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In a remote village in Costa Rica, 40-year-old Clara (Wendy Chinchilla Araya) endures a repressively religious and withdrawn life under the command of her mother. Her uncanny affinity for creatures large and small allows Clara to find solace in the natural world around her. Tension builds within the family as Clara’s younger niece approaches her quinceañera, igniting a sexual and mystical awakening in Clara, and a journey to free herself from the conventions that have dominated her life. Swedish/Costa Rican writer/director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s atmospheric debut fiction feature glistens with moments of liberating sensuality and intensity.
En un pueblo remoto de Costa Rica, Clara (Wendy Chinchilla Araya) de 40 años de edad, sobrelleva una vida religiosa represiva y retraída con su madre dominadora. Su asombrosa afinidad por animales grandes y pequeños le permite a Clara encontrar consuelo en el mundo natural a su alrededor. La tensión aumenta en la familia, a medida que la sobrina más joven de Clara está por festejar sus quince años, provocando en Clara un despertar sexual y místico, y un camino para liberarse de las normas rígidas que dominaron su vida. Nathalie Alvarez Mesén, guionista y directora de origen sueco y costarricense hace su debut con este filme de ficción que brilla con momentos de intensidad y sensualidad liberadora.
Director Biography
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén is a Costa Rican-Swedish screenwriter/director. Her debut feature film CLARA SOLA premiered in Cannes 2021 in the Director’s Fortnight section. She started her career in physical theater in Costa Rica before pursuing her B.F.A. degree in Mime Acting at the Stockholm University of the Arts in Sweden. Nathalie later graduated from Columbia University's Graduate Film Program in NYC with an M.F.A. in Film Directing/Screenwriting. An alumna of the Berlinale Talents, TIFF Filmmaker Lab and NYFF Artist Academy, Nathalie’s shorts have screened at film festivals all over the world. Her short, FILIP, won Best Film Under 15 Minutes at the 2016 Palm Springs Shortfest, and ASUNDER, screened at the 2016 Telluride Film Festival. Nathalie also co-wrote ENTRE TÚ Y MILAGROS, winner of the Orizzonti Award for Best Short in the Venice Film Festival 2020 and she is developing her second feature, THE WOLF WILL TEAR YOUR IMMACULATE HANDS, in the Torino ScriptLab 2021.