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a film by OMAR ZÚÑIGA HIDALGOSan Cristóbal

Lucas is visiting his sister on a remote island in southern Chile before moving abroad. An unlikelyromance grows when he meets Antonio, a struggling young fisherman. The intimacy they sharemakes them navigate towards a new horizon and to a different stage of their adulthood.

About the directorOmar was born in Santiago, Chile. As a passionate cinephile with a deep interest in filmstudies and research, he has been a recipient of both the Film Promotion and Art PromotionFunds from the Government of Chile. In 2014 he received his Master in Fine Arts degreefrom New York University’s Graduate Film Program, which he attended with scholarshipsgiven by the Fulbright Program, Chile’s Ministry of Education and Tisch School of the Arts.Living between Santiago and Brooklyn, Omar makes films that have been screened innumerous film festivals worldwide. In 2012 he directed “On learning on a friend’s illness”,a segment featuring Academy Award Nominee James Franco and Zach Braff, part of thefeature film “The Color of Time”, that premiered at the Rome Film Festival 2012 and also hada theatrical release in the U.S. in 2014.“San Cristóbal”, his last short film, premiered at the Berlinale 2015, where it won the TeddyAward for the Best Short Film. He is now developing a feature project based on the story,thanks to the support of a Development Fund given by the Ibermedia Program, among otherdevelopment initiatives.He is a founding partner of Cinestación, a Santiago-based production company that makeshighly creative auteur cinema from Chile and the region, where he writes and directs hiswork and collaborates with other people’s. He is a serial tea drinker who does not want tojoin Instagram.

About the filmby Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo“San Cristóbal” is a love story between two young men who share some uncertainty abouttheir futures, and who find calm trusting one another. The fog that surrounds them clears upslowly, giving space to a more open view.I wanted to make a film that was very realistic and emotional. I would like the viewers toget involved and recognize aspects of themselves (independently from who they love) intwo characters that grow and find a deep connection when they least expect it. I wanted toobserve the tension and prejudice Lucas and Antonio might find around them in a Chileanrural area, which is truthful to the local dynamics, but paying more attention to how theyovercome it together, in front of others.After living for a few years in the United States studying and making movies I was veryinterested in coming back to Chile to film with close friends, in Spanish, in an environmentthat felt intimate, familiar and connected to my own life experiences. We shot with verylimited resources, and asking a lot of favors, which was intense and special. We are alsocurrently developing a homonymous feature film, that explores the universe of thesecharacters with more depth.

How was your experience during the shoot?- Intense, surprising, with good vibes,educational, happy, rigourous, emotional. Itwas a special shoot, I had the opportunityof acting with my mother for the first time(she has a small role playing Antonio’sgrandmother, Adriana). It was great to workwith friends, meet new ones, and to live anadventure more than a shoot. A pleasure.How did you feel that Omar shapedyour character and the intimacy in therelationship?- The process touched me deeply, and thatis memorable. He has a very special wayof dealing with actors, very meticulous. Hissensitivity was a key to build the characters,and then he knows very well how to guidethe process of creating the relationshipsamong them. I feel that if a director ismodest and calm with his actors, they will beable to be in peace and be honest as well,which is very important for acting in thismedium. Omar has these two qualities.Samuel González(“Lucas”)

How is Antonio similar to you, seeing past the name coincidence?- I feel close to the fact that he was born in the south of Chile, justlike I was. There are some situations that feel very familiar, thingsthat only happen in communities that still keep a small town mindset,where everyone knows what each other is doing (“small townbig hell” like we say in Chile). Also the way in which he faces hisrelationships: I remember having this very intense relationship with agirlfriend who I couldn’t stay together with, because she had to leavetown, for example. This might be a coincidence with what happensto Antonio, but seeing past my biography it really has to do with acontext, with the south or with how things work in isolated areas.What was it like to work with Omar and Samuel to build the intimacyin the relationship between Lucas and Antonio?- I felt very pleased to work with Samuel. From the first time that wemet to read the script with Omar I realized he wanted to work withus in having a relationship that was useful for the fiction. The wayin which Omar built Antonio and Lucas was in such closeness thatwhen we started to shoot there was already a previous work to holdon to, which allowed us to do the scenes with very good disposition.While on set, Omar’s indications were very subtle. They helpedto sustain the relationship between us, and also to build the rightatmosphere of silence and tranquility for the work with the crew.Antonio Altamirano(“Antonio”)

About the production companiesCINESTACIÓN was created in 2007 as aplatform for emerging directors in Chile,with the objective of creatively managing thedevelopment, production and distributionof feature films. It produced DomingaSotomayor’s “Thursday till Sunday”, whichwon the Tiger Award in its Rotterdampremiere, and then continued to a succesfulawards and festival run. It is currentlydeveloping three feature films, “1976”, byManuela Martelli, “Late to die young”, byDominga Sotomayor, and “San Cristóbal” byOmar Zúñiga Hidalgo.LA MEDALLITA was born in 2013 withthe idea of creating both audiovisual andeditorial projects. It is currently developingthree feature films: “San Cristóbal” byOmar Zúñiga Hidalgo in association withCinestación, “Choro Quintana” by VíctorUribe in association with Kuko Filmsand “Bark Skin” by Geraldine Guardia inassociation with Rondó Foundation. Allthese projects are the first feature films oftheir directors.

Team BiosAmparo AguirreProducerAna PereraProducerSamuel GonzálezActorAmparo was born in 1977 in Santiago, Chile.As an anthropologist originally, she has workedin cultural management developing projectsfor children and adults, in the field of creatingand strengthening their own identities. She hasworked in film since 2006. In 2012 shewon an Ibermedia Scholarship to study anExecutive Producing Diploma given by Cinefiliain Medellín, Colombia.Ana was born in Buenos Aires in 1983. Sheholds a BFA in Film from Universidad del Cinein Bs. As. and an Executive Producing Diplomaof Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.She produced “Zoo”, the second feature film byRodrigo Marín (“The Girls”), which premiered atthe Miami International Film Festival, and theshort film “I am here looking at you”, by FelipeGálvez, premiered at the International FilmFestival Rotterdam.Samuel is the youngest of three brothers. Hegrew up in Valdivia, a city in the south of Chile.He started his acting career at age 17 in thefeature film “The killer is among us” by DanielBenavides. He then studied his BFA in Theaterin ARCIS University in Santiago.Currently she works as an executive producerin La Medallita, a company that she foundedto make audiovisual projects and youthoriented film workshops, being always focusedin producing fiction works that have socialrelevance for Chile, and introducing them toaudiences in an attractive way.amparo@lamedallita.clShe also worked as an executive producer inEl Remanso Cine, developing the feature films“To kill a man”, “Iron” and “The wild light”,by director Alejandro Fernández Almendras.Currently she works as a producer in LaMedallita and also works in distribution forEspacios INCAA, a network of national theatresfor Argentinian filmmakers.ana@lamedallita.clHe has acted in multiple formats, includingtheatre, film and television. In 2007 he had asupporting role in “Optical Illusions” by CristiánJiménez. In 2010 he played one of the leads in“Manuel de Ribera”, by Christopher Murrayand Pablo Carrera, which had a premiere in theBright Future section in Rotterdam.Currently he works in television projects forCanal 13, a Chilean TV network. He played a rolein “Mamá Mechona”, a fiction series, in 2014,and he is now preparing to shoot a new onewhich will air in 2015.

Antonio AltamiranoActorNicolás IbietaDirector of PhotographyNicolás OyarceProduction/Costume DesignerAntonio went to the School of Theater ofUniversidad de Chile. He is an actor anddirector who has worked in multiple plays.He founded a company called Teatro Amplio,which has the purpose of staging the work ofLatin-American playwrights, with plays that canobserve the similitude of historical contexts thathave happened throughout our continent.Nicolás has worked in Cinematography andcolor post-production for the last eleven years,starting out in short films and now shooting andcoloring multiple feature film projects in Chile.In 2005 he attended a “HD CinematographyWorkshop” in Rockport, Maine, USA, and in2006 he started working with Ernesto DíazEspinoza, in the feature films “Mirageman”(2007), “Mandrill” (2009) “Bring me the head ofthe gun machine woman” (2013) and “SantiagoViolenta” (2014).Nicolás is a multitalented artist who worksin different mediums, including art direction,video and installations, besides the curating ofexhibitions and experimental laboratories. Hetakes pride in being self-taught when itcomes to his creativity, after he stumbled upon afew college years but without having finished anofficial degree.He was born in Punta Arenas, near the ChileanPatagonia. He has been widely recognized asthe creator and Executive Director of “Cielosdel Infinito”, a multidisciplinary arts festival thattakes place yearly in the city, and also in PuertoWilliams and Puerto Natalies, bringing artistsfrom Chile and from abroad to the southernmostarts event in the world.In 2012 he went back to Maine to participate intwo Workshops, “Feature Film Lighting” and“Cinematography Master Class”, with StevenFierberg (ASC) and Rodney Taylor (ASC). Thatyear he also shot two first time director films,“Igloo” by Diego Ruiz and “Maknum González”by George Vonknorring. His most recent workas both Cinematographer and Colorist arethe feature films “Redeemer” by Ernesto DíazEspinoza, and “Mar” by Dominga Sotomayor,which have been premiered at Austin’s FantasticFest and Valdivia Film Festival in 2014.nicolasibieta.comHis latest film projects as a production designerinvolve “Igloo”, directed by Diego Ruiz, whichwon the Award for Emerging Talent in OutFestin 2013, “Bring me the head of the gun machinewoman”, directed by Ernesto Díaz, and “NaomiCampbel”, directed by Nicolás Videla andCamila José Donoso, which premiered at theValdivia Film Festival 2013. He is also very activein the Chilean videoclip scene, directing his ownwork and collaborating in production design withother directors. He is slowly building his longterm project of having his own arts school, whichwill be located in a countryside area of Uruguay.creativoglobal.tumblr.com