“The Heritage of Flora” by director Augusto Tamayo

This week, on March 7, the film ‘La Herencia de Flora’ premieres. A film inspired by the life and legacy of Flora Celestina Teresa Enriqueta de Tristán y Moscoso, better known as Flora Tristan. This French woman, of Peruvian descent, was a writer and thinker who founded one of the early feminism movements, in the mid-19th century.

CARETAS spoke with Augusto Tamayo, who acted as director, producer and editor of this feature film. “I have a very great vocation and interest in the audiovisual medium, which means getting very involved in the style, the theme, the treatment, the stories and the characters of the film.” Likewise, it should be noted that the film features Paloma Yerovi and the late Diego Bertie as protagonists.

– Tell us what motivated you to tell the story of this historical figure?

Well, I have been embarking on a personal project since my career as a filmmaker began 50 years ago.

I am very interested in the topic of identity, personal identity, but also collective identity, cultural identity, the historical identity of Peru.

I made three films, each focused on three male characters. Each one in a different Peruvian historical moment. Each of them with a personal problem, with a personal objective, with a personal conflict, but in some way they portrayed a topic that went beyond their personal history and that reflected something of the context in which they lived.

I made those three films with three male characters and now I am facing a film project with several female characters. I started with a film about Santa Rosa, and continued with this one about Flora Tristán, within a project I have of films about Peruvian female characters.

Jimena Ortiz de Zevallos, a wonderful Peruvian screenwriter, brought me the script that became the second project of this pentalogy that I hope to continue, in which Flora Tristán is the fundamental leading character. A Franco-Peruvian woman, a pioneer in the fight for women’s rights, a very difficult goal to achieve, at a time when those rights did not exist at all. I was also interested in the fact that she had objectives that, in reality, transcended her apparent possibilities in the adverse context in which she lives.

– The time to make a first complete version of the script usually takes time. Approximately how long did it take you to make it?

In this case, I received this excellent script by Jimena Ortiz De Zevallos, and of course, I had to make it my own, which also expressed my view and my ideas of the character and the historical moment portrayed, because the director is the author of the film.

Therefore, based on this very well-crafted and researched script, I also sought to express my way of understanding the story told. That ended up taking two years, in the middle of the pandemic.

– You have been screenwriter, producer, director and editor of this project. For what reason or reasons have you taken on the four positions? How did you feel taking on so much responsibility and how was it coordinating with the other areas?

Well, it’s something I’ve always done. It is not new to this project. In this case, I have had an editor who supported me in shaping this work. I have a very great vocation and interest in the audiovisual medium, which means getting very involved in the style, theme, treatment, stories and characters of the film. That leads me to take on so many roles in most of my projects.

– I imagine it must have been an arduous task. What would you say was the biggest task in getting this project completed and why?

The project had to be carried out, before, a little during and quite a bit after the pandemic. That affected the entire execution of the film. I also had a health accident, which further postponed the start of filming. Finally, with all the changes that these circumstances produced, the feature film could be completed, with the adjustments that are always necessary to make during filming or pre-production.

– Now that the film is about to be released in theaters, what are you trying to generate in the public? What do you hope they feel while watching the movie and after it’s over?

Well, first of all, let the film introduce the character of Flora Tristán to the public. She is a very important character in history, Peruvian, French and worldwide, but I think her figure and the importance of her work in the conscience of Peru today are a little lost.

With respect to Flora, I believe that there is a lack of knowledge, or an undeserved forgetfulness of this transcendental character, of her inner strength, of the talent and brilliance that she had as a writer and, especially of the significance of her work both as a social author and as a pioneer. in the search for women’s rights in the world. I hope that the public finds out or remembers what this person did, of her importance in the development of human societies, by transforming the perception that there was of the location of women within the structure of society.

Finally, I think it is important that she once again becomes a contemporary icon and that the public identifies and participates in Flora’s ideas and feelings.

– How do you feel now that, after 3-4 years, this film is about to be released in theaters?

It’s always nice to hear that viewers like or care about the movie. But more important is to personally feel that the project meets your cultural, cinematographic, and expressive purposes. In this case the satisfaction is great because it is an ambitious project, with a complicated production, because it was necessary to reconstruct, represent characters and context of the 19th century. And be faithful to the essence of Flora.

When one completes a project of these dimensions, one has to feel satisfied.

– You who have already worked on multiple projects, whether as a scriptwriter, editor, art director, producer and/or general director, from films to soap operas, documentaries and television series, what recommendations would you give to young people who want or are in process of entering the audiovisual world?

I think it is important to acquire as much knowledge as possible. It is essential to acquire knowledge systematically, theoretically, practically, reading, watching, listening, observing reality all the time,

It also requires intense energy, you have to forge a temperament, a character as a film director. It is a very particular job and requires an equally special temperament, a character that must be built and rebuilt every day.

A career as a film director involves determination, perseverance, perseverance, self-discipline and clarity of vocation. I have known enormously talented people, but they were not so clear about their vocation and abandoned the career. The vocation is crucial, it is what guides and motivates in this very peculiar profession. Whoever thinks they have it, has to consolidate it and work constantly to strengthen that vocation. He has to be clear about what he wants, dedicate as much time as possible to it and cultivate self-discipline, especially in the face of constant contemporary distraction. All of this, along with constant dedication, are the pillars to develop yourself as an audiovisual producer.

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