Renowned Costa Rican actor, playwright and poet Ana Istarú will appear alongside daughter Ardélia Istarú in the latter’s next directorial outing, “Quemada.” Valentina Maurel’s production company Tres Tigres will produce alongside France’s Geko Films and Panama’s Mansa Productora. The project is part of the Desde el Centro showcase at the upcoming Costa Rica Media Market, taking place in San Jose on July 14-15.
“Quemada” is a hybrid documentary exploring the “legacy of shame” by blurring the lines between objective documentary recording, performative reconstruction and abstract artistic expression. The film stems from a personal experience lived by the director: After the non-consensual distribution of her intimate photos at age 15, Istarú published a testimonial online that became the subject of national media attention. Years later, she returns to the family home to confront this story with her mother, erotic poet Ana.
“Shortly after my testimony spread online, and because of the pressure that came with it, I moved out of Costa Rica,” Istarú tells Variety when asked about the origins of the project. “Revisiting the story felt like a way to better understand the fracture it had created between me and my country. I never believed that making a film about it would necessarily heal that fracture, but I hoped it might allow me to return to it with a renewed sense of dignity. I also wanted answers, and I wanted them to come directly from the people who had shared my intimate pictures in the first place.”
