CLICK TO WATCH Zoológico
CLICK TO VIEW SUMMER 98
In this edition of Thursdays of Chilean Cinema we are taking an in-depth look at an effervescent and exciting genre in our contemporary cinematography, delving into coming-of-age stories that captivated global audiences at the moment of their premiere, and that now return to our screens with the forceful pulse of adolescence. Zoológico (2011) by Rodrigo Marin and Verano 98 (2015) by Valentina Azúa are films that capture with a pop and nostalgic sensibility the insecurities and uncertainties of Chilean youth as they explore innocence, sexuality and self-discovery.
In Zoológico, Marin creates a filmic universe in which shopping malls, the internet, pornography, violence and boredom reign supreme. Three upper-class characters cross and intersect, all expressing the anguish and frustration that accompany the search for identity. In the film this is seen as not only a personal quest, but one that also affects Santiago, as it observes how a Latin American city becomes americanized in order to deny its own demons. Marin carefully takes note of the pauses and emotional containment of his actors (Alicia Luz Rodríguez, Hector Morales, Luis Balmaceda) with an authentic and empathetic outlook. Screened at festivals that include Miami, Toulouse and Valdivia, this film from the start of the decade is a monumental milestone in the coming-of-age genre.
Currently, Marin is soon to release a new film, Let nothing ruin this day, about a young family who decides to go together to the concert of the band The Cure. Shot in black and white, the imagery accentuates the growing frustration of Giannina Frutero (Ema) and Gastón Salgado (Some Beasts). Music plays an important emotional element throughout the narrative, something that is also prevalent in Zoológico.
In the award-winning short Sumer 98, Valentina Azúa focuses on constructing the emotional and aesthetic feel of the end of childhood and the culmination of the 1990s. When Camila's parents (11) travel out of town, they leave her in the care of her older sisters, from whom Camila wants to escape to join her group neighborhood friends. The sisters' relationships, their first kisses and a Backstreet Boys album are milestones that represent a shift in Camila's life. With a light and confident tone, Azúa composes a universal story, that was awarded at the Huesca International Film Festival and at SANFIC in 2015. Currently, Azúa is working on the script for her long-awaited debut feature Portrait Sin Nombre No16.
CLICK TO WATCH Zoológico
CLICK TO VIEW SUMMER 98
