Saturday July 4, 2009 9:34 AM MDT

Park City, Utah:

The Maid

Director(s):
Sebastian Silva
Screenwriter(s):
Sebastian Silva, Pedro Peirano
Executive Producer:
Gregorio González
Associate Producers:
Edgar San Juan, Issa Guerra, Sebastian Sanchez, Atomica
Cinematographer:
Sergio Armstrong
Editor:
Danielle Fillios
Composer:
Pedro Soubercaseaux
Sound Editor:
Roberto Espinoza

The Maid

International Narrative Feature Films
Chile,  2008, 95 mins., color

After 23 years of service to the Valdes family, Raquel is comfortably ensconced in a vague existence between maid and her illusion that she is a family member. Her barely concealed bitterness and increased clashes with her employer's eldest daughter lead the family to think she is overworked. They hire more help, and, feeling usurped, Raquel begins to sabotage each new employee by resorting to childish antics, clinging to her ambiguous place within the family. In his remarkably astute second feature, Sebastian Silva questions, without bias, a dusty remnant of class division—the common, Latin American, aristocratic tradition of serfdom. Within this complex dynamic, we are privy to the inner workings of a well-intentioned family's relationship with their servant—however endearingly the word is used. Silva wields his handheld camera like a magnifying glass, revealing Raquel’s fenced-in fragility, and watching her evolve is truly touching. Astonishing in its intimacy, the film wrings awkward humor from the alienated Raquel's mind games. Only Lucy, last in the line of new maids, is able to nudge Raquel gently toward the momentous kick-start needed to rediscover herself.Sebastian Silva's hungry curiosity to examine the intersection of social and personal forces produces a painful, yet satisfying, comedic drama that shakes up and humanizes an insidious system.

Recipient of the World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic and A World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Acting.


CAST
Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola, Andrea García-Huidobro, Alejandro Goic, Agustín Silva
Sebastian Silva - Sebastián Silva is a multifaceted artist whose work includes painting, illustration, and popular music. His paintings have been exhibited in Santiago and New York, and one of his three bands, Los Mono, was picked up for distribution in the United States and the United Kingdom by Sonic360. His first film, La Vida me mata, won numerous awards in Chile and earned him the attention of critics and film festivals. The Maid is his second film.
Screenings:

Sat. Jan 17 3:00 p.m. - MAIDD17EA Egyptian Theatre, Park City
Sun. Jan 18 3:45 p.m. - MAIDD18BA Broadway Centre Cinemas V, SLC
Tue. Jan 20 9:15 a.m. - MAIDD204M Holiday Village Cinema IV, Park City
Fri. Jan 23 6:00 p.m. - MAIDD23EE Egyptian Theatre, Park City
{edit_me}