Las herederas / The Heiresses

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Note of intent

I come from a country of long dictatorships, civil wars. The most recent coup d’état took place in 2012 and frustrated the illusion of change that my generation had. I have been thinking about this story for a long time but what occurred in 2012 was very hard, it made me lose my sense of belonging and telling this story became urgent. There is a strong need to question my society in this project. To place a mirror in front of a social class from what is probably the most conservative/catholic/reactionary country of Latin America. A society that passes irrational values and behavior from generation to generation and money always acts as the control element to ensure that domination.

Synopsis

Asunción, Paraguay, 2013. Chela (60), has been living with Martina (61) for more than 30 years. As heiresses from prosperous families, they have received enough money to live comfortably without the need to work. But as they both turn 60, the inheritance starts to run out. With the passage of time and the difficult economic situation, the relationship between them has worn out and become a succession of long silences. It all gets more complicated as Martina faces prosecution for unpaid debts and has to go to jail. Chela visits Martina whenever she is allowed. They meet in a communal area where they talk and observe the lives of the other inmates. Chela feels desperate to help secure Martina’s release and is obsessed with the bars surrounding her, as if she were also a criminal. In order to make money to pay for lawyers and her expenses, Chela organises garage sales and provides a sort of taxi service, for older women. This is how she meets Mara, a 50 year old, daughter of one of her clients, to whom Chela connects with instantly. The new experiences affecting Chela’s life will change her perspective of a world that she has never before allowed herself to discover.

Visual concept

This narrative proposal begins with the hermeticism in which the main character lives in order to ‘preserve’ herself. A petit-bourgeoisie house full of a distinguished and ephemeral past. Everything seems normal, even the feeling of emptiness. All of a sudden, as the security and protection she surrounded herself with is destroyed, she is forced to – slowly – accept the reality surrounding her: its bright colour, its unusual aesthetics, its noise, its extravagant characters. The visual narration of the film is about subtly portraying that transformation.