Memories of a Burning Body (Spanish: Memorias de un cuerpo que arde) is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss. The film starring Sol Carballo, Paulina Bernini and Juliana Filloy, portrays the story of Ana, Patricia and Mayela, who, educated in a repressive era where sexuality was taboo, found the meaning of femininity through unspoken rules and implicit impositions.[1][2]
Two sexagenarian women, Ana and Patricia, and one septuagenarian woman, Mayela, grew up in a time when sexuality was not discussed or expressed freely as it was considered taboo. They learned to be women from the silent norms and hidden demands of their society. Now they have the courage to share their experiences openly. Their stories are told in a poetic manner: as they narrate their lives off-screen, another woman their age embodies their memories, secrets and desires.
Cast
Sol Carballo as Woman
Paulina Bernini as Young Woman
Juliana Filloy as Girl
Liliana Biamonte as Mother
Juan Luis Araya as Husband
Gabriel Araya as Father
Leonardo Perucci as Boyfriend
Cecilia García as Grandmother
Production
The project was selected in the development pitch at the Costa Rica International Film Festival, preselected at the Hubert Bals Fund, Script and Project Development Bright Future and at the San Sebastián Co-production Forum. The co-production of Sub stance Films and Playlab Films is directed by Antonella Sudasassi and co-produced with Estephania Bonnett Alonso.
Filming began in Costa Rica from November 2022.[6] It ended on 18 December 2022, and post-production took place in Spain.[7]
In January 2024, Tenerife's Bendita Film acquired the international sales rights of the film.[11] It was commercially released on August 29, 2024, in Costa Rican theaters.[12]
Reception
Giorgia Del Don reviewing the film at Berlinale for Cineuropa wrote, "Antonella Sudasassi Furniss’ second feature film is an emancipatory cry uniting different generations of women who have been held back by limits set by the patriarchy."[13]
