Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Interview: THE VIRGIN OF THE QUARRY LAKE [Sundance Film Festival 2025 - Virtual] - Part I - video Dailymotion

Fest Track

Writer/Director Laura Casabe and Actor Fernanda Echevarría talk to Fest Track about direction, environment and context in regards to their film playing the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Transcript

00:00There's a little bit of there's realism,

00:29there's magical realism, there's mythology, there's so many things sort of going on within the

00:35construct of this. Could you talk about your approach, obviously, what it was based on,

00:41you know, the ideas with Mariana, but could you talk about sort of the, you know, the building of

00:48the film, from your point of view, psychologically, but also cinematically? Well, first of all, I think

00:54I should start with Mariana, you know, because this movie, as you know, is based in two stories,

01:02two short stories. And what captivated me is, first of all, is, you know, her literature, actually,

01:09and these particular stories, and these two books, you know, from her short stories. And

01:16what I think it's interesting in these books, or in these particular stories, is actually the tone,

01:22what you are talking about, you know, is, it's, I think it's really, what, what for me is interesting

01:29about her is like the realism, all the world, all what we establish as reality is like really

01:35intertwined with supernormal and paranormal and extraordinary, but like in a disturbing,

01:42but also a pretty realistic way at some point, I do think that we kind of live, or this is the

01:48way that I understand reality, actually, you know, all the reality I live in. So for me, this,

01:55these two things are completely connected. And the movie kind of walks through that frontier,

02:01you know, when you can actually, and that is the way that I actually portrayed the Quarry Lake,

02:07you know, like this portal, you know, this zone, this subtle zone, where everything is kind of

02:13mixed up, you know, and magic is kind of everyday life. It's not something that happened all of the

02:18sudden, or something that is just something that is like start to develop in yourself. And it's part

02:25of your everyday life. And I think that that in Latin America is like really strong. That is why maybe

02:31we are like the continent that of real magic realism, I don't know if this could be magic realism at some

02:38point. But, but yes, completely, I'm completely influenced about with with that kind of literature,

02:45also, you know, us, for example, when, of course, you name Garcia Marquez, if you talk about,

02:51you know, but I will also talk about your Casares or Borges, you know, and, you know, this is,

02:57I think this is kind of our territory, and the way we experience life, you know.

03:03So that is why for me was so interesting, you know, you know, to magic to be something that

03:08is part of everyday life, and you can actually you cannot pretty much define it. And that is,

03:15that is why I was pretty interested in the Marianne Enrique's horror stories. And because she take,

03:20you know, and for me, it was important to take like, everyday horror and everyday violence in the

03:27way we experimented as kind of raw material to use it for horror language or for general language

03:35at some point.

03:46And I just can't stop my fascination.

03:54Oh, you, but I feel like me in deep position I just can't stop this fascination

04:00Oh, you feel I'm in deep position

04:04Oh, I just can't stop this fascination

04:14In my head I'm in contradiction

04:20because it comes out obviously and i'll get to you for a minute about about the the character

04:33but first i wanted to sort of talk about the trinity the trio of girls and how you know they

04:39they sort of create they're all part of one whole obviously nat is is at the top of it but can you

04:46talk about building their personalities and how they intertwine because they again they're all of

04:52one mind but they're all separate ideas of that so that is exactly the way we portrayed it with also

04:58with diego denorio who is the the photographer of the movie and for me you know because i but because

05:05it's also a 2000 movie and it's the movie happens during the 2001 and because uh it's pretty

05:11biographical at some point you know because i would be the age of nat i am the age of natalia

05:16actually i'm from the 82 and i would be 19 years old during 2001 for me it was really interesting

05:22like the pop references and i you know so i thought in that way about uh to portray like witchcraft

05:33you know in in this story so i would that so that is the way that i want to portray these these three

05:39girls because i also think that between so that is why they are treaty and that is why there's like

05:45this kind of pop witches which is something really transcendental but also you have like

05:50the the references of a movie that was like kind of a big hit when i was a teenager it was named the

05:56craft you know it's a yeah yeah you know uh so i do think that everything is mixed up and i also one

06:03big reference for me in the way to portray these girls it was the holy girl of lucrecia martel

06:09and the way she kind of picture this girl you know this really close up where you know yeah

06:14yeah that were that were the references and i would reference that i talked to diego

06:19if you see in the movie they always portray exactly that you say like three minds but maybe

06:25one organism at some point you know it's okay it's okay if you say yeah one body yeah one body yeah

06:32sorry uh sorry excuse me no it's all right that that's that's an illusion in a different way

06:40yeah sorry that could have happened you know so that is why you know because you have the

06:46and the pagan witchcraft and the way we understand and we you know uh we live uh and we thought about

06:53witches here in our country but also to have all these pop references you know and to portray them

06:59at this like pop witches at some point but and and they connect between each other without speaking

07:05you know so that for me is kind of witchcraft and female friendship is pretty you know uh the way we

07:12develop and we we kind of relate with each other and it's particularly in that age you know we're so

07:18symbiotic at some point you're like same the same energy so yes that is the way that i uh and i thought

07:25that is kind of a witchy thing you know

07:55well that's why the and i'll go over to you fernanda the yes with sylvia that's why

08:15her like the first time you see her in that room with all of them she's like the conductor she's

08:22she's almost medusa in a way i would think you know because it just use a mythology reference just

08:28because she's been everywhere she's seen everything and yet she also is almost up against something she

08:36doesn't quite get which is sort of an interesting way to play it uh for that can you talk about

08:42looking at her because you have to play her realistically and yet be aware of all these other

08:48elements that are circling her in the film could you talk about that and finding that in her yeah sure

08:54that was very interesting for me the opposing forces between her past and her broken state

09:06uh for reasons that we don't know just her uh she's older than these girls and uh diego and she

09:18we don't know why she's so lonely or why she has the need to insert herself in this very adolescent

09:27group or much younger group but she has the need of the validation because she's so f***ed up inside she

09:38has uh been through so many uh sadness and difficulties in a very immature way we don't know when she's gonna

09:48mature we don't know when she's gonna mature when she's gonna thrive but she doesn't she can't dare

09:57herself to evolve so she keeps repeating this state of i'm gonna teach you because people of her age

10:04are gonna easily see through her you know and she needs to be in this in this group of of younger

10:12people so these two forces for me were very enriched to work with because it was the inner pain the inner

10:21shame that cannot be shown but it has to be shown a little bit for for you no a bit um you don't know

10:31her intimacy you never see her alone she she's there to orbit uh natalia's world and and um penetrated

10:41in a very disturbing way but sylvia doesn't have that intention with her she she doesn't have um

10:51malicia i don't know how to say it malicious she's there she's not doing it yeah i get you wow she

10:56she would she would to herself all of it she can be very sylvia can be has destroyed herself many times

11:05but not she she doesn't have that intention she really wants to be

11:08some remembered by this group of younger she wants to be accepted in a way weirdly enough wow

11:17in virtue of my santo bautismo apoyado en la palabra de dios

11:33yo con el poder de la preciosísima sangre de jesucristo rompo destruyo cualquier maldición

11:49hereditaria que venga desde cualquier momento de la vida intergenérica de este hijo de dios padre

11:56well that's why that phone call and i'll go back to you lord that's why that phone call and

12:13just focusing on natalia's face just as you can tell sylvia's just trying to say look i know i took

12:20your boyfriend but this is how it is you know and i like how there's so much a lot with this dialogue

12:26and a lot with how it functions there's so much going on beneath the surface can you talk about

12:31directing that because you can say one thing and you know have another thing going on with the

12:37exception diego diego is like the the innocent in certain ways which is funny but can you talk

12:43about that and finding those so transparent you know it was full transparency you can see through

12:48diego diego is going through you know life as he is um well you know i have this two really this is

12:56this is of course a women's story and these are this like these women that are also you know uh

13:02fernanda and dolores who are the actresses they're kind of you know really strong actresses kind of you

13:07know forces nature you know she came out so strong but for me it was really because i always think

13:13that during the scene the most interesting things are the things that you are that the actors are

13:19not telling that the characters are not telling that for me is the key for a scene to be interesting

13:25and to be deep at some point so the way to direct that because of course that was a really harsh scene

13:31but a universal conflict you know there's like of course some someone broke your heart at some point

13:38you can completely you know emphasize with that you can you live i live that and i know

13:42you know the audience if you've been in life through a period of time you know you how go through that

13:49you know at some point to to to get your heart broken to have kind of sign of uh competencia how to

13:55compete to another one to want to be to compare yourself to another one and that is so strong you know

14:03during you know adolescence and when you're a teenager but you also but natalia is also like

14:09the leader you know and she's so cryptic and she doesn't talk out loud about the way she feel

14:15you know that it's completely the opposite of sylvia you know at some point so in that point of view

14:21this was that you know sylvia is completely yes of course she is broken inside but she's sincere

14:27you know and and when she talks to natalia she is sincere but of course there are all these subtle

14:33things that happen even when you think you are fully fully honest you know that was for me what

14:41was interesting you know the ambiguous thing about that that dialogue and what happened between between

14:47these two girls you know what they are saying what and what and what they are not saying and for me

14:53the way to direct that we have a lot of rehearsals you know and we and we have a lot with with them

14:59and i was so lucky because i get to i that is something that is not common at some point but i get to

15:05rehearse a lot here in argentina with this group gang and then of uh we were so lucky that we have to go to

15:13shoot and fernanda come to argentina and stay with us for like three two months you know and live with us

15:21and she also live like argentinian and she always talk like argentinian so the way that because we

15:27are all with some good food some good clubs

15:29yeah

15:30good clubs

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Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Interview: THE VIRGIN OF THE QUARRY LAKE [Sundance Film Festival 2025 - Virtual] - Part I

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