Replica
In 1979 the virgin of Zikuñaga disappeared, leaving its inhabitants without her iconic image. A gap in the niche. A collective void.
This is a film about gaps.
My father, the filmmaker Juanmi Gutiérrez, passed away some years ago. Now, from a distance, I return to his films in an exercise of personal memory through the image, or rather, through its absence.
“Can the lack of an image be as strong as its presence? And in that case, what do we do with this emptiness?”
Director’s notes
After the disappearance of the virgin, a hole was left in the niche of the Zikuñaga chapel. This empty image was the one that inspired me to write the script for this film.
When the image disappeared from the chapel, the people commissioned a replica, a new object that would fulfill this catalytic function among the people of the town, whether they were believers or not. A new image to fill the gap left in the niche.
My father had many objects. One that stands out for its symbolism is the “tabula rasa”, a flat, blank board, where I started drawing what would be this story. A small cricket cage, a dervish doll, a Super-8 can….
The objects that I am surrounded by help me in the search for the missing images in this filmic research.
The documentary arises from the images, but develops through the voice.
It is my voice that guides the film and it is the voice of the main characters that recall past events through the reading of documents, clues and texts that have been written about the disappearance.
From the personal to the collective, this research explores the memory of this town through the absence of its iconic image and, at the same time, proposes a reflection on image and memory in the face of the loss of a loved one.
Distribution
Distribution (Spain) and festivals (Worldwide): Atera Films
Downloads:
-Poster
-Frames
-English press book
-Spanish press book
-Basque press book
