11/06/2012 - Gonzalo Tobal's first feature is supported by the Eye on Film Label, Cineuropa's partner

Villegas [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is the first feature film by the young Argentinian filmmaker Gonzalo Tobal. The film follows two cousins, Esteban and Pipa, as they return to the countryside village where they grew up together for their grandfather’s funeral. This journey comes at a crossroads in their lives. Both in their thirties, they have to become adults and find the right balance between who they were and who they want to be.

This film is a coming of age story, focusing on the changes and decisions one has to take when in the thirties, an age when adulthood really settles in. Even though this film is laid back, with scenes of fooling around in a corn tank and driving a tractor, this apparent carelessness hides buried traumas and deep questioning. Tobal succeeds in dealing with dark and intense questions while keeping a low-key tone throughout the film. The score perfectly completes this easy-going feeling, notably thanks to composer Nacho Rodriguez’s peaceful songs.

Villegas was produced by  Benjamin Domenech, Santiago Gallelli and Juan Villegas for Urban Distribution International between Argentina, France and the Netherlands. It stars Esteban Lamothe, known for its main role in The Student and Esteban Migliardi from A Mysterious World. Tobal also worked with Lucas Gaynor, his editor, a key figure in the emerging Argentinian cinema. Villegas was part of the Cannes Festival’s official selection in 2012 and the same year won the Argentinian Cinema Critics Association Prize awarded at the Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cinema Independiente (BACIFI).