The five directors Melissa Barrera is desperate to work with: “I actually have a wish list”
One thing about having kids that you don’t realise until you have them is that they can be absolutely terrifying, straight out of a horror film.
You haven’t known fear until you’ve woken up at 2:30am to find you’re being silently watched by a toddler standing by the bed who then whispers ‘Daddyyyyy’ at you until you scream and start shaking. Movie makers know this, which is why you get films like Abigail, starring Melissa Barrera.
Although there are elements of comedy involved in the 2024 movie, it’s still about a freaking vampire child with razor-sharp fangs and a taste for blood, which is enough to put anyone off, really. Mexican actor Barrera is becoming something of a horror expert after the last few years, which saw her graduate from the cult drama Vida to starring in the likes of Scream VI and the independent comedy Your Monster.
She won major acclaim and an award nomination for her performance in that one, the story of a young actress who is dealt a shattering blow from a cancer diagnosis, only to find solace in a literal monster hiding in her closet back home. It was directed by Caroline Lindy in her first full-length film, and Barrera said she loved the experience of working with someone on their debut.
But that’s not to say she doesn’t have a select number of established directors she wants to get involved with in the future, telling A Shot: “I actually have a wishlist on my phone of directors that I’d love to work with, that I actually just shared with my manager. I have a lot of European directors on there.”
Adding, “Off the top of my head, I have Céline Sciamma on there, who did Portrait of a Lady on Fire, one of my favourite films.”
Next up on Barrera’s dream list of directors was Lukas Dhont, the Belgian behind the 2022 coming-of-age drama Close, elaborating, “That movie killed me. They (Sciamma and Dhont) both speak French, and I’m learning French right now because I want to work with them so badly that I’m like, ‘I need to speak French so I can be in their movies.'”
Canadian Denis Villeneuve also made Barrera’s list, as she named 2010’s twisting thriller Incendies as one of her favourite films, also adding Mexican director Fernando Frias, who helmed the 2019 musical drama I’m No Longer Here, saying. “He’s very talented and cool, and I hope that we can find something that we can do together.”
Lastly, Barrera drew attention to Boots Riley, director of the award-winning black comedy Sorry to Bother You in 2018, saying, “I was actually supposed to be in his last movie, and it didn’t work out scheduling-wise, but I am sure that I’m going to work with him at some point. I will beg him to put me in another one of his movies.”
Barrera, meanwhile, has two new movies on the way: a Renny Harlin-directed film with John Travolta called Black Tides about a group of people attacked at sea, and The Collaboration, which co-stars Paul Bettany as legendary artist Andy Warhol.
Five directors Melissa Barerra wants to work with:
- Boots Riley (USA)
- Lukas Dhont (Belgium)
- Fernando Frias (Mexico)
- Céline Sciamma (France)
- Denis Villeneuve (Canada)
