PK-ElIncendio copy

PASTO & BDCINE
Instituto Nacional de Cine (INCAA) & Universidad del Cine (FUC),
Los Salvajes Cine & Movie City
FiGa Films
PRESENT
THE FIRE
PASTO BD CINE present
‘THE FIRE’ - EL INCENDIO supported by INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ARTES AUDIOVISIALES UNIVERSIDAD DEL CINE LOS SALVAJES CINE MOVIE CITY with PILAR GAMBOA JUAN BARBERINI First Assistant Director
MARTIN MAUREGUI Line Producer MARTIN FELDMAN Stylist CAROLINA SOSA LOYOLA Production Design JULIETA DOLINSKY Sound SANTIAGO FUMAGALLI & FEDERICO ESQUERRO Editor ANDRES
PEPE ESTRADA Director of photography and camera SOLEDAD RODRIGUEZ Executive Producers BARBARA FRANCISCO FERNANDO BROM Produced by FERNANDO BROM BARBARA FRANCISCO DIEGO DUBCOVSKY
Written by AGUSTINA LIENDO Directed by JUAN SCHNITMAN
A R G E N T I N A / 2 0 1 5 / 9 5 M I N / S PA N I S H / C O L O R / H D / 5 . 1 / 1 . 8 5
EL INCENDIO
SH O RT S YN O P S IS
On the way to closing the contract on their first home, Lucía and Marcelo withdraw a
hundred thousand dollars in cash from their bank. The seller can’t make it to the signing
and it gets postponed to the next day. Frustrated, they head back to their old place and
put the money away. The next 24 hours will unveil the true nature of their love, the crisis
they are in, and the violence within themselves.
LO N G S YN O P S IS
Lucía and Marcelo are thirty years old. They carry around a hundred thousand dollars in
cash on the way to pay for their first home. But the seller can’t make it to the signing and
postpones to the next day. Distressed and frustrated, they head back to their old rented
apartment and hide the money for safekeeping. They try to pretend that it is a day like any
other. But it’s actually quite the opposite. Lucía sneaks out to her workplace in the kitchen
of a restaurant, witnesses a fight between workmates and winds up in the hospital. Once
back home, she gets into a brief, tense argument with Marcelo, who is suddenly summoned
to the school where he teaches. The parents of a student have accused him of grabbing
their son by the neck in an altercation. After dropping by his family home and talking with
his brother, a calmer Marcelo returns to the apartment only to find the money out on the
table and Lucía crying, suggesting they break up. Sad and upset, they decide to attend a
friend’s dinner party but cannot bring themselves to go together. Arriving separately, the
situation comes to a boil, first in front of their friends and then with only the two of them
in a back room in a mixture of sex and violence. Later, back home, Lucía starts packing in
order to leave and Marcelo smashes the furniture. As they fight over the money, the bills
are spread all around them. Marcelo threatens a meddling neighbor with a gun. Their
energy spent, they pick up the money from the floor and Marcelo breaks down. The next
day, hurt and sleepless, they go and finally buy their new home.
I NT E R V IE W W IT H DIR E CT O R J UA N SCH N ITMAN
How did you find this particular story, and what was the process of turning it into your
film?
First there were two elements: the initial image of them in bed, seen from above, not
knowing what the day holds for them, and the temporal structure, the idea that we only
witness a single day in the life of this couple. From there, I started having meetings with
director friends in which we outlined all pivot points, largely based on personal
experiences. Then I started working with Agustina Liendo, the screenwriter of the film, for
about a year. In that process, we discovered the personalities of Lucia and Marcelo and,
again, many elements of our own lives slipped into the script. Finally, during the
rehearsals with Pilar and Juan, we went back to work on the dialogues, seeking a
particular voice for each character.
In short, it really was a team effort in which everyone was very generous and gave much of
themselves.
Although El Incendio minutely observes the lives of a couple in crisis, the society they
live in seems to be equally wrecked with tension and aggression lying just under the
surface. Is this an intentional description of Argentina today?
Absolutely. I think we live in a society that is on the verge of collapse, but we are not aware
of its fragility and continue to add tension, believing that it will never break. In the film we
see some cracks through which this violence seeps out. Anyway, unfortunately, I do not
think this is an exclusively Argentinian situation but rather something that happens on a
global level.
El Incendio plays with its audience - for example in the MacGuffin-like narrative role
of the money - one expects certain things to happen, but really it sets in motion a
different course of events. What do you aim for in your relationship with your
intended audience?
The film has a number of elements that are more typical of a police story than the history
of a couple: money, violence, a weapon, sex. We built in these elements as triggers of
tension in order to generate an active viewer who has to keep in mind at least two
separate things at the same time in every scene and who could, just like the characters,
never feel entirely comfortable.
How did you work with your protagonists to their intense, almost self-lacerating
performances?
This was one of the biggest challenges of the film, especially coming from a documentary
background, as I do. I knew even before we started that this would be the breaking point
that would determine the success or failure of the film. The first step was to plan the
position of the camera in each shot of a sequence that would allow the actors to develop
the scenes from beginning to end, perhaps more similar to the way they are used to work
in the theater. On the other hand, in rehearsals, we worked over the dialogues and
situations together with the actors until they felt a hundred percent sure with the scene and
what it was supposed to convey. Accordingly, there are many details of the characters that
were completely shaped by Pilar and Juan. Once we started shooting, I also tried to be very
open to modifying the shots in order to respect the organic quality of their movements.
At the end of the day, I think the biggest credit goes to the actors. My role was to create an
ample, challenging but also contentious space in which they could develop their work.
Did your experience as a documentary filmmaker influenced the way in which you
approached Lucía and Marcelo's story? Conversely, what was different in the way you
approached a fiction script?
I think what remains constant is a deep respect for the notion of the director as a kind of
referee, trying to observe the characters with intensity and a clear point of view, but
without judgment.
But there are also substantial changes from one process to the other. For observational
documentaries I write a page in an afternoon and spend a lot of time filming many hours
until I find the moments that I think may be part of the film, and then I spend even more
time looking over the material while editing. In fiction, this is inverted: the project
development is slow, almost artisanal, while the shooting is fast and precise and, in this
case, the editing is more like a reconstruction of the script.
Having gone through both experiences, I have to say I say I was extremely happy filming
El Incendio, perhaps too happy.
What are your next projects? Anything in the works already?
Together with Agustina Liendo and Martín Mauregui, I am writing what I hope is my new
movie, Capitán. The director Alejandro Fadel also worked on the story with us. It is a film
that narrates a week in the life of the captain of a major Argentinian football team, the week
in which his lover dies and his team is to play the defining game to avoid relegation to the
second division. It is, in some strange way, a version of Dracula in the world of professional
football.
Also, I am writing a play that could be a continuation of El Incendio and will shoot a short
film soon.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
J u a n Sc h ni tm a n w a s b o rn i n th e cit y of Buenos Aires in 1980.
H e s p en t h i s c h i l d h o o d i n th e c o u nt r y a nd ret ur ned t o t he cit y in t he 90´s , where he
s t ud i ed F i l m Di re c ti o n a t th e U niver s ida d del Cine (FUC). Once gr a dua t ed, he
c o- wrote a n d c o - d i re c te d E l Am or (pr imer a pa r t e) wit h Sa nt ia go Mit re, Aleja ndro
F ad el a n d M a rtí n M a u re g u i i n 2 0 0 5. The film premiered a t t he Venice Film Fes t iva l’s
Set t i m a n a In te rn a z i o n a l e d e l l a Crit ica . In 2007 Jua n ma de Gr a nde P a r a la Ciuda d,
a d oc u m e n ta ry a b o u t th e Uru g ua ya n Br it - pop ba nd As t roboy. In 2009 he s hot
Pret em p o ra d a , a d o c u m e n ta ry a bout s occer. El Incendio is his fict ion, s olo debut .
ABOUT THE ACTRESS
Pila r G a m bo a i s a n a c tre ss a n d a wr it er. She founded one of t he mos t
s uc c es s fu l th e a tre c o m p a n i e s i n Buenos Aires (El s ilencio). Joined by Romina P a ula ,
E s t eb an L a m o th e a n d E ste b a n B i glia rdi, s he s t a ged Algo de Ruido H a ce, El Tiempo
Tod o E n te ro a n d F a u n a , a w a rd e d in Argent ina a nd Europe. In TV, s he pa r t icipa t ed
i n Par a Ve s ti r S a n to s , T i e m p o s Co mpuls ivos a nd Fa r s a nt es , a pr imet ime TV Ser ies .
I n c i nem a sh e w a s p a rt o f M ú s i c a en Es per a by H er ná n Goldfr id, Todos Mient en by
M at í a s P i ñ e i ro , Va q u e ro b y J u a n Minujin, a nd L o Que Ma s Quiero by D elfina Ca s t a gni no. Cu rre n tl y s h e i s fil m i n g L a Flor by Ma r ia no L liná s .
ABOUT THE ACTOR
J u a n B a r be r i ni i s a n a c to r w i th a long ca reer in Argent ina ’s independent t hea t re.
H e p ar ti c i p a te d i n p l a y s su c h a s Á s pero by Sa nt ia go Gober nor i, Mi Joven Cor a z ón
I d i ot a b y An j a Hi l l i n g , a n d P a u l Au s t er ’s The Mus ic of Cha nce, a da pt ed by Ga br iela
I z c ov i c h . In c i n e m a h e h a s a c te d in El Es t udia nt e by Sa nt ia go Mit re, Cer ro Ba yo by
V i c t or i a Ga l a rd i , a n d L a F i e sta d e Ca s a mient o by Ga s t ón Ma rgolin & Ma r t ín Mor g enf el d , w i th J u l i e ta Z y l b e rb e rg .
PH O T O O F B E HIN D T HE S CE N E S
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
PASTO i s a fil m p ro d u c ti o n c o mpa ny founded by Bá r ba r a Fr a ncis co in 2010 in
B uenos Ai re s. T h e i r first c o p ro d u ct ion wa s El Es t udia nt e by Sa nt ia go Mit re. The film
has b ee n a w a rd e d w i th m o re th a n 20 int er na t iona l pr iz es a nd pa r t icipa t ed in more
t ha n 30 fe sti v a l s a ro u n d th e w o rld s uch a s L oca r no FF, N ew Yor k FF, Ba fici. They
al s o p ro d u c e d a n d d i s tri b u te d Ger ma nia by Ma x imilia no Schonfeld. The film won
award s a t B AF ICI, P ra g u e , Ha m burg, a mong ot her s . In 2013 D elfina Mont ecchia
j oi ned t h e c o m p a n y a fte r stu d y i n g in P a r is , a nd wor k ing for t he Ca nnes Film
F es t i v a l . Cu rre n tl y th e y a re p ro ducing Schonfeld´s s econd film, The Bla ck Fros t .
T he p ro j e c t h a s b e e n a w a rd e d w i t h t he ARTE P r iz e a t BAL a nd wa s s elect ed for t he
J er us al e m F i l m L a b , a n d w o n o f Ra ymundo Gleyz er a wa rd. El Incendio (The Fire),
t he fi r s t fe a tu re fil m b y J u a n S c h nit ma n, is t he fir s t coproduct ion bet ween PASTO
and BD CIN E . Cu rre n tl y th e y a re wor k ing in t heir nex t coproduct ion, El Rey del
O nc e b y Da n i e l B u rm a n .
B D C I N E , fo u n d e d b y Di e g o Du b covs k y a nd D a niel Bur ma n in 1997, is one of t he
m os t a c ti v e p ro d u c ti o n c o m p a n ies of Argent ina ’s “ new cinema .” Wit h over 20
p rod uc t i o n s s u c h a s E s p e ra n d o al mes ía s , El Abr a z o P a r t ido, D erecho de Fa milia ,
E l N i d o Va c í o , Do s He rm a n o s , L a Suer t e en t us Ma nos , El Mis t er io de la Felicida d,
al l d i rec te d b y Da n i e l B u rm a n ; Ga r a ge Olimpo by Ma rco Bechis , D ia r ios de Mot ocic l et a b y Wa l te r S a l l e s, N a d a r S olo by Ez equiel Acuña , Un Año s in Amor, Enca r nac i ón, P o r tu Cu l p a , Ai re L i b re by Ana hí Ber ner i, Mient r a s t a nt o by D iego L er ma n,
and M ú si c a e n E sp e ra & Te si s S o bre un H omicidio by H er ná n Goldfr id. Mos t of
t hes e fi l m s h a v e b e e n p re se n te d a nd ha ve won pr iz es a t Ca nnes , Ber lin, Venice, Sa n
Seb as t iá n a n d To ro n to a m o n g o ther s .
CAST
Pilar Gamboa / Juan Barberini / Luciano Suardi / Marcelo D’ Andrea / Andrea Garrote/
Laura Paredes/ Cecilia Rainero / Valeria Correa / Edgardo Castro / Martín Tchira /
Julián Krakov / Mariano Sayavedra / Fabio Ronzano / Lalo Rotaveria / Luis Biasotto.
CREW
D irec t e d by J u a n S c h n i tm a n
Writt en by Ag u s ti n a L i e n d o
Prod u c e d by B á rb a ra F ra n c i s c o / Fer na ndo Brom / D iego D ubcovs k y
E xecu t i ve Pro d uc e r s : B á rb a ra F ra ncis co / Fer na ndo Brom
D irec t o r o f P h o to g ra ph y: S o l e d a d Rodr iguez
Sou n d : S a n ti a g o F u m a g a l l i / F e d e r ico Es quer ro
E d i t or: An d ré s P. E stra d a
Prod u c ti o n D e s i g n: J u l i e ta Do l i ns k y
St y li st : Ca ro l i n a S o sa L o y o l a
Fi rst A s s i s ta nt Di re c to r : M a rtí n Ma uregui
L in e Pro d uc e r : M a rtí n F e l d m a n
Prod u c e r Co o rd i nato r : De l fin a Mont ecchia
CO N TACT
PR O D UCE R
PA ST O
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THE FIRE