‘Fugue,’ Set in Peruvian Amazon, Debuts Trailer Ahead of Edinburgh, Lima Premieres (EXCLUSIVE)

The trailer has debuted for “Fugue” (Fuga), which is world premiering simultaneously at the Edinburgh and Lima film festivals. The hybrid feature is directed by Mary Jiménez and Bénédicte Liénard.

Lima will fete Jiménez with a tribute, screening three of her most celebrated works: “Del Verbo Amar,” “Loco Lucho” and “In the Name of Tania.”

“Fugue” takes place deep in the Peruvian Amazon, where the terrorist group Shining Path’s bloodthirsty violence and homophobia collide to devastating effect. A young shaman (Saor Sax) accompanies Valentina’s body back to the village for burial.

“Fuga” is the continuation of the filmmakers’ last film, “In the Name of Tania,” which was also shot in the Peruvian Amazon. They said: “’Fuga’ explores the stories of homosexuals persecuted by the Tupac Amaru and Shining Path terrorist groups during the ‘dirty war’ in Peru (1970-2000). This generation, which survived persecution in silence and shame, has yet to be heard and recognized. We worked with queer artist Saor Sax – sometimes male, sometimes female, he is pure insolence for an Amazon society plagued by evangelistic morality.”

In “Fugue,” the hybrid format is evenly split: one half lies in reality and one half in the filmmakers’ own imagination. Working on location with a modest budget and non-professional actors, the filmmakers created what they call an “artisan cinema,” made in complicity with local people and a small crew.

“It’s impossible for us to think a professional actor could replace any of the cast in ‘Fugue.’ This was our big challenge; these are people without acting experience living in the villages we filmed. We stayed there for five months. We made the film a collective responsibility; we allowed for complexity,” they said.

“Fugue” stars Saor Sax, alongside Valentina Linares Gonzales, Miguel Gomez Grandes, Dimas Garcia Torres, and Willy Pinchi Isuiza.

The director of photography is Virginie Surdej, the editors are Marie-Hélène Dozo, Jiménez, Liénard and Octavio Iturbe.

The film is produced by Hanne Phlypo, and co-produced by Digna Sinke, Pilar Peredo, Edgard Tenembaum and Isabel Madueño Medina.

It is produced by Clin d’Oeil Films in co-production with SNG Film, Tu Vas Voir, Perpetua Cine, Cinetroupe, RTBF Télévision Belge-Unité Documentaire and Shelter Prod.

It is made with the support of Film and Audiovisual Center of Wallonia Brussels Federation; Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government; Taxshelter.be and ING; screen.brussels; Brussels-Capital Region; Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD); Netherlands Film Fund (NFF); Netherlands Film Production Incentive; the Creative Europe program of the European Union; Centre national du Cinema et de l’image animée (CNC); and CBA-Centre de l’Audiovisuel à Bruxelles.