‘Clara Sola’ by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén '19 Wins Big at Sweden’s Guldbagge Awards

Clara Sola, a feature film co-written and directed by alumna Nathalie Álvarez Mesén '19, was the big winner at the Guldbagge Awards from the Swedish Film Institute, taking home five awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Screenplay. 

A Costa Rican-Swedish-Belgian co-production, Clara Sola had its world premiere at last year’s edition of the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. The film follows Clara, 40, who is believed to have a special connection to God. As a "healer," she sustains a family and a village in need of hope, while she finds solace in her relationship with the natural world. After years of being controlled by her mother’s repressive care, Clara’s sexual desires are stirred by her attraction to her niece’s new boyfriend. This newly awakened force takes Clara to unexplored territory, allowing her to cross boundaries, both physical and mystical. Empowered by her self-discovery, Clara gradually frees herself from her role as “saint” and begins to heal herself. The film has been acquired for U.S. distribution by Oscilloscope Pictures.

Clara Sola was recently the subject of a feature article in The Wrap. Álvarez Mesén was also interviewed by Screen Daily and commented: “Clara Sola has some elements of magical realism and comes a bit from memories of growing up in Latin America in a Catholic society with a patriarchal tradition, and how often it was the mothers and the grandmothers imposing these [norms] and not necessarily the men. So this is kind of a matriarchal house reproducing patriarchal traditions. It’s a way to also point the finger at ourselves and open up the door to some sort of view into that process.”

Nathalie Álvarez Mesén is a Costa Rican-Swedish film writer/director. She started her career in physical theater in Costa Rica before pursuing her BFA in Mime Acting at the Stockholm University of the Arts in Sweden. An alumna of the Berlinale Talents, TIFF Filmmaker Lab, NYFF Artist Academy, Cine Qua Non Lab and Talents Guadalajara, Álvarez Mesén has written and directed films that have screened at prestigious film festivals around the world. Her short film, Filip, was awarded Best Live-Action Film Under 15 Minutes at the 2016 Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, and her short film, Asunder, screened at the 2016 Telluride Film Festival, which was curated by Barry Jenkins as part of their "Calling Cards" program. Both Asunder, and her short film, Letting Go, have been selected as Vimeo Staff Picks. Recently, Álvarez Mesén co-wrote the Colombian short film, Entre Tu Y Milagros, with director and alumna Mariana Saffon '19, winner of the Orizzonti Award for Best Short in the Venice Film Festival 2020.