A few days ago, Italian-Chilean director Maura Morales premiered her new documentary “Entierro” in theaters, a production that boasts the participation of greats such as Manuela Martelli in its narration and Jorge Arriagada in its music. Martelli’s role is to guide us on an audiovisual journey that seeks to trace the steps of the artist Carmen Gloria Morales. However, all traces of her painting have disappeared due to a fire that consumed her home and her belongings.
The production will have functions at the National Cinematheque on January 17th, and here the director narrates some details about her first feature-length documentary.
- How would you describe the themes that intersect the documentary, and what was, or continues to be, the search behind this production?
Entierro is a documentary about art and its importance in the life of an artist. As an artist, it’s a topic that I will continue to search, obviously, because it’s very near to me, just like the search for my roots.
- What would you say about the step from direction of photography to direction? What was your greatest challenge or lesson learned?
It was very natural. As a director of photography, I’ve filmed many documentaries, and being a director was something very fast and simple. The greatest challenge was putting myself in front of the camera, I’m not used to it and it really bothers me.
- What was the shooting like and what were the main challenges?
The shoot lasted five years. Many different situations, countries and crews. The main challenge was that of finding a way to tell the story of Carmen Gloria’s painting without her or her paintings. Entierro is my very personal point of view about her art.
- “Entierro” is a journey. Why did you decide to embark on, in this story, characters like Manuela Martelli, who is in charge of the narration, or renowned musician Jorge Arriagada?
I called Manuela because I didn’t want to be in front of the camera, but then naturally, a dialogue between the two of us was easier, and she herself helped me act. Jorge was in the project since the beginning, since it started as a documentary about the dialogue between a painter and a musician, which is him.
- How, and out of what place, do you feel or believe that the audience will connect with the documentary?
At the projections that I’ve done in the world, I’ve realized that the story is very intimate and personal. That intimacy manages to get into people’s sensibility and move them. That is, out of a personal story, there manages to be something universal, and to me, that is a tremendous achievement.
