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2010 WMW Film Festival
2010-10-28
Love, without Borders—Q&A of The Last Summer of La Boyita

Speaker: Julia Solomonoff (director of the film)

 
Solomonoff: The Last Summer of La Boyita is my second feature film, but it almost feels like the first, probably because it is deeply linked to my childhood experience. When I was little, I once overheard my parents’ conversation. My mother is a gynecologist, and my father is a psychiatrist. They were discussing a case in which a child mis-raised as the opposite sex, just like Mario in my film. After years of study, I decided to write a script about the story. This story is told through a little girl, because I hope to present it with the unsophisticated viewpoint of children. I don’t want it to be scientific or scrutinized by adults.
 
Q: How is the girl in the film like you when you were little?

A: She is more beautiful, she is better, that’s what movies do. I learned one thing pretty early compared to other girls…between boys and girls there is not a clear cut. Genitals…between a girl and a boy there is not much of a difference.

Q: There are scenes of bulls butchered and chicken killed. What do they mean?

A: Violence is a very important issue for me. Life, death and violence are more direct in countryside. The scenes are also a reminder that surgery is a very violent action cast upon Mario.

Q: I don’t quite understand about the religious scenes in the film. Could you explain?

A: I am not surprised, because this is not in your culture. All I really wanted to do was to express a contrasting cultural landscape in countryside Argentina. For instance, Mario is a blond boy, but he has comparatively poor social status (he’s a farm boy). The girl is from a rich urban family, but she is dark-skinned. She looks more masculine, too.

Q: The general public of Taiwan doesn’t seem to take children as having sexual desires at all. This film portrays the sexuality of pre-adolescent children…

A: This is rarely mentioned because adults are afraid to face the fact that children do have sexual desires. I have two children, and by observing them I realize they can have desires. Adults should respect and understand about their feelings, in the mean time giving them space. So privacy is another subject of the film.

There are many bisexual babies in this world. They receive surgeries at a very young stage of life, because their parents believe this will help them live a “normal” life. But I don’t think there is the so-called normality, and being normal is really not valuable to me at all.

Q: Did it take a long time to develop the story?

A: Yes, it did. It is based on a true story, so I researched a lot before filming. But because we are an independent production team, we have limited budget. But the final result is great, too, because it is the result of compromises, improvisations and creativity combined.

Q: How did you guide the children to act?

A: I consulted children’s psychologists before shooting. I didn’t particularly ask them to remember the lines, but focused on the sense of intimacy among the actors. I had hoped them to act out of spontaneity, and they did.
 
Q: How is the society of Argentina like, in terms of gender awareness?

A: I used to think that Argentina is a male-oriented society. But now that I think of it, we have a female president, and this year we passed a marriage act applicable to the LGBT group. That was a big step forward, because 40 years ago homosexuality was unthinkable in Argentina. I believe the Argentineans will be more gender-aware and enjoy more equal rights, no matter which gender they are. I also hope that children like Mario will receive more care and the right type of attention in the future.