Memories of a Burning Body is COSTA RICA’S OFFICIAL SUBMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM written and directed by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss.
Raised in a repressive era where sexuality was taboo, Ana, Patricia, and Mayela found their understanding of womanhood based on unspoken rules and implicit impositions.
Now, their fearless voices incarnate in a single 65-year-old woman, who revisits a kaleidoscopic life of intertwined memories, secrets, and hidden desires.
Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, who rose to fame with her feature debut, Hormigas , which was presented in the Berlinale Forum, decided to delve into the private lives and sexuality of middle-aged women who have been oppressed all their lives, homing in particularly on the words and glances of Ana (68 years old), Patricia (69) and Mayela (71). The end result, Memories of a Burning Body , was world-premiered in the Berlinale Panorama earlier this year, where it scooped the Audience Award, and it is now in the middle of a fruitful festival run, during which it took home another Audience Award – that of the Busan Film Festival’s Flash Forward section. In addition, the film is representing Costa Rica in the Oscars race and for the Spanish Goya Awards. We chatted to the director about her feature, objectives and achievements.