Daniel Rodríguez Risco (Lima, 1959) does not miss too much his time as rector of the Universidad Privada del Norte (UPN), a position he held for fifteen years. “I miss contact with students, yes indeed. But the ceremonies and institutional events… not so much,” she says, smiling. Her most recent film, 'Quadrilateral', won the Special Jury Prize and the Young Jury Prize at the Friborg Film Festival, Switzerland, at the end of March.
–How would you describe your film?
–It's about a family of five, where there's only room for four.; They have to fight, sometimes violently, to occupy one of the four places. For me, the film has an ideological background, with two opposing philosophies: the philosophy of selfishness versus altruism.
–Where do you place your cinema in today's context?
–I feel that my films do not fit into the universe of Peruvian cinema. You have masterpieces like Yana-Wara or Wiñaypacha, wonderful; regional cinema is doing incredible things. You have the popular comedies of Ani (Alva Helfer) or Tondero…My cinema is very insular and is born from my own vision, from pain, from intuitions, from the unconscious. It's the only cinema I can make. At the festival level, Peruvian cinema is synonymous with “social realism.” Films like mine, by Javier Fuentes-León, by Álvaro Velarde, do not fit within this scheme that juries of Peruvian films expect. Therefore, I was very happy that the film juries in Freiburg looked a little further and chose Quadrilateral.
How many films did 'Quadrilátero' compete with?
–How were the awards given in Freiburg?
-It is a festival that I have always liked. And we applied without a sales agent, which surprised many.s. About 2,400 films competed and 12 were selected. It was very nice because among the members of the young jury there were graduates from degrees such as Philosophy, Architecture, and audiovisuals. On the other jury you had celebrities, people who know a lot about cinema, critics, etc. It was a very big surprise.
-Last year you directed Aitana Sánchez-Gijón and Mayella Lloclla in La seamstress. What happened to that movie?
-It has many special effects and that takes time. We are looking for investors for post-production; We think that in 2026 we will be able to release it, now with peace of mind.
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