Clara Sola
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
This film will also be available online on our VoD platform from March 29 to April 10, 2022. Please note: This film will only be available in Germany.
On a remote mountain farm in Costa Rica, Clara, 40, a withdrawn woman with scoliosis, lives with her mother and young niece Maria. A curious human animal, sensitive and alert, she maintains an almost symbiotic bond with the nature around her. Her pious mother believes Clara is a holy gift, a healer. She could be cured herself, but her mother denies her treatment for fear of messing with her daughter’s mojo – but perhaps even more for fear of losing her standing in the community as a Matriarchal Talent Agent of God. Held captive in her ›purity‹, Clara’s mother even dresses her like the Virgin Mary, inviting villagers for healing sessions. But nature calls. Two coming-of-age tales emerge. As Maria nears her quinceañera with all the trappings of contractional femininity – the pretty dress, high heels, stolen kisses with a first boyfriend, here, a gentle farmhand, named Santiago – Clara feels a carnal stirring. Her late-blooming sexuality unleashes something uniquely fierce, yet unabashed as she embarks on a liberating journey towards her true ›nature‹, towards true healing. Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s background in physical theatre is evident in her impressive debut: flora and fauna virtually leap off the screen thanks to Sophie Windqvist Loggins’ riveting, palpable cinematography; with arresting physicality, first-time actress and trained dancer Wendy Chinchilla Araya meets nature’s dynamism at eye level, like an old familiar, both forces to be reckoned with. The film won big at this year’s Swedish Guldbagge Awards and is Costa Rica’s international entry for the 2022 Oscars®.
Awards for Clara Sola
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound – Guldbagge 2022 | Best Film, Best Actress (Wendy Chinchilla Araya), Best Photography (Sophie Winqvist Loggins) – Festival de cine de Lima, Competition 2021 | Best Film – Pelicula, Competition 2021 | Best Fiction Film Award, Best Actress, BRA.DA Award – Mostra de Sao Paolo, New Directors Competition 2021 | Special Jury Award for Best Director – Thessaloniki International Film Festival, International Competition 2021
This film has been nominated for the Audience Award endowed with 1,000 euro. Please vote after watching the movie.
You can find an overview of all nominated films here.
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén is a Costa Rican-Swedish screenwriter/director. She began her career in physical theatre in Costa Rica before earning her BFA in mime acting from Stockholm University of the Arts in Sweden and her MFA from Columbia University, NYC in film directing/screenwriting. She is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, TIFF Filmmaker Lab, and NYFF Artist Academy, her short films have screened at film festivals worldwide. In 2016, Filip won the Best Film Under 15 Minutes award at the Palm Springs Shortfest. She co-wrote Entre Tú y Milagros, which won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. A participant in Torino ScriptLab 2021, she is currently developing her second feature film, The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands.
Films by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
Molt 2018 | Shelter 2018 | Letting Go 2016 | Asunder 2015 | Filip 2015 | Not Blue 2011
