27/09/2023 - The Argentinian actress makes her directing début in a bright comedy about unconventional maternity and special families, which she herself has co-written and starred in

Blondi is the nickname of the central character in Blondi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dolores Fonzi
film profile], the début film by Buenos Aires actress Dolores Fonzi: a cheerful young mum who is a far cry from the traditional mother figure. She talked to us about this co-production between Argentina, Spain and the United States, which is presented in the Latin Horizons section of the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival.

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Cineuropa: This isn't the first time you’ve been here in Donosti, is it?
Dolores Fonzi: I’ve been here 20 times! It’s the festival I’ve visited the most, and I was on the jury for the official section a few years ago, so I know it very well.

But coming here as a director is new for you.
Yes, and it's going to be exciting as well... because it is the European première of Blondi.

Do you think the audience will react differently here in Europe?
I have no idea. I hope it will be as well-received as it was at BAFICI. The film is about a universal, non-local topic, like saying goodbye to someone who is leaving your home, so you can watch it anywhere: then there is also that mother-child theme. Even though she is not your typical mother, we have all felt that bond.

What drove you to direct after so much acting work?
When you spend so much time on set you start understanding how it all work and you are paying attention to see what frame, lens or shot is being used. I happened to see an image of a mother and child on their own together and I got the urge to work on that. Then my friend Laura Paredes and I started thinking about it and I wanted to write a comedy and that’s where we got the idea of them being close in age: Blondi was a teenage mother. That's how the story came together and, suddenly, one day the script was ready; then my partner and producer Santiago Mitre said, “Now we have to make it, because scripts are there to be filmed.” One thing led to another and we got more and more into it: that’s how it came about and I no longer had a choice. now that I've done it, I enjoyed it so much that all I can think about is directing again soon.

Didn’t you find it overwhelming to be leading the team and, at the same time, playing the lead?
Yes, I was overwhelmed, uncertain and nervous, but then again you don’t just suddenly find yourself on set; you have the script, which takes a lot of work to write, then the preliminaries where the team commits to the job and you start delegating. The puzzle starts coming together and you realise that you are not alone, because by the time you start shooting everything is pretty well prepared. So I was in my element and I had an incredible time. I never imagined that it would be such a joyful experience: the team is making your dream come true and that exceeds all expectations.

You get the impression that it was a shoot among friends: there's an air of celebration about it...
Thank you! That feeling of enjoying every moment somehow manages to come across on screen.

Is the plot related to you or to people close to you?
In my circle of close friends 97% of single parents are women, and Blondi does justice to that real figure reflecting a reality that is repeated all around the world. Also the grandmother and sister - who are a strong presence in the film - they make up a network of women, and that is a reflection of reality. This type of family with all the women taking care of the children together has always been the case. It comes from the tribes of thousands of years ago. But the film also looks at what it is like to be a mother today and how we are expected to be perfect. But there is something about this mother that is neither top-down nor authoritarian; she freely explores connections where everyone can see who she is. Blondi is not hypocritical with her son: if she is having a bad day, she tells him. Society today demands a great deal of women who are in charge of everything: our character has no regard for many of these demands, because she dresses as she wants, she does as she pleases, she goes out partying with her son... They really get on well, they love each other and their relationship is an honest one where she doesn't have to feel pressured into being something she isn’t. It is horizontal motherhood, without the judgements of what a mother needs to be, because in the end the only thing that matters is love.

(Translated from Spanish by Alexandra Stephens)