Archive of films Maid / La nana

Chile
2008, 95 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2009

During the 23 years she has served as nanny and maid to the large and wealthy Valdés family, 41-year-old Raquel has achieved only bitterness and burnout. Besides debilitating migraines, it seems that life has nothing else in store for her. Is there anyone who can lead her out of this dead end? The director took the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Synopsis

Raquel has been working for the wealthy Valdés family since she was 18. During that time she has become a nanny to five children and a tireless maid who is on her feet from morning till night. Aside from debilitating migraines and the illusion that she is perceived as part of the family, life has given her nothing. Her poorly concealed bitterness and increasing conflicts with the eldest Valdés daughter lead the lady of the house to the conviction that her current "jill-of-all-trades” is overworked. But surprisingly, her decision to hire extra help rubs Raquel the wrong way... Does the exhausted domestic truly not need any help or is she just trying, by hook or by crook, to maintain the exclusivity of her dubious standing within the bosom of the family? She can hardly expect them to help her finally discover herself.... In the intersection between social and human pressures, the director gently depicts the modern form of serfdom which yet lingers in aristocratic Latin American families.

About the director

Sebastián Silva (b. 1979, Santiago) is a multifaceted creator, dividing his artistic activities among film, painting, illustrating, and music. After studying film for a year in Chile, he changed plans and set out for Montreal. But his intention to study animation ended in a job selling shoes. Nevertheless, that year he organized three exhibitions and founded the band CHC, with whom he recorded three albums. At one of his exhibitions someone convinced him to approach Steven Spielberg in order to pitch a project. The trip to Hollywood was unsuccessful but he did get a screenplay out of it. In the meantime, another musical project found distribution backing in the USA and the UK. In New York he organized an exhibition and wrote the script for his feature debut Life Kills Me (Vida me mata, 2007), which he then shot in Chile. Silva followed up the release of a solo album with his second movie The Maid (Sundance - Grand Jury Prize at the World Cinema Competition). He is currently in New York City writing another screenplay.

Contacts

Shoreline Entertainment
1416 N. La Brea Ave, CA 90028, Los Angeles
United States of America
Tel: +1 310 551 2060
Fax: +1 310 201 0729
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.slefilms.com

+ 1

About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Another View

Director:	Sebastián Silva
Screenplay:	Sebastián Silva, Pedro Peirano
Dir. of Photography:	Sergio Armstrong
Music:	Pedro Soubercaseaux
Editor:	Danielle Fillios
Producer:	Gregorio González
Production:	Forastero
Cast:	Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola, Andrea García-Huidobro, Alejandro Goic, Agustín Silva
Contact:	Shoreline Entertainment

www:	www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/maid.htlm

Guests

Mariana Loyola

Actress