Reflection in La Mañana Short Film “Memory Under the Water”

On March 25th, the short fiction film in which I am the lead actress and co-writer, directed by Alfonso Gazitua, was interviewed by Antonio Megias Gil, a journalist from La Mañana newspaper.

I leave you the link with the article.

“The Chilean filmmaker, based in Noguera, Alfonso Gazitúa, finished filming the short ‘Memory Under the Water’ two weeks ago. This collective work emerged from a film workshop at the cultural space Lo Callejón in Montgai and reflects on families who had to leave their places of origin due to the construction of reservoirs that submerged their communities. ‘It was a long workshop, first focusing on cinematic language, then choosing a project, and finally settling on this theme because one of the members had to relocate,’ Alfonso explains to LA MAÑANA. Along with Nuria Companys (actress), Miquel Badia (actor), Ricard Guiu (actor), and Jordi Herbera (sound), they collaboratively created the script. ‘It’s a narrative related to memory,’ he emphasizes, ‘and the goal is to bring visibility to issues such as forgetfulness or loss of identity.’

The short film is a fictional story (in Catalan with Spanish subtitles) that features ‘a woman who submerges herself in the reservoir every day searching for something, and when she returns, she hides it and shares it with no one.’ The shoot, which lasted seven days, primarily took place at the Santa Anna reservoir in Alfarràs, ‘a landscape similar to some of the places where this has occurred,’ and in Castellserà, the hometown of one of the protagonists. There are also images of elderly people from Miralpeix or Tragó, ‘who lived through it and lend a documentary tone that also interested me.’

Now, ‘Memory Under the Water’ is in post-production; ‘we’re making an effort to make it worthy, because besides the theme, the work has to speak for itself and carry artistic significance; that’s what I strive for as a filmmaker.’ Next will come the editing, with the intention to premiere it at the end of May or in June, although there is still no fixed date or location, which could be Balaguer, Agramunt, or Montgai among other possibilities. Finally, he concludes, ‘I believe it can have its journey; to give it this social character and to film as much as possible, if festivals are needed, let’s go ahead.’

In addition to this short film and his career as a filmmaker, which he began in 2006, Alfonso Gazitúa took over the management of Lo Callejón in 2023, embarking on an ‘adventure’ with his family that encountered initial difficulties ‘because it’s hard to promote culture and attract people to such small places,’ but he faces the new reopening in April with enthusiasm and new projects.”

“My art project will help everyone discover authenticity.”