Victoria Franco has long been a crucial presence on her brother Michel Franco’s films, working behind-the-scenes as a creative producer on projects such as the Jessica Chastain-Peter Sarsgaard starrer Memory, as well as Sundown, starring Tim Roth. All along, she worked toward the goal of striking out on her own by directing short films.

With Saturday’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Twelve Moons, she will unveil her first feature as a director, with brother Michel, the celebrated Mexican filmmaker, stepping into a producing role on the project. Twelve Moons follows Sofia, a 40-year-old architect who, after experiencing a devastating loss, must confront strong emotions while trying to stay true to herself. As her personal and professional lives begin to deteriorate, she must look inward for a path forward.

Michel’s films are known for their unsparing, tightly controlled storytelling — a style shaped by his live editing process. Pioneered early in his career with sister Victoria, the method sends footage directly from the camera to an editing room, where an editor and Victoria work together to assess the story as it unfolds, rather than waiting until the end of a shoot. Victoria utilized this method on her own film, and she says it yielded some surprising results.

As Victoria steps forward with a style that is emotional, intuitive, and unmistakably hers, she and Michel sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss their creative bond.

How did you decide on the title Twelve Moons?

VICTORIA FRANCO I fell in love with the title because it brought together a number of different themes I wanted to touch on. The film tackles themes of womanhood and addiction. The number twelve representing the twelve steps of recovery and twelve months of the year. The moons representing the reproductive cycle of the woman. 

You both pioneered this process of live editing together. How did that come to be?

MICHEL FRANCO It started on a film called Through the Eyes that Victoria and I shot together — it was part fiction and part documentary. I was in charge of the fiction, and she headed the documentary. We were editing on set because there was no script, just an outline. We had someone with a computer, and we were the editors. I just liked the process so much that I kept using it on my more conventional films, starting with After Lucia. And I also kept shooting in chronological order. Victoria and I developed that system 15 years ago.

VICTORIA FRANCO We worked every Saturday, revisiting all the material while we were shooting the fiction. The process was very instinctive — following the gut and what the story needed. Everything in making movies is instinctive.

Victoria, what was it like using the live editing process on your own for Twelve Moons?

VICTORIA FRANCO It was very different. The movie has many things that weren’t in the script. I didn’t know I would be editing that way — the shooting process was very fluid, changing as we progressed. Filmmaking is very in the moment for me. The best thing I can do is try to adapt to changes in real time. Editing on set allowed me the freedom to play with the structure. I really tried to let the viewer feel what he’s supposed to feel — the emotions of the scene — and not impose something in the editing.

Michel, did you work in the editing room on your sister’s film? Was the dynamic reversed?

MICHEL FRANCO Not at all. In general, when I work as a producer, I’m usually never on set. And it was the same with Vicky. I try to give the directors all the space they need and let each crew find their own working ways. I try to avoid being on set. If I’m on set, it often means that there’s trouble, so it’s a good sign that I’m never on set.

Victoria, did you try to move away from Michel’s style while making your film?

VICTORIA FRANCO I’ve learned a lot from Michel, however with Twelve Moons it was important for me not to imitate him. Everything I like and admire about his movies wouldn’t fit my way of filming. If I tried to copy him, it wouldn’t be a good movie. He has his own talent, and I have my own way of thinking and looking at cinema. That’s how we complement each other — we add layers.

MICHEL FRANCO Our personalities are very different. When people see Twelve Moons, they’ll discover Victoria’s personality and her way of looking at the world. It’s very different from mine — she created a world of her own.

Victoria, how would you describe Twelve Moons, and what do you hope the audience takes away from it?

VICTORIA FRANCO It’s a film of regeneration through addiction and hardship, weaving themes of family and heritage. I have my own personal connections to the story, however it is important for me not to impose my way of feeling. I want viewers to connect in their own ways.

You cast your own mother in Twelve Moons — what made you decide she was the right person for the role, and what was that experience like for you emotionally?

VICTORIA FRANCO The mother in the film is a symbol, and my own mother has such a strong instinct for maternity — I didn’t even think about casting someone else. It was hard emotionally, especially because her character represents death. Seeing her like that was difficult, but at the same time, it was relieving. Maybe it made me a little less afraid.

Now that you’ve established yourself as a director, will you still collaborate with Michel?

VICTORIA FRANCO I think we’ll always work together. We’ve collaborated since we were kids, and we still learn a lot from each other and our processes.

MICHEL FRANCO One film at a time, but for us there’s no split between life and film. Whenever we need help — in life or in work — we’re the first person the other turns to. It comes naturally.