'Thesis on a Domestication' Trailer: Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna Produced Movie Pushes the Boundaries of Trans Representation (EXCLUSIVE) 1 month ago
On the heels of a world premiere at the 28th Annual Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival's First Feature Competition and ahead of its screening at Latin America's largest film market, Ventana Sur, Paris-based sales outfit MPM Premium and Santiago-based Infractor Films have given Variety exclusive access to the trailer for Chilean filmmaker Diego Figueroa's frantic psychological thriller, "A Yard of Jackals" ("Patio de chacales").
Expanding on his short film "Los Vecinos," the film stunned at Sanfic Industria's Works in Progress strand, earning accolades and rightful buzz as it continued on to participate in the IAFFM and Malaga's Mafiz before its polished global bow in Estonia.
"The reception at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has been deeply gratifying and inspiring. Since its world premiere, the film has sparked reactions that highlight its ability to immerse viewers in a unique sensory and emotional experience," Infractor's Alejandro Ugarte told Variety.
Produced by Ugarte at Infractor ("Perro Bomba") alongside Chile's Pejeperro Films and France's Promenades Films, the narrative follows an otherwise solemn protagonist, Raúl (Néstor Cantillana), who spends his days caring for his infirm mother (Grimanesa Jiménez) and diligently crafting architectural models until his life is upended by devious, brutal new neighbors whose nefarious activities remain shrouded in mystery-just outside the law, like phantoms in the flesh.
When he confides in Laura (Blanca Lewin), who works at the textile shop he frequents, she becomes the calm to his tempestuous storm, an asset to his increasingly bizarre investigation and his lone ally. The kinetic energy the two share on screen in claustrophobic confines ramps up the tension, Cantillana and Lewin already familiar with one another from their work on the Pablo Larraín and Jonathan Jakubowicz HBO Series "Fugitives" ("Prófugos").
Cryptic and gripping, the trailer glimpses the resounding suspense the film has in store, as Raúl's once-tranquil existence fades into his self-inflicted obsession to prove that the atrocities close to home are real and that he's in imminent danger.
Opening with a shot of Laura questioning Raúl, the teaser cuts quickly to a close-up of one of his architectural models before shifting feverishly through his emotions as clips of the marauding newcomers are fiercely intertwined with his declining sanity.
Both the trailer and the feature in full lead an audience to lean into Raúl's predicament full-throttle, invited to embody him as an expertly crafted score, composed by Diego de la Fuente Curaqueo, amps up his distress. Each helicopter in the distance, each blood-curdling howl, each suspenseful dose of dissonance serves to intensify the film's mental burden, creating a gut-wrenching abyss of mounting despair that nods to the era, 1978, when Chile was floundering under the hushed state violence of Augusto Pinochet.
"My main goal is to place the viewer in the mind of the protagonist. To make the fiction go beyond the screen and move from the eyes to the mind. For me, that's the main power of cinema - more than telling stories, it allows you to live them." Figueroa previously told Variety.
Ugarte further added, "I've been particularly moved by the appreciation for the unsettling atmosphere that Diego so meticulously crafted, using sound design and evocative visual storytelling to convey the protagonist's paranoia and isolation. The film's been recognized for the way it engages with audiences, inviting them to reflect on themes of guilt, helplessness and redemption under extreme circumstances.
Consuelo Holzapfel, Maria Jesus Marcone and Juan Cano round out the cast with voiceovers from Pablo Schwarz and Rodrigo Perez. The film sees a market screening in Montevideo on Dec.4 before its Chilean premiere at FicViña on Nov. 28 ahead of a national theatrical run via Storyboard Media that kicks off Jan. 23.
"The experience in Tallinn has been extraordinary - an undeniable boost for the film and the team behind it. We are thrilled about the impact it will have in Chile," Ugarte relayed, with Quentin Worthington, head of sales and acquisitions at MPM Premium, adding, "'A Yard Of Jackals' tells the hard story of Chile, using sound as an innovative cinematic language and the thriller codes to impact international audiences. After Tallinn, we look forward to presenting the film to buyers at Ventana Sur.