THE HEIRESSES
Las herederas

Paraguay, 2018
Director: Marcelo Martinessi

Spanish with English subtitles | 97 min
International Hits

Wednesday, August 28 | 3 PM | Cinematheque


Preceded by GUAXUMA
Thursday, August 29 | 6:45 PM | Cinematheque

Chela and Chiquita, both descended from wealthy families in Asunción, Paraguay, have been together for over 30 years. But recently their financial situation has worsened and they must sell off their inherited possessions. When their debt leads to Chiquita being imprisoned on fraud charges, Chela is forced to face a new reality. Driving for the first time in years, she begins to provide a local taxi service to a group of wealthy elderly ladies. As Chela settles into her new life, she encounters the much younger and extroverted Angy, forging a fresh and invigorating connection. Inspired by this late-in-life revival, she finally begins to break out of her shell and engage with the world, embarking on her own personal, intimate revolution.

Asunción, Paraguay. La relación de pareja entre Chela y Chiquita se está deteriorando. Sobre todo desde que, para enfrentar su difícil situación económica, comenzaron a vender sus bienes heredados. Cuando Chiquita, la más dinámica de las dos, va a la cárcel acusada de fraude, Chela se ve obligada a abandonar la comodidad de su existencia pequeño burguesa y empieza una especie de servicio de taxi, con su propio automóvil principalmente para un grupo de ancianas. Fortuitamente conoce a Angy—hija de una de sus clientas—una mujer más joven y muy extrovertida. Junto con su repentino trabajo, esta nueva relación va a afectar profundamente la vida de Chela provocándole una revolución interna. —San Sebastián


An excellent debut … Martinessi shrewdly combines subtlety, melancholy, satirical observation and candour about sex. Chela reminded me of another lonely but adventurous movie character: Gloria, played by Paulina Garcia in the 2013 film of the same name by Sebastián Lelio … They are both characters who have become autumnally liberated, with a combination of excitement and bewilderment. —Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Silver Bear, Best Actress (Ana Brun), Berlin, 2018 
Fipresci Best Film, Berlin, 2018 
Best Film, Sydney Film Festival, 2018

Filmography: La voz perdida (2016), Calle última (2010)