PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews  Alejandra Márquez Abella, director of Semana Santa from the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture

The feature directorial debut by Alejandra Márquez Abella, Semana Santa, was screened at the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. In this film, Abella tells the story of a seemingly innocent family vacation. As the film progresses, we realize that it becomes an exploration of many different versions of a family, that transcends its most traditional and Catholic definition. In the interview, we ask the director about this and also about her leanings towards realism, which she herself discovered only upon making the film. This inspires another question, whether or not it is true what Cronenberg said that very often a filmmaker doesn’t know what film he or she is making until he or she is making it (or has made it).

SEMANA SANTA: A family arrives at a seaside resort and, at first glance, they don’t seem any different from all the other cheerful holidaymakers. The relationships between the inquisitive son, his widowed mother and her new boyfriend are extremely fragile, however, as they always are in such cases. The promise of endless lazy days soon becomes a test of mutual solidarity.

Trailer SEMANA SANTA from alejandra márquez abella on Vimeo.