Eduardo Mendoza, director of important films such as The Gospel of the Flesh and The Final Hour, is getting ready for his new feature film which, in his words, will be “something very different” from what I have done. “A story that deals with the relationships of a group of women,” he says about Ellas, winner of the Audiovisual, Phonography and New Media Direction (DAFO) award. “The protagonists will be Norma Martínez, Jimena Lindo, Katia Salazar, Flor Castillo and an actress yet to be finalized. The start of recording will be on July 1,” he says about the story, whose script is also his responsibility.
“It introduces us to an elderly woman who suffers from Alzheimer's and, as a result of her illness, her daughters get together. The eldest daughter will be played by Norma Martínez; The other daughter falls to Katia Salazar, who has problems with her husband. Jimena Lindo's character is an actress who works in Cusco and will decide to spend Christmas with her family. At the reunion, saved things will come out. It is more of a film about personal relationships, it is a very different feature film from what I have done, from the staging and how I plan to film it and other details.”
Unifest 2024
Mendoza, in addition to working on what will be his next film, is finalizing what will be the final date—today—of the first edition of the National University Film Festival (Unifest).
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“The idea of creating Unifest was in order to build a platform on which students from universities, institutes and schools can show their work and generate a network of contacts,” says Mendoza. He details that after a competitive short film competition throughout the country, tonight the most outstanding will be awarded and recognitions will be granted in the main categories.
The jury is made up of Francisco Lombardi, Giovanni Ciccia, Jimena Lindo, Enid 'Pinky' Campos and Ani Alva Helfer. And, from Argentina, Guillermo Salmerón, creator of the series 'El marginal', a global success. “Only 'La casa de papel' surpassed it. It was crazy. As a result, they called him for 'Maradona, blessed dream,'” explains Mendoza. The gala, which will have a red carpet and even an audience prize, will be at the NOS theater in San Isidro, from 6 pm
-What do you feel this new generation of future filmmakers wants to say?
-It seems to me that the most important thing is that they want to show, tell their stories. They want the stories of each of the regions to be rescued, where they have their own problems, challenges and here we have given them a showcase. Make your proposals visible. Something to highlight about these boys and girls is that they have presented their work in such a professional way, as we filmmakers do to participate in SWOT.
-In 2022, NUNA, the Association of Film Directors of Peru, was created. What is the female presence at Unifest 2024?
-The teams from all the departments that participated were made up of almost 55% women. Of the 14 finalist short films, more than half are directed by women. And that makes us happy. It is one of the things we encourage the most, gender equality. And, based on that, changing a series of stereotypes, prejudices that have us, in that aspect, very bad as a society. I have two teenage daughters and I'm committed to that.
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