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Las herederas

The Heiresses
Competition 2018
© lababosacine
Chela and Chiquita have been a couple for a very long time. Over the years they have become adapted to a fixed allocation of roles. Extroverted Chiquita is responsible for managing their life together. Chela on the other hand is reluctant to leave the house, preferring to spend the day at her easel. Financial difficulties force them to sell some of their inherited furniture, each part of which is a beloved piece of memorabilia. When Chiquita is sent to prison for debt, Chela is suddenly left on her own. She uses her old Daimler to provide a taxi service to wealthy older ladies in the neighbourhood. In her new role as chauffeur, she meets one of these ladies’ daughters – the young and life-affirming Angy. The encounter lures the rather passive Chela out of her reserve and helps her rediscover her own desires.
Exploring the outside world as tentatively and carefully as its heroine, the film increasingly trains its gaze on a social strata that is strangely cut-off from reality and lives without a thought for tomorrow. However, when Chela visits her girlfriend in prison, a completely different picture emerges of conditions in Paraguay.
by Marcelo Martinessi (Written and Directed by)
with Ana Brun, Margarita Irún, Ana Ivanova, Nilda Gonzalez, María Martins, Alicia Guerra, Yverá Zayas Paraguay / Uruguay / Germany / Brazil / Norway / France 2018 Spanish 95' Colour World premiere

With

  • Ana Brun (Chela)
  • Margarita Irún (Chiquita)
  • Ana Ivanova (Angy)
  • Nilda Gonzalez (Pati)
  • María Martins (Pituca)
  • Alicia Guerra (Carmela)
  • Yverá Zayas (Singer)

Crew

Written and Directed by Marcelo Martinessi
Cinematography Luis Armando Arteaga
Editing Fernando Epstein
Sound Design Fernando Henna
Sound Rafael Alvarez
Production Design Carlo Spatuzza
Costumes Tania Simbrón
Make-Up Luciana Diaz, Virginia Silva
Assistant Director Flavia Vilela
Casting Marcelo Martinessi
Production Manager Sebastián Peña Escobar
Producers Sebastián Peña Escobar, Marcelo Martinessi
Executive Producer Sebastián Peña Escobar
Co-Producers Agustina Chiarino Voulminot, Fernando Epstein, Christoph Friedel, Claudia Steffen, Julia Murat, Hilde Berg, Marina Perales, Xavier Rocher
Co-Production Mutante Cine Montevideo
Pandora Film Produktion Köln
Esquina Filmes São Paulo
Norsk Filmproduksjon Oslo
La Fábrica Nocturna Paris

World Sales

Luxbox

Produced by

La Babosa Cine

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Marcelo Martinessi

© AndrewJohnLucas

Born in Asunción, Paraguay in 1973, he is a director and screenwriter. He studied communication in his hometown, followed by film at the London Film School. His short films, which revolve around literature and memory, have screened at festivals including the Berlinale and Clermont-Ferrand. He was executive director of his country’s first public television station from 2010 up to the coup d’état in 2012. His attempt at coming to terms with the ensuing political chaos gave rise to his short film La Voz Perdida (The Lost Voice), which won Best Short at the 2016 Venice International Film Festival.

Filmography

2009 Karai norte; Short Film 2011 Calle última; Short Film 2013 La voz perdida (The Lost Voice); Short Film 2018 Las herederas (The Heiresses)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018