The Eternal Memory, the latest from Chilean documentary filmmaker Maite Alberdi, follows a couple on a difficult journey after husband Augusto is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. They have been married for 25 years, and August has lived with the disease for eight years at this point. As his memory fades, wife Paulina takes care of him and ensures that above all, Augusto is cognizant of how much he is loved—even if he eventually forgets the woman who provides it for him. Editor Carolina Siraqyan talks about cutting the film and the process of working with Alberdi. See all responses to our […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 29, 2023Oscar nominee and Sundance alum Maite Alberdi (with 2020’s surprisingly lighthearted The Mole Agent, which followed an endearing octogenarian with no private investigative skills on an undercover mission to expose retirement home elder abuse) returned to Park City this year with a much different follow-up. While The Eternal Memory likewise deals with both the joys and indignities of aging, Alberdi trains her lens this time on a dynamic duo who’ve been together for a quarter century, much of it in the media spotlight. Paulina Urrutia was (and still is) an actor and former State Minister, while Augusto Góngora was one of Chile’s most […]
by Lauren Wissot on Jan 25, 2023Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? The most unexpected—or the most difficult—part of the film was the uncertainty of when to finish filming it. Of course, it’s always very difficult to end the recording of a documentary. But this was a film that when we started, we didn’t know when it would be [finished], and that was the main question. When the day came, and Augusto […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 23, 2023