Yahoo Lifestyle Ventana Sur Copia Final Title ‘All the Strength’ Ventures into the Superhero Realm (EXCLUSIVE)
Argentine writer-director-producer Luciana Piantanida is taking her completed sophomore pic, “All the Strength” (“Todas las fuerzas”) to Ventana Sur’s Copia Final where it will seek a sales agent, distribution and festival berths.
Best known for her lauded debut feature “Los Ausentes,” Piantanida is a partner at production company Pensar con las Manos alongside Andrea Testa and Francisco Márquez whose co-directorial debut “The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis,” world premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.
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“All the Strength” follows 47-year-old migrant caregiver Marlene who lives in the home of her employer, an elderly woman. Although her job is full-time, when she discovers that a friend has gone missing, she begins sneaking out at night to investigate. The clues lead her to nocturnal workplaces where she meets other women who, like her, have honed their gifts into supernatural powers.
Marlene is played by Bolivian non-pro Celia Santos who is supported by Argentine thesps Silvina Sabater and Andrea Garrote. “The other caregivers are played by non-pros from Peru and Paraguay,” said Piantanida.
“The film plays with genre conventions: it attempts to be a crime story without involving the police. Instead of a private detective, the protagonist is an older migrant woman who follows the clues whenever her job allows. As the investigation unfolds, the film shifts toward the fantasy genre, but ultimately, it seeks to address a social issue from a deeply human perspective, placing those who are typically marginalized at the center of the narrative,” she told Variety.
Peru’s La Dupla and Maretazo Cine, run by Daniel and Diego Vega, have boarded as minority producers with Daniel Vega serving as executive producer.
Shot in Buenos Aires in 2022, the project won the support of Peru’s co-production incentive and Argentine film-TV body INCAA as well as the city of Buenos Aires.
“Making it now in Argentina would be impossible. [President] Milei’s policies have withdrawn all support for the national industry, and we can no longer rely on the state to develop our film industry. They are dismantling our culture,” said Piantanida, who added: “The defunding affects cinema, culture in general, science, education and healthcare.”
Backed by Cannes’ Marché du Film and Festival, Argentina’s state agency INCAA and Uruguay’s counterpart, the ACAU, the Ventana Sur Roo de la Plata 2024 edition takes place Dec. 2 – 6 in Montevideo, Uruguay for the first time, transferring from its traditional hub in Buenos Aires.
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