{"id":31116,"date":"2026-05-22T10:25:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/msfilmfestival.fi\/?post_type=movies&p=31116"},"modified":"2026-05-22T18:27:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:27:56","slug":"narciso","status":"publish","type":"movies","link":"https:\/\/msfilmfestival.fi\/en\/movies\/narciso\/","title":{"rendered":"Narciso"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do we know about the films of the small South American country of Paraguay? Perhaps we might be familiar with <\/span>The Heiresses<\/span><\/i>, Marcelo Martinessi\u2019s lesbian film that won the Silver Bear at Berlinale 2018. After that, not much has been heard of the director or the country\u2019s sparse film output. However, it\u2019s evident from the first scenes of Martinessi\u2019s new film that he has not lost his edge when it comes to directing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Narciso<\/span><\/i> is an engaging depiction of Paraguay in the year 1959, after the country had fallen into a military dictatorship that would last for 35 years. Martinessi avoids the pitfalls of the average historical period film. He chooses to approach the stifling atmosphere through Narciso, a mysterious rock-dj based on a true legend, whose fate was to become a light in the darkness. Narciso liberates both men and women through his charismatic performances, but is soon found dead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Martinessi wants to transcend a simple murder mystery narrative surrounding the bisexual singer. In the centre of the action is a radio station that plays Chuck Berry and friends, but also broadcasts a metaphorical Dracula series. Many, including the radio director Lul\u00fa, have to hide their true identities and passions. A stranger, an American gringo named Wesson also joins the action. Paraguay only got running water in the year 1959, but the interplay between the country\u2019s regime and the Americans also ended up leading to many problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MARCELO MARTINESSI<\/strong> (b. 1973) is, thanks to The Heiresses<\/i>, Paraguay\u2019s most internationally known director: his debut feature won dozens of festival prizes and played in over 30 countries. Martinessi went to film school in London and made several short films before being named head of Paraguay\u2019s public sector television channel in 2010. His tenure lasted only two years, ending when the country\u2019s unstable democracy underwent a \u201csoft\u201d revolution. Martinessi directed a short film about this chaotic period in his country, The Lost Voice<\/i>, which won a prize at the Venice Film Festival. After the success of The Heiresses<\/i>, it took eight years for Martinessi to release his next feature, which received the International Federation of Film Critics prize after it premiered in the Panorama section at Berlinale.<\/span><\/p>\n

Timo Malmi<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What do we know about the films of the small South American country of Paraguay? Perhaps we might be familiar with The Heiresses, Marcelo Martinessi\u2019s lesbian film that won the Silver Bear at Berlinale 2018. After that, not much has been heard of the director or the country\u2019s sparse film output. However, it\u2019s evident from… View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"featured_media":31114,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31116","movies","type-movies","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","filters-gems-of-new-cinema","filters-subtitles-in-english-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNarciso — Midnight Sun Film Festival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Narciso is an engaging depiction of Paraguay in the year 1959, after the country had fallen into a military dictatorship that would last for 35 years. 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