For Chile’s most celebrated documentarian Maite Alberdi, whose debut fiction pic “El lugar de la otra” vies for the Golden Shell at the 72nd San Sebastian Film Festival (SSIF), venturing into fiction filmmaking posed a number of challenges. But it also had its perks: it took her only a month to shoot the drama while it has taken her an average of five years each time to complete a documentary, two of which, “The Eternal Memory” and “The Mole Agent,” have garnered Oscar nominations.
Recreating ‘50s Santiago for her period film was no mean feat for her art department, led by Pamela Chamorro, given the paucity of buildings dating back from that era. “Earthquakes and the lack of government policies to preserve our architectural heritage, has seen few buildings of past eras still standing in Santiago,” Alberdi told PvNew.
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Working with a host of actors, numbering around 50, was also a new experience. The challenge was to find the truth in their performances, the nuances in their gestures and actions, she noted, adding: “I’m used to working with a crew of three with my documentaries, this time I had 80 people!”
The cast is led by Elisa Zulueta, Francisca Lewin, Marcial Tagle, Pablo Macaya and Gabriel Urzúa.
Lensed by Sergio Armstrong (“Neruda”), “El lugar de la otra” is inspired by author Alia Trabucco’s “Las Homicidas” (“Women who Kill”), which chronicles the cases of four Chilean women who committed murder.
Alberdi’s film, a Netflix Original produced by Chilean powerhouse shingle Fabula (“El Conde,” “Spencer”), focuses on the case of novelist Maria Carolina Geel who killed her lover in front of stunned diners at the Hotel Crillón in the early ‘50s.
Inés Bortagaray and Paloma Salas’ screenplay focuses on the point of view of Mercedes (Zulueta), the secretary of the judge assigned to Geel’s case. When she visits the writer’s elegant apartment as part of the investigation, Mercedes finds an oasis of calm that she does not get at the cramped home she shares with her husband and two sons. She begins to question her life, her identity and the role of women in society as she discovers a sense of freedom in that new space.
“Mercedes is a fictitious character but represents all us women. Like us, she seeks to find her own space in order to evolve and create,” Alberdi mused, adding: “The film also reflects on the classism and patriarchy that continue to prevail in Chilean society.”
Asked why she was drawn to this particular story for her fiction debut, she replied: “I see it as a kind of documentary of that era.”
“I just want to make films, it doesn’t really matter what genre,” she continued, adding that she had two documentary projects in early development.
“Netflix and Fabula made such great partners for my first fiction film. They respected my points of view, my vision and deftly guided me through this new world,” she remarked.
Regarding San Sebastian, she said: “I was a juror at San Sebastian a few years ago. What I love most about it is its audience. The cinemas are packed, it’s truly a city of cinephiles.”
The 72nd San Sebastian Festival runs Sept. 20 -28.
