INTERVIEW WITH JULIETA CARDINALI:
You made your feature film debut working with director Alejandro Agresti and now you’re back working with him again. What makes him so special as a filmmaker?
I think that he’s an excellent director and I admire him. I’m very proud that he always calls me for his films. He’s a very good actor’s director, too. He has done a lot of films and he’s a very well-known director in Argentina so I’m very happy that he called me again for this film.
How do you describe his style? What makes him an actor’s director?
He’s very open-minded and you can talk to him. It’s not that we improvised anything, but it’s just that in rehearsals you can talk to him. You can say, “Well, I think that my character would speak like this or like that,” and he always listens to the actors. He takes care of the actors and we just trust him. When he says that a scene is done, we trust him because he’s an excellent director.
Is it hard as an actress to work with a director who is also the writer and who also has a part in the film? Is it tough to work with someone so close to the material?
It is not hard. I think that it is easier to work with a director who also writes the script because he knows what he wants. He’s the one who wrote the story so it’s easier. He just knows what he wants. It’s better that way, I think.
Did you ever hesitate coming to him because he wrote it?
No, I felt totally free because he’s very open-minded. It’s not that you have to change so much in his scripts. He’s a very good writer so it’s not like you have to change that much. But when I don’t feel comfortable with something I have to say, I just tell him. I feel free – everyone does. I think that all the actors in Argentina would like to work with him.
This is a very personal tale from writer/director Agresti. Was there a real woman like your character in his childhood?
Yes, yes. Some characters did exist and some characters did not. My character did exist in his life.
How close to the real character was the script? Did you discuss with him how she affected his life?
Yes. He met Leticia when he was 8, and then he stopped seeing her. It’s not that he still is friends [with her] or something. He told me that 90% of the scenes that I did in the film were real, they existed when he was 8. So I was all the time asking him, “How was Leticia?” I asked how she used to behave with him, how she used to talk, how she used to move – everything to compose my character to be as close as I can from his memories of Leticia.
Is it hard to play someone who’s based on a real person?
Yes but you know, he met her when he was 8 and he stopped seeing her so it wasn’t like I was very worried about how she is now. I tried to be like his memories. It was hard but at the same time he was like – when he saw me with the clothes – he was like, “She was like this” or “She was like that.” It was great composing a character like this.
PAGE 2: Julieta Cardinali on Working with Rodrigo Noya and the Atmosphere on the Set
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"Valentin" Photo Gallery
"Valentin" Credits and Trailer
