Hilda Hidalgo: Of Love and Other Demons

Hilda Hidalgo's screen adaptation of Gabríel García Marquez’s novel, "Of Love and Other Demons" at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Of love and Other Demons
Del amor y otros demonios
(Colombia, Costa Rica, 2009, 97 mins, 35mm)
Directed By: Hilda Hidalgo
Producers: Laura Imperiale, Clara María Ochoa, Laura Pacheco, Hilda Hidalgo
Screenwriter: Hilda Hidalgo
Cinematographer: Marcelo Camorino
Editor: Mariana Rodríguez
Cast: Pablo Derqui, Eliza Triana, Jordi Dauder, Joaquin Climent, Margarita Rosa de Francisco, Damián Alcázar, Martha Leal
Trailer

Based on Gabríel García Marquez’s novel, Of Love and Other Demons is set during the colonial era in a South American seaport—the home of bishops and viceroys, enlightened thinkers and inquisitors, lepers, and pirates. After being bitten by a rabid dog and subsequently believed to be possessed, 13-year-old noble Sierva Maria is imprisoned in a convent, where Father Delaura, a young protégé of the local bishop, is sent to oversee her exorcism. But instead of spirits, he must grapple with the unexpected passion that Sierva Maria awakes in his soul and a love that is at once improbable, deeply moving, and straining at the constraints of tradition and faith.

Costa Rican director Hilda Hidalgo’s debut feature is a masterful blend of understated performances infused with the dreamlike atmosphere created by the chiaroscuro cinematography. As Sierva Maria’s mother, famed Columbian actress Margarita Rosa de Francisco may be the most recognizable name in the cast, but the film truly belongs to its young leads. Eliza Triana’s Maria smolders onscreen, her stunning beauty drawing Pablo Derqui’s young priest into the depths of hopeless devotion.
[Synopsis provided by LAFF]