The tragic death of Daniel Zamudio in March 2012 left a big wound in the Chilean body politic that fortunately prompted the passing of hate crime legislation. It also signaled the difficult road that still lays ahead for members the queer community in the country to reach not just tolerance but acceptance. Zamudio’s death resonated with one Chilean in particular: Alex Anwandter who took a break from the production of his next album in order to write and direct Nunca vas a estar solo.
The film follows Juan, a sixty-year-old factory worker with eyes on an administrative position, whose plans are compromised when his son Pablo is brutally beaten for being gay. Juan wrestles with his deeply instilled traditional values in the face of the grave injustices suffered by his son. Anticipation continues to build for the completion and release of Nunca vas a estar solo as it was recently chosen to participate in Guadalajara Construye at the Guadalajara Film Festival, where it won two prizes.
This is not Anwandter’s first foray behind the camera. He has directed various music videos for himself as a solo artist as well as for his former band Teleradio Donoso. Check some of them out here:
“Tatuaje”
“Cabros”
“Eramos todos felices”
“Cama de clavos”