31/03/2017 - The actress who played the young main character in Almodóvar’s Julieta jetted off to Lima to film this European-South American co-production, an adaptation of a stage play about family conflict

Adriana Ugarte during the shoot for El sistema solar, with directors Bacha Caravedo and Daniel Higashionna

Adriana Ugarte, who breathed life into the young version of the main character in Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Pedro Almodóvar
film profile], headed to Lima at the beginning of the year to film El sistema solar (lit. “The Solar System”), a co-production between Peruvian outfit Señor Z and Spain’s Pontas Films (which has Traces of Sandalwood [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] on its CV, in addition to Cold Skin, which is currently awaiting release – read more), the shoot for which lasted barely three weeks. The movie, directed by Bacha Caravedo and Daniel Higashionna, is currently at the post-production stage in Argentina and tells the story of what happens during a tumultuous Christmas dinner.

On the evening of Christmas Day, two years after the Del Solar family last had a reunion, Leonardo arrives at his old house in Lima, now home to his daughter, Edurne. He rocks up with his current partner, Madrilenian Inés, who was previously the girlfriend of his son Pavel, who is also there with his own son – nine-year-old Puli. The gathering will soon descend into a series of reproaches, tense moments and eye-opening revelations. Because… who hasn’t seen a Christmas dinner deteriorate from laughter to tears, or from love to hate?

Directors Bacha Caravedo (who is in charge of the performance side of the duo’s films) and Daniel Higashionna (who takes care of the visual aspect) won the Silver Biznaga for Best Director in the Territorio Latinoamericano section of the 2015 Málaga Film Festival with their previous film, Perro guardián. With a screenplay penned by Caravedo, who has adapted the original stage play by Mariana de Althaus, the cast is rounded off by Peruvian thesps Gisela Ponce de León, César Ritter, Javier Valdés and young Sebastián Zamudio (incidentally, the role of Inés was initially going to be played by Leonor Watling). Another Spanish team member is sound engineer Eva Valiño, who is currently putting the finishing touches to her work on Bajo la piel de lobo (see the news).

The movie’s release is slated for some time before Christmas this year, on both sides of the Atlantic. Prior to this, it will take part in the Cannes Film Market in May.

(Translated from Spanish)