Alfonso Cuarón Revisits 'Gravity' at Busan: 'Life as an Experience Is What I Now Care About'

Alfonso Cuarón told his Busan International Film Festival masterclass on Thursday that his priorities have reversed: "When I was younger, film was everything and life was just part of it. Now it's the opposite."

The Oscar-winning director spoke a day after he and his son Jonas Cuaron, his co-writer on the 2013 space survival drama "Gravity," revisited the film together following an Imax screening at the festival.

"Life as an experience is what I now care about the most," Alfonso said.

Jonas also brought his film "Campeón Gabacho" to Busan for its Asian premiere in the World Cinema section.

What did 'Gravity' mean to the two writers?

For Jonas, the film's core was rebirth: two characters confronting loss and finding a way forward, with limited dialogue and an environment that made every action matter. Alfonso recalled their early discussions about how setting and movement could express the desire to survive.

Their collaboration drew on the films they watched together. At a press conference, Alfonso remembered Jonas' childhood affection for Robert Bresson's "A Man Escaped" and Vittorio De Sica's "Bicycle Thieves."

"Growing up watching movies that he loves, and then discovering what I love, I tend to tell a story that is simple but powerful in terms of emotions," Jonas said.

Alfonso cited Hitchcock's approach of putting ordinary people in extraordinary situations as a reference for "Gravity," stressing the human stakes behind its spectacle. He conceived the film's extended takes from the outset to sustain the audience's emotional involvement.

How was the film actually made?

The senior Cuarón recalled drawing inspiration from the LED displays at a Rolling Stones concert. For "Gravity," the production used:

• a custom-built LED light box to simulate the shifting light of digital space environments on the actors;
• robot-controlled cameras;
• extensive CGI.

At the masterclass, Alfonso expanded on his approach to long takes and framing, invoking French filmmaker Alain Resnais. "There are 1,000 possibilities to place a camera, but only a right one," he said. "It's not about what you see but about what you don't see."

That emphasis on choosing what remains outside the frame shaped his view that virtual reality cannot replace cinema.

What comes next for the Cuaróns?

Jonas expressed admiration for Korean genre filmmaking and its humor, citing "The Host," "Parasite," "Hope" and "No Other Choice." His young son's enthusiasm for "Train to Busan," he added, made the trip especially exciting for his family.

Asked about future work, Jonas said he remained focused on his newly completed film while exploring different approaches to projects in development. Alfonso expressed interest in making a comedy and learning from a younger generation of filmmakers.

"I believe in the audience," Alfonso said. "Before a filmmaker, I am a cinephile." With a comedy on his mind and a newly completed film from his son, the Cuarón family's filmmaking conversation looks set to continue across generations.