Sean Mattison, author of the documentary 'Petro': “He has an emotional shield, an armor to protect himself”

Gustavo Petro's ministers sat in front of a screen at the Casa de Nariño on Tuesday night to watch a documentary about the big boss. Exclusively, they saw Petro, a film with which the American filmmaker Sean Mattison (Paris, 37 years old) shone in Mexico and the United States in 2023 and which premieres this week in Colombia. During an hour and a half of screening, attendees remembered the 2022 campaign and the dreams with which they came to power, something motivating in a week of legislative collapses and traffic jams. But, despite the warm reception, Mattison was left wanting to see the protagonist of his story. “I liked it,” is all he received a few months ago when he sent Petro a preliminary version and he responded through his press team. However, the American does not lose hope and hopes that the president will attend the Bogotá Cinematheque this weekend.

Portraying the left-wing president has not been easy. For the American documentary filmmaker, who met him in 2007 as a senator and followed him for more than a year during the 2022 campaign, it was a challenge to “access the inner Petro.” Not only because the advisors of the then candidate saw little benefit in giving long interviews to a documentary filmmaker and taking away coveted time from a radio, a television channel or a daily newspaper. Also because Petro is an enigma; a reserved person and not very adept at being deciphered by friends and strangers. And there is no shortage of reasons, according to the filmmaker, who is still trying to interpret it. “There is a lot of media bias in this country and it is difficult to trust people,” says Mattison, who won an Emmy in 2021 for Attention! Murderer Next Door.

Ask. In 2007, he made a student short film about Petro. What do you remember about her first meeting with him?

Answer. I remember that we arrived at the Senate and I was surprised by their security scheme… being surrounded by escorts with firearms was not something common for me coming from the outskirts of Washington. I was struck by his bravery in the face of the threats he was receiving: he pointed out things that others were afraid to point out. [los vínculos entre políticos y paramilitares] and he faced systems of power that have been in this country for many years.

Q. And about the reunion in 2021 for this film?

R. I went to his office again and told him: “Maybe you don't remember me, but we want to continue the presidential campaign. We already have many more years of experience making documentary films, we have won awards. Would you be willing to let us follow you on the campaign trail until election day?” He told me: “How are you going to do that if you don't live here?” I responded that he was moving me to Colombia then. I think at that moment he realized I was serious.

Q. Why did you decide to dedicate so much time to Petro?

R. We had seen favorable polls that said he had a chance of winning. And the story of the first leftist government in Colombia was impossible to resist. Many foreign journalists were interested. The good thing for us was that we arrived a year and a half before the elections. The bad thing was that even so access was limited due to the number of commitments he had. I was left with a lot of ideas that in the end could not be done. It was difficult to get him to talk about more personal things and I feel like I could have gotten more depth if I had more time with him or the chance to accompany him to more places. But I'm still proud of what we achieved.

Q. The film has a lot about the 2022 campaign and the history of Colombia, but few biographical components beyond the president's time in the M19 guerrilla. Because?

R. There was little access because it was in campaign and there was no time to go to Ciénaga de Oro [donde nació Petro] and talk to all his relatives, recounting his youth in more depth. So the biographical part is a long interview we did in which we talked a lot about the M19, which is what I found most notable about his youth. I feel like when people talk about their youth, they start to open up more… it's kind of nostalgic for them.

Q. In that interview he also tells him that he feels alone in the campaign.

R. He speaks of hurricane-force winds that carry him away like a leaf… perhaps to victory, death or definitive defeat. It's interesting because he usually talks like that, metaphorically.

Q. In any case, it seems difficult to access the most intimate Petro, beyond the political one.

R. I think that because he has been in the guerrilla and because of his entire history, he is a very private person. It is difficult to reach the interior Petro. If you start to analyze, the people around him have been the same for decades. A new friend does not appear every six months, but they are the same. It's almost like he has an emotional shield, like armor to protect himself. Not only because of the threats, but also because of the media bias against them… it is difficult to trust people.

Q. What is the difference between being with Petro in a campaign car and seeing him on the stages?

R. When you are with him, speak in a low voice. When he is on stage, he is more electric… he has that ability to project himself. But there isn't just one Petro… he changes depending on who is around him. On the coast and with the indigenous or peasant communities, he seemed more open… there he felt that confidence of being with people with whom he related well. That they understand him and he understands them.

Q. Some, on the other hand, portray an arrogant and distant Petro, unwilling to accept criticism. Did you perceive it that way at some point?

R. When he met with advisors or volunteers, he listened to everyone before speaking. I feel that he is capable of working as a team. And he is a smart man… when he believes he is right, he may be a little stubborn, but I feel that the criticism that he is arrogant is not valid.

Q. In one of the shots the candidate appears smiling with Francia Márquez and Armando Benedetti, a figure who was close in the campaign and who overshadowed the Government last year. What was his contact with him?

R. We knew that Petro wanted him in the campaign because of the influence he had in Barranquilla and on the coast. And we knew that he had been in other parties, that he was like a political chameleon and that it was necessary to create alliances. But contact was always limited. He didn't seem very willing to talk to us… after one or two tries, we stopped thinking about developing him as a character.

Q. And with Laura Sarabia?

R. [Risas] He's an interesting figure now, but at the time we didn't see him that way. Initially we thought that she was Benedetti's assistant…she later began to organize the agenda and have more importance. She made an effort to give us time with Petro, but we did not ask her to interview her.

Q. The documentary reflects the hope of many people with a change for Colombia. But, in an interview with this newspaper a year later, the president acknowledged that this change has been more difficult than he thought.

R. I have always felt that he needed more friends and political alliances. One cannot do reforms without that. And I understand your distrust,
but both the opposition and the Government should make a greater effort to understand each other. The same could be said of the Republicans in the United States. You don't have to trust Mitch McConnell, but if at some point we need to talk to get something done, then your enemy can help you too.

Q. His documentary is based on the fact that Petro's election was an unprecedented political phenomenon. But, if those changes that excited so many do not occur in the Government, will his film lose relevance?

R. [Duda] Let's see… he still has two more years of Presidency. More things can be achieved, although the next campaigns begin after this year. Furthermore, I think that no one would say that this Government has been worse than that of [Iván] Duke.

Q. The Ministry of Culture has announced that the film “is ready to captivate the Colombian public” and has shared the call for several screenings. How do you plan to avoid your work being seen as propaganda?

Q. I told Petro from the first moment that this was not propaganda and he respected that. He did not set any conditions for us to make the documentary. Now what we have to do is consolidate a communication and marketing strategy that we have been talking about with the distributor. We have to confront with arguments the perception that it is propaganda: we interview opposition leaders [como María Fernanda Cabal] and it is about the elections, a moment of change and collective struggle.

Q. What did you think that Petro I would recommend the movie in X?

R. That seems fine to me. We need all the marketing we can get. I don't want it to be seen as something from him or the Government, but he has seven million followers on X and I'm not going to complain if those people go to see the documentary.

Q. You supported Petro and you are leftist. That surely permeates his work.

R. Yes. But, for example, I am interested in Javier Milei [el presidente de Argentina]. He is making big changes and I am interested in strong characters who divide public opinion. The root of a documentary is in a conflict. In the case of Petro, we always think of him as a political phenomenon and not as a leader with an ideology that we share. I support his fight against climate change and his search for peace in Colombia, but I am perfectly capable of going and making a documentary about a leader or character that seems bad to me.

Q. And gain their trust?

R. Yes, that's what it's about. You have to be able to dialogue with the villains too.

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