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Chile’s everyman actor Alfredo Castro (“The Count”) plays against type in “After Elena” (“Después de Elena”) by Shawn Garry, which world premieres at the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) on Sept.11.
Bowing a trailer and
poster exclusively in Variety, “After Elena” “shows Castro in a completely different register from what we’ve seen him in before and the cast also includes Nicolás Zárate (“Red Hangar”), who has won multiple awards this year,” said Gabriela Sandoval who produced the dark family comedy out of her label Cine Matriz.
The rest of the cast include Carola Varleta and Guilherme Sepúlveda while Catalina Saavedra – who took home an acting prize at Sundance for her gripping debut performance in 2009 Chilean drama, “The Maid”– plays a small but pivotal role.
Castro plays 70-year-old Roberto whose beloved wife Elena has died. He wants nothing more than to retreat into his lifelong home. But when an economic and emotional crisis drives his three adult children back under his roof, old wounds, buried secrets and simmering tensions resurface. As they navigate their grief, the family must find a way to reconnect or risk tearing itself apart.
The trailer opens with Castro’s character, the recently widowed Roberto, waking up to a phone call in the middle of the night to news that one of his sons has tried to kill himself. Chaos ensues as all three adult kids and their offspring move in.
The multi-country co-production includes Colombia’s Doc: Co, Garry’s own label Creative Content, Italy’s Zoe Films, Fundacion Rio and By Lace Films. Buenos Aires-based boutique sales agency Meikincine Entertainment boarded the film at the development stage.
In an earlier interview, Sandoval explained what drew them to this project: “We were attracted by the possibility of addressing themes such as old age, death, grief and family trauma, but from a different perspective: not as a conventional drama, but through dark humor and absurdity as a narrative vehicle.”
Castro has frequently collaborated with Pablo Larrain (“Jackie,” “The Club”) where he played dramatic roles in such gems as “Tony Manero,” “No,” “The Club” and most recently, “The Count.” Larrain’s feature-length spin-off from his Netflix mini-series “My Sad Dead,” competes at the San Sebastian Film Festival where it world premieres.
“After Elena” is the sophomore feature of Chilean director-producer Shawn Garry that follows his debut, “Desierto Sur.” He co-wrote the dramedy with writer-director Bernardo Quesney (“History y Geography”) and Carla Stagno (“Allende, The Thousand Days”).
