Summer War director Alicia Scherson and Dan Beirne on bringing Roberto Bolaño’s Chile to Tribeca

Beirne: It was actually pretty normal, besides the fact that it was gonna be shooting in South America.  It was in Spanish. I had to get my friend to help me pronounce words properly. But yeah, it was just an audition that I thought, ‘Well, this’ll never happen, but I wanna try it.’ And then it happened, and it was an unforgettable experience. 

Dan: A lot of phonetic memorization while frantically trying to learn the fundamentals of the language to understand both what I was saying and where to place stress on my speaking. I also worked with a coach who helped me for a few sessions before we started shooting. It was on my mind 24 hours a day until we rolled.

Scherson: Each one was different. I didn’t plan to adapt two Roberto Bolaño novels. It was very random when I did the first one. I’ve been asked this question a lot, and I think I was really trapped in this Bolanos universe, which is like so thick and intense. I was just swimming there for so long with the first movie that it was so natural to make another one. I was already very deep in his mind and his obsessions. They’re all very connected, his books. I read this one, and I said, ‘Wow, I like this one too.’ I don’t think I’m gonna make another Bolaño adaptation, but it was many years where I was stuck in that universe.

Scherson: I wanted to work with a male character. I’d made films of women before. And I was a little bit, I don’t know, already pigeonholed — I was tired of the question always being, ‘oh, you portray the female soul.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to make a film about men.’ And well, Bolaños was obsessed with this board game. I didn’t know war games, but it’s a pretty wild world. Dan also had to dig in a bit to build the character and connect with that, which also has a dark edge to it. There are very obsessive people who spend hours and hours playing and on internet forums. And in this case, it also has to do with an obsession with war itself. In general, it’s people who know a lot about history. There are military, ex-military, historians, and people who are very connected to the history of violence in wars. So there’s always that line — why does war fascinate you so much? How much violence do you have in you, or why do you have this kind of fetishization of violence? That was very far from me. That part was really hard for me. And that was the challenge with Udo’s character — that he also be likable, that you could empathize with him despite those tastes.

Gaeta: It was complicated. It’s also difficult to talk about because you’ve seen something I still haven’t seen, but I did make. I always develop characters by crossing them with parts of myself because the material I bring as an actor is my body. It’s my mind, it’s my nerves, it’s my uncertainty, it’s my fear. Happiness at being able to work is my happiness. Being able to work and leave the country. So all those feelings start appearing and rising in the body, and they’re welcome — to mix them with the script, with the character construction. I always use different layers of creation. Even if it sounds kind of organized, it has no order at all. But I do build characters by mixing with animals or various animal crossings to get away from what you already know. My characters are always themselves, but they also have animals, colors, etc.

Scherson: What animal did you use?

Gaeta: For me, El Quemado was a vulture crossed with tools of war (laughs). Like a mythological being. And not all directors give you that much room. Sometimes they ask you to be much more concrete. But this character, because he was so mysterious and so unreadable, it was more about me layering and layering so he could be enigmatic. 

For Chileans, the Chilean acting work landscape is very limited. Everyone would love to be working all the time. We’re very eager. There are very big creative minds and bodies in Chile, and that’s beautiful because it’s very singular — it’s not something widespread. And I felt very grateful that Alicia saw me, that the casting team bet on me, gave me preparation time, which is fundamental when trying to understand a character in your head — but ultimately it’s the body that executes. The economic and emotional support of a team is fundamental. I’m not talking about lavish conditions, I’m talking about basic, dignified conditions to be able to work — and in this case, they were there. I’m very grateful to have gone to Uruguay, to have reconnected with Lux, and to have met Dan.

Scherson: Well, for me, the first public screening. I’m anxious, because I want the film to be seen, because nothing has been seen yet. I mean, there’s never been a full theater audience. Very few people have seen it, and I’m curious to know how it’s going to land with an audience. I find it very, I don’t know, I think more than other films, it’s even more mysterious how it’s going to be completed by the audience because the world has changed so much. So when we talk about war, when we were writing the script at the beginning or even when we were filming, war wasn’t what it is today. Now there are now more than one active and very present war. Especially in the United States. So I think that part, the world completing the film, is stronger than ever at this premiere. Let’s see what happens.

Beirne: I’m really excited to see everybody again. Usually, when I make a movie, you usually get really close to people while making it, and then I say, ‘Oh, I’ll see you next time, or whatever,’ and there’s a chance that you’ll cross paths again. In this instance, there’s no chance of that. I really miss the people I worked with and it’s really special to see them again. I feel lucky.