Pablo Larraín talks about El Conde, why he decided to turn Pinochet into a vampire and how directing a project for Netflix changed his directing process - Venice
Pablo Larraín talks about El Conde, why he decided to turn Pinochet into a vampire and how directing a project for Netflix changed his directing process - Venice
August 30, 2023 10:12 p.m.
With six feature credits over the past decade, Pablo Larraín is one of the most prolific working today, but he returns to the Lido this week with a new proposal.
El Conde, his latest feature film, an inventive black and white satire of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, is his first film for streaming. Larraín co-wrote and directed the film, which debuts tonight in Competition in Venice for Netflix.
“I'm happy because this film is going to be in a lot of living rooms. It's beautiful,” Larraín said of his work with the streamer.
Along with regular on-screen collaborators like Alfredo Castro and Amparo Noguera, El Conde< /em> takes place in a parallel universe where Chilean fascist dictator Augusto Pinochet exists as a vampire. After being ousted from power, Pinochet is now hiding in a ruined mansion at the southern tip of the continent. He decided to stop drinking blood and give up the privilege of eternal life. However, despite his disappointing and opportunistic family, he finds new inspiration to continue living an unexpected relationship.
Veteran Chilean actor Jaime Vadell is Augusto Pinochet in the photo. The brutal dictator remains one of the most controversial figures in Chilean history. He seized power 50 years ago next month following a military coup, and during his 17-year rule more than 40,000 people have been persecuted, ranging from imprisonment and from torture to execution.
Pinochet's violence and the legacy he left behind has been a constant theme throughout throughout the Chilean work of Larraín. However, El Conde — his first direct confrontation with Pinochet and the dictatorship — may seem like a big departure for those familiar with the filmmaker from his work on Venice's previous Jackie films. em> and Spencer.
For Larraín, very little separates El Conde from his work in English .
"I'm a political filmmaker," he said. “Jackie is a very political film. And Spencer too. Politics is always in a story. Cinema can never be apolitical.
Below, Larraín delves deeper into his connection to Pinochet's legacy, how El Conde started out as a TV series on Netflix, how streaming changed the way it directs, and it also teases its next English pic, a biopic of Maria Callas, starring Angelina Jolie.
DEADLINE: First of all, Pablo, you are an extremely prolific filmmaker. You have made 7 films this decade and several television series. How are you feeling right now?
PABLO LARRAIN: I feel good. I feel blessed to be busy. This is a difficult work. It takes a lot of work, patience, passion and love, a...
With six feature credits over the past decade, Pablo Larraín is one of the most prolific working today, but he returns to the Lido this week with a new proposal.
El Conde, his latest feature film, an inventive black and white satire of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, is his first film for streaming. Larraín co-wrote and directed the film, which debuts tonight in Competition in Venice for Netflix.
“I'm happy because this film is going to be in a lot of living rooms. It's beautiful,” Larraín said of his work with the streamer.
Along with regular on-screen collaborators like Alfredo Castro and Amparo Noguera, El Conde< /em> takes place in a parallel universe where Chilean fascist dictator Augusto Pinochet exists as a vampire. After being ousted from power, Pinochet is now hiding in a ruined mansion at the southern tip of the continent. He decided to stop drinking blood and give up the privilege of eternal life. However, despite his disappointing and opportunistic family, he finds new inspiration to continue living an unexpected relationship.
Veteran Chilean actor Jaime Vadell is Augusto Pinochet in the photo. The brutal dictator remains one of the most controversial figures in Chilean history. He seized power 50 years ago next month following a military coup, and during his 17-year rule more than 40,000 people have been persecuted, ranging from imprisonment and from torture to execution.
Pinochet's violence and the legacy he left behind has been a constant theme throughout throughout the Chilean work of Larraín. However, El Conde — his first direct confrontation with Pinochet and the dictatorship — may seem like a big departure for those familiar with the filmmaker from his work on Venice's previous Jackie films. em> and Spencer.
For Larraín, very little separates El Conde from his work in English .
"I'm a political filmmaker," he said. “Jackie is a very political film. And Spencer too. Politics is always in a story. Cinema can never be apolitical.
Below, Larraín delves deeper into his connection to Pinochet's legacy, how El Conde started out as a TV series on Netflix, how streaming changed the way it directs, and it also teases its next English pic, a biopic of Maria Callas, starring Angelina Jolie.
DEADLINE: First of all, Pablo, you are an extremely prolific filmmaker. You have made 7 films this decade and several television series. How are you feeling right now?
PABLO LARRAIN: I feel good. I feel blessed to be busy. This is a difficult work. It takes a lot of work, patience, passion and love, a...
