Interview: Monica Lairana – Director of Rosa (Short Film Competition)

Rosa is competing for the Short Film Palme d’Or this year. Monica Laraina, the director, was born in Argentina and always worked as an actress. The short film Rosa is her debut as a director and a screenwriter. In the absolute silence of her home, Rosa, an elderly woman, bathes herself, cooks, eats, watches television, looks for company and smokes alone by the window.

Anny Gomes: How would you describe this film?
Monica Lairana: Rosa is a dearing portrait of a mature woman and her loneliness. This portrait is straightforward, harsh but also genuine.

Gomes: Who is the character Rosa and why tell her story?
Lairana: Rosa is a woman who is about 58 years-old that once had a family, husband, kids and now, under some circunstance, is alone. However, sharing details of her biographical story is not the most important aspect of my short film; attempting to capture and carefully witness her daily routine would help to understand and feel what she feels.

If you look around ourselves, we are surrounded by lonely people, even in our families, sometimes it seems like they are invisible to us. And it is not the same loneliness of an orphan because they know who their family is, where they are but they still cannot rely on them.

Gomes: Rosa talks about loneliness. The modern age usually claims that technology makes people isolated. Even though she is an elderly woman, not engaged with technology, is Rosa’s loneliness different than “ours”?
Lairana: I believe that the deepest pain that originates the feeling of loneliness is something similiar to us all. However, there is something that moves me specially about the loneliness felt by women, they dedicated their lives to her families and now that they are old, they are completely alone.

Gomes: You are an actress. Why you chose not to be the leading role in the short film?
Lairana: Because I did not want to talk about loneliness itself, I was interested to talk about the phases and steps you go in life, elderhood, the female body, love inside the family, sex in adulthood.

Gomes: What was the most difficult part of transitioning from acting to directing?
Lairana: As a director, I have learned a new way to deal with cinema. The twenty-four hours of the day were never enough to do what I planned to do. Even at home with my partner, I would keep thinking, imagining, writing, planning. I was the first and the last one to arrive on the set everyday of the filming.

Gomes: Being a woman in the business can be hard. Life as an independent filmmaker is also difficult. What are the difficulties you find working as a filmmaker in general?
Lairana: I believe that the dificulties go beyond the gender. Movie directors that work in economically challenged countries with a small movie business industry is very difficult. To make movies is something very expensive. Before the movie is made, one of biggest responsibillity of a movie director is to go in search of nacional and international sponsors that can contribute so the film can be made.

However, on the other hand, because of the lack of resources, our directors, producers and crew had to come up with creative strategies to surpass the obstacles, which makes more interesting the shooting process.

Gomes: How do you deal with being selected for Cannes and what do you expect to get from this exposure?
Lairana: It is a great honor for me to have my short movie in Cannes. I feel happy and thankful that my work is being praised. I hope the movie is seen by many people, and these people get deeply touched by this woman’s story, as I was.

Gomes: What are your next projects?
Lairana: Before the end of the year, I would like to shoot another short film that I just finished writing. The story is about sex trafficking of women, a subject that upsets me alot. Soon I will be investigating more and making notes so this can become my first long feature movie. A daring story that deals with the gender-based violence.

I am not sure … maybe because I am a woman, stories of women inspire and move me. They make me feel like I have to talk about them, their fears, qualities, lifestories and courage to keep moving forward even dealing with the sad circunstances they face in life.