‘Bardo’ Director Alejandro González Iñárritu, Stars & Crew Discuss “Reconnecting” And “Nature Of Being An Immigrant” – Contenders L.A.

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Bardo, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, documents one man’s cultural rediscovery as he leaves Los Angeles and returns to Mexico.

After receiving a prestigious award for his work in journalism and documentary filmmaking, Silverio (Daniel Giménez Cacho) suddenly is compelled to re-examine his Mexican roots.

Upon arrival, he contends with embarrassing memories from the past and an existential crisis. RELATED: The Contenders Film: Los Angeles – Deadline’s Full Coverage González Iñárritu started to really consider the nature of immigration and belonging when he created Carne y Arena, a virtual-reality installation that gave him the opportunity to speak to more than 500 immigrants crossing the border. “There was a very, very deep call of the nature of being an immigrant,” he said Saturday at Deadline’s The Contenders Film: Los Angeles event. “What we share in common was that nostalgia, melancholia — all the things that you lose when you leave your country.” Silverio is a stand-in for González Iñárritu through the story, so the director needed to find the perfect person.“He found so many coincidences between us,” Giménez Cacho said. “Once that was set for me, it was really easy because I didn’t have to build or construct a character.

Although it is a personal story of Alejandro, it became a very personal story of me.” Ximena Lamadrid, who plays Silverio’s daughter Camila, instantly found parallels to her own life. “I’m Mexican, but I grew up in Dubai, then I lived in New York,” she said, “and then only did I come to Mexico about four years ago.