“Simulating the Flight of the Butterfly”: Alejandro Mejia on Son of Monarchs
Austin Jones
February2, 2021
Alexis Gambis’ Son of Monarchs moves between New York City and Michoacán, Mexico as biologist Mendel (Tenoch Mejía) returns to his hometown to attend his grandmother’s funeral. Michoacán is where Mendel first became obsessed with monarch butterflies, which he would later devote his life to studying, but is also where his and his older brother Simon’s parents died in a flood. DP Alejandro Mejia details how he bound the film’s two central locations through camerawork.
Alexis Gambis’ Son of Monarchs moves between New York City and Michoacán, Mexico as biologist Mendel (Tenoch Mejía) returns to his hometown to attend his grandmother’s funeral. Michoacán is where Mendel first became obsessed with monarch butterflies, which he would later devote his life to studying, but is also where his and his older brother Simon’s parents died in a flood. DP Alejandro Mejia details how he bound the film’s two central locations through camerawork.