The character, directed by Samuel González (No es ella, Telluride 2021), will be the short film representing Chile at the Brussels Short Film Festival during April 26 to May 6.

A School Cinema production led by the María Deogracia School, of the Futrono area in the southern region of Los Ríos, along with the artistic collective “Cinescolar” by Samuel.

The production recounts the experience of David, a student who must question his masculinity when playing the character of “transvestite” for the school play where bullying will be his main enemy.

The story stars the student Patricio Bravo and the outstanding actor Néstor Cantillana, who joins the collaborations they’ve had in the past like Alfredo Castro, Luciana Echeverría and Mónica Carrasco in these film and education workshops that seek to break down cultural barriers and connect Chilean audiovisual with new generations in southern Chile.

On the road to Belgium Samuel Gonzalez told us the details of this short film and the whole process of school cinema. Find out all about it here!

How has been the work of connecting recognized actors with this project?

It’s very exciting. It’s nice to see actors of great trajectory dialogue with students who have never acted. We started with Alfredo Castro in the short film “Ruido” and the experience was very satisfactory

When and how was the idea of “The Character” born?

It happened post-pandemic, during the second half of 2021. They contacted us from the school because they had seen the short film “Ruido”  and wanted to see the possibility of developing a CINESCOLAR project.

“The result of the script and what we filmed was a personal approach that was finally complemented with stories and concerns of the students of the workshop”

Why did you choose Nestor Cantillana to play the lead?

The protagonist is a student of the school and the supporting actor is Nestor Cantillana. I thought of Nestor because I know his work and commitment to independent ideas that link the community. He also saw our previous projects and liked it, I think that’s key.

How was the production and filming process? How many people worked?

All very limited. If we think that traditional cinema has few resources, school cinema has much less.

CINESCOLAR is a group of 8 people, all from the southern Region of Los Ríos, we were shooting during 2 days that were very intense but very emotional

What do you expect after your participation in Belgium?

Continue making films with students and follow other festivals that want to make this type of project visible.