Claudia Llosa

In 2009, La teta asustada it set the eyes of the world of cinema on a young Peruvian director who was presenting her second film at the Berlinale. Claudia Llosa dazzled critics and the public with a unique story, told in a different way, with images charged with emotion and intensity. The Berlin Film Festival awarded La teta asustada the golden bear for the best film of that edition. Months later it was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film. It became the first Peruvian film selected for the Hollywood industry awards. 

His talent, his persistence and his creativity have shaped a career that has not stopped growing since the premiere of his debut film, in 2005. madeinusa. Before, it was his training that fueled her desire to become a filmmaker. And he had a lot to do with it. Master of Cinematographic Script that he studied in TAI in the years 2001. 

"TAI it was the beginning", tells us. “It was living the experience of accessing a career that until then I had not even allowed myself to dream of.”, he confesses. Therefore, that experienceI have saved it as one of the great years of my life". 

The memory of his time at the school is that of a moment of change and an encounter with a generation of young artists that stimulated the creativity of the entire group: “A great group of people came together, a community that made you not only learn from your teacher, but from all that group of classmates. They were in the same search as you, it was generated as a synergy”, he tells us. At present, many of his colleagues at that time work in the industry, as series writers, as film directors, in the advertising environment. “It was an unforgettable year for all", remember. 

"Listening is the most important thing in life in general and also in our work in particular"

And with such wickerwork, his suggestions to the students could not be more relevant: “You are living a very nice moment”, says Claudia Llosa to the students. “There has been a paradigm shift in recent years that has democratized cinema", Explain. “Not long ago it was inconceivable that an unknown actor would sustain a series or that an unknown director would create a new universe.”, he muses. And this is possible today from the audiovisual platforms, on one of which he premieres his film Rescue distance. 

But all this, of course, without losing perspective of how art and artists are shown to the world: “There is no need to be afraid to accept that one has to write from an intimate place”, he points out. “I believe that listening is the most important thing in life in general and in our work in particular. Sometimes we are very involved in our own immensity and it is precisely when we listen to the other that we will finally be able to work better.”, he muses.

From advertising to cinema

Despite his vocation, at the beginning it did not seem that he would be able to dedicate himself to film directing. “When I started", tells us, "in Peru, at most, one film a year was released”. Entering the industry was extremely complex. In this situation, "I gradually opted for advertising, because it offered the possibility of earning a living by making small stories.s ". 

However, despite the fact that the expectations were not the best, he decided to savor the possibility of heading towards the cinema. and there it arose TAI"At one point I had the need to come looking for that forgotten desire and that's when I go to TAI”, he comments. “It was the wish of to be able to dedicate a year of my life to fulfill the dream".

"I think it is important to dare to go where you really want"

That courage that prompted him to change his life was what gave him the opportunity to achieve his dream, to become a filmmaker: “I think it is important to dare to go where you really want, to know who you want to call, where I am going to put my attention, what is important”, he indicates. 

And then, trust in your own possibilities: “What I advise is to be careful, be detailed, ask yourself, question yourself and trust yourself”. It is about fighting for that self-esteem: “You must trust yourselves and the projects you have”, recommends Claudia Llosa to the students. 

"That act of faith that does not seem rational, that seems magical, is for me that crack that one cannot let close.”, he points out. “Seek confidence, do not wait for others to give it to you; so fail, try. If we give the other that power over ourselves, we are lost.". 

Against urgency, patience

Urgency is one of the main enemies of creation in the opinion of Claudia Llosa. “Sometimes I wonder why I had such an urge in youth”, he comments. “I remember being in Barcelona and participating in a women's film viewing", Explain. “I saw The Gleaners and the Gleaner, by Agnès Varda, and my head exploded. The director was over 70 when she made the film. That's when I told myself: there is time, nothing happens; I'm going to make my first film even though I'm 91 years old and I'm going to make it just as modern, just as explosive". 

But, at the same time, respect for oneself, for the creative lines that create the artistic personality, is essential to maintain a profitable career. “Pay attention, make decisions, do not get distracted by things that may not be what you really want and dare to risk: I think those are the important decisions. These balances are difficult: knowing how I look for a job that allows me to live and at the same time being aware that I need to continue writing"He explains. 

A collective work

Cinema and audiovisual creation are for Claudia a collective effort, in which dialogue between the different parties that make up the process is essential. “Yo I give myself absolutely, I think speaking; i need that dialogue”, he comments. “I think it is essential to give yourself to the other, give the team more confidence”. And all this ends up generating a sensation: “Suddenly the film is not only mine, but everyone's". 

Much more complete creations emerge from this dialogue: “You build and build together a new space for conversationsays Claudia. “There is something that is very beautiful, which is when suddenly you are more in the vocation than in the trade”, he comments. “When that happens, the delivery is huge. Vocation occurs when one is in a space of absolute trust where one feels that one trusts and that they trust"He says.

“When the shooting approaches, photography becomes an extension of my taste buds”

In this sense, Llosa has highlighted the importance of art direction in the development of the film. And there, again, trust is essential, since “they will take care of what you most want, they will defend that place”, he comments. “The art direction begins very early, it is the one with which you work the most in the beginning, in the search for locations, references"He explains. 

And the collaboration process continues: “First I'm more with the art direction and then, when the shooting approaches, the photography becomes an extension of my taste buds”, he observes. “There is something that has to happen there, something that I am not going to be able to touch, to which I am not going to be able to access. It's like the gaze, one feels the transfer of affection, one feels when you are working and you like what you see: you are enjoying and that feeds back and it is a huge exchange”, he indicates. 

"That transmission of affection, of information, which is introduced porously, impalpably, which is contagious, is a type of gaze more connected to the type of life we ​​are living today, when they are trying to break structures, when todo is more liquid”, he muses. “That's the way I like to work”, he asserts. 

Faced with a new paradigm

Claudia Llosa has insisted that the industry is changing and generating new opportunities in the profession that until recently were unimaginable. “A new paradigm is taking place that has many good things. is our reality". 

But, of course, it is not obvious that there are also negative aspects. “There is a new way of communicating and it is true that what is done in a year and a half of work or in two years is consumed in just one weekend by many people”, he muses. On the other hand, it is aboutsomething decentralized, which is happening in many countries at once”. "I think it's very interesting"He says.

Regarding his space of inspiration, he comments that it is more akin to stories than to novels for the cinema. “Each story has its format for me", Explain. “If I took it to literature, for me the story would be like the movie: it has to be round, the shape has to be perfect; it's a punch, it's a space". 

For their part, the series resembles them to novels: “The novel has more porous places, you can stop, it accompanies you for a longer time. The series have this dynamic, you can stop at a space, leave it and then continue”. Based on that, he confesses that it is the story where he finds his inspiration: “What is explored in the narrative is first explored in the stories. In any case, Claudia Llosa admits that she would love to do a series. “I would love to explore that format without ever leaving the cinema format aside.".