Blog Retaguardia en inglés

“199 Tips to be Happy” wins award in Valdivia Film Festival

2008-10-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

The Jury of the work in progress section of the Festival de Valdivia, gave the award to “199 Tips to be Happy”. The Film directed by Andrés Waissbluth also won an award given by Chilefilms and Kodak. This award consisted in materials and post-production facilities. In addition, BF Distribution offered as part of the award a distribution deal for the film.

“Ilusiones Ópticas” completes shooting

2007-09-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

The shooting of the film directed by Cristián Jiménez ended September 16. The film was shot in Valdivia and Antillanca during 28 days in HD format. The cast was formed by Paola Lattus, Eduardo Pacheco, Gregory Cohen, Iván Álvarez de Araya, Álvaro Rudolphy, Valentina Vargas, Carla Chambel, Carla Bolito and Samuel González.

“Ilusiones Ópticas” is a co-production of Retaguardia Films Jirafa, Roos Film and Filmes Fundo (Portugal). The project counts with the support of Ibermedia, Fondo de Fomento Audiovisual, Corfo, CNTV and Fundación Andes. The film also participated in Colón Workshop and in the Mannheim Meetings.

The release of “Ilusiones Ópticas” is programmed for mid 2008.

Emol comments the beginning of the shoot of “Optic Illusions” starring Valentina Vargas and Álvaro Rudolphy.

2007-09-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

SANTIAGO.- The film “Ilusiones Ópticas” directed by Cristián Jiménez, has begun its shooting in Valdivia and Antillanca. Valentina Vargas, Álvaro Rudolphy and Gregory Cohen, all national actors, lead the cast.
Vargas is recognized by her roles in international movies such as “The name of the Rose” (“Der Name der Rose”, 1986) and “Big Blue” (Le Grand Bleu”, 1988). Since 2002 that Valentina Vargas didn’t participate in film productions, only in TV. Even though she is part of the cast of the film “All Inclusive”, that will be released in 2008.

Jimenez’s film, that will be his first feature, begun it’s shoot last week in Valdivia and it defines itself as a “intelligent comedy, full of irony and black humor”, throughout three parallel stories that get across.

The film will also be the film debut for the actress Paola Lattus, who has an important role as a secretary. Through her character, the three stories intersect.
The script of the movie was written by its own director, Cristián Jiménez, and Alicia Scherson, the director of the awarded film “Play”.
A guard that falls in love with an elegant thief, a perfect employee that is removed form his work position into an almost nonexistent one, and a blind guy who has an operation to get back his sight, that doesn’t work at all, are the stories and characters that travel throughout the film.

Emol announces the support of Ibermedia to “Ilusiones Ópticas”

2007-07-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

Santiago.- The first feature of the director Cristián Jiménez, “Ilusiones Ópticas” and the documentary of Germán Berger “Vida con Carlos”, that tells the family story of his father, missing during the military government, where the winners of the first annual awards of Fondo Ibermedia.

Jimenez’s film, which will begin it’s shoot in august, will receive 100 thousand dollars, with which the post-production would be completely financed. The film is co-produced by Filmes de Fundo from Portugal. This means that two Portuguese actresses will join the cast.

The story of “Ilusiones Ópticas” divides in three: A guard that falls in love of a woman that steals in the mall he is working in, a perfect employee that is removed form his work position into an almost nonexistent one, and a blind guy who has an operation to get back his sight, that doesn’t work at all. The three stories take place in the cold winter of Valdivia, having its common point in Manuela, the character played by Paola Lattus. The cast is also conformed by Valentina Vargas, Álvaro Rudolphy, Alejandro Trejo and Gegory Cohen, between others.

“Vida con Carlos”, is a family story of Carlos Berger, who disappeared after he was captured in 1973 by the militias and then executed by the so-called Caravana de la Muerte (The Caravan of the Death). Germán Berger his own son narrates the story and who has been in Chile for more than a year producing the film (actually he lives in Spain since 9 years).

The documentary won 60 thousand dollars and is co produced by Spanish and German companies.

The winning projects where announced this morning by the Minister of Culture, Paulina Urrutia, in presence of the two directors in Café Torres of the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda.

“Ilusiones Ópticas” and “Vida con Carlos” are the two winning projects of the first call of Ibermedia of the year. For the second call of the same year the films “Tony Manero” of Pablo Larraín, and “Lección de Pintura” of Pablo Perelmab are in the waiting list as well as an Argentinean project with the participation of Aplaplac producer.

“Snob” is reviewed in La Segunda by Andrés Nazarala

2007-01-22T08:17:00.000-08:00

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

“Snob” reviewed in Las Últimas Noticias by Miguel Ángel Fredes

2007-01-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

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.

“Optical Illusions” in La Tercera

2007-01-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

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.

Paola Lattus talks about “Optical Illusions” with El Mercurio of Antofagasta

2007-01-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

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”.

Exclusive advance trailer: “199 TIPS TO BE HAPPY”

2007-01-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

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).

Tamara Garea talks about “199 Tips To Be Happy” with Las Últimas Noticias

2006-12-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

Tammy Garea: “For a long time I’d been waiting for someone to risk it with me”
Lead actress of “199 Tips To Be Happy”, Andrés Waissbluth’s second film

Las Últimas Noticias, Saturday, December 9, 2006
Victor Garciá

Of the same generation as Gonzalo Valenzuela, Juan Pablo Ogalde or Paola Gianinni, actress Tammy Garea (30) is a good reflection of determination. After participating in a whole string of cinematographic and theatral projects, the girl is finally able to finish one of the most important works of her life: the leading role in “199 Tips To Be Happy”, the new movie by Andrés Waissbluth, director of “Los Debutantes”.

“I’m so happy and grateful for the opportunity that Andrés gave me and I think it was amazing to have been part in the project. For a long time, I’d been waiting for someone to risk it with me,” says the actress, who in the film interprets Helena, a woman who lives in Barcelona with her husband Tomás, played by Pablo Macaya.

“She doesn’t attend the funeral of her dead brother in Chile and that’s when the conflicts begin. The movie, in itself, rescues the loss of youth and takes on the subject of auto-exile,” adds Tammy.

Regarding the exhibition date of the film, the young woman – who also acted in “Mala Leche” (by León Errázuriz) and in the TV series “Tentación” on Channel 13 – is cautious. “Supposedly, the film could come out in March or August of next year, but we still have to tape the audio. We’ll have to see what happens,” she states.

“XX” earns mention by exhibitors in Mannheim

2006-11-29T06:21:00.000-08:00

The short film by Cristián Jiménez, “XX”, has gained new recognition in Europe. This time, the theater owners who formed part of the panel of judges at the Mannheim Film Festival granted the film a mention. The main prize for short films was won by “Quelque Chose avec an O" by Marc Schaus of Belgium.

Additionally, “Optical Illusions” was presented at Mannheim Meetings, the co-production market of the same festival.

“XX” awarded prize in Viña del Mar

2006-11-22T06:15:00.000-08:00

The Retaguardia Films short “XX” received the VTR Award for Young Revelation in the Viña del Mar Film Festival. This award is added to the Cine Court Prize won by the same work in Biarritz, France. “XX” was also nominated for the Pedro Sienna Award for Best Short Film. At this time, the short is participating in the official competition of the Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival.

“199 Tips”: 60 days later

2006-11-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

by Andrés Waissbluth

Two months have passed since the end of filming “199 Tips To Be Happy” and it seems like a good time to look back on it. It took almost 5 years of work to be able to film the story “Noticias de Milo”, by Marcelo Leonart. That was the starting point on the path of which, as we moved forward, I gave myself more and more possibilities to take more risks, and to make a movie different from everything I’ve done so far.

Starting with a published story was already a novelty. I have always filmed original ideas of my own. By the end of it, there was nothing and everything left of the story. My course in adapting literature to film was to respect the idea and to intervene in the form, distorting it to such an extent that by the end, it had changed the idea. This is how it went from being a minimal, voyeuristic concept to a mental, complex film. It’s also how I went from the obvious themes of the story: lies and hidden incest, mimicry and latent homosexuality, to one that outlasts the others: the survival of the couple. Even though neither partner is what he or she wanted to have been in the past. Once it reached this point, the self-help perspective became a natural element in cinematographic construction. The tips can seem absurd; however, they end up helping Tomás in spite of himself, in his process of maturation. And this seems to be the best tip for his happiness: growth. To accept that he isn’t the same person he dreamed of being when he was 20 years old.

Filming in another country caused this experience to be a challenge from the start, and not only because of the difficulties with production and the creative obstacles that this implies. The most important challenge was that for all of us it was, literally, a voyage into the unknown. This had the unexpected effect of everything becoming sensualized. With suffocating temperatures and faces of multiple colors, Barcelona gave me the sensation of being an eroticized city under its layer of supposed elegance and sobriety. Going even further than the end-of-shooting stories, this was a big contribution to the film. It made the whole environment strange. The film has only one sex scene, at the end; however, the sexual tension is always being breathed in. That tension gave me the possibility to go a step farther and keep taking risks, arriving at the best sex scene I have ever filmed. It’s exciting. It closed a chapter. After doing short and feature films on the subject, I don’t want to film any more sex, at least not for a while.

I think we were lucky. The crew that worked on the film, which is the crew that’s always worked with us for the last few years, is living a great creative moment. They combine experience and talent to perfection. Sebastián Muñoz in art direction, Inti Briones in photography, Bruno Bettati in production, accompanied long-distance by Crisis. Waldo Salgado, by my side, clearing the way ahead. The Chilean-Catalonian grafting of Manuel Robles. Cristian Petit-Laurent and Cristian Burgos. Michelle Bossy. Paco Toledo. They all have many feature films under their belt, but they’re still young, with a fresh, restless gaze. Every first cut shot I’m finishing up now is a testament to that fact. And the actors, too. Pablo Macaya playing the part of his life, in the most literal sense. Tamara Garea putting forth a touch of distinction and nostalgia, and Andrea García Huidobro delivering a potential and ambiguity that puts you on edge. Added to them is Alex Brendemühl, a Catalonian actor or German descent, as weird as he is adorable. They’re all fantastic.

This human combination is what, in spite of the difficulties unique to any filming, protected me and helped me take the steps I wanted to take: to begin to allow myself more as a director. It wasn’t a matter of being able to take my hands off, but rather of being able to free up my mind. To let myself be carried away by imagination. To defeat fears. To allow myself things I had thought were impossible or unreachable. Breaking the timeline in “Los Debutantes” was a first step. In “199 Tips To Be Happy” I allowed myself certain extravagances appropriate for the mental state of the project. It was one step further. Still timid, perhaps. One thing is certain: the more risks we took, the more fun we had. We felt happy filming. That was what I learned, the tip I’m just now coming to discover. That is my best memory of August in Barcelona.

Andrés Waissbluth
Director, “199 Tips To Be Happy”

TV Series by Retaguardia Films receives CORFO funding

2006-11-07T05:59:00.000-08:00

The results of the contest by CORFO for development of television projects were made known yesterday. “Mi Abuela y Yo”, a fictional series by Retaguardia Films, created by Cristián Jiménez, Andrés Waissbluth and Miguel Ángel Labarca, was among the 19 who were awarded prizes. The series will receive Ch$6,454,000 (around US$ 12,000) from the governmental organization, which will be assigned to script-writing, casting, budget design, and the formulation of a business plan to market the project to TV channels.

This is the first time Retaguardia Films has participated in the contest. The series is a comedy that tells the story of the amorous adventures of Miguel, a 29-year-old commercial engineer, who decides to quit his job to, theoretically, devote himself to filmmaking. This decision leads to his break-up with Marisol, the lawyer with whom he’s been in a relationship for several years. Free, helpless, and broke, Miguel finds refuge in the house of his generous and eccentric grandmother. Acknowledging his incompetence in the world of love, Miguel accepts his grandmother’s proposal: it will be she who will find her grandson the woman of his dreams.

Double entry for Retaguardia in Mannheim

2006-10-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

This year, Retaguardia Films will participate as a double entry in the Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival, one of the most important festivals in Germany. While “XX”, by Cristián Jiménez, will be among the 7 short films in official competition, the project “Optical Illusions”, by the same director, will participate in Mannheim Meetings, the co-production forum associated with the festival.

Previously in 2003, “Los Debutantes” by Andrés Waissbluth was part of the official competition of the festival, and in 2004, “199 Tips To Be Happy”, whose shooting recently concluded, was part of Mannheim Meetings.

“The Treasure of the Snails” awarded prize in Canada

2006-10-16T05:43:00.000-07:00

“The Treasure of the Snails” received the Télé-Québec's Audience Award in the Short Film Festival of Sherbrooke (Canada). Previously, this short had won awards in the Chilean festivals of Viña del Mar, Valdivia, ARCOS, Ovalle, and Lebu; and additionally in Biarritz, France and the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival. In the picture: actors during the last day of filming in Punucapa, close to Valdivia.

“XX” awarded prize at Biarritz

2006-10-01T05:32:00.000-07:00

Today at 3 o’clock in the afternoon in France, “XX” received the Cine Court Prize for Best Short Film, at the Biarritz Film Festival. Directed by Cristián Jiménez, “XX” was described by the prize-presenting body as an urban comedy about paternity. The short film, with lead actors Nicolás Saavedra and Ingrid Isensee, has thus guaranteed its distribution in France.

In 2005, “The Treasure of the Snails” won the same prize in Biarritz.