DP Diego Pérez Romero is a documentary filmmaker and environmentalist from Peru. He has over 10 years of experience working with organizations dedicated to the conservation of the Amazon rainforest and its cultures. Thanks to his work as a videographer, photographer and filmmaker, he has helped to shine a light on the natural and cultural wealth of Peru.
DP Diego Pérez Romero
Shirampari: Legacies of the River was part of the official selection at Sundance 2023 in the Documentary Short Film Program. Written and directed by Lucia Flórez, the film takes place in one of the most remote areas in the Peruvian Amazon, where an Ashéninka boy must overcome his fears and catch a giant catfish using only a hook to begin his adult journey.
We reached out to Pérez Romero to talk about his process…
How early did you get involved on this film?
Very early. I actually started the project with director Lucia Flórez. In 2020, Nat Geo announced a grant for stories in tropical forests around the world. Also in those weeks, Lucia returned to Peru after finishing her master’s degree in documentary film, so I proposed that she apply for the grant with something related to the Yurúa District and the hook fishing thing I knew they were doing over there. Happily, she accepted. We did a lot of research and shaped it into a short documentary. In February 2021 we found out that we won the grant, and the rest is history.
Lucia Flórez
How did you work with Lucia? What direction were you given?
We discussed the style early on. She wanted to make it verité and indie. That was the outline for the style. We shared different documentaries and films we liked, talked about them. Then I worked on a plan for how we were going to achieve a cohesive look and how the cinematography was going to favor the narrative and the story we wanted to tell.
Before shooting, the main direction Lucia gave me was to make sentences with the camera instead of words. On the field, before any scene was shot, we would have a little talk about what was important to highlight, then during the shots, we would look at each other, she would make small signs or gestures to me to adjust and go from point A to point B, or go closer, move around, stuff like that.
What about working with the colorist? What was the goal of the color?
The colorist was César Pérez, and in post, we all agreed that we wanted a natural look — no teal and orange Hollywood kind of thing, leaving shadows to be shadows. Basically, it was more of a color correction to match both cameras, give it a little punch but not too much, and that was it.
What did you end up shooting on and why?
Canon C70 and Canon EF lenses, 16 to 35 f4IS, 24-70 2.8 ii and 100-400 L (which were already mine from my work as a photographer). Also, Canon R6 for one underwater scene, when we knew we were going to shoot with two cameras for coverage — this is when Ricky catches the fish.
DP Diego Pérez Romero shooting with the Canon cine camera
Why these cameras? The budget wasn’t huge, there was no option for renting cine lenses, and also weather sealed-equipment was a must shooting 15 days in the Amazon, mostly outside and having no backup lenses.
I had seen the release of the C70 a few months before the shoot and did some research. The form factor was interesting, and the dual-gain output sensor was like the C300 but half the price; it was a no-brainer.
This was also my first time working with a cine camera, and there was a learning curve for sure.
Can you talk about the lighting?
We used mostly natural light. About 95% of the shots were lit by the sun, with no modifiers. We trusted the sensor capability to handle the dynamic range and framing to have a nice, balanced image. There are two shots where we used a reflector to push sunlight in and one where we used a very small LED panel with a CTB gel on a night scene, but that was it.
There wasn’t much space to modify the light, as we didn’t want to be a distraction to the protagonists. When you start building things, you get in the way.
Are there some scenes that stick out as challenging? Can you talk about those?
Before shooting started, I thought the main challenge I was going to find was that being so close to the characters (at 24mm) could have intimidated them to the point that it would affect their performance. In the end, this did not happen.
The hardest scene was the follow shot, when Arlindo carries the catfish to the community, because it was a challenge for them and me. In addition to the accumulated fatigue of several days of physical shooting — and in somewhat extreme conditions due to the heat, the mosquitoes, the absence of toilets, etc. — they carried a fish weighing almost 100 kilos, and I carried the camera. While the camera doesn’t weigh even a third of that, it was still super-difficult to maintain the frame and focus while climbing that cliff without having a crazy-shaky shot. We all ended up exhausted.
One thing to mention here is that there were no repetitions. Everything was shot once and that was it.
Looking back on the film, would you have done anything different?
I would have gotten a different cage for the camera.
Any tips for young cinematographers?
I am no expert here. This was my first gig as DP on a cine project. But for me, if there is something I can share from my little experience, it’s this: Passion is key, being obsessed, dreaming about what you will do, getting scared of failing, having nightmares, but not letting this turn you down.
Also you need to be genuinely interested in your characters. If you will be following somebody with a huge camera all day long, there has to be some fire inside of you.
