SNOB
Long live the short
by Andrés Nazarela R.

What are we talking about when we talk about Chilean film? Unfairly, not of shorts like those that make up “SNOB”, the first installment of the project “Encyclopedia of Chilean Short Film”, distributed by Retaguardia Films and Videochile. Here are six works which surpass the national feature films that every so often make it to the theater. They are restless pieces, innovative and exemplary, that starting tomorrow can be purchased on DVD or appreciated at Cine Arte Alameda.

“XX”, by Cristian Jiménez: The filmmaker who made a name for himself with “The Treasure of the Snails” offers a close-up love story in black and white, somewhere between the bedroom postcards of French New Wave (especially the saga of Antoine Doinel, of Truffaut and “Breathless” by Godard) and the first Jim Jarmusch. A sad outing to the zoo, the smell of mothballs found in a classic bar in La Unión neighborhood, and down time in a bedroom form part of this work which pairs an intentionally inexpressive Nicolás Saavedra with the photogenic Ingrid Isensee. “XX” is a very successful exercise in style.

“Llorando debajo del agua”, by Alicia Scherson: The much-applauded director approaches videoart with a short about airports and solitude that she filmed when she lived in the United States. Carried over from “Play” is the absurd humor and sense of experimentation that leads her to, for example, form texts from song fragments. Museum cinema. Cold, but interesting.

“12 Minutes”, by Sebastián Campos: A game of imitations that was born when Sebastián Campos (“Sacred Family”) was asked to make a short film for the launching of a new line of watches. He used the opportunity to laugh at himself and measure out a parody of the snobbish circle from which he disentangles himself. With Pablo Díaz (as Sebastián Campos), Néstor Cantillana, and Katina Huberman. Funny, even though it’s just a joke.

“Obreras saliendo de la fabrica”, by José Luis Torres Leiva: In a recent stay in Chile, the French critic Jean-Pierre Rehm (writer for the prestigious magazine “Cahiers du Cinéma”), praised this notable short that, like Gus Van Sant’s “Elephant” (or its inspiration, the Hungarian Bela Tarr), is dedicated to following its characters in interlacing circuits. In this case, this means the women who work in an enormous factory and leave for the beach. Without dialogues or zeal for discourse, Torres Leiva delivers an excellent sample of contemplative cinema.

“Vernissagge”, by Yael Rosenblut: Another parody, this time of the exhibition and curator’s circles. The artist Yael Rosenblut convinced real protagonists – such as Justo Pastor Mellado, Francisco Brugnoli, Guillermo Machuca and Gaspar Galaz – to submit themselves to this funny fresco on the rivalries, cynicism, and meanness that often surround the visual arts. The only actors – María José Prieto and Felipe Ríos – are found trapped in the network of pretensions. A short autobiography that could annoy critics, curators or artists without a sense of humor.

“Lobos de la feria fluvial”, de Ilan Stehberg: Sensory journey through the beautiful Valdivian geography in which three children meet at the riverside market, territory of amazing sea lions. It’s an ingenious tribute to southern flora and fauna, all to the beat of electronic music.

Ideal for: Those who aren’t afraid of short ideas.
GOOD

DVD.
“Snob”, a collector’s item

Hitherto unheard-of, interesting and indispensable. This is “Snob”, the self-proclaimed first volume of the collection Encyclopedia of Chilean Short Film. It’s a DVD containing six locally produced shorts, never before edited in this format. Sebastián Campos, Alicia Scherson, José Luis Torres, and Cristián Jiménez, among others, form part of this iniciative that on January 18 will premiere in Cine Arte Alameda with a party and a concert by Javiera Mena and Los Muebles. Retaguardia Films produces this DVD which is not satisfied with just playing each of the six works; each short comes with the filmmaker’s comments, a brief biography and interviews with each one.

In this way, for example, one can learn that Campos was motivated by the theme of time in making his film; of the option to unburden cinema of so many elements in the case of José Luis Torres; or that Yael Roseblut, who has an art degree, went very naturally from still photography to moving images.

Nestor Cantillana, María José Prieto, Nicolás Saavedra and Ingrid Isensee, among others, march across the screen in daring films, different and very far from the pressures of the box-office. Worth being seen.

Miguel Ángel Fredes.

VALENTINA VARGAS RETURNS TO CHILEAN CINEMA AS A KLEPTOMANIAC,
La Tercera, Saturday, January 6, 2007

The actress will share the screen with Álvaro Rudolphy in the film “Optical Illusions”. After become well-known for her work in “The Name of the Rose”, the actress will film – mid-year and in Valdivia -- the comedy directed by first-time feature film director Cristián Jiménez.

Cristián Campos M.

She became well-known in Chile for her participation in the film version of “The Name of the Rose”, with Sean Connery and Christian Slater. She later acted in the fourth part of the movie “Hellraiser” and in B-class U.S. and French films and television series (“Bloody Mallory”, “Air America”). Then Valentina Vargas disappeared, made some sporadic visits back to Chile and, after her part in the film “Los Naufragos” (1994, by Miguel Littín), is now about to make her return to local cinema.

The project is called “Optical Illusions”, a film which will be directed by Cristián Jiménez (“The Treasure of the Snails”) and which will begin filming in July or August of this year. The film is co-produced by Retaguardia Films (see inset) and is financed, in part, by the Chilean National Television Board (CNTV) and the Corporation for the Promotion of Production (CORFO).

In this work situated in Valdivia and which will tentatively premiere in the first half of 2008, Vargas will share the screen with actors such as Paola Lattus, Iván Álvarez de Araya, Gregory Cohen, Roberto Farías, Rosa Calderón and Álvaro Rudolphy. In fact, the latter will play the part of the actress’ husband in the film Jiménez describes as “a melancholy comedy about life in a city that’s halfway between provincial and modern”.

Valentina Vargas will play a well-off woman, who leads a sophisticated life, but who has one weakness: she’s a kleptomaniac. It is even her uncontrolled desire to steal which leads her to meet the mall security guard (Farías), who covers up her crimes and falls in love with her. Rudolphy plays the marketing director of a company called Medicorp and is in charge of carrying out an ingenious advertising campaign to sell the company’s services. As a model, he hires a blind skier who gains his sight and finds that the city is suddenly terrifying to him.

But in this tandem narrative film, it is actress Paola Lattus who has one of the central parts. She is a secretary at Medicorp, sister of the aforementioned security guard and accepts a special promotion by the company for breast augmentation surgery. She also develops a relation with one of the company’s most efficient employees, who is sent to an outplacement workshop.

According to the director, all the stories told in this feature aim to show the dreams and frustrations of a group of ordinary people, and how they face the complex process of modernity. He explains also that he wants to use the rainy Valdivian winter to promote the melancholy of the story.

The script for “Optical Illusions” was written by Jiménez and Alicia Scherson (director of “Play”) and talks are being held for Los Tres bandmember Ángel Parra to do the soundtrack.

ANTOFAGASTAN ACTRESS PROTAGONIST OF FILM
El Mercurio of Antofagasta, Tuesday, January 2, 2007

The film is called “Optical Illusions”. Paola Lattus interprets Manuela, a woman with self-esteem problems.

The actress from Antofagasta, Paola Lattus Ramos, now established in Santiago, will make her film debut playing a protagonist role in the feature film “Optical Illusions”, by the debuting director Cristián Jiménez, a fact which reaffirms her ascendant career as an actress. “I went to a casting and was selected. I had the sort of profile for the character they were looking for. This is a professional job,” affirms the actress from the start. The film consists of three stories bound together by the characters. “It all happens at the same time, but in different places of Valdivia.”

LEADING ROLES

Paola Lattus will share leading roles with actors Roberto Farías and Iván Alvarez de Araya. Also part of the cast are Alvaro Rudolphy, Valentina Vargas (“The Name of the Rose”) and Gregory Cohen, among others. She explains that in July they shot the trailer for the film in Valdivia.

The character Paola Lattus develops is Manuela, a middle-class secretary with a beauty problem. “She doesn’t think she’s very pretty and she’s shy, unlike her friend who is voluptuous. Manuela lives with and supports her brother (Roberto Farías) who doesn’t pay much attention to her”.

“The film is a comedy. There are three stories that come together: one of a blind guy who gains his sight but ends up seeing blurrily; the story of Manuela, the secretary who faces a self-esteem problem and finally decides to do something to change her fate; and the story of her brother, who works as a mall security guard and falls in love with a rich kleptomaniac, who is played by Valentina Vargas”.

A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE

The actress highlights the experience of participating in a film, “because the language is totally different from that of theater, in the sense that body language is much more contained, therefore it’s necessary to be controlled. The other difference, and the most significant, is that the movie actor isn’t the most important part, but rather is working to benefit the image as a whole”.

As we promised, here are the first images from the feature film “199 Tips To Be Happy” (click on the image above). With a cast headed by Pablo Macaya, Tamara Garea, Andrea Garcia-Huidobro and Alex Brendemühl, the second film by Andrés Waissbluth will premiere during the last half of 2007.

“199 Tips To Be Happy” is based on a story by Marcelo Leonart and is a co-production of Retaguardia Films and 14Pies. The shooting took place on location in Barcelona (Spain) and Vilches (Chile).