If you enjoy puzzles or personal stories or both, you will love The Curious Life of Piter Eustaquio Rengifo Uculmana. In this unique feature-length debut documentary, directed by Gianfranco Annichini, you’ll travel the diverse, meandering path of Piter Eustaquio Rengifo Uculmana throughout Peru, his country, whose spelling also matches the initials of his name (P.E.R.U.).
Carolyn A. Schultz of the Winter Film Awards Team had the opportunity to ask Gianfranco about the film. See the US Premiere of ‘The Curious Life’ on Wednesday March 1 as part of the 6th Annual Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival.
Q: What was your inspiration for directing this film?
My main inspiration in making this film was to reconnect with the places that had left a mark on me during previous travels. I wanted to return to the emblematic locations which had shaped my work. I also had great interest in seeing the Candelaria Festival in Puno (the last sequence in the film) which I had never attended.
Q: From your background of previous work, what are some things that prepared you for this 72-minute documentary film?
The first thing I have in my head when shooting a documentary is to not follow something that is preconceived. This way the people I find in the investigation are not necessarily the same ones described in the script, neither are the locations. Spontaneity gives veracity and freshness to documentary work.
Q: How did you come up with the plot of the film?
The idea came from the scriptwriter (and filmmaker) Ronnie Temoche, who gave me the theme: a film about a man whose initials, of his first and last names, spell the word PERU and to have it constructed like a puzzle, with different characters found in different regions of the country.
Q: How did you decide on the sequence of different interviews and images, and why in a mixed sequence that was not in order from earliest to latest?
There were several steps taken during the editing to try and find a common thread. Many times the interviewee talked too much about him/herself. I included several of these moments because they seemed important even though in doing that, I had to temporarily forget about the character I was looking for, which was also the main theme of the movie. There is no chronological order and I leave an interviewee only to return to them later. It’s more dynamic this way and it ties together certain concepts.
Q: How did you find the people you interviewed? Was it based on research and investigation of who knew Piter Eustaquio Rengifo Uculmana? Were these the actual people who knew him, or interpretations or assumptions played by actors?
There are no acted or staged answers. We found all the characters during the research (before shooting). None of them could know Piter Eustaquio since he is an imaginary character. My challenge was to not manipulate the answers, to only edit them so the discourse would be as coherent as possible.
Q: How did you get people to tell their stories? Did any seem afraid to admit certain things?
The people I interviewed would candidly tell me their life stories with sincerity and without fear, the good and the bad. They talked about friends, relatives, or enemies, with complete sincerity. As much as possible, I wanted (the viewer) to feel the spontaneity and honesty in the interviewees’ answers. All these assembled answers would serve to create the multifaceted character named Piter Eustaquio.
Q: Was this all filmed on location in Peru, and actual locations where Piter Eustaquio Rengifo Uculmana was during his life? Or if not, where did you film and how did you choose places?
The whole movie was shot in Peru, mainly in places I had visited as a filmmaker and that had had an impact on me. Other places were discovered during the research, such as the abandoned village, the stone forest, etc.
Q: How did you choose your music, and why did you choose these specific songs?
The music was selected from an internet archive. I did not want to use typical Peruvian music. I wanted to create an atmosphere. In most cases it is used discretely.
Q: How long did it take you and your team to do all the filming, editing and producing?
After it was approved, the project took about two years to complete. This includes filming with waiting periods between shooting days, editing and post-production.
Q: How was this film similar to other films you’ve done before, during your 35+ year career in film? And how was it different?
I think it’s the same as my other work as far as the style, which consists in it being a pure documentary, or the meaning one would gather from that word. To do that, I utilize resources used in fiction in order to dramatize the scenes; reconstruct certain moments in the life of the characters; their past, their dreams or tragedies, their memories; but never using actors. This is different than my previous work because it’s my first feature-length film and the structure, rhythm and way of constructing scenes is more complex.
Carolyn A. Schultz, Fundraising
Film, music and culture have always been very important to Carolyn A. Schultz, who joined the Winter Film Awards Team in 2016 as Marketing, Communications and Fundraising Consultant. As an enthusiastic believer in the power of effective communications bringing people together, Carolyn formed her own marketing and communications consulting business – Carolyn A. Schultz Marketing & Communications – after over 15 years leading creative, successful efforts for a wide variety of organizations in the public, private and cultural sectors.
Interested in sponsoring a Winter Film Awards event? Carolyn can be reached at (917) 525-3211 /
carolyn@nullcarolynaschultz.com
About Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival
Winter Film Awards Is New York City. Like the city itself, we showcase the eclectic diversity and excitement of the independent arts world. Winter Film Awards is proudly one of the Top 10 Best Reviewed Festivals on FilmFreeway.
The rapidly growing Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival, now in its sixth year, is a dynamic and exciting event in the heart of the City. Winter Film Awards showcases films from emerging filmmakers from around the world in all genres with a special emphasis on highlighting the work of women and minority filmmakers. The Festival runs February 23-March 4 2017 in New York City.
Among the 88 Official Selections to be screened at Cinema Village in the heart of Greenwich Village (22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003), is a diverse mixture of 11 Animated films, 8 Documentaries, 11 Feature narratives, 10 Horror films, 12 Music Videos, 24 Narrative shorts and 7 Web series, including 12 student films and 33 first-time filmmakers. Filmmakers come from 30 countries; 42% of the films were created by women, 45% were created by people of color. Visit www.WinterFilmAwards.com for schedules, tickets and details!
About Winter Film Awards
Winter Film Awards is an all-volunteer, minority- and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 in New York City by a group of filmmakers and enthusiasts. The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
