Sidewalls

Mariana, Martìn and the city of Buenos Aires. Martìn and Mariana live across from each other on the same block, but never meet. They pass each other, not knowing about the other’s existence. She goes up the stairs as he goes down the stairs; he gets on the bus just as she gets off the bus. They go to the same video rental shop, but a video rack separates them; they sit in the same row at the cinema, but the auditorium is dark. The city brings them together, and, at the same time, keeps them apart.

Director Gustavo Taretto told the story of Mariana, Martìn and the city of Buenos Aires once before: “Medianeras is a short film that received 40 awards worldwide – a short film with a feature film hidden inside. Our aim is to bring the feature to light. In the film El sol del membrillo (Quince Tree of the Sun), Víctor Erice reflects, among other things, upon Antonio López’s obsession with paint- ing a tree that he had planted and seen growing in his garden. The tree changes with the passing of time, the seasons, and especially in different shades of light. Medianeras is my tree. I planted it over four years ago, and I’ve been watching it grow since then. Following the analogy with the painting, the short film unveils the gesture in the stroke, the artist’s palette, the trunk which holds it in place, the main branches and the colour of its leaves. Now, with the feature, the moment has arrived for going into detail, for exploring depth and hues, ambiguities and contradictions. The story changes in exactly the same way as the city that serves as its setting: Buenos Aires. Some of the scenes wither away, while others bloom.” –Berlinale