"Late to die young": melancholic adolescence in the natural

. It's a pleasure to enter the nostalgic world, with the sunsets, nature and feelings of the teenagers found, of "Afternoon to Die" joven ", the second work of the talented Chilean filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor, who arrives today at the EcoSelect Cinema of Islas Malvinas Cultural Center at the same time as his premiere in the federal capital and after being awarded by the Leopard for the best speech, delivered for the first time to a director. 19659003] The film, which will be screened until next Wednesday, every day (except Saturday) at 17, takes place during the summer of 1990 in Chile: a small group of families live in a community isolated at the foot of the Andes, building a new world, far from the urban excesses, with the freedom that appeared after the recent end of the dictatorship

In this period of change, Sofia, Lucas, 16, and Clara, 10 years , neighbors of the co the community, live their first disappointments and fears in "a film about growing up in a time of great change, and this for me has to do with nostalgia and the demystification of a period. It's a story of pbadage into adulthood, both for the characters as for a society, Chile, which was in a painful process after the dictatorship, "said its director.

Sotomayor" wanted to explore a free and open way, close to the very nature of this community close to the mountains, far from the limits and definitions. "A free story, without the narrative arcs typical of the cinema that is getting old, and anchored particularly in Sofia, The teenager played by Demian Hernández.From 20 years old and during his first experience in the big cinema, Demian, now devoted to the study of music, began his gender transition during filming, what he agreed to by a secret casting despite his little experience.

"I've always loved the theater, I did workshops, but I did not do it. have no professional training, "he explains during a dialogue with EL DI In Hernández, he revealed that "I started making short films for film students, but that was my first great job". 19659003] This is surprising considering the nuances, the mystery and the delicacy of his character, stifled in this world, eager to flee to the city and attracted by a boy who does not seem to be the best for her. [19659003] But Hernández claims not to know how this complex character was built, thus attributing success to management. "Everything was built on stage, on stage, to do it, so for me, it was being present, in touch with situations, the environment, the other characters, without having such an accurate idea what it should be, "he says.

Hernández is part of a cast that builds this community life in a very natural and fluid way, in search of the filmmaker who works with the actors' coaches so that the actors get acquainted for a month with the stories and ways to be. his characters without necessarily "pbad the script" and repeat the scenes.

Even, "there were scenes where they did not show me script, there was room for improvisation and everything came out in a more natural way," reveals Hernández, who, according to the Sotomayor's admission embodied "the autobiographical moments of the director, but" if there is something autobiographical, I do not know: I have many more links with my autobiography, "says Hernández, who came into contact with "having been a teenager and having the same desires and fears as Sofia. They are so universal. More than just punctual experiences, I connected to the feelings and emotions of that time. "

And, for the actor and the musician, this is what the film proposes: a less rational, more emotional connection." The film tells a story, but it's a pretext for much more subtle things, which are global. We can see the history of this community, these girls, their first loves, their desires, but it is not specific situations, but loneliness, fear, desire, feelings so global that we connect in a very personal way.

He adds that "the photograph is composed in such a delicate way that the connection with these emotions is personal, very intimate. I think the film is a very sensory experience: there is a plot, but there is a part B that relates to being in the movie, to be present in another reality that connects you to a more personal reality. "