by MIchele Paster
AFI FEST Daily News

AFI alum Diego Quemada-Diez, center, directed I WANT TO BE A PILOT, part of Shorts Program One at AFI FEST 2006 presented by Audi.

American Film Institute alum Diego Quemada-Diez hails from Barcelona, Spain, and was an AFI Cinematography Fellow ('01).

A camera operator for THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005), he directed a short film, I WANT TO BE A PILOT, screening in Shorts Program One at AFI FEST 2006 presented by Audi. Shorts Program One screens November 6, 7:15 PM, and November 7, 2:00 PM.

Shot in Super-8 Kodachrome, reversal stock, the story follows a 12 year-old boy's dream to fly, through a poem, in one of the biggest slums in East Africa.

AFI FEST Daily News: Where did you get the notion to go to AFI?

Diego: [From Spain] I moved to Portland to work on a film with Isabel Coixet as a clapper loader. Then I came down to LA and worked as a camera assistant for a few years until I saved enough money to go back to school.

I chose AFI as the best place to reinvent my career and start shooting and directing.

I graduated from AFI in 2001, but I stayed for another extra year finishing the MOS Cinematography project A TABLE IS A TABLE.

While studying at AFI I went to as many classes from other disciplines as I could, specially directing.

AFI FEST Daily News: How did the AFI Conservatory help you to make films and get into film festivals?

Diego: I loved the fact that AFI is a Conservatory and that you get to learn and grow from your mistakes. That is the deepest learning apart from watching films and reading stories.

My other favorite thing while I was in school was attending the seminars by guests and reading at the library past seminars from filmmakers like David Lynch, Terrence Malick, John Schlesinger, Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock.

AFI FEST Daily News: What inspired you to make this film?

Diego: While working on THE CONSTANT GARDENER as B camera operator I got to directly experience the dramatic situation in the slums of Nairobi. I felt the need to make a film to raise awareness about poverty and the suffering of many children.

AFI FEST Daily News: What was the process like being the Director and the Director of Photography?

Diego: When I shoot and direct I miss the collaboration with someone else. I think the art of cinematography nurtures from the spark that is created between several artists, most importantly between the director, the cinematographer and the production designer.

On the other hand, I think it is natural and necessary for a director to master how to tell a story with images. I felt I had to find my voice first on my own.

I shot the film just like I wrote the poem. It was very immediate, and I had to experience it directly. The minimal crew was the key in order to capture reality in the slums.

AFI FEST Daily News: What fears did you have before going into the film?

Diego: None. It was complete joy. I was enjoying the process. I wasn't sure where I was going at first. I started doing interviews and research and from there the writing of the poem came naturally, as well as finding the right kid.

AFI FEST Daily News: What films influence you?

Diego: Films by Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Rossellini, Elio Petri, Bela Tarr, Aki Kaurismaki, Akira Kurosawa, Masahiro Shinoda, Lynne Ramsay.

AFI FEST Daily News: Did you run into conflicts with the community, regarding you filming there, in their homeland?

Diego: Everybody was very helpful and supportive. Having been there shooting for a few weeks with THE CONSTANT GARDENER made things very easy. I knew a lot of people by then, and they were used to me.

While shooting my right hand was Peter, an amazing local who knew all the tribes and made the shoot a dream. All the chiefs of the tribes knew I was making a film about orphan children so the community supported us.