Bulls, Alzheimer's, and Love: A New Film Explores Life's Mysteries

Celina Murga's new film, "The Rehearsals," is set to participate in the San Sebastián Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum. The project, inspired by Alejandra Kamiya's short stories, centers on Eva, who cares for her elderly mother diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The narrative weaves everyday life with surreal elements, including the appearance of bulls around the family home, exploring themes of vulnerability, love, and connection.

Murga stated the film reflects on societal views of aging and death, aiming to make invisible aspects of aging visible. The project is planned to be shot in Uruguay by 2028, benefiting from the nation's audiovisual tax credit. Alterna Media, a Uruguay-based production company, is involved in co-producing the film.

The film draws characters and situations from Kamiya's works, focusing on parent-child relationships, nature, and the passage of time. Murga aims to portray death not as an intrusion but as a slow infiltration into daily life, emphasizing care as an everyday practice and an acceptance of life's cycles.

'The Rehearsals' seeks to avoid reducing vulnerability to spectacle, offering a human perspective on deterioration and aging. Murga desires to create a film rooted in affection, focusing on relationships and shared time, ultimately a film about love, not solely about Alzheimer's or death.