For one week, the first two episodes of Weirdos will be available for streaming, a series that follows the unexpected changes that occur when a family leaves Buenos Aires, Argentina, to move to the city of Valdivia in Southern Chilean. We invite you to watch the excellent performances of its stellar cast, including actors from Chile and Argentina, in this new edition of "Tuesdays of Chilean Series".
Weirdos is a 12-episode coming-of-age story that was produced by PAROX, in co-production with the Valdivian company Terranova and the Argentine company Atuel Producciones. Directed by Cristián Jiménez and Matías Bertilotti, the vibrant series is highlights the talented performances of Mariana Loyola, Camila Mateos, Lucas Sáez, Paulina Moreno, Andrew Bargsted, Gerardo Chendo and Samuel Gonzalez.
The series also includes a great creative team that pushes the narrative forward. It was written by the acclaimed playwright Manuela Infante, along with Daniel Castro and Andrea Cordones. The show also features the theme song “Transformación” by singer Javiera Mena, a song that is a leitmotif of the series, shadowing the personal transformations that the family lives, both externally and internally.
The first episode begins the moment the mother of the family (Loyola) wins an entomology research grant and decides to take her husband and daughters on a new adventure, exploring new directions in their life. While she studies “strange bugs” at her new job (the literal translation of spanish of the series), the family feels the exact same way, like strange beings in search of belonging and community.
As an audience we witness the trials and tribulations of each member of the family, focusing especially on Alicia (Mateos), a teenager who has to deal with this sudden change of location at a time when her social circle and first love are consuming her life in Buenos Aires. The fears and discoveries that she experiences upon arriving in Valdivia compose a moving coming-of-age story, a journey that defines the narrative heart of the whole series. In Valdivia, Alicia finds refuge in a new group of friends who don´t fit in to the norm: a marginalized cartoonist, a paddler who grieves his dead mother, and a bisexual friend who lives her identity freely. These connections open up Alice's world, as well as that of her entire family.
Weirdos was financed by the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA), through a fund to promote projects in the international co-production category. It was also sponsored by the Valdivia American Capital of Culture 2016. Filming began in Buenos Aires in 2015 and continued that same year in Valdivia.
Since 2001, the production house PAROX has been creating content that connects with the public and provokes a deep social reflection. They have produced 17 TV series, including several that have garnered critical recognition, as is the case with “Los Archivos del Cardenal” (2011), “Gen Mishima” (2008) and “El Reemplazante” (2012). They recently produced the “Gemelas” (2019 - 20) a soap opera shown on the Chilean channel CHV, and they currently developing various projects for both national and international audiences.
They have also produced eight feature films including both fiction and documentary features. These films have had an important trajectory in different festivals, seen through titles such as “Calle Santa Fé” (2007), selected in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival; “Play” (2005) winner of the Tribeca Film Festival; “Matar a Todos” (2007) winner of the Award for Best Screenplay at the Havana Festival and selected in the Official Competition of the San Sebastián Festival, and ·The Magnetic Tree (2013), which also premiered in San Sebastián and won at FICValdivia 2013.
PAROX has undoubtedly paved the way for international TV co-productions in Chile, helming big-name projects such as Héroes Invisibles (2019), a co-production between Chile and Finland, and Weirdos (2018), a co-production between TVN (Chile) and Argentine Public Television, streaming now on CINEMACHILE.CL!
Click here to watch the 1st episode of Weirdos
Click here to watch the 2nd episode of Weirdos
