etc.?

Hartmann: Yes the doubt is raised, but we immediately saw that it should be film. A series imposes a different rhythm from chapter to chapter, this will further accentuate the thriller … But here the subject has such weight and seriousness that we can’t play those little narrative games, if you will.

On the one hand I thought we had to say it once. On the other hand, it is a story where each person contributes different versions-things that still sound like Yabrán is alive, for example-, the subject opens many doors .. .

our line then try to find out who José Luis Cabezas is, review your personal and professional history. And somehow, the narrative axis is marked by the legal case and the story of Gabriel Michi, his partner and friend for so many years …

-His story is the main narrative, and is completed by the lawyer, Alejandro Vecchi …

Hartmann: Of course, just as Michi’s was the most sincere, most touching story, there was also Vecchi’s testimony, and we decided that those two testimonies would carry the story. Obviously, this is our way, it doesn’t mean it can’t be counted any other way.

The process

-How long is the process, Vanessa?

Reason: And definitely two years. We’ve talked since we did carmel., the docuseries about the crime of María Marta García Belsence. I have read Vecchi’s books, I passed them on to Alejandro and moreover the quarter century of José Luis’ crime is approaching …

Hartmann: Also, I have a kind of obsession with the ’90s, a time that I think we need to look back on; I was wondering how Menem would come back, and when Vane brought me the book, I realized it would be more interesting to talk about the ’90s from this side.

-And there is also a very clear intention to underline the weather climate with many archive collages.

Hartmann: Yes, it seems to us that 25 years after the events, a lot of young people don’t know what we’re talking about, so a lot needs to be contextualized.

The experience of “Carmel” …

-You came from making a successful documentary miniseries Carmel, who killed Mary Martha?. Similarities and differences between the same project?

Hartmann: There are initials, the year 2001: heads start there and carmel ends there. Both are very difficult to tell.very complicated, but somewhere they are opposite.

-For?

Hartmann: One is a story where there was a trial, where we know the end, in the other there is no clear end yet. With José Luis Cabezas we have a huge personal drama, but at the same time there is a social excitement with a lot of participation, with a certain attitude of journalism, a certain social attitude …

carmel It’s a very private story that takes place in the bathroom of a country house, a family, but the public is insignificant; the media engages and society views it more as a show; included heads society is more relevant, so somewhere they’re pretty opposite I think. And justice in one case works and continues, and in another it doesn’t end at the beginning.

-How do you see it, Vanessa ?:

Reason: I can’t say better. And going back to 2001 as a trigger, in our hypothesis we saw that what would explode, that the demand for justice somehow begins in the case of José Luis. The plates at the end of the film talk about this: justice was done but they were all free.

-That the testimony of the widow of Cabezas, María Cristina, was not there, was it your choice or hers?

Hartmann: The latter. I talked to him, we would have liked him, but I feel like I don’t want this to happen again. We talked about using files and he fixed that. To me, people have no obligation to relive their history. I am very grateful for all the testimonies, but no one has an obligation to do so and that must be respected …

The legend of Yabran

-Did they try this on Yabrán’s relatives?

Hartmann: Also, I approached people close to me and they preferred not to speak.

-And before you tell me that the idea of ​​the “movie” that he’s alive still lingers in many …

Hartmann: Yes, especially to the youngest; When we asked them about the case, they didn’t know who Yabrán was, but they told you he was alive …

-And what do you think?

Hartmann: I certainly don’t think so; I’ve talked to a lot of people – people who have seen the body, people who have known him in life – and I don’t believe it, but the legend is still out there.

The documentary, take a page

-For our “Attention film students” section, a couple of tips when faced with a documentary …

Hartmann: Documentaries have a unique audiovisual story nature, they are movies, only their story is one hundred percent based on fact.

And they were also told that there were elements of reality itself: no actors. Vecchi plays Vecchi, Michi plays MIchi, to put it harshly. So you have to stick to that fact, you have to be very respectful of that fact, but at the same time you have to develop an audiovisual story.

But we are lucky and those are the stories that people are used to are really nothing but stories based on truth; things happened, and then it’s very easy to find narrative lines, compelling things in reality. It just changes eyes and starts looking for that.

you just said that The postman... seems like a thriller, but I didn’t invent it, there’s the thriller, actually. I said: there is a victim, there are bad people, he has all the elements we see in fiction, but it really happened, so you just sharpen your eyes and start looking for those elements.

That’s why I like books Cold-blooded yu Operation Massacretrue stories, but with all the elements of the best fiction.

-And then, in the era of global platforms, in this case, how to make it understandable both in Argentina and in Peru or Mexico, right?

Reason: Understandable, because there are all the elements: there is the powerful, there is the victim, there is the criminal, there is the crime and there is seeking justice. I mean, all the ingredients to have a presentation of the story, middle and end …

Hartmann: And while it’s true that we usually think of our young people, and that’s why we try to be didactic, I think the central story reaches a lot of audiences. And at least that’s our intention.

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