How many newspaper articles or news reports are there every week mentioning that some girl disappeared and her family is looking for her. There are so many that almost no one remembers the names anymore, they become numbers or cases that no one takes the trouble to investigate. The enormity of human trafficking in our country and in the world makes us believe that it is impossible to encompass and put an end to these criminal networks that in many cases have the complicity of justice and the police who should protect the victims. The movie Invisible Stories directed by Guillermo Navarro seeks to give visibility to the dramatic situation of human trafficking in Argentina, an issue that persists and affects thousands of families. This thriller, inspired by real events, premieres next Thursday, June 6.
The work narrates the kidnapping of two young people, Cecilia (16 years old) and Paula (18 years old), by an organization dedicated to human trafficking. Cecilia, coming from a poor family of Catamarca, is caught by a boyfriend significantly older than her. Given the lack of cooperation from the police, her father, Jorge, loses hope until he receives a call from her daughter and decides to undertake a 2,000 km journey to rescue her. On the other hand, Paula, a middle-class girl from Mendozais violently kidnapped, and her mother decides to look for her in brothels, facing various dangers.
The film stars Antonella Ferrari, Eleonora Wexler, Vanessa Gonzalez, Pablo Pinto, Pablo Tolosa and Mariano Bertolini. The script, written by Navarro, received the award for best feature film script at the Latino Screenplay Competition in Hollywood, California, which motivated Navarro to bring the story to the screen.
Guillermo Navarro has emphasized that the inspiration for Invisible Stories It emerged after reading numerous cases in the press, which led him to empathize with the victims and their families. “I put myself in the shoes of parents who face the disappearance of their daughters without the help of the police, the judicial system or politicians,” Navarro said. “The frequency with which they happened and the horrors that were reported led me to put myself in the shoes of the victims”he added.
To create the script, Navarro collected information from abroad, complementing it with testimonies from victims and experts on the subject. According to the director, each character reflects multiple real stories to represent the thousands of fathers and mothers who experience this situation every day. “It is not based on a single particular case, but in some way represents the thousands of fathers and mothers who have to face this situation every day”Navarro explained.
Guillermo Navarro, screenwriter, director and producer of independent feature films, has a long and diverse career in the film and television industry. He has worked in more than 25 countries making documentaries for important television channels.
With Invisible Stories seeks to raise public awareness about human trafficking and collective responsibility in confronting this problem. Navarro emphasizes that the film “it tries to be in some way the story of everyone, including usthose of us who have nothing to do with it” and yet, as a society, we tolerate this happening every day around the corner.”
Infobae Culture interviewed the actress Eleonora Wexlerwho plays a mother searching for her kidnapped daughter and along the way she will experience an experience that will change her life.
—How did you receive the proposal and what led you to accept it?
—The proposal came to me in 2021, through the director Guillermo Navarro. I didn’t know him personally, but he contacted me from Hawaii. We met at the CCK, where he explained the project to me and gave me the script. Upon reading the script, he struck me and caught my interest immediately. I felt it was a story I wanted to tell, partially because it involves leaving a meaningful testimony. Additionally, the entire film was filmed in Mendoza with local actors, giving it a federal character that is rarely seen.
—How did you build this strong yet fragile character?
—My character goes through various emotional states. At first, as a mother, she does not understand where her daughter is, she cannot imagine the worst. She expected anything but being kidnapped by a trafficking ring. This initial incomprehension leads to despair. Then, realizing this possibility, she transforms and decides to find it. However, the pain persists and she begins to struggle, as she would otherwise let herself die. Thus, she decides to fight for her daughter and, if she does not succeed, she wants to prevent other girls from going through the same thing. It is a reflection of the story written by the director and of so many examples of mothers in similar situations. Guillermo guided me, showing how the character goes through confusion, certainty, search, frustration and, finally, struggle. Personally, I have a teenage daughter and although I tried to imagine how she would react in a situation like this, it is impossible to really foresee it.
—Were you inspired by any real stories?
-In case of Susana Trimarco And your daughter Marita Veron It was an important starting point, both for me and for the director. I started reading about the subject and I was saddened to see the number of similar cases in Argentina and in the world. The story of Susana Trimarco It especially impacted me because he later created a foundation, which seemed like a good example for me to inform myself and listen. Sometimes listening is essential and certain things help you bring the character to life. Personally, I couldn’t ignore the topic; I felt that I should take advantage of the emotion it generated in me to fuel my interpretation.
—What’s wrong with these stories?
—These stories always seek to raise awareness and leave a testimony. Both this film and Me baby, me princess and the previous one I made, something wrong, have been very transformative and allowed opening discussions with the public. They are films that do not end when they leave the theaters; They can be screened in foundations, on Anti-Trafficking Day or in schools. Awareness is essential and I consider it to be one of the most interesting paths to follow.
—The film has a clear message about the continuity and magnitude of this fight, where every small act counts.
—It seeks to make visible and expose all errors and complicities, from the police to the judges. The idea is to expose what happens and remember that art always challenges and any small contribution can be significant. The key word for me is “awareness.”; It is essential to create spaces for reflection and awaken something in the audience. Especially among teenagers, this topic is closer than you might imagine. We had a particular case: while we were filming, a building next to the hotel where we were staying was raided, and a trafficking network was operating in several apartments. The neighbors were surprised because they saw the girls and never imagined that they were kidnapped.
—How do you experience the current moment of culture?
—Everything is a big crisis. The feeling one has is that there is no space for culture. If culture is the identity of a country, but there is no fiction, there is an INCAA that is underfunded, there is an increasingly limited space and there is great uncertainty. For my part, what I can tell you is that I am making a series. But on free-to-air television there are only programs that have to do with games or reality shows. People miss fiction. I am filming a series that has 22 chapters, which is an experiment to see if the platform can reach a more popular type of fiction, it is a soap opera. There is little, but I can tell you that there is an enormous amount of theater, because precisely since there is so little audiovisual, many actors need to be able to display art and, on the other hand, also eat. It is a very complicated moment for culture and I always believe that the best spaces are for conciliation and not kicking the board.
[Fotos: Gustavo Gavotti]
