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Carolina Astudillo ‘s new film takes us to the Spanish Civil War and World War II through the letters from Republican fighter Armand Pueyo to his wife Soledad, and excerpts from the novel The Pain by Marguerite Duras. Ana Pfaff ( Alcarràs, Summer 1993) signs the editing of the film, starring the actresses Alicia Gonzalez Laá and Padi Padilla. The third feature film by the Chilean director based in Barcelona is up for the Audience, Open ECAM and Un Impulso Colectivo awards.
The documentary “ Canción a una dama en la sombra ”, by director Carolina Astudillo, will be presented in Barcelona on 2 and 4 May, 2022, during the DA Film Festival. In this third feature film, the Chilean director based in Barcelona resignifies the myth of Penelope through the letters that the Republican fighter Armand Pueyo Jornet wrote to his wife Soledad between 1938 and 1941, from the front and in exile. Armand died in the Mauthausen death camp; was the brother of Clara Pueyo Jornet, star of El gran vuelo, Astudillo’s first film awarded the Biznaga de Plata at the Malaga Film Festival in 2015. Screenings coincide with the week commemorating the release of camp (May 5, 1945).
Pulling from the thread of family memories, “Song to a Lady in the Shadows ” weaves a tribute to all the women who had to move on with their families and rebuild their lives amid the uncertainty of waiting. Through the leading voices played by actresses Padi Padilla and Alicia González Laá, we approach Armand Pueyo’s reflections on war, religion, education, love and sex. “When I read the letters, I was excited because they were not the typical letters I knew, but they reflected on these topics from a very advanced perspective for the time,” says the director.
The script is unfolded in a choral way incorporating excerpts from the novel El dolor, by Marguerite Duras, adapted by the Chilean playwright Marcela Terra in the piece “The wait” (La espera). Recorded in super 8 and 16 mm, the documentary recovers images from family archives and orphans, a characteristic feature of the director’s work. In contrast to the letters, these images provide another post-war perspective, that of wealthy families. “It’s like using the story of the losers with images of the winners to make this kind of counterpoint,” said the director in an interview during the premiere at the Malaga Film Festival.
Produced by Cornelius Films and Isolde in association with EUROM – UB Solidarity Foundation and Wendy Espinal, the film was supported by the Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales and in collaboration with the Filmoteca of Catalonia and the Mentoring program L’Alternativa.
Screening agenda DA Film Festival
02/05/2022 – 7.30 pm
CCCB Auditorium
05/04/2022 – 7 pm
Zumzeig Cinema
Both sessions will be attended by the director.
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