Interview with The Fish Child Star Ines Efron

By Jenni Olson

Androgynous Argentine actress Ines Efron nabbed multiple Best Actress Awards for her mesmerizing performance in Argentine female helmer Lucia Puenzo’s acclaimed 2007 drama, XXY. Teaming up with Puenzo again, Efron is back with another exceptional performance in the dynamic and magical lesbian thriller, The Fish Child. The Fish Child comes out on DVD July 26^th from Wolfe Video. Efron stars as Lala, a Buenos Aires teenager smitten with her family’s 20 year-old Paraguayan maid (played by Argentine pop star turned actress, Mariela Vitale, aka Emme). The girls hatch a plan to rob Lala’s family to fund their dream of living together in Paraguay, at the shores of

Lake Ypoá. Needless to say, drama ensues!

After premiering at such prestigious film festivals as the Berlinale and Tribeca, The Fish Child was nominated for nine Argentine Academy Awards — and went on to tour the LGBT film festival circuit earning yet more acclaim and awards (including Best Feature Film from the 2010 Turin Lesbian & Gay Film Festival).

In this exclusive interview, Ines Efron talks with LGBT film critic Jenni Olson about the international success of the film, her thespian influences, and the joys of working with her current director.

Jenni Olson: First of all, thanks so much for doing this interview. And congratulations on your enormous success as an international film star since you burst on the scene with XXY. I’m curious to hear about your influences as an actress. I saw that the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival compared your performance to “the early film roles of both Sissy Spacek and Chloe Sevigny.” Does this resonate for you? Do you have other performers who inspire you in your work?

Ines Efron: I studied theatre with a teacher who makes you feel that you are playing like a little girl (her name is Nora Moseinco). I never studied with theoretical texts. My approach to acting was always about the freshness of it, like a game, so I never had a rational analysis of my work. I think that the real school for an actor is the self-knowledge and the insight one develops. I feel inspired by those actresses who are really artists, and who make you feel that they are channeling a powerful creative force. For example: Meryl Streep, Emily Watson, Miranda July, Kate Winslet, and Vanessa Redgrave.

JO:  You’ve worked with many of Argentina’s top directors including Alexis Dos Santos (Glue), Daniel Burman (Empty Nest) and Lucrecia Martel (The Headless Woman). I wonder if you have any observations on the difference between working with women directors versus working with men directors. Or perhaps this is not such a notable thing and you can just tell us about working with Lucia Puenzo!

IE: Yes, I didn’t feel a notable difference between working with a woman director or with a man. So I will speak about Lucia. She is a very, very special person — incredibly sensitive, creativity flows through her. She has always been a writer, so her scripts are very literary and very solid. It is a pleasure to work with her because she tells archetypal stories, with heroic characters who go through much pain. And for me as an actress it is a mysterious journey to portray Lucia´s stories, so I always let myself be guided by her.

JO: The Fish Child has played at major international festivals from Amsterdam to Zagreb — and, of course, the Berlinale. It also had very prominent programming slots at all the LGBT film festivals including being the International Dramatic Centerpiece at Outfest. Were you able to attend very many festivals? Could you tell us a bit about these audiences and the film’s reception?

IE: I didn’t have the chance to go to all the festivals. But I went to some, and The Fish Child always generated much discussion and analysis with the audience because Lucia´s films deal with complex social and moral issues. People generally feel empathy with the characters of Lala and Guayi. It is very interesting to see how people react to the movie in different parts of the world.

JO: I see that your most recent film, Medianeras premiered at the Berlinale this past February. Do you have any other upcoming projects we can look forward to?

IE: Yes, my new film Cerro Bayo premiered in the San Sebastian Film Festival last year. This is the second film by Victoria Galardi (she is one of the “lovely loneliness” film directors). It is a very interesting and intimate film about a family in Patagonia. It shows in a particular way the lives of this family in a little village in Patagonia, and everything that happens after the suicide of their Grandma. My character is a 20 year-old girl who is obsessed with having an orgasm for the first time.

JO: Thanks so much, Ines.

IE: Thank you!