In this new week of Thursday's of Chilean Cinema, - the CinemaChile streaming program that releases two productions that can be seen for free anywhere in the world for seven days - we bring to you two films with big impact. One of them takes us closer to an emotional universe more common than expected, and in the other we enter a hidden reality of abuse, but one that is also prevalent in our society. The first is the feature film “Square Meter”, Nayra Ilic’s opera prima, and the second is the award winning short film The Summer of the Electric Lion, by Diego Céspedes.
“Square Meter”, produced by Paulo Parra, narrates a crisis between a young couple who decide to start living together. The film questions the traditional notions of family through observations of daily routine, leaving behind the clichés of romantic life. The narrative allows us to take voyeuristic look at the relationship of these characters and what surrounds them, making us as witnesses of their personal space. Through this intimate portrait, we notice how someone even though accompanied, can feel completely alone.
This film had its premiere in 2011 at the Palm Springs Festival, which called the film “a self-assured work where there is a simplicity in the way that quiet moments and uncomfortable silences are captured, allowing the public the rare pleasure of understanding what the characters think without them having to say a word.”
After being exhibited at the North American festival, “Square meter” was presented in other spaces such as the Eye Film Festival, the Rio de Janeiro Festival, the Latin American Festival in Trieste, among others, and features performances by Natalia Grez, Álvaro Viguera, Fernanda Urrejola, Consuelo Holzapfelm and Boris Quercia.
Ilic is currently working on her second feature film “Cuerpo Celeste”, winner of Best Project in Chilean Cinema of the Future at the Valdivia Film Festival 2019. In addition, she obtained the Ibermedia 2020 Fund and the CORFO 2020 Development Fund, and the project is part of the Torino Film Lab Feature Lab Next 2020 program.
Click to watch SQUARE METER
Accompanying the previous feature film, we have the pleasure of showing the 2018 revelation Chilean short film entitled “The Summer of the Electric Lion”, that premiered at the Cinéfondation of the Cannes Festival, where it obtained first place, a historic milestone for Chile.
The 22-minute film tells the sordid story of a 17-year-old girl who is forced to become the seventh wife of a prophet who, they say, electrocutes those who touch him. Filmed in a way that reflects a strong emotional charge, the moments of pause bring us closer to the affection between brother and sister. A precise and rich cinematographic portrait of the powerlessness of children against the injustice of adults, especially in extreme situations of abuse.
The group of actors who gave life to the characters in “The Summer of the Electric Lion” are made up of renowned names in Chile such as Roxana Naranjo, Tuti Elissegaray and Luis Dubó, as well as new talents such as Gaspar Santibáñez and Lan Fa.
After Cannes, the short participated in the Nest Film Students section of the San Sebastian Festival, where it won the Panavision Prize and had an outstanding tour of international circuits such as the Sarajevo Festival, Molise Cinema Festival, Nara Festival, Film Festival Pacific Meridian, Biarritz Amérique Latine Festival, among many others. Its national premiere was at the Santiago International Film Festival (SANFIC) winning the Special Jury Mention for Best Direction.
Diego Céspedes has worked as director of photography and editor on various shorts, among them Andrea Castillo's “Non Castus” (a film that we previously exhibited on our Thursdays of Chilean Cinema) and which won a Special Mention at the Locarno Festival 2016 . He is currently working on his first feature film The Mysterious Look of Flamenco, which takes place in the first HIV-AIDS crisis in Chile, an awaited project developed at the Cinéfondation Residence of the Cannes Festival and which is in the midst of being created.
