For Chilean cinema, the Berlin Film Festival, known as the Berlinale, and the European Film Market have meant an important and relevant impetus for its internationalization and recognition. Premiering big productions and granting them multiple recognitions in its industry spaces as well as its competitions, where Chile has obtained five Silver Bears and five Teddy Awards, among other meaningful prizes, the German event has ended up being more and more of an indispensable destination for our filmmaking.

That’s why it’s a tremendous source of pride that Dominga Sotomayor will be one of the three people in charge of selecting, among 15 titles, the winners to be recognized with the awards for Best Film, Best Direction, and Special Prize in the Encounters category of the Berlinale. Encounters is a platform whose objective is to encourage aesthetically and structurally daring pieces by innovative independent filmmakers. It also intends to support new perspectives in cinema and to provide more space for diverse narrative forms and documentaries in the official selection.

Director Dominga Sotomayor, who will be part of the Berlinale jury

-As a film professional, how would you describe the contribution you’re granted by being a juror for a competition at the Berlinale?

It’s a great honor for them to have invited me and trusted in my criteria, it’s possibly the most important invitation I’ve ever received. I’d been a juror for other occasions, but Berlin is one of the most important festivals in the world, and this year it’s special because it’s the 70th edition, and it’s also the first year of a new stage of the festival, with two new directors and a new team of programmers that I really admire.

I’m content to participate, to be able to see the 15 films in the section. It’s a section dedicated to new voices, new explorations in cinema, and that’s what I’m most interested in. It’s a possibility to see the types of films that have a hard time being shown in theaters and that I very rarely get to see.

-How would you define “good cinema” and what proposals does a production need to have in order for you to consider it a winner, or at least successful, in a section like Encounters?

I’m interested in cinema when it’s alive, finding films that have “spirit”, even if that’s vague or difficult to define, seeing a film and thinking that it could only be a film, that it would be inexplicable in another way.

Awards are always something very subjective. We’re going to have to come to an agreement in the coming days with the rest of the jury, I hope to have interesting discussions. In this section of the Berlinale, I’m interested in looking for films that change the perspective of something, that discomfort, not to look for perfect or “good” films, but rather those that hang around and make us question our own ideas; to me, that’s political. At the same time, I’m interested in focuses on female and male directors who explore new forms and structures and open up the possibilities of the language.

-What value do you place on Chile being the Country in Focus this year in the European Film Market at the Berlinale? How do you imagine that could impact national cinema and talent?

It’s a very difficult moment for Chile and several Latin American countries politically, and also regarding the uncertainty of public funds and the future of our cinemas. I hope that this spotlight helps to provide visibility for projects, that agreements are reached to open possibilities, but especially that Chile places value in national cinema. Unfortunately, Chile has always had a very good presence at foreign festivals but in Chile it seems to me that neither culture nor heritage is valued as much as it should be. This impetus has always had to come from abroad in order to have repercussions later in Chile, that’s what happened with Raúl Ruiz for example, his first retrospectives were abroad, the value given to his work in Chile came much later.

-As a director who already has an international career, what do you believe is the path for more Chilean female directors to make it to these kinds of A-Class events?

I think the path is to do what one feels, bit by bit, make short films first and always make films that are necessary to you in some way. Don’t make a film just to make a film. Only a director can know that. I think we have to be honest about those urgencies, weigh what it means in time and energy to make a project from beginning to end. If a film doesn’t have to be made, it’s better it isn’t, there are too many films and film shoots create an enormous impact. I think it’s important to develop projects very well, be curious, know about every area, question everything, seek expert advice, work with people you want to spend time with. The ideal for me is that projects take on weight and layers with time before being filmed. I don’t think you have to get to A-Class events but rather do things that you feel are meaningful in the moment, to experience that process without such a clear expectation.

-In 2019, you received the Golden Leopard for Best Direction at Locarno. Did winning that prize change your aspirations in film in any way? What are the steps to follow in your career? What projects are you working on?

That award was a lovely surprise, it’s an award for direction but I feel like it’s a recognition for the whole film crew; it was a long process, and there was a very committed crew, for which I’m super grateful. Too Late to Die Young was a small odyssey, it cost a lot to finance it, we never received the grant in Chile, I insisted for several years until I managed to make it, so it was twice as gratifying how well it was received.

I don’t feel that the award has changed my aspirations, I think it reaffirmed that I want to continue in the same line, it gave me more freedom and opened up possibilities of working with very interesting producers who trust in my work. Now I’m working on the screenplay for another film, on a series, developing new projects at Cinestación, and focused on CCC (Center of Cinema and Creation), a new neighborhood movie theater and meetup in Santiago, which we just inaugurated in 2020, of which I am one of the founders.