El Hijo de Hernández is the premiere American made feature length film in Spanish directed by Lorenzo M. Ponce de León and is the first of its kind shot in Technicolor CineStyle. The viewing experience is vivid, giving clarity to its characters and scenery. Created alongside the author of the book and filmed in Spain, the actual setting of the book and film is undisclosed.
Produced as an independent production through MADRID_CREAcción and Teatro Lírico de Las Muñecas in Madrid, El Hijo de Hernández was financed through the Inez Persson Bailyn Scholarship awarded by Florida Atlantic University. Filming started on the 14 of June, 2012 in Madrid and lasted approximately three weeks and included shooting a music video based off of the Latin Grammy nominated song El hijo de Hernández by El Cuarteto de Nos.
Shot in Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, El Hijo de Hernández is “The precise balance between theatre and cinema giving viewers both a cinematic experience and the sensations of sitting in a theatre watching actors on a stage,” according to Ponce de León.
El Hijo de Hernández is based off of the novel by Frédéric Conrod which follows Miguel and his encounters in a place from where he does not know exactly how to participate. Breaking with any kind of logic, Miguel tries to escape a cultural hysteria that has contaminated an entire country of injuries. Faced with this theatrical trauma, Miguel must choose between amnesia or memory, comedy or tragedy, the voice of a father or two mothers. His encounter with the ghosts of a universal past always pushes against sense, to finish, like the wind in desert caves.
El Hijo de Hernández premiered to a private audience at Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton, Florida on April 12, 2013 and continues to screen by request both in the United States and abroad. For more information on the film, you can like the Facebook page.
Accolades for El Hijo de Hernández
- El Hijo de Hernández was part an exclusive display in the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as an reaccreditation initiative for Florida Atlantic University in January 2013.
- The film was also showcased and featured in a juried gallery exhibition at the Second Avenue Studio in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2013.
- El Hijo de Hernández was featured in the visual annual magazine Remarque from Designers Edge in 2013.
Fort Lauderdale Second Studio Juried Exhibition with the film in the gallery on display.
Ponce de León giving an address about the film at FAU's Alumni Center.
Promotional Poster showcasing El Hijo de Hernández used in FAU's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) in 2013.
Photography from the film that was used as the cover for the book which the film was originally adapted.
Detail of the display case featuring the film for FAU's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) in 2013.
Ponce de León next to the QEP display case featuring his film El Hijo de Hernández at FAU's Boca Raton Library.
Original ticketing designed by Ponce de León used for the premiere at Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton, Florida.
From right to left: Images of a physical copy of Remarque Magazine from FAU's Designer's Edge that featured El Hijo de Hernández on page 62.
Behind The Scenes of El Hijo de Hernández
Screenshot of the timeline Ponce de León used for editing the film to exhibit the feature's editing intricacy and design. It was the first film from Ponce de León that incorporated vivid color correction using a specialized Cinestyle LUT from Technicolor and sound design with 5.1 surround sound encoding for an incredibly immersive viewing and listening experience. This would inspire Ponce de León to use VR filmmaking years later to forward his vision of becoming an immersive filmmaker.
Juan Penalva (Miguel/Protagonist) discusses the music video scene with the film's writer Frédéric Conrod before taping.
Writer Frédéric Conrod and Art Director Soledad Oviedo go over pre-production with the student crew days before the film begins shooting in Madrid at Teatro Lirico de Las Muñecas. From Left to right: Roxanne Rodriguez (Marcela/Policia), Kevin Hubbard (slate), Frédéric Conrod, and Soledad Oviedo.
Getting ready to tape an ensemble scene inside the abandoned train station (filmed at Madrid's Tabacalera) with Antonio Sarrió (Don Álvaro) and Roxanne Rodriguez (Marcela/Policia) with Kevin Hubbard running slate.
Director Lorenzo M. Ponce De León instructs the crew during filming of his feature-length debut movie El Hijo de Hernández. From left to right: Director Lorenzo M. Ponce de León, Protagonist: Juan Penalva, and Writer Frédéric Conrod.
The filming location in Castilla la Mancha used for the abandoned train station in the opening of the film.
Ponce de León preparing his gear to film a scene in the abandoned train station (Madrid's Tabacalera) and Frédéric Conrod discussing with Ponce de León final rundowns on location.
Original unused conceptual posters and stills for El Hijo de Hernández featuring the protagonists
The official release poster of El Hijo de Hernández.
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