The world premiere of Fernando Guzzoni’s fourth film, Blanquita, leads the participation in Venice, being the only Chilean film in the official selection.

Guzzoni was inspired by a two-year researcn into the Chilean case of Spiniak, which uncovered a child prostitution ring. With the critical vision and powerful characters that characterize the director’s work, Blanquita arrives in Venice to problematize and question real cases that have a universal regard.

After his last feature Jesus (2016) and having won the 2013 Rail D’oc Award at the Toulouse Film Festival with Dog Meat (2012), the director continues to create and cement his career in a self-critical way of reality, gaining attention with each film he makes.

The film, produced by Giancarlo Nasi (Quijote Films) and co-produced by Varios Lobos, Tarantula, Bonne Pioche Cinema and Madants, stands out for its great cast, starring Laura López, Amparo Noguera and Alejandro Goic, among others.

Check the full interview here!

What does Blanquita mean to you in your filmography?

Blanquita means a step forward where I have been exploring new ways of narrating in cinematic terms and debugging certain operations that I have worked on throughout my career.

It contains a script that, unlike other films, has a more narrative logic and genre elements, which I had definitely already crossed in Jesus.

Why are you attracted to characters in borderline situations

I’m interested in elements, whether real or historical, where one can question facts, problematize them and question them.

I usually base myself on events that seem uncomfortable to the mainstream or the official world, painful events, that is the common denominator that challenges me as a director and makes me think of them as films.

What does a real case have to do to make it into a movie?

I dive into terrains that are a little uncomfortable. In the case of Blanquita it is different, because although it is a character that has been a victim, she arises from a place un-victimized and I like that very much. The film wants to stir a bit and say, things are not always as they were produced, but they have many nuances.

What was your challenge in Blanquita on a script and directing?

To approach that universe, without being politically responsible, but also without being conservative. She understood that the film was a big parable in the black hole of impunity, where there are children who are victims of institutions, so the film comes to portray how these children are treated.

Both in Dog Meat, Jesus and in Blanquita you work again with Alejandro Goic. Is he your number one actor? why?

Alejandro starred in Dog Meat, co-starred in Jesús and now also co-starred in Blanquita. I think it’s simpler than you think. Part of his biography is incorporated into the characters, he thinks about them and gives them depth, so he is a great partner when it comes to creating a character.

Also in production you repeat your work with Giancarlo Nasi. What role does he play?

Giancarlo was producer of Jesus and now Blanquita. He is a very courageous producer, in terms of trusting his directors very much, supporting them on an authorial path.

How long did it take you to make the movie?

Pre-production was interrupted by the pandemic for a year and a half. That was sad, because it was a process that was funded, in a final stage of development.

The research and writing process was between 1 and 2 years, we filmed 6 weeks, and I did the editing and post production in 8 months. This was worked in Mexico, Poland, Chile, Luxembourg and France, several processes were made with the co-producing countries.

“The music and part of the post-production was done by a French composer, the editing was in Poland and another part in Chile. The almost complete sound production was done in Mexico, the color in Luxembourg, then it was a kind of mosaic of interesting collaborations that contemplated all the co-producing countries” Fernando Guzzoni

What does it mean to be selected in Venice for your career, what do you expect from your presence in the Festival?

It is a pride for us that the film has been received so well, the process of selection was very fast, we sent it and we were confirmed immediately about the selection, and that is not very usual. We are greatly proud and believe that it is a very ideal place for the message of the film to start socializing.

How do you feel it will connect with audiences?

There are local elements to be inspired by a case, but they are global themes with universal characters. The film interrogates things that we are discussing now, it has a valid speech and in that sense it will be valued by the audience of any country that watches it.

What’s your next project… have you ever thought about filming outside of Chile with stories from other countries?

I’m working with Fabula on a project called Land of the Savages, which we hope to film soon. It is a period film, which takes place in the nineteenth century but is also a reflection on the elite, on power, on the construction of Latin American republics and is not set in Chile, but in a fictional context, and close to reality.

What do you want to set apart and what impression do you want to leave with your cinema?

I think the world is twisted by complexities and that has always been my fascination, to understand what is behind things. I’m a filmmaker who is interested in making reality more complex and I say this humbly, because my films do not come to change anyone, but they are a small bit of sand to bring up the discussion.

Check out Blanquita’s start-up here!