Carolina Perelman is a director, writer, and producer from Peru. Her first play Claridad showed in Spain, while the following one Un Recuerdo Después del Holocausto showcased internationally. Her film credits include producing Berman’s March (Joshua Pikovsky and Jordan Tetewsky, 2022), and she’s involved in multiple projects at both pre- and post-production stage.

Her debut feature Confesiones Chin Chin, “a boozy Spanish drama almost entirely set inside a bar” and which is “guaranteed to make you feel lighter“, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.

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Victoria Luxford – How did you become involved with the film?

Carolina Perelman – It all started when I saw Portrait of Jason [1987] by Shirley Clarke at Madre de Dios, Peru, with Sam (the co-writer and producer of the film). I knew I had to create something about confessions and the lies we tell ourselves to continue, and avoid feeling embarrassed, bad or judgemental. Watching it in the middle of the Peruvian jungle made it feel even more surreal. The contrast between the film’s setting, which was filmed in New York city, and watching it in the Peruvian jungle made me feel like we’re all wrapped up in one big plastic lie. That’s when the idea for the film started to take shape.

VL – What was the casting process like? Was it a challenge finding actors with the right kind of unguarded nature needed for the tone of the film?

CP – It was very important to have an international cast because that reflects my personal experience of living in Madrid as a foreigner. I also think it represents what Madrid has become, and I haven’t seen many films that capture this diversity. I also had extensive conversations with some cast members before making a decision. I wanted to get a sense of their humour – to see if they could laugh easily and, to some extent, make others laugh as well.

VL – You mentioned in your director’s statement that the conversations are drawn by “real secrets and confessions shared by my friends and the film’s cast”. Were there any that shocked you?

CP – I think reality always surpasses fiction! One story that really struck me was about the guy who got sick, called a doctor, and was then sexually harassed by the doctor. It definitely left an impression on me, but at the same time, it wasn’t entirely surprising. What shocked me the most was the way my friend described the experience. His attitude was more like “fuck it, I want to make people laugh when I share this story”.

VL – Was there pressure to respect these stories knowing that they were elements of people’s lives?

CP – Not exactly pressure, but I felt a strong responsibility to honour the tone and spirit in which people shared their secrets with me. There was a certain humor and honesty in the way they opened up, and I wanted to reflect that without distorting it. It was important to capture not just the content of their stories, but the feeling behind them.

VL – Were there any stories that didn’t make the cut that were difficult not to include?

CP – A masseuse who does whippets with a patient while giving a massage – everything at the same time and super fast. The masseuse starts laughing like crazy, and the patient asks, “What is happening?” The masseuse starts screaming, “I don’t believe you, I don’t believe you, I don’t believe you… you’re a moon inside an ocean, but you want a whiskey, so let me get you one”. But I’m saving that for my next film… if you are a producer and are reading this, please produce my next film! If you don’t like it, we can have whiskey instead.

VL – What was the most difficult aspect of filming?

CP – Three things: keeping the energy up and passing that on to the team, managing the technical challenges of filming conversations and improvisations, and especially getting everything done in just five days. That last part was particularly tough because, with a limited budget, I had to juggle both directing and producing. I didn’t want to be the one constantly rushing everyone but at the same time, we had to keep things moving. Sam helped me a lot with that, that’s why I also love teaming up with him because I know that if I’m not on time, he’ll let me know, and vice versa.

VL – There’s a very conversational tone to the scenes, where all characters feel very familiar with each other. Did that come naturally or did it require rehearsal?

CP – I think it comes from the long interviews and rehearsals we did before the shoot, plus some improvisation, which I encouraged by giving certain cast members conflicting secrets before each scene. For example, I told Vicente (Enrique Gimeno) before a scene to tell Lolo (Fernando Bodega) that he knows about the sauna he likes to go to, but without giving Fernando any context beforehand.

VL – Jazz is a big part of the storytelling, both aurally and thematically. Were there any particular artists you used as references?

CP – Yes! Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and the jazz score from The Connection by Shirley Clarke were major influences. The short story El Perseguidor by Julio Cortázar was also key; reading it made me realise how deeply jazz is connected to life in the modern world, but especially to our human desires.

Collaborating with Pedro Fraguela was incredible. You can describe abstract images of the music you are imagining for a certain scene, and he’ll bring them to life effortlessly.

VL – Have there been any interesting reactions you’ve witnessed from people who have seen the film?

CP – Once, an old woman came up to me after a screening and said: “I just realised that all the bad decisions I thought I made in my life were actually pretty good decisions… but I think I’d rather keep believing they were bad.” Someone asked me if I was jealous about a scene where my husband (Sam) is in a tub with another woman, doing some spicy stuff.

VL – Your film is set in Madrid, yet you started your journey in at the Slamdance Film Festival in the US. Do you think American and Spanish audiences will relate differently to your film?

CP – I thought they would, especially because of the comedy aspect, but the reactions have been surprisingly similar so far – people laugh, but the curiosity that drives the film seems to hit differently in each country. Let’s just say I’d rather not get into the details. That said, I once showed the film to someone in Spain, and someone started screaming really loudly during Lolo’s first scene in the toilet. I asked the person what made her scream so much in that scene, and she said it was because she didn’t want to laugh and poop in the theatre.

VL – Finally, what projects have you got coming up next?

CP – I have several upcoming projects in both film and theater. On the film side, I’m developing a project inspired by my personal experience surviving cancer, drawing inspiration from The Double Life of Véronique [Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1991]. It follows two parallel women in different cities, both receiving life-changing news about cancer on the same day. One lives in Miami and receives the bad news that she has cancer, while the other, living in Lima, finds out that the tumor she has is not cancerous. Another film project is an adaptation of Mircea Cărtărescu’s [short story] The Ruletist, which we’ll be shooting in Peru, directed by my partner Samuel Rotter Bechar. On the theatre side, I’m premiering a new production in Madrid inspired by Lope de Vega’s Fuenteovejuna. Lastly, Estrella Iberoamericana is a dystopian talent show.

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Carolina Perelman is pictured at the top and also in the middle of this interview, photographed by Samuel Rotter Bechar and Jack Roizental, respectively.