A social realist short film shot amid the social uprising happening in Chile.

Logline

As the current social uprising grips Chile, a young immigrant named Mimi sings old Hollywood classics at an exclusive lounge in Santiago. Outside, millions are chanting in the streets, cops are blinding protestors, and she must decide how much she is willing to risk in order to finally be seen.

Why make this movie? 

Aparecides is both a documentation of the social uprising happening in Chile right now as well as an imagination of what is possible. It is about the choice we all have when faced with injustice: look the other way or take a stand.

When I saw all the violence in the streets along with all the beautiful and creative expressions of resistance, I immediately started figuring out a way to build a team and get to Santiago. I wrote a short script within a month, put down my savings and bought tickets for me and our DP Andrés Gallegos, who felt the same need to be there and shared the belief that this crazy project had to be done.

For us, it was obvious that local filmmakers are better suited to document what is happening moment to moment so we wanted to contribute in a different way. This short is grounded in social realism, a hybrid of documentary footage and the very real yet fictional story of a character being pushed and pulled by this environment.

We wanted to explore a character that has an easy way out. Someone who is not tied down by any alliances; someone who is seen by everyone as an outsider. Mimi is that character. She is a foreigner with a great gig; she sings songs that perpetuate her value as a precious object to an audience of well-paying elites. She can choose to ignore the chaos in the streets and the mutilation of people who are not “her people.” She can leave easily and get paid anywhere else.

Our hope is that through this character we can show the urgent need to embrace an unconditional solidarity for all humanity. Or how the reverend would say:

Cast

Creative Team 

WRITER/DIRECTOR – YVAN ITURRIAGA
Yvan Iturriaga is an Oakland-based writer/director who spent his childhood border crossing through Latin America, living in the extended Chilean exile community. Constantly moving in the undefined space between exile and return, Yvan grew up surrounded by people with silenced, clandestine stories. His desire to make those stories known and remembered inspired him to become a filmmaker. Most recently, Yvan directed seasons one and two (fourteen episodes) of the original series The North Pole.
IMDB

PRODUCER – MAJO CALDERÓN
María José Calderón is a producer and editor with a degree in Film from ARCIS University and a master’s degree in journalism and documentary film from the University of California, Berkeley. Her works have been disseminated in Latin America, the United States and Europe, at film festivals and sites such as HBO, The New York Times, PBS, ESPN, AJ + and The Climate Reality. She is currently producing several fiction and documentary projects in the development stage and is a co-producer of the Chilean/U.S. documentary in production, Troubled Water.

CINEMATOGRAPHER – ANDRÉS GALLEGOS
Born in Chile, Andrés Gallegos has shot more than twenty short films and six feature films to date.  Andrés was awarded Best Cinematography at Fesancor (Santiago Short Film Festival) when he was just twenty-two years old.  Motivated by his passion for cinematography, Andrés moved to California  to earn his MFA in Cinema at San Francisco State University, where he received the Graduate Award for Distinguished Achievement. His work has screened at Cannes, Raindance,  Málaga, Mill Valley, Valdivia and more.            IMDB

The Big Picture: AMERICAN BABYLON

I have been developing a feature film called American Babylon for several years now. I have received support from SFFilm and Cine Qua Non Lab, and received interest from a handful of production companies. What is missing for us to get the film financed is a proof of concept that will show the type of characters, the themes, our tone and our ability to put it all together.

In short, Aparecides will be a sample for the feature film. Your support will help us not just make this important short but also take the first steps toward making my first feature film: AMERICAN BABYLON.