The project The Illusions by Ingrid Pokropek has carried off the DALE! (Desarrollo América Latina-Europa) Award handed out by the European Film Agency Directors Association (EFAD) and the Conference of Audiovisual and Cinematographic Authorities of Ibero-America (CAACI) at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.

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 Cineuropa: What does this award consist of?
Ingrid Pokropek: It comprises €10,000 in support of films that connect Latin America and Europe. My second feature, The Illusions, is a co-production between Argentina and Spain. My debut feature, The Major Tones, was co-produced by 36 Caballos together with fellow Argentinian company Gong Cine and Spain’s Jaibo Films. This second feature, once again, is a collaboration with them and with Potenza Producciones.

You’re a producer, screenwriter and director… And an actress, too?
Well, I sometimes act in friends’ films, but it would be an insult to the trade to say I’m an actress. I have produced several films, such as Trenque Lauquen, and my own work, The Major Tones, which screened at Berlin and Mar del Plata as well as Málaga, where it won two prizes: Best Ibero-American Film and Best Actress in the Zonazine section. The lead, who was only 12 at the time, is now 17 and will also act in this second one.

What is The Illusions?
It’s a film that blends comedy, drama and fantasy, and it unfolds in Buenos Aires: it begins when three strangers are looking up at the sky, each making a wish. A boxer longs for fame, a broken-hearted musician yearns to find love again, and a teenage girl wants her dead father to come back to life. But something goes wrong, and a miscalculation with the star grants each of them someone else’s wish, unleashing chaos…

This extraordinary, supernatural element was already present in The Major Tones.
Yes, and in several of my short films as well. I really like the overlap between a city like Buenos Aires, where I live, and the element of strangeness. It's because I grew up reading Argentinian fantastical literature by writers such as Jorge Luis Borges.

And are you looking for more partners?
Yes. We have already secured the involvement of an Argentinian fund, which is a miracle because the situation in Argentina is very complicated. Since Milei took office, support from the national film institute has been heavily cut back, and it was shut for a year. Afterwards, we obtained selective support from Spain’s ICAA. And we’re looking to add a third European partner and a Latin American one to round off the financing. We want to shoot next year, in September, in Buenos Aires, which will be not just a location, but also a character in its own right. I’m keen for its streets and its geography to be visible, which is something I already explored in my previous film and in my short Chico eléctrico.

Will it be shot anywhere in particular?
Downtown Buenos Aires, which ended up becoming quite an uncanny place after the pandemic because this bustling area full of office workers just emptied out. Even now, it’s only just ceasing to be a zombie-like space. And that’s interesting for cinema: to have the characters wander through those places where one can still sense the desolation of what used to be office districts, in stark contrast with Calle Corrientes, which is like our Broadway, with its neon signs and pizzerias, always buzzing and full of people.

What prompted you to bring this project to the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum?
We were drawn to it because these places foster the possibility for Latin American filmmakers, who are so far away, to connect and meet potential allies we wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. It’s wonderful, and we’re grateful that San Sebastián, besides supporting Argentinian cinema, which is going through a complicated, difficult moment, has included so many Argentinian projects in the forum because financing is very tough there, and this opens up the possibility of us continuing to make films.

Do we still need to keep calling for more women filmmakers to be active in this industry?
My take on the issue is a bit unusual because it’s good to draw attention to the lack of visibility that women directors and many other female audiovisual technicians have experienced. I feel that, above all, we need to transform the viewer because there’s something I really don’t like: the idea that a female director has a specific, feminine gaze. I don’t agree with that; I don’t like it. I’d prefer someone to watch a film I make and not care whether I’m a woman or a man. But it does matter to me that women have more space in areas we haven’t been able to occupy before.