Chile Factory directors unveiled

Ignacio Rodríguez, Manuela Martelli, Matías Rojas and Teresita Ugarte (pictured in order) will each collaborate with a non-Chilean filmmaker on a short film. The four films will comprise the feature Chile Factory that will screen on the Croisette on May 14.

The initiative is backed by Directors’ Fortnight, Chile’s National Council Of Culture And The Arts and national film support body CinemaChile.

Rodríguez will collaborate on a short with Sara Rastegar (France-Iran), Martelli with Amirah Tajdin (Kenya-Dubai), Rojas with Mariko Saga (Japan-Poland) and Ugarte with Ofir Raul Grazier (Israel-Germany). The four non-Chilean filmmakers were previously announced.

CinemaChile executive director Constanza Arena said the plan was to hold back details of the projects until a later date.

The four filmmakers prevailed among a group of 70 candidates, each of whom satisfied eligibility conditions by having at least one feature under their belt.

Chile is the first Latin American country to be selected to take part in the initiative as the dominant country.

The brainchild of Dominique Welinski launched in 2013 with Taipei Factory, comprising four shorts by four Taiwanese directors working with four directors from Chile, France, South Korea and Iran.

Nordic Factory followed earlier this year and was made up of shorts by two Danish and two Finnish directors created with four directors from Argentina, Zambia, France and Kyrgystan.

Tatiana Emden, director of international programmes at the National Council Of Culture And The Arts, told Screen that Chilean authorities held initial talks with Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes this year. The projects will shoot in Santiago and other Chilean regions.

Earlier Emden told press conference attendees of the “huge challenge” to support the process in Chile, given that tools at the disposal of state bodies were “not flexible.”

Chile Factory producer Giancarlo Nasi said the filmmakers will shortly begin the process of crafting their stories and will meet Willenski in February to work on the feature.

Directors’ Fortnight artistic director Edouard Waintrop conceded that language barriers will impact on the partnerships, adding: “They are trying to find the essence of what they’re doing.”