Q&A: Song Without a Name, in conversation with writer-director, Melina León and lead talent Pamela Mendoza

Join WFTV for a conversation with Melina León, writer, producer, director and editor of Song Without a Name (Canción sin Nombre), and lead talent Pamela Mendoza.

Based on a true story, Song Without a Name is set in Peru at the height of the political crisis of the 1980s. Georgina is a young woman from the Andes whose new-born daughter is stolen at a fake health clinic. Her desperate search for the child leads her to the headquarters of a major newspaper, where she meets Pedro Campos, a lonely journalist who takes on the investigation.

In conversation hosted by Karoline Pelikan, Melina and Pamela will share behind the scenes look at the making of the film. From the inspiration for the story, to an insight to Melina’s vision and creative references to achieve the look of the film and her experience of working with the creative team in production in her multi-hyphenate role. Pamela will be sharing how she prepared for the role to tell the intimate and painful story of the protagonist, Georgina.

WFTV members will have opportunity to watch a screening of Song Without a Name in advance of the Q&A event. This film contains themes and discussions of child loss.

Song Without a Name is distributed in the UK by Sovereign Film Distribution and is available to watch in Virtual Cinemas and On Demand now. Watch the trailer for the film here.

Melina León is a Peruvian director based in New York. Her opera prima Song Without a Name (Canción sin Nombre) premiered at Cannes Director’s Fortnight 2019, was nominated for the Caméra d’Or and became the Peruvian Oscar® Entry for Best International Feature Film.

The film has been selected to over 100 international film festivals winning several awards including Best Director at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, Best Film at the Stockholm Film Festival and the Cinevision Award for Best Emerging Director at the Munich Film Festival.

An MFA film graduate of Columbia University, her short film El Paraíso de Lili (Lili’s Paradise), also set in Peru in 1988, made its international debut at the 47th New York Film Festival.

Pamela Mendoza was trained as an actress at the prestigious Peruvian theatre group Cuatrotablas and has participated in several "Theater of the Oppressed" workshops.  Inspired by these principles, she co-founded the collective group "Atrévete Magdalena" (Dare yourself, Magdalena), dedicated to political performances with a special interest in migrant women.

She is also an anthropologist, having worked on the development of community museums, acting workshops and social issues such as identity and migration. As a film actress, she played the leading role in Song Without a Name (Canción sin nombre).

Host

Karoline Pelikan is a German-Peruvian documentary filmmaker.

The films of her production company Pelikan Pictures focus on intimate portraits, gender violence and LGBTQI rights and have been screened at international film festivals.

Karoline is the founder of Cine Latino which promotes the work of independent Latin American filmmakers in the UK. In collaboration with independent cinemas, academic institutions, and in partnership with other organizations such as the Festival of Latin American Women in Arts, Karoline’s main goal is to shed a light on socio-political issues in the region that are creatively told through innovative Latin American films.

Karoline also founded the social arts project EmpoderArte, that creates safe spaces for women across Peru and uses audio-visual tools to tell creative stories that focus on regional issues.

Event Schedule:

17:55: Please join the webinar waiting room

18:00: Host-led discussion

18:45: Attendee Q&A opens

19:00: Finish

How will the online event work?

This event will be live streamed via Zoom.us. Viewing details will be sent via your confirmation.

WFTV members who register before 16:00 on Friday 07 May will receive a screening link to Song Without a Name.

Attending participants will not be visible to others and will be muted throughout the session. After the talk, there will be an opportunity for audience members to ask their questions to the panel by using the Q&A feature.

This event is for existing WFTV members only.

Members please log-in to your account and sign up below this listing.

If you are not a member and would like to join, membership costs just £100 + VAT/yr , please click here or email admin@wftv.org.uk

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