Silvio Canihuante Fernández; Photo By: Haley Anderson
“ON YOUR RADAR” IS A WEEKLY GRAD FILM NEWS SEGMENT THAT FEATURES A STUDENT PICKED AT RANDOM.
SILVO CANIHUANTE FERNÁNDEZ IS CURRENTLY A 3RD YEAR STUDENT AT GRAD FILM. WE ASKED HIM A FEW QUESTIONS AND HERE’S WHAT HE HAD TO SAY:
Where do you consider home and what is it like there?
I’m a BraChilean, I was born in the big metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I went to the Copacabana beach almost every day; then my family moved to La Serena, a quiet coastal city in the North of Chile, where I grew up until I moved to the capital Santiago, for college. I’ve lived in several places and countries, so home is a mix of memories, people and sensations. Now, New York City is home, but that will probably change once I graduate. We’ll see!
What or who is inspiring you right now and why?
I’ve found this awards season to have absurdly overrated movies, but the simplicity and honesty of Paterson by Jim Jarmusch blew my mind. Also, Toni Erdmann made me laugh as loud as I can.
I’m constantly impressed by how smart and funny Bill Maher is; Portlandia and Baskets make me laugh a lot every Thursday. As usual, I follow Manchester United and I love the uncertainty of the English Premier League, and I’ve found that some of the videos on Napflix can be way more relaxing than meditation!
I recently read Walk Through Walls: A Memoir by Marina Abramović. Her art is astonishing, as it’s her search for truth and passion. All you need is love, yes, but you also need hate, fear, jealousy and other feelings that aren’t that easy to accept. To be able to become a real artist we need to learn to deal with all these emotions that are in us, and denying them has never been a great plan: otherwise you could suffer severe anger issues like Tony Soprano, which I’ve been watching one episode per day in the last weeks. Watching a whole show in three months is way better than to binge them in three days.
But honestly, when I’m tired and need to relax, I just watch classics like The Dick Van Dyke Show, or clips from ridiculous movies like Anchorman, StepBrothers or The Other Guys.
What has been your most rewarding experience at NYU Tisch Grad Film so far?
The diversity among the students and how much I learn from every one of them. I love my classmates, and I often remember that I would have never met any of these people otherwise, and I'm very grateful for these friends.
From the faculty and the school itself, I really appreciate the freedom they give us, mostly focused on finding your own “voice”. This is 100% an Art School, in a way that you are guided in a self-exploration process that is quite challenging and personal. This is not filmmaking-by-numbers (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I feel that I can pitch any kind of idea, and that they will be welcomed and accepted, with proper criticism and follow-up.
And the city itself, of course. New York is all you could imagine and more, and the possibility to live here for so long is a real gift. Walking on any street quickly becomes location scouting, as so many corners look so good to film on!