Exclusive: Closer Look at Sebastien Silva’s ‘Old Cats’

The non-mentions of Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, Anthony Cordier’s Happy Few, Monte Hellman’s Road to Nowhere, Alex de la Iglesia’s A Sad Trumpet Ballad and Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Attenberg in today’s line-up announcement for the 48th New York Film Festival means these titles become prime candidates for a TIFF North American premiere and in the same measure, equates to a NYFF rich in Venice and the Cannes Film Festivals offerings but not many world premieres. A noteworthy exception worth pointing out is from the country of Chile.

After the critically acclaimed indie gem, The Maid, Sebastien Silva’s third film, titled Old Cats (Los Gatos Viejos) is a rare world preem that cracked the NYFF line-up. When we last interviewed Silva, he had mentioned he’d be working on Second Child and subsequently he signed a two-picture deal with Elephant Eye Films moving “Old Cats” at the top of his list. Working once again with frequent collaborators including co-writer/director Pedro Peirano and a foursome of thesps who will have each worked with Silva for a second time on a film that the helmer described as as a shot in a “real-life couple’s 8th floor apartment in the capital” that looks like “The Maid,” the style is “natural filmmaking” and “natural acting.” Here are some exclusive pics we received with the synopsis below.

“Old Cats” revolves around elderly couple (featured in La vida me mata), Isidora (Bélgica Castro) and Enrique (Alejandro Sievking), who live a comfortable life. They have a modest yet elegant apartment in Santiago’s old downtown district, complete with a lovely terrace and mountain views. Well into their 80s, they both maintain their independence and live happily with their books, their eclectic art and, most of all, with their beloved two fat cats. One day, however, the building’s elevator breaks and, unable to descend the ten flights down, Isadora is left a prisoner in her own home. At the same inconvenient time, Isadora’s passionate “wild child” daughter, Rosario (Claudia Celedon), and her butch female lover, Hugo (Catalina Saavedra), come for a visit with a new scheme of how to make them all rich. The one glitch is that the elderly couple must sign over the lease to their apartment, and the tug of war between mother and daughter escalates when Isadora begins to show signs of senility…