La casa lobo

The Wolf House
The stories come in layers. There’s the one narrated at the start, about the joyful community of Germans living in dignity in the south of Chile. It may be set to wholesome archive footage of mountains and rosy cheeks, but even the narrator mentions the rumours, the other, less savoury tales that also circulate. There’s the story that appears as text on the screen, of a girl from the colony, Maria, who fled into the forest to avoid punishment, it in turn involves three little pigs and a big bad wolf. Then there’s the narrative that takes up the bulk of the film, the story of what happens once Maria enters the house she finds in the woods, rendered in intricate, mesmerising stop motion animation. But it’s less a story than an exploration of a space, for the house is never at rest. Pictures dance across the walls, pieces of furniture appear and disappear, rooms expand and contract, lights flicker, figures sprout from the floor like trees. Soon even she herself and the pigs she finds there begin to lose their stable form. As the house shakes and shudders around her, it’s as if it too is trying to tell her something, another story maybe or just a warning? “Once upon a time…”
by Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña
with Amalia Kassai, Rainer Krause
Chile 2018 Spanish, German 75’ Colour

With

  • Amalia Kassai (Voice)
  • Rainer Krause (Voice)

Crew

Directors Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña
Screenplay Cristóbal León, Joaqín Cociña, Alejandra Moffat
Cinematography Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña
Sound Design Claudio Vargas
Producers Catalina Vergara Diluvio, Globo Rojo Films, Niles Atallah Diluvio

Globo Rojo Films

Cristóbal León

Born in Santiago, Chile in 1980. He studied Design and Art at the Pontificia Universidad Católica, Santiago de Chile in Santiago, and Art and Media at Berlin University of the Arts. In 2007, he co-founded the production company Diluvio with Joaquín Cociña and Niles Atallah in Santiago. Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña have worked together since then. La casa lobo is their first feature film.

Filmography

2011 El Templo (The Temple); 14 min., co-directed by Joaquín Cociña · El Arca (The Arc); 16 min., co-directed by Joaquín Cociña 2012 La Bruja y el amante (The Witch and the Lover); 20 min., co-directed by Joaquín Cociña 2018 La casa lobo; co-directed by Joaquín Cociña

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018

Joaquín Cociña

Born in Conceptión, Chile in 1980. He studied Design and Art. La casa lobo is his first feature film.

Filmography

2011 El Templo (The Temple); 14 min., co-directed by Cristóbal León · El Arca (The Arc); 16 min., co-directed by Cristóbal León 2012 La Bruja y el amante (The Witch and the Lover); 20 min., co-directed by Cristóbal León 2018 La casa lobo; Co-directed by Cristóbal León

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018