“The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo”, interview with the director Diego Céspedes

May 21, 2025

Diego Céspedes, director "the Mysterious gaze of the Flamingo". In a mining village in Chile, a queer family lives and loves despite the harshness of locals and their prejudices.

"The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo", interview with the director Diego Céspedes Angelo Acerbi

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The young Diego Céspedes arrives in Cannes with his first feature film “The Mysterious Glaze Of the Flamingo“, a wonderfully intense and unpredictable tale of inclusion, acceptance and resilience in a small queer community in Chile. The film, developed also through the Torino Film Lab programme, has been included in the Un Certain Regard selection.

Inspired by his mother’s friends and her love for them

Diego Céspedes recalls his childhood days that inspired “The Mysterious gaze of the Flamingo“. His mother, a hairdresser, had gays friends and colleagues who were part of Diego’s life as well. When AIDS broke and many of them died, Diego’s mother was shocked and started to be obsessive with him about it. This deep love and huge concern were the starting points for the creation of the story of the film , and the building of such strong characters as Flamingo.

Fierce and unapologetic

The queer family described in “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” is utterly fierce. They keep fighting stupid hearsay that wants them the cause of the plague, and are unapologetic about their lives. Diego Céspedes finds these features very common to the queer people in Chile and in the world and the creation of such a varied family is his dedication to the fights that were fought by the community.

Plot

1982. Eleven-year-old Lidia lives with her beloved queer family in a desert mining town in northern Chile. As an unknown and deadly disease begins to spread, legend has it that it is transmitted between two men, through a simple glance, when they fall in love. While people are accusing her family, Lidia must find out whether this myth is real or not.

Written by: Angelo Acerbi

Un Certain Regard

Guest

Diego Céspedes

Film

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo

Festival

Festival de Cannes

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