Aurora

The aging couple Sofia and Pedro lives in the rural outskirts of Ventanas, a Chilean coastal town characterized by industry and high crime. They love children, but have never gotten their own. The reason for this is left unsaid, it is obviously a sore non-issue. The craving after a child is evident in their everyday life, especially for Sofia who, as a primary school teacher, really shows that she cares for the little ones. The couple is in constant dialogue with the adoption agency, but somehow never quite advances in the queue. The paper mill seems endless. Everything indicates that they would be good parents – they have a stable economy and live in a safe area. A recurring argument from the agency is their age. Will they ever get to become parents? It doesn't look like it. This creates turbulence and frustration – they've got a lot of love, but no one to give it to. Sofia gets progressively more desperate while Pedro gets withdrawn.

The situation is turned upside down when a newspaper headline catches Sofia's attention. An infant has been found dead at the local junkyard, probably dumped there by a prostitute. This gives Sofia an absurd idea – if she can't get a living child to love, she can at least get a dead child to mourn. She contacts the authorities for the possibility of adopting and burying the little girl, but meets unparalleled bureaucracy. The child has no legal identity, something the Chilean law requires in order to obtain a burial. Sofia starts a private crusade against the government to get custody of the child so that she and Pedro may have a grave to visit. What should the baby be called? Aurora.

The film Aurora is based on the true story of Bernarda Gallardo – reality's Sofia. The sequence of events here is both heartbreaking and macabre, but director Rodrigo Sepúlveda conveys it all in a tasteful and subdued manner. As an ominous backdrop, atmospheric visuals of the city's industrial center looms, where Aurora was found.

Rodrigo Sepúlveda (b. 1959) from Chile is a director and screenwriter, with directed several TV series, both fiction and documentary. He has also directed feature films Un ladrón y su mujer (2002) and Padre nuestro (2005). Aurora (2014) was well received at amongst others Miami International Film Festival, and comes to TIFF in 2016.

(Translation: Adrienne Seet)