Chilean wunderkind Diego Céspedes whose debut feature “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” (“La Misteriosa Mirada del Flamenco”) snagged the top prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard last year, is prepping his sophomore pic, “The Case of the Boy Who Lost His Heart.”
News comes in the wake of another milestone in the 31-year-old’s fledgling career when he was invited to join the 79th Cannes main competition jury last May. He became the first Chilean filmmaker – and certainly the youngest – to receive such an honor since Raúl Ruiz in 2002.
Set in a fog-shrouded Chilean town circa 1992, his latest pic centers on disgraced detective Ferrari (59) who is investigating a series of murders—men found without hearts, their deaths blamed on a monstrous woman. With her assistant Sheyla Williams (32), she follows the trail to a family of women who work seasonally harvesting giant-lettuces. There she uncovers the truth behind the myth: the unresolved horrors of the dictatorship and a murderous hatred of dissident bodies.
“I’m thrilled to be filming in Chile again. After everything the past few years have brought, starting a new film feels like the beginning of a new chapter. I’m excited to discover new faces, meet new talent and at the same time reunite with the people I’ve had the privilege of working with for so many years. I can’t wait to get started,” Céspedes told Variety.
“The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” is described by Variety as “an offbeat study of a transgender commune living in the Chilean desert around the onset of the 1980s AIDS epidemic.” It was the only Chilean feature to be nominated for the coveted Premios Platino last April, which its producer Giancarlo Nasi of Quijote Films attended. “We believe these Platino Awards represent, in a way, the culmination of many years of work as well as an exceptionally intense year,” he told Variety.
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It was selected to represent Chile on the international awards circuit, including the Academy Awards and the Goya Awards.
“I deeply admire Diego as a director, a writer, and a filmmaker with a clear mission: to fight for his cinema and create space for voices the industry has long overlooked,” said Nasi. “From Quijote, we’ve traveled a long road together: from the short film that premiered at the Cannes Critics’ Week [“The Melting Creatures”] and then the feature that won Un Certain Regard [“…Flamingo”]. Seeing him on the jury of the Official Competition this year was deeply moving and it had a tremendous impact in Chile and across the region.”
“So when it comes to starting from scratch and embarking on a new adventure with him, we do it with more energy than ever. This project is beautiful and completely wild, unlike anything we’ve developed before and that’s why we make films: to blow the minds of audiences and our own first,” he added.
Based in Santiago de Chile and Los Angeles, Quijote Films has co-produced close to 30 films with more than 23 countries. Among them are “The Blue Trail” by Gabriel Mascaro, winner of the Berlinale Silver Bear and which was also nominated for a Premios Platino prize, including a best actor nomination for its lead, Rodrigo Santoro (“300,” “Love, Actually”)
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