Alexandra Bas
Alexandra Bas is a Cinematographer based in Mexico City.
What do you enjoy most about your process of telling stories through motion pictures?
What I enjoy most about my process is the moment when I read a script and my mind gets excited imagining how that scene could look, which for me is one of the most beautiful connections you can feel with a story.
What are you trying to say through your imagery? Or what kind of feelings do you hope your work evokes?
The semiotics tied to the images are very important for me during the moments of creating and capturing them. I think we all as humans have an immense gallery of images and symbols as part of our memory. In cinematography one of the most important resources to connect with is the color temperature, the cold or warm ambient, and how that makes us feel or how it can connect us to a specific moment of our life.
We all have been alone, anxious or super excited, so that’s what I try to do most; connect with feelings in our subconscious across light and composition.
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How does being a cinematographer influence how you go about your day to day life?
I think this career requires so much consistency, patience, toughness, love and too much dedication for what you do, and of course a lot of travel. Balancing all that with normal life, time for yourself, love, friends and family, is not the easiest path.
What is the film scene/community like in Mexico City?
I see Mexico City as the core of an even bigger industry. I thank this land for ALL opportunities I have had in my career. As a migrant, I arrived with few expectations but the opportunities I have found here have really surprised me.
In Latin America, Mexico is one of the countries with more inclusion for women cinematographers. Of course it’s still hard and is still transitioning, but I see how fast it is changing for the younger generation and that makes me proud of my path, the path of my sisters who have risen with me and the path of the sisters before us who had even more obstacles.
Another beautiful thing that I see in the Mexican scene is the solidarity between cinematographers. It’s like a big pool of Mexican and international friends who try to help each other as much as possible. Above the competition, the support of our colleagues’ work always prevails.
