La visita y un jardín secreto

Synopsis

Little is known about the mysterious figure of Isabel Santaló, a once highly acclaimed Spanish artist who vanished into oblivion. This multifaceted film by Irene M. Borrego, her niece, pieces together a portrait through relics of past visits in her home and the voice of Antonio López, the only painter of her generation to remember her. By the end, it is clear that there was more to Isabel Santaló than meets the eye.
This is no run-of-the-mill biopic: the real star of the show remains hidden and we even get to see the ins and outs of the shoot. Bit by bit, Irene M. Borrego slowly sketches out details of her aunt’s life and work without ever dissipating the aura of mystery surrounding her. A film about memory and forgetting, about art and the creative process, about what it means to be an artist and a woman.

Bio/Filmo

Irene M. Borrego graduated from the EICTV (Cuba), before going on to attend the London Film School and then studying with Abbas Kiarostami. She cofounded 59 en Conserva to produce original documentary films. She has made nine award-winning shorts, including Muebles Aldeguer, Vekne Hleba i Riba and California. In parallel to her own projects, she has produced films for the likes of Manuel Muñoz Rivas and Alexis Delgado, including This Film Is about Me, Dos islas and El mar nos mira de lejos, and explores filmmaking’s ties with other artistic disciplines. La visita y un jardín secreto is her debut feature.