Diego Luna on Cannes Movie Ashes, His 2014 Cesar Chavez Film and Playing Michael Jackson

Diego Luna had both personal motivations and more universal ones that drove him to make Ashes, his fifth feature as director.

While Luna continues to tackle an array of high-profile fare in front of the camera — starring opposite Jennifer Lopez in last year’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, leading the Emmy-winning Star Wars series Andor and nabbing a role in Disney’s live-action Tangled — he continues to tell more intimate stories through his filmmaking work. Adapting Brenda Navarro’s novel Ceniza en la boca, his latest effort centers on Anna Díaz as Lucila, a 21-year-old woman leaving Mexico for Madrid in search of a better life as she reunites with her mother (Adriana Paz), who moved there years ago.

Ahead of Ashes premiering during the Special Screening section at Cannes, Luna tells The Hollywood Reporter about the film resonating with him not only because of the current polarizing debate over immigration but also due to his own family history. Additionally, he reflects on having directed the 2014 biographical feature Cesar Chavez in light of recently surfaced abuse claims against the labor leader who died in 1993.

What was it about the novel that drew you to this project?

It was a very powerful read for me. My son was 14 when I read it, and I thought it was a very interesting story to approach migration from an angle we don’t see much, particularly living in Mexico with that proximity to that huge border between such a powerful country [as the U.S.] and ours, and such a complicated scenario these days. For me, the book resonated profoundly because of the journey of this young woman. If you read it, you’ll understand that I took a piece of that book to make this story and decided to center everything on Lucila. Distance in crucial years for people where parents are not around — that is something really important for me. My mother died when I was 2 years old. I grew up with my father, and he dedicated his life to theater. In a way, what Spain represents in this film for me was theater. It was that thing that was keeping my father away from me.

How did you decide that Anna Díaz and Adriana Paz were the right fit as the mother-daughter duo?

With Adriana, I’ve known her from a long time. We played a couple together in a film called Rudo y Cursi that we did many years ago, and I know her strengths. With Anna, it was very interesting because as soon as the casting director in Mexico read the script, he said to me, “What about Anna? Did you see [her in the 2024 movie] La Cocina?” And I said, “Yes, I saw La Cocina! Obviously, I thought about her, but we should see a lot of actresses.” We saw hundreds of options of great actresses from Mexico. At the very end, I said to Anna, “Do you mind coming and working with me a good hour, and we’ll do a little scene together?” We had a session — Adriana, Anna, me, a few of the producers and the casting director — and everyone was sobbing. When they did that scene, I was like, “This is it. It’s them.”

Over a decade ago, you made a film about Cesar Chavez starring Michael Peña. The civil rights leader has been in the news with labor activist Dolores Huerta, whom Rosario Dawson portrayed in your movie, having accused him of sexual abuse. Have you thought about how you might approach the film differently today?

Completely. I was devastated and very confused and very worried and sad and conflicted with the whole thing because, most importantly, of what the movement means. It was very, very, very hard to understand and believe. I was shocked, and there’s very little you can say. I met so many people whose lives depend on what the movement achieved and what the community was able to do. It was horrendous and painful to read what we all read.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Y Tu Mamá También, which still delivers such impact. How has the process for independent filmmaking changed since then?

The cinema I still enjoy doing the most is that one that celebrates the perspective of someone and has a point of view with independent drive. That can be done small or big. It’s not about the size of the production; it’s about what actually drives the project. I get to work with people that make me feel that way. Basically, in every project I’ve done for the last 10 years, I have had that kind of feeling — no matter what it is, if it’s animation or a gigantic production or a very small one. I’m in search of those projects and trying to celebrate that cinema as much as possible. It’s urgent, and it’s needed, and there’s nothing more powerful for me as the audience, so I want to defend those spaces.

Your Star Wars series, Andor, is beloved as well, so you’ve found a balance between massive projects and smaller ones.

That independent drive was there. We were working on the project written by Tony Gilroy, and there was a very clear vision. That independent drive can happen in gigantic or very small productions. It’s about what’s propelling the project.

I have to ask you about Michael Jackson, given that you played a version of him in [Harmony Korine’s 2008 movie] Mister Lonely, and now the new hit biopic Michael has sparked debate about what it says or doesn’t say. How was the experience with your film?

I haven’t seen [Michael] just because of all the research I had to do and all the beautiful work I got to do with the amazing Harmony Korine on Mister Lonely. It was quite an experience, getting in the head of Harmony and trying to serve him and become a tool for his story to come across. I remember that as a wonderful journey. I learned a lot [from Korine]. His way is different than anybody else. It’s incredible. But I haven’t seen the [new] film. I’ll probably go by myself and watch it soon.

What excites you most about Ashes premiering soon?

I am very anxious to see it in that cinema in Cannes and find a first audience. The fear, the ignorance, the hate we are seeing around migration, this is the way to fight that — reflecting on it, telling stories, trying to get you close to understand the story of just one person who can’t live where they belong, and what does that mean? We don’t stop enough to think about that. That would make the experience and the world different these days.

Have you started considering future projects to direct?

As soon as I finished directing, I was like, “I need to write this other thing and this other thing.” Suddenly, directing allowed me to remember how much I like this process and also how much I’m ready to talk. As an actor, I’m always ready to be invited to help others tell their stories, but today, I have stories to tell, and I want to do it again.