Dinner with Kay Pacha

8 February 2014
Festival, Meeting with…
By Clotilde Couturier
  • KayPacha

 

Interview with Alvaro Sarmiento, for Kay Pacha

la mouche cf Where did you find the inspiration for Kay Pacha ?

Unfortunately in Peru it is common that many kids work in the streets to earn money to help their families to survive. In Cuzco you can see many girls like the main characters of the short working with tourists.

I wanted to make a story about this world, portrait their daily life, problems and dreams of street girls.
la mouche cf How much is the film based on real facts ?

The main characters, Maribel and Rosmery are real street girls who migrated from peasant communities  to work in the Central square of Cuzco with tourists.

There are some documentary inserts inside the short movie, like the part when the police is pursuing them. That is real. I made documentaries before this, my first fiction film, so I wanted to mix documentary with fiction.

la mouche cf Had the main actresses played a part or participated in a film before ?

The two main characters, Maribel and Rosmery did’nt have previous experience with acting.

We find them working in the streets of Cuzco and cast them for the roles. Then we had a workshop with them to help them feel confident in front of the camera and feel comfortable with their fictional parents.
Their fictional parents come from street theatre companies from Cuzco, the father Nino Mirones is originally a mime. The mother teaches acting lessons to school kids.
la mouche cf Do you plan making other films with indigeneous peoples ?

Yes, basically I feel this is my mission and what I’d like to do. Since I have an indigenous family background. I started my career making documentaries about indigenous rights and the conflicts with mining corporations and the consequences they suffered in their healthes.

la mouche cf In the end, why did you choose to shoot in Cuzco ?

I love Cuzco, it is my favourite city in Peru !

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To see Kay Pacha, go to International Competition screenings : I12

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