It has been six years since Lucrecia Martel last made a film but it seems a new one might be on the way. Her three first features came relatively quickly, but then just a number of shorts. The first feature, La Ciénaga (2001), is a very impressive and intense family drama about injured bodies and restless souls in the sweltering heat at a country house in Salta, a province in the north of Argentina. With its motifs of water, hair and animals, and bourgeois alienation, it is very much a Martel film, they are present in all of her features (the other two being The Holy Girl (La niña santa, 2004) and The Headless Woman (La mujer sin cabeza 2008), a film that is astonishingly accomplished.), and some of her shorts as well. The old theme of the wickedness of the bourgeoisie is not particularly interesting but her style is, a combination of edgy, disjointed close-ups and elaborate soundscapes, and her work with the actors is remarkable. The new project is titled Zama and until it arrives here are some links for those who want to know more about her and her films.
Here are two good interviews with her from 2008: http://www.reverseshot.com/article/interview_lucrecia_martel
http://bombmagazine.org/article/3220/lucrecia-martel
Here is an article about her films by James Guida, published in Lola:
http://www.lolajournal.com/1/martel.html
Here is a word about her next film, which she is hopefully working on now:
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/147390/lucrecia-martel-to-shoot-zama-in-argentina
And here is her latest short, Muta (2011).
