"The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo", interview with the director Diego Céspedes

The young Diego Céspedes arrives in Cannes with his first feature film "The Mysterious Glaze Of the Flamingo", a wonderfully intense and unpredictable tale of inclusion , acceptance and resilience in a small queer community in Chile. The film , developed also through the Torino Film Lab programme, has been included in the Un Certain Regard selection. Inspired by his mother's friends and her love for them Diego Céspedes recalls his childhood days that inspired "The Mysterious gaze of the Flamingo". His mother, a hairdresser, had gays friends and colleagues who were part of Diego's life as well. When AIDS broke and many of them died, Diego's mother was shocked and started to be obsessive with him about it. This deep love and huge concern were the starting points for the creation of the story of the film , and the building of such strong characters as Flamingo. Fierce and unapologetic The queer family described in "The Mysterious Gaze of  the Flamingo" is utterly fierce. They keep fighting stupid hearsay that wants them the cause of the plague, and are unapologetic about their lives. Diego Céspedes finds these features very common to the queer people in Chile and in the world and the creation of such a varied family is his dedication to the fights that were fought by the community.