Dolores Fonzi didn’t know she was signing up for another film when she accepted the Sur Award in 2016 for her performance in Santiago Mitre’s “Paulina,” but she did throw up a sign upon taking the podium that read “Freedom for Belén,” acknowledging the groundswell occurring in her native Argentina to demand justice for a woman locked up for having an emergency abortion after being unaware that she had been pregnant in the first place. The woman, who would come to be known as Belén when she was insistent on her anonymity from the very start of the case, had remained silent after her conviction, but voices rose from all over the country to speak up on her behalf, with Fonzi becoming one of the most prominent and producer Leticia Cristi, who was sitting in the audience, couldn’t help but take note as she began to think a film could amplify those voices even more.
Fonzi would come to direct “Belén,” now an awards contender itself after being selected as Argentina’s entry to the Oscars for Best International Feature, an testament to the power of expressing herself in a variety of ways when the use of the public platform she had to advocate for Belén’s release ended up contributing to that goal but she also used the stature she had built up in the industry as an actor to get a shot at directing and her 2023 debut “Blondi” made clear she’d pull focus on those largely unseen by society with the story of a single mother trying to connect with a son that considers her more of a friend. “Belén” sees Fonzi as an advocate on both sides of the camera, playing Soledad Deza, the tireless attorney that takes up Belén’s case after she doesn’t receive much of a trial, only aware of her situation from being within an earshot of her in the halls of the court.
Soledad doesn’t only have to build a legal appeal for Belén, but a public case as well when a draconian national policy of criminalizing abortion even in the most severe of circumstances keeps such trials discreet, yet her office starts to fill with various lawyers and activists who can help corral the support that exists for women’s rights in Argentina and bring attention to Belén’s plight. The critical mass becomes undeniable as does the steady build that Fonzi brings to the proceedings as a filmmaker, opening with an unforgettable sequence of Belén’s harrowing hospital visit that led her to discover in the same instant that she was pregnant and no longer so and continuing to follow the reverberations of being kept in the dark as she serves a prison sentence while Deza and others on the outside attempt to pull the injustice into the light.
Although the case itself can be stagnant with any progress hard won, Fonzi crafts a constantly dynamic narrative as the burden on Soledad to secure Belén’s release reveals inequities of all kinds and she’s constantly questioned even within her own family for how much time she’s giving over to the case, particularly as personal threats mount after taking it on. Still, the enormity never overwhelms Soledad — or Fonzi, for that matter – as rallies in the streets for Belén start to bring out thousands and spark movements beyond Argentina. With the film now available globally to stream on Prime Video following its recent premiere at the San Sebastián Film Festival, Fonzi generously took the time to talk about the responsibility of bringing Belén’s story to the screen while being respectful of her anonymity, as well as learning of her own strength as a director.
This seems like a complicated story to tell when the real woman that inspired the character of Belén has wanted to maintain her anonymity. Was it always obvious that the way into the story would be through her attorney Soledad?
That’s right. We couldn’t put a focus in Belén’s life or family or issues because she didn’t want to and we have a lot of victims around Latin America and all around the world [who remain silent]. But we have the need to put a light on these characters like Soledad Deza, who are the ones that could change something for someone, so it was a rule that we could not enter in the personal life of Belén’s character, but we could enter the personal life of Soledad Deza and there we have the maternity, the [effect being part of the case has on her] husband, the collective work [of the lawyers and advocates], the women’s movement, and how she deals with this [case] from a little town to make it federal in a huge country that is Argentina. And she won. So [it was] to give these type of characters a real life strength to go in that direction [and the idea that] you can change something if you put love into what you’re doing, anything you do.
Is it any different for you to build a character as an actor off of a real person?
I did some acting roles of real people, but it wasn’t like this. I didn’t meet the people I was representing [before]. The real case and all the things that happened in Argentina since that case to get the abortion law in 2020, there was a lot of information to put in the movie, and the case was there for me to create this world, but the challenge I had was to make it a movie, the epic [story] of how to build the women’s movement and to make it human in another way, like the real case, but with humanity from the flesh and bones of the actors who how to do it.
It’s evident as early as that first courtroom scene that this isn’t going to be some staid historical account – the scene and all the perspectives in it are treated so dynamically visually. Was that a difficult thing to bring alive?
I think the script does the hard work — the dialogue and the actors. The casting is so important for me. We did a lot of casting of people from the real city where the case happened and in the script, you save any location, you know? But it was strange to be in the real court. It was this respectful feeling that we were in a very solemn place, and I think that the script is what saves us from the solemnity of those places [becoming staid on screen].
Like your directorial debut “Blondi,” you start out so boldly with an unbroken take and it’s such a difficult scene for all kinds of reasons. What it was like to figure out how to open this?
I really like these openings [such as] “Boogie Nights,” [where] it’s like you open the door and the movie starts with this long shot, and you enter, it’s not a place to run away [from]. You can’t. You’re [held] captive by the movie, and this long shot for me was very important to make a statement of what happened that night, to undo the hardest [technical and emotional] part of the movie in a long shot and then the movie [starts] two years later. I also really like to play with the camera, so the challenge of this long shot [from the moment Belén] enters the hospital until the end of the surgery was very exciting for me because I really wanted to play with the cinematography itself.
Coming from an acting background, was there’s anything that you’d like to do for the actors that you would want for yourself from a director?
When you direct after being an actor, it’s easier to understand what to ask for and what is possible to ask. Because sometimes, [you’d say] “Okay, now you jump from the second floor and then you stop.” If you try to do it yourself, you will realize that it’s impossible to do it. So when you’re an actor and you direct, you [understand you] have this living body that you’re putting in service to the movie and in the same way as the actors are doing it with you, so we are all together doing this job of putting our bodies in the scene. The actors know that I am watching them as a character and as a director, so they are giving me things and as a director, when I act with them, they also watch me, so it is this like this telepathy that you have to trust 100 percent in your actors and the actors in you and you’re building [something] together with your presence.
From what I understand, you shot for a week in Tucumán where the story originated. What was it like to be there?
It was amazing because it was the last week of the shooting, so it was like the golden close of the movie. We were there where the case happened and where the people were protesting, asking for the liberation of Belén, and we were there with the real people that were in the march, so it was very emotional. These scenes were cathartic because when you’re reenacting these scenes in the movies, it’s like you get to fix a part of it, a little bit like Tarantino did [in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”]. In the movie, they show it alive, and it’s like it’s fixing that reality. It was a celebration also when we finished [the film as a whole] and people were like, “Ah!” shouting. It was so exciting. And when Belén saw the movie, watching these people there in her city where everything happened, she was very touched and I’m very proud about it.
What’s it been like to see this film play within Argentina and now represent the country at the Oscars?
I am in Argentina, going to schools and universities to talk about the movie and everybody is so passionate about it and I think that representation at the Oscars gives the movie more interest [internationally], so it’s making the movie known. That’s a dream, if you are doing cinema all your life like me. But the most important thing for me is that the most people can watch it and it’ll be on Prime Video on the 14th of November, so another wave of the movie coming up and I’m excited. There’s nothing compared to [releasing] a movie that you really like and that you’re proud of, so I’m happy.
“Belén” starts streaming on Prime Video on November 14th.