Film phase:Production
SYNOPSIS
Matininó begins with the decision of ldaliz Villanueva to flee from a violent marriage when her two daughters—María and Desirée—were 6 months and 7 years old. As a way to heal from this experience and explore cycles of violence, the Villanuevas come together to craft a fantasy film—reimagining themselves into an alternative world where women hold the power. The plot of the fantasy unfolds in parallel with the family’s creative process, as the family navigates their own personal grief and the fantastical demands of the world they have created. Through this lens, the family is able to explore difficult histories in a way that centers their narrative on the possibility of new worlds.
Matininó is a participant of the 2024 (Egg)celerator Lab.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Gabriela Díaz Arp (she/her) is a filmmaker whose work pushes the boundaries and form of documentary to better understand the complexities of being human. She has directed and produced independent films, exhibits, and interactive experiences, and her work has been supported by the Sundance Documentary Fund, Film Independent, Doc Society, Topic, Studio IX, Points North Institute and Adobe. Her work has screened at festivals around the world including Tribeca, Cannes NEXT, Hot Docs, and Sheffield DocFest.
ABOUT THE CO-PRODUCERS
Karla Claudio-Betancourt (she/her) is an artist, filmmaker, and educator born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has a BFA in Film from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her experimental short documentary La Masa (2021) was part of the group exhibition “Momento del yagrumo” at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico. She makes experimental documentaries on Caribbean traditional crafts and ethnobotanical knowledge and recently was a Sundance Producer Fellow.
Wendy Muñiz (she/her) is a creative producer, scriptwriter, visual artist, and educator. A Dominican immigrant and first-generation student, she obtained a PhD in Latin American Cultures from Columbia University and co-founded Zero Chill. Her work as a producer has received the support of Ibermedia, DGCine (Dominican Republic), CNCINE (Ecuador), IMCINE (Mexico), and the Tribeca Film Institute, traveling worldwide from BAFICI, Dok Leipzig, and Montréal World Cinema to Colcata IFF, São Paulo, and Zlín.