Actress Jessica Chastain Visited the Morelia International Film Festival
Actress Jessica Chastain visited the Morelia International Film Festival and did something that many Hollywood stars have not been able to do for months, walk down a red carpet.
During the event, she had a press conference, a routine activity that actors used to engage in before the historic strike, which reached its 100th day on Saturday.
Chastain visited the Morelia International Film Festival and, like countless actors, stood firm in her stance and demands for improvements in the working conditions of her guild regarding the screenwriters’ strike.
“Negotiations must come first, and that can only happen when both parties are at the table,” Chastain said on Saturday during a press conference before the red carpet for the Mexican director Michel Franco’s film “Memory,” in which she stars alongside Peter Sarsgaard.
Chastain visited the Morelia International Film Festival and emphasized that her demands, including better economic compensation, protection against artificial intelligence, and higher royalties from streaming services, are viable and, in some cases, urgent.
“87% of my union members don’t have health insurance, and 87% of my union members earn less than $26,000 a year. Many of these things need to change,” she said.
Chastain Visited the Morelia International Film Festival: Memory
The movie Chastain referred to is a new collaboration with the director following “Memory,” in which Mexican dancer Isaac Hernández also appears, and it unfolds in San Francisco and Mexico.
“I love being in Mexico, I love filming here,” Chastain affirmed. “In fact, I lived in Mexico a bit as a child; my grandmother lived in Mexico, so I really enjoy being here.”
“Memory” premiered at the last edition of the Venice Film Festival, where it earned Peter Sarsgaard the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
It was also part of the official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film introduces Sylvia (Chastain), an alcoholic who has been sober for 13 years and whose life is disrupted by an encounter with Saul (Sarsgaard) at a high school reunion, triggering memories of a sexual abuse she suffered as a teenager.
Saul is suffering from dementia and appears to be obsessing over Sylvia.
This is Franco’s third English-language film, following “Sundown” and “Chronic.” In the case of “Memory,” he continues his interest in characters who are caregivers for others, often in the shadows.
In “Chronic,” Tim Roth plays a nurse for terminally ill patients, while in “Memory,” Chastain portrays a social worker who cares for adults with disabilities.
The film was shot in New York with a production team that included many Mexican department heads, including costume design, art, editing, and makeup.
Also read: Eugenio Derbez’s New Movie: Radical.
