Martin Scorsese Mentee Celina Murga Preps Next Pic, ‘The Rehearsals’
Argentine director Celina Murga, a mentee of Martin Scorsese, is developing her next feature, "The Rehearsals" ("Los Ensayos"), which will be pitched at the San Sebastián Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum this month. The film is one of 15 projects selected for the forum and marks a new work from Murga, who is known for the Scorsese-executive-produced dramas "The Freshly Cut Grass" and "The Third Side of the River", as well as her 2003 debut "Ana and the Others". Murga said the project explores themes of ageing, caregiving and mortality, subjects she feels are often overlooked by a culture that prizes youth and productivity.
Based on short stories by Japanese-Argentine writer Alejandra Kamiya, the film follows Eva, nearly 50, caring for her 80-year-old mother, a retired doctor with early Alzheimer's, alongside her teenage son and younger sister, with a strange, recurring presence of bulls around the family home. Murga plans to shoot in Uruguay by 2028, taking advantage of the country's new audiovisual tax credit covering up to 30% of eligible costs, with Uruguay-based Alterna Media producing locally. The Co-Production Forum runs from 21–23 September as part of the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival. Murga also spoke about her continuing relationship with Scorsese, who she says remains in touch and supportive of her work across different film cultures.
- Celina Murga's new film "The Rehearsals" heads to San Sebastián's co-production forum
- Story follows a woman caring for her ageing mother, blending reality and the fantastic
- Shoot planned in Uruguay by 2028 using new tax credit incentives
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Celina Murga is an Argentine film director whose earlier work caught the attention of Martin Scorsese, who has since mentored her and executive-produced some of her films. She is best known for dramas such as "The Freshly Cut Grass" and "The Third Side of the River", as well as her 2003 debut "Ana and the Others". Her new project centres on an ageing mother, her adult daughter and the strains of caring for a relative with dementia.
The San Sebastián Film Festival is a major annual film event held in Spain, and its Co-Production Forum is a specialist strand where filmmakers pitch unfinished projects to potential financiers and producers from Europe and Latin America. Being selected, as Murga's film has been, is a recognised route for smaller, independent films to secure the funding needed to get made. This year's forum takes place later in September as part of the festival's 74th edition.
The film is planned to be shot in Uruguay, a country that has recently introduced a tax incentive scheme designed to attract international film productions by refunding a share of local production costs. Such incentives are increasingly used by countries to compete for film work, and this case illustrates how funding, tax policy and international mentorship relationships can shape which stories get made and where.