Nisimazine San Sebastian 20th - 28th September 2013
Bad Hair The Face of Love Mariana Rondón & Marité Ugás
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picture of the day
Editorial Fernando Vasquez (Portugal)
If there is a disturbing financial crisis having an inevitable and regretful impact on the Spanish film industry, you surely do not feel it at the 61st edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival. It seems like everywhere you look, be it walking around the corridors of the Kursaal or diving in the depths of the film programs, Spanish cinema is alive and kicking, and displaying an enviable health. Many of the most recognizable names in the local scene are here, including some overly ambitious productions, such as Alex de la Iglesia´s Witching and Bitching, which surely does not appear to have been affected by the chaos at the markets at all. On the other hand it is surprising that in the Kutxa – New Directors section the Spanish present is so discreet, with only one production on the bill, apart from a few co-productions with Latin American filmmakers. Some will undoubtedly look at this as a sign of things to come, but fortunately the mood in Spain´s biggest and most influential showcase is jubilant and positive about the future. And why not? The diversity of the Spanish film industry is unique in Europe and the world, its local market continues to hold much of its power and creativity has never been a problem. If there were any doubts San Sebastian is providing a great answer. Nisimazine is paying close attention to this and much more, and sooner than you think it´s army of 12 young writers from Portugal, Spain and the UK will be revealing all you need to know about the future of film, according to San Sebastian. For now step in our world with this first newsletter and find out about Venezuela´s surprising presence in the official competition and Arie Posin´s second feature. Enjoy!
NISIMAZINE SAN SEBASTIAN
20th - 28th September 2013 # 1 A magazine published by NISI MASA in the framework of a film journalism workshop for young Europeans.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Director Fernando Vasquez Layout Lucía Ros Photography Eftihia Stefanidi
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Vasco Esteves, Bernardo Lopes, Fernando Vasquez
NISI MASA
99, rue du Faubourg Saint-Dénis 75010, Paris, France Phone: +33 (0)1 48 01 65 31 europe@nisimasa.com www.nisimasa.com
Bad Hair
reviews
Mariana Rondón (Venezuela-Perú-Germany)–Official Competition
A mother’s love isn’t always unconditional is the lesson we learn in Mariana Rondón’s Bad Hair. Marta (Samantha Castillo) is a loving, caring, hard-working mother of two. The oldest, Junior (Samuel Lange Zambrano), is mildly obsessed with preening his bad hair for the school picture in which he insists to appear as a groomed singer. Yet for the over-protecting mother, the son’s hair issue is just one of the many occurrences that prove Junior’s questionable sexual orientation. Set in a problematic multi-familiar building in Caracas (Venezuela), this is a film where location is crucial. The social block that resembles a vertical ill guarded prison has a voice of its own, portrayed faithfully in a few doc-like shots at the beginning of the story. In fact, this gentle documentary look is a style Mariana resorts to regularly throughout the film, especially when in need to distance the audience from the narrative as it deepens into the conflicts core. Filled with disturbing and frightening behavior from Marta, more than the precariousness, poverty, violence and urban conflict around the corner, it is the mother’s intolerance that scares us the most. Her struggle to convince herself and Junior that he isn’t gay sheds a bright light regarding how homosexuality, racism or oneness, in a broader sense, is addressed in Latin America.
With persistent characters portrayed by Samantha Castillo and Samuel Lange Zambrano, with the rest of the cast not falling behind on them, their performance haunts us alongside with the film’s subtle political framing. The political references, trough graffiti’s on background walls, almost inaudible radio emissions or a more obvious TV broadcast, are well-though. They also trace a direct link between the political oppression (distorted as seemingly free-will in a brief moment where the population shaves their hair in support for recently diseased Hugo Chaves) and the mother’s oppressive behavior which ultimately brings an all new interpretative layer into the movie. by Vasco Esteves (Portugal)
cally exactly the same as her deceased love. Starting a relationship seeking for a renewed vivacity together, Nikki endeavors to build this opportunity without leaving the past behind. Growing as a classical foolish couple, they begin to diverge when Nikki fails to explain the reason why she keeps going to the same places she had been with her first husband. Believing that this is a miraculously given second chance, Nikki keeps on evoking pleasures and deep experiences shared with Garrett.
The Face of Love
Arie Posin (USA/Israel) - Pearls
When was the last time you felt so intrigued about a plot that you’re pessimistic or doubtful about how it is going to end? Has it somehow surprise you in a reasonable way? Strangely intriguing, The Face of Love, Arie Posin’s second feature film, can be described as a film about an unrealistic but relatable love. Having as a starting point the death of her husband Garett, Nikki struggles to handle her loss. Devastated and emotionally disturbed, living with nothing more but memories and her daughter, this middle-age widow comes across an art teacher, Tom, who is physi-
Losing verisimilitude throughout its development, The Face of Love becomes an unrealistic romantic drama. This is caused by an excessive chain of coincidental and forced occurrences that make Tom a very suspicious character, questioning the audience about his true existence. However, a solid and consistent performance by Annette Benning adding to the mysterious (as usual) interpretation from Ed Harris builds expectations for the resolution of their conflict. Despite of having a secondary and trivial character, Robin Williams still captivates every time he’s on screen. Broadly speaking, these achievements provide density to Posin’s picture thanks to their consistency. With a satisfying score, fairly linked during the whole film, and an irregular but modest direction, The Face of Love may leave you with a sweet and sour taste. Thought-provoking and illogical, the film achieves to react and connect its diffuse storyline, succeeding to puzzle a demystifying insane story. by Bernardo Lopes (Portugal)
interview
inspires you a lot. While shooting the images you get are wonderful, unique. The film has very subtle political references. Is there a direct link between the political oppression and the mother’s oppression? MR: I’m not sure. The audience can interpret it as they like. For me this story has much to do with the contemporaneous moment that we’re living in Venezuela and with how the country’s political life has invaded the daily, familiar, intimate spaces of our lives. I really didn’t want to miss that. It’s an interesting process but very complex because it is disturbing, it requires extreme views, and with extreme views you can only get extreme conflict.
Mariana Rondón & Marité Ugás Director and producer of ‘Bad Hair’ - Official Competition
One of the films on everybody´s lips in San Sebastian has been Mariana Rondón´s latest film, Bad Hair, that could very well steal the show at the most crucial point of the event. Vasco Esteves had the chance to sit down with the director and producer, Marité Ugás, to find out all the details. Location is crucial in Bad Hair. How did you come across that building? MR: Modernism reached Latin America in the 50’s. Rio de Janeiro, Mexico and Caracas began to build big buildings, those buildings. They are symbolic places within the city. A lot of people live in there and all the inhabitants of these cities know the buildings. We can’t escape from them. They are the result of the work of a French architect named Le Corbusier, who created this model of building based on the con-
cept he invented of an Utopian City. At the beginning it was a big social project but then it converted into these terrible hells. Was shooting there easy? MR: Yes and no. No because it is complex: there are a lot of people who live there, you always have to negotiate with them and you can never disturb them. And yes because it is fascinating to be there; because in every way they’re visually stimulating. Just being there, it
Your films have been part of festivals, winning several awards. Is it easy for you to commercially release them across the world as well? MU: I think it’s a global problem, I mean; it’s an issue for all independent Latin American films. It’s hard, but it is possible. There are very specific places where independent cinema can be shown. Unfortunately there are fewer possibilities for theatrical release but there are other places as TV and such. It is because of the power of the festivals that we can get these other spaces. Your relationship goes back to school days. You’ve founded Sudaca Films in 1991 and have been producing, writing and editing each other’s films ever since. How does your creative relationship work? MR: It’s an amorous co-production (laughs). UM: t’s very interesting because working together we’re like a referee for each other. We are very strict in what is the final product. As we know each other so much we try all the time, while working together, to help each other with the final shape of the project. It is very important for us to take care of each other, to take care of our creation. So I think that works really well. Interview by Vasco Esteves (Portugal) Photo by Eftihia Stefanidi (UK/Greece)