The Chilean film Too Late to Die Young / Tarde para morir joven by Dominga Sotomayor was awarded with the Leopard Award for Best Director at the Locarno Film Festival, marking a first for a female filmmaker in the 71 editions of the prestigious Swiss film festival.
Starring trans actor Demian Hernández — who has formally transitioned since production — in the role of Sofía, and inspired by the director’s own childhood, the third feature by Sotomayor (Thursday till Sunday, Mar) is set in the summer of 1990, directly following Chile’s transition to democracy. Political change, however, seems a world away for 16-year-old Sofía, who lives far off the grid in a mountain enclave of artists and bohemians. Too Late to Die Young takes place during the hot, languorous days between Christmas and New Year’s, when the troubling realities of the adult world — and the elemental forces of nature — begin to intrude on her teenage idyll.
Acclaimed at numerous film festivals — including New York, Toronto, Viennale and BFI London— the film is a gorgeous and sun-splashed portrait of youth — and a country — on the cusp of exhilarating and impending change. With a subtle artistry and an impeccable cast, Too Late to Die Young confirms Sotomayor as one of Latin America’s leading filmmakers and one of the most exciting voices of her generation in world cinema today.
TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG / TARDE PARA MORIR JOVEN
A film by Dominga Sotomayor
(Chile/Brazil/Argentina/The Netherlands/Qatar, 2018, 110 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Available to stream on Vimeo, iTunes, and Amazon Prime.
Watch the trailer:
