>>> The international co-production Inés del alma mía will premiere on open television in Spain on September 2, within the framework of the second part of the Conecta Fiction Reboot industry meeting to be held in Pamplona. 

Based on the homonymous novel by the Chilean writer Isabel Allende, the series was directed by the Spanish Alejandro Bazzano ( La casa de papel ) and the Chilean Nicolás Acuña ( Sitiados ), with a cast led by Elena Rivera and Eduardo Noriega, as well as national talents such as the young actress Antonia Giesen (28), who plays Cecilia, an Inca princess close to Inés de Suárez who, according to the book, played an important role during the Spanish conquest.

Inés del alma mía debuted on July 31st through the Amazon Prime platform (available only in some territories) and, before arriving in Chile, it will be launched on the Spanish TVE channel next September in the framework of CONECTA FICTION, the most important fiction series market in Spain It was precisely in previous editions of this event where the incorporation of RTVE and AMAZON to the co-production took place, in which Chilevisión and Boomerang also participated.

Regarding this premiere, we spoke with Antonia Giesen -winner of the Upcoming Actress Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2019-, to ask about her experience in the series and about being a Chilean actress in a global industry. 

With only four years of career, Giesen has already participated in three major series co-productions available on the Amazon Prime streaming platform: La Jauría, El Presidente and the recently launched Inés del alma mía, the largest fiction series made so far in Chile. Added to this are important national nighttime soap operas such as Río Dark and Pacto de sangre and in films like El hombre del Futuro by Felipe Ríos and Ema by Pablo Larraín, which have given her international prestige.

-The next role we'll see you in is the co-production Inés del alma mía, what would you highlight from that international work experience? How did you get to the project?

I had the opportunity to be part of the series because Nicolás Acuña proposed me to the executive producers in Spain. After that came the casting, which was in charge of Roberto Matus, where I was selected to play the role of Cecilia, an Inca princess.

I would highlight several things about what it means to work at that level of industry. It is very positive to be able to travel with your work. In fact, our team had to travel to Spain, Peru and also travel through Chile. On the other hand, co-productions between countries give you the possibility to understand how other industries work, whether in technical, financial and ideological terms. And the latter serves to know and, inevitably, to compare. Chile does not have a large consolidated film industry, but what it does have is a large niche of talented professionals linked to audiovisual art who with very little can do a lot.

-How did you prepare to play the Inca princess Cecilia? 

The difficulty is that Cecilia is a character about whom not much is known, so investigating who she was, what she was like and her participation in the conquest of Chile was difficult and above all diffuse. It was important and enlightening to read the book Inés del alma mía by Isabel Allende and I clung more closely to that story. From there, together with the help of both directors, I managed to build this Inca woman and princess, a noble accomplice and supporter of Inés.

The accent issue was complex, not because of difficulty but because it failed to anchor this character. For a time we did not know how Cecilia spoke. We discussed a lot if we wanted her to speak Quechua, a neutral tone or a Spanish accent, but in the end we defined that Cecilia spoke an imperfect Spanish accent. It helped me to watch several Spanish series before starting filming to listen to their accent and then just being under the shooting conditions helped something organic to happen: shooting under the sun, with heat, earth, at times wind, also created a particular state to tell this story.

-You only had one television series in your body when you shot The Man of the Future , a role that gave you an important award at a European film festival. How did you take this first international recognition?

The award in Karlovy Vary was unexpected and, like the Caleuche Award (for Blood Pact ), it was a way to legitimize myself as an actress. The acknowledgments of your work are a caress that allows you to better resist this path of art and they confirm that one is not so lost, that the love, dedication and energy invested in each project has been worth it.

In these four years, I have had the pleasure and the opportunity to have participated in various audiovisual projects and that is, without a doubt, a school. Not only because of the magnitude of each project or how challenging in content they have been, but because doing so always involves connecting with other people (actors, actresses, technicians, directors, makeup artists, costume designers, etc.) on and off the set. 

Clearly, my way of approaching work and my characters is not the same as it was four years ago. I feel that what I gained with practice is courage, that I long to have it more and more every day. Without a doubt, I am beginning to feel more joy in that vulnerable present. And I think, in a very cliché way, that that is loving acting.

-How do you decide who to work with? Where did your interest to accept to enter a series and / or movie come from?

Of course work is scarce and at some point you have to know how to take advantage of opportunities. In this sense, the possibility of "choosing" is not always so simple, because you have to live off something in life. However, it is true that with time and personal growth you can be more selective with what you want to do and with whom it suits you to work. When I choose to participate in a project, I stop to ask about the idea, if the story makes sense to me, if my character is challenging, if the work teams are friendly. Many times regardless of the magnitude or possible visibility of the project, the human group that composes it melts me or the possibility of acting with someone I admire.

-In an interview (with Soychile) you spoke about your desire to internationalize your career in Spain, what is it that attracts you to that? Does being in Berlin serve that purpose?

 The decision to live outside of Chile was driven by a personal life project, a feeling of “starting” over, and is not particularly driven by a job or academic offer. Already before I had the idea of ​​internationalizing my career, but I was immersed in the work hustle and bustle of Chile.

It is difficult to stop for a moment and decide to leave. Although this does not mean cutting off my country, obviously this decision, at least for a few months, implies losing some things and gaining others. And obviously being outside, it becomes a necessity to work, for economic and emotional reasons. I want to live doing what I love and that is acting and who knows, also taking up clinical psychology, which is my profession.

-To conclude, could you tell us what are the current and future projects you are working on? Is there any chance of seeing you working with Victoria, your sister? 

Currently, in Berlin I am doing some experimental work in the field of the scenic, but there are few things that I do. I am more dedicated to inserting myself in this culture, so different and new to me. Also working remotely with the second season of La Jauría that is coming up.

Regarding working with my sister and best friend, we are always looking forward, we have always talked about it and it is gaining strength. I really admire Victoria's look not only because I love her, but because in creative and ideological terms, I find it dazzling. I would deeply enjoy being led by her, because we open up the possibility of a horizontal, respectful job with the least amount of ego at stake.