Tván Fund was born in Santa Fe, Argentina, in 1984. He is a screenwriter, producer, and filmmaker known for his distinctive storytelling and innovative approach to cinema. His filmography includes 10 features films, such The Laugh (2009), The Lips (2010, co-directed by Santiago Loza) which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, and Today I Felt No Fear (2011), which showed at the Three Continents Festival, and the Busan International Film Festival, and many others. His latest work The Message won the Silver Bear Jury Prize of 75th Berlin International Film Festival.

In this “unusual and mesmerising road movie”, young Anika’s gift for communicating with animals is exploited by her guardians, who offer her as an animal medium. In the Argentinian countryside, where the supernatural holds little value, they take whatever they can get. On a journey to visit her institutionalised mother, who shares her gift, Anika becomes the true source of comfort for the adults. This wispy drama explores the fragility of innocence and the weight of growing up.

This interview was conducted in Berlin during the the 75th Berlinale.

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Nataliia Serebriakova – How did this interesting idea of making a movie about animals’ thoughts come to you?

Ivan Fund – Well, I think what particularly interested me was precisely the world of childhood. It’s a time when all children, in some way, share a connection with animals. They have a unique ability to communicate with them, to connect with the world and all living beings in a way that feels almost universal. I really wanted to focus on that particular threshold.

I also strongly believe that childhood and cinema are deeply intertwined. Both share the same fundamental elements – wonder, surprise, attentiveness, and sensitivity to the world – qualities that, as we grow older, tend to fade. I was drawn to capturing this particular moment and the mixture of perspectives it brings. On one hand, there’s the childhood gaze, full of magic and ambiguity, which Annika embodies. At the same time, she [Anika] is already beginning to step beyond that – she’s not just observing and believing but also wanting to shape her own reality.

As a filmmaker, this is something that fascinates me. I don’t see fiction as merely the opposite of reality. Rather, I see it as a tool to open up reality, to reveal its many layers, and to move beyond simplistic worldviews.

NS – I wanted to see if I’m right or wrong about something – the biggest question in the world! From what I saw in the movie, I had the feeling that they are scammers. This is my impression, maybe because I come from a country where these kinds of things happen a lot. Am I right, or am I wrong? Or maybe I’m both right and wrong? I got the impression that they are completely convinced of what they’re doing.

IF – Yes, actually, your question ties back to what I mentioned earlier. There are two key things to consider here. When I create a character in a film, my goal is to develop them as fully as possible, to give them depth and authenticity. But at the same time, I don’t want to confine them to strictly defined categories. I don’t want to clip their wings, so to speak.

That’s also part of what I believe fiction does – it pries open reality, allowing multiple perspectives to emerge and avoiding easy judgments. I try not to judge my characters. Just like in real life, we often don’t fully understand the motivations of the people around us. There’s always some level of mystery, and I think it’s important to preserve that, to give them the benefit of the doubt.

That said, you’re absolutely right – there is an element of scamming, of opportunism, perhaps even of taking advantage of people’s gullibility. But at the same time, there’s something undeniably genuine about them. There’s a nobility in their emotions, a warmth and love that binds them together as a family.

I know this might feel like an ambiguous answer because there’s no definitive yes or no. But that’s intentional. I want the audience to go on this journey with them, to experience it for themselves and form their own conclusions. That’s how I approach filmmaking. I build my narratives with layers, making space for different interpretations. Some viewers will focus on one aspect of the story, while others will see something entirely different.

So, in the end – yes, they are scammers. But they are also something more.

NS – I think it’s entirely possible to perceive elements of scamming in this film, but that aspect is also closely linked to Annika’s character. One of the defining moments of childhood, in my opinion, is when children realise that the adults – the so-called authority figures – are not capable of magic at all…

IF – At first, childhood is full of illusions, but eventually, those illusions are shattered. Adults cannot perform magic. There’s actually a well-known comic strip by Quino, Mafalda, which is also very popular in Argentina. In one scene, the children realise that Santa Claus isn’t real – it’s actually their father dressed up. But what truly upsets the girl in the comic isn’t that her father is pretending to be Santa, but the realisation that he has no money. It’s a double disillusionment. I think that kind of moment – where reality starts revealing itself in layers – is something that becomes visible in this film.

NS – You chose a child actress for a very demanding role, and she’s incredible. How did you cast her?

IF – Well, actually, she’s my stepdaughter. Her mother – who also plays the mother in the film, the daughter they go to visit in the psychiatric facility – has been my partner for the past eight years. So my stepdaughter was involved in the project from the very beginning.

It took us many years to bring this film to life. At the start, she was still a very young child, and I remember she was quite sad when she realised I was writing this film. She told me: “I want to be the actress in this film!”. But at that time, she was too young for the role. However, due to the long process of securing funding and overcoming various obstacles, time passed, and she eventually grew into the right age for the character.

NS – What about the other actors?

IF – There’s also another strong connection in the film: Marcelo Subiotto and Mara Bestelli, who play the parents, are a couple in real life. They share a deep bond of friendship and tenderness, which I wanted to bring into the film as well.

That’s the kind of process we embarked on. We worked with a very small team – just 10 people, including both the cast and crew. Everyone was deeply attuned to the project and open to a flexible, organic approach. That’s what made the process so intense and immersive for all of us.

I don’t really see a sharp divide between those in front of the camera and those behind it. In fact, we often worked without calling “cut” or “action,” staying fully present to whatever chance or spontaneity could bring into the narrative. Reality offers these unexpected moments – like impromptu flowers that, if you keep an open mind and sharp eyes, you can gather and integrate into the film.

Because of this, I was very focused not just on tone and texture but also on the fluidity of scenes. Of course, certain elements – like costumes and set design – were planned, but I was more interested in archetypes that allowed for a form of acting shaped by spontaneity and fresh perspectives from everyday life. That’s what we aimed to capture.

Our process was dynamic: we would shoot during the day, I would edit at night, and then in the morning, we’d review the footage together and discuss next steps. Often, a scene that was originally planned no longer made sense because a different element had already been integrated elsewhere. It was an organic process where anything could change at any time, and we embraced those changes as something positive.

There’s often a rigid, almost industrial mindset in filmmaking – a belief that you must stick to a script, a timeline, and a strict plan. But I see it differently. I compare it to a football match: it would be absurd to say, “In the 15th minute of the second half, a goal will be scored.” That’s not how reality works. My approach is to define the broad framework – the guardrails, if you will – but allow the story to emerge naturally within those boundaries.

NS – We were just saying that this film fits perfectly within the new wave of Argentinian cinema – films exploring rural themes and magical realism, reflecting Argentina’s current political and social situation. Where do you think this cinema is headed? Will Argentine storytelling change?

IF – I think Argentine filmmakers have always found ways to make films, no matter the circumstances. If there’s one defining trait of Argentinian cinema, it’s this relentless, almost defiant determination to keep creating against all odds. Nothing is ever guaranteed. Even when funding policies and subsidies existed in the past, making films was still a struggle. And now, of course, the situation is worse than ever.

But at the same time, I believe that certain forms of filmmaking and storytelling – those that have long existed on the fringes of the mainstream – are now becoming more visible, more urgent, and even more essential to keeping cinema alive until conditions improve.

That being said, I think it would be a mistake to frame this purely as an issue of funding. My film, like many others by my fellow Argentinian directors, exists because there was a deep will to make it – a necessity to tell these stories. Filmmaking, at its core, isn’t just about infrastructure, policies, or financial support. If you look at it solely from that industrial perspective, you risk reducing cinema to a commercial enterprise.

I believe that cinema must remain an open door to wonder – a space where there’s a right to poetry, to storytelling that isn’t just transactional. I’m not sure if “resistance” is the right word, but I do think many filmmakers are responding to an urgency – a need to create differently in order to sustain culture and, within that, the culture of cinema itself.

NS – Is this kind of agency common in Argentina? Are there really businesses that claim to communicate with animals, or is this something rare? Did you take inspiration from real cases, or is it based on stories from other countries?

IF – You mean the pet medium market?

NS – Yes, exactly – businesses that claim they can talk to animals.

IF – Actually, no, it wasn’t inspired by any specific real-life case. But during our research, we discovered that quite a few people are actually involved in this kind of business. There’s a surprisingly large market for it, especially fuelled by social media. It covers a wide spectrum – on one end, you have people who connect with animals in a way similar to horse whisperers. On the other extreme, there are those who claim to communicate with pets that have reincarnated as aliens in another galaxy.

Reality, in many ways, is even stranger than science fiction. And perhaps science fiction has simply become our new reality.

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Ivan Fund is pictured at the top of this interview, snapped by Betania Cappato. The other image is a still from The Message.