Mia Maestro talks Hollywood, Latin American cinema and Arabic movies
CAIRO: In a graceful black cocktail dress, Argentinean knock-out Mia Maestro turned all heads as she walked into a hall teaming with reporters who scrambled to get a glimpse of Latin America’s number one actress.
Best known for American hits like “Poseidon and “Frida and her role in the spy series “Alias , she also boasts some Latin American blockbusters such as “The Motorcycle Diaries and “The Holy Girl on her illustrious filmography. In merely eight years, Maestro achieved what many Latin American actresses failed to accomplish through their entire careers.
The 28-year-old actress debuted with a bang in the great Spanish director Carlos Saura’s “Tango (1998) which won the Technical Grand Prize in Cannes.
“Tango’s success opened up the eyes of Hollywood to the young, fresh talent and immediately cast her against the queen of American Film Noir Lauren Bacall in “The Venice Project (1999). In 2000, she starred opposite Woody Allen and Sharon Stone in the comedy “Picking Up the Pieces and her role in Mike Figgis’ groundbreaking experimental indie flick “Timecode with Holly Hunter and Salma Hayek made her the hottest commodity in both the commercial and art film arenas.
“I like doing both big budget and small films, she told The Daily Star Egypt, “each is a different film experience. I enjoyed working with Wolfgang Petersen in “Poseidon as much as in enjoyed working in other smaller budgeted Latin American films. It’s a question of whether I like the character or not; budget is a secondary issue.
“It’s a wonderful time for Latin American cinema, she said proudly in a speech at the opening of the Cairo International Film Festival. “We have some of the best directors in the world now working in Hollywood and achieving great success.
Maestro explained that Latin American cinema is influenced by European filmmaking, which focuses more on the plot than on special effects and other costly entertainment technology. She went on to say that the reason why Latin American countries never co-produce films is that the majority of the region’s countries are poor and filmmakers are forced to travel to Spain or France where the money is available to produce their films; and the fact that there are key differences between these countries that value local cultural identity beyond anything.
“We’re trying to maintain our individuality and show the world that we’re different, yet united, Maestro commented.
She added that Arabic films have the potential to penetrate the Latin American market which values diverse art and serious films subjects. Living full time in the United States, Maestro believes that Hollywood has started to stop stereotyping Latin American characters. “Since I moved to America, I noticed that we [Latin American actresses] have been getting roles that are not cliché.
On the flip side, she commented on how Hollywood had always categorized minorities or ethnic groups into certain fixed frames with unchanged characteristics. “This kind of formulaic dramatization and misrepresentation is the method Hollywood still uses to portray Arabs, she said, “and that’s more detrimental than Bush’s psychological raids against the Muslim world.
The conference ended on a perfect note with a song by Mia Maestro’s angelic voice – and yes, she sang a nursery rhyme.
