Last year, Milagros Mumenthaler’s feature film debut Abrir puertasy ventanas, which was co-funded by the Hubert Bals Fund, won the
Golden Leopard in Locarno. Furthermore, one of her three young
leading ladies, María Canale, won the award for best actress. “In my
opinion, recognition for our actresses is the biggest compliment of all.
After all, they are the ones that get my message across.”
The film is about three sisters who continue to live in a house after the death of their grandmother. What occasioned this
story?
“I’m interested in the way in which brothers and sisters interrelate and influence each other. To an extent, they shape
your identity. Whilst growing up, you adopt a particular position with regard to the existing roles in the family. A sister
who takes on her responsibility is often counterbalanced by one who rebels. It is interesting to see what happens
when one of those roles is lost, as is the case in my film: suddenly everyone has to adapt.”
Do you have sisters yourself?
“Yes, I have two older sisters and a younger brother. There are a few years between us and we have a great
relationship: my sister Eugenia was the producer for Abrir puertas y ventanas and for the four short films that
preceded it. We strictly separate work and our private lives; when we visit one another we never talk about scripts or
post-production. After the Mar del Plata Film Festival, where the film won two prizes, many people said to us: ‘How
cool that you made a film about your own family’. I thought that was amusing, but my sister countered: ‘It’s not about
us!’ In contrast to the girls in the film, we never got into any substantial arguments. We merely squabbled.”
Which of the three sisters in the film do you resemble most?
“None of them. My role in the family used to be that of ‘the artistic one’; I was always in a corner drawing somewhere.
That was my thing and my brother and sisters weren’t the slightest bit interested. There isn’t a creative one in this
film, but then again it isn’t autobiographical. The arguments are extreme, the main characters can’t communicate
properly and an important person in their lives has died. None of that was part of my childhood. I dreamt up three
radically different characters who I all love equally much.”
What was it like working with three young actresses?
“It was really fun. Those girls have so much energy! Filming was pretty demanding for them. On set they spent a lot
of time waiting and they had to adhere closely to the script. There was no improvisation: my film has little dialogue
which immediately lends weight to what is said. It was important to me for the texts to sound just the way I’d intended
them. The girls had little acting experience, but had a very professional attitude. They were patient, they really
understood the story I wanted to tell and constantly analysed their roles. For example, María Canale adopted a
northern Buenos Aires accent because that is where the film is set. Ailín Salas, who played the youngest sister Sofi,
thought her character was a real puta, a bitch. That interpretation wasn’t entirely in line with the way I’d envisaged
her: Sofi only rebels against her sisters because she misses her grandmother and has trouble dealing with her loss.
You know, working with teens involves adjusting course and explaining things a bit, doesn’t it? In fact, it’s crucial:
they are the most important part of my film so they had to be convincing. That María Canale won the award for best
actress at the Locarno film festival is great. In my opinion recognition for our actresses is the biggest compliment of
all.”
Abrir puertas y ventanas came about with support from the Hubert Bals Fund. Which opportunities did that provide to you?
“It enabled me to make this film the way I wanted to. For example, during the pre-production phase a contribution
from the fund enabled me to shoot test footage so I knew which lighting I needed for the house the film was to
be shot in. That was incredibly important to the film’s atmosphere. If it had been too dark it would have seemed
as if the girls were imprisoned in a bad situation, even though my film is about hope for the future. Without the
fund’s contribution I might not even have been able to make the film. It is relatively hard to find funding for small,
independent projects which don’t immediately guarantee a large audience.”
The rest of the funding was sourced from Argentina and Switzerland. What are your ties with those countries?
“I was born in Argentina, but grew up in Switzerland. When I was three months old, my father was arrested for
harbouring a
‘Montonero’ (a member of the guerrilla group MPM that backed President Perón –ed.). That was commonplace
back then. He was rapidly released, but my parents thought things were too dangerous and left dictatorial Argentina
and moved to Switzerland. When I was sixteen, I went on holiday to my country of birth and fell in love with it
straight away. Two years later, I went to study there and I haven’t left since. I still live in Buenos Aires and to me it’s
paradise.”
Are you currently working on a new film?
“Two weeks ago, I shot a short film which I am going to finish first. Something completely unlike Abrir puertas y
ventanas:
I didn’t write a script or determine a specific location for it. I just went out with an actress to see what would happen.
The final version will last four minutes and I’ll start editing it after the IFFR. After that, I’ll start on my second feature.
Abrir puertas y ventanas - Milagros Mumenthaler
Tuesday 31 January 2012 21:00 Pathé 7
By: Kim van der Meulen