The Chilean director Sergio Castro-San Martín has premiered his new film, Mil pedazos (A thousand pieces), at the Festival de Málaga, where it is competing in the Official Competition. This co-production between Chile, Argentina and Spain invites the viewer to embark on an emotional and reflective journey through its dramatic and powerful portrayal of guilt, human frailty, and the search for redemption.
 
At a press conference with actor Daniel Muñoz, the director revealed that his feature film focuses on the complexity of human bonds and the wounds left by the past. Through this drama- with hints of a road movie -Castro-San Martín delves into the depths of guilt, memory and personal reconstruction with a character who must face the consequences of his decisions.
 
The director's idea stems from his curiosity to reflect "how people deal with past mistakes and the emotional wounds the mistakes leave on those around them". This is why the script, which he wrote with Mara Pescio, sets out an intimate journey that focuses on human fragility and the difficulty of rebuilding a life when everything seems to have fallen apart.
 
For the filmmaker, it was key to construct the story from a profoundly human point of view towards his characters, moving away from simplistic moral judgements. The plot is inspired by the myth of the hermit of Cuesta Las Chilcas, a doctor who lost his whole family in an accident, after which he decided to live as a hermit.
 
Castro-San Martín has set out to show the contradictions and grey areas that arise when someone tries to face up to their own responsibility and find a way to move forward. The title recreates precisely this sense of emotional fragmentation that runs through the main character. The plot has been structured around the idea that people can feel broken inside and yet still try to rebuild themselves from these fragments.
 
The actor Daniel Muñoz highlighted the emotional intensity of the character he plays and the interpretative challenge he faced playing someone marked by guilt and the need for redemption. For him, one of the most complex aspects of the work was finding the balance between the harshness of the circumstances the character is going through and the humanity that still characterises him.
 
Muñoz also acknowledged that he liked the script because of its ability to portray a deeply flawed, but at the same time relatable, character. He is confident that the film will allow the viewer to approach the main character's contradictions as if they were his own. Actors Paola Giannini, Daniel Muñoz, Emilia Rodríguez, Francisco Pérez Bannen, Ximena Martín and Andrea Romeo complete the cast of this ensemble film.
 
The filming took place in Chile's Elqui Valley, located in the north of the country, a place with the clearest skies in the world and a very esoteric atmosphere, giving rise to a landscape tinged by the emotional hue of its characters.
 
With an intimate narrative and an honest look at the emotional fractures that run through people's lives, Mil Pedazos is an intense drama that invites reflection on guilt, forgiveness and the possibility of rebuilding oneself even when everything seems to be broken.
 
Miguel, Isabel and Emilia go on holiday, together with their dog Eve. An accident in the middle of the desert leaves the mother seriously injured. As he tries to save Emilia, Miguel begins a personal journey with his daughter to find an answer to what has happened. Three months later, Isabel wakes up from a coma and embarks on a personal, loving and intuitive quest to rebuild her family.