Memories of a Burning Body

Memories of a Burning Body (Memorias de un cuerpo que arde) is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss. The film starring Sol Carballo and Paulina Bernini, portrays the story of Ana, Patricia and Mayela, who, educated in a repressive era where sexuality was taboo, found the meaning of femininity through unspoken rules and implicit impositions.

A co-production of Costa Rica and Spain, the film was selected in the Panorama section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival where it had its world premiere on 19 February 2024, and won Panorama Audience Award for Best Feature Film.

Synopsis
Two sexagenarian women Ana, Patricia and one septuagenarian woman Mayela grew up in a time when sexuality was not discussed or expressed freely as it was considered taboo. They learned to be women from the silent norms and hidden demands of their society. Now they have the courage to share their experiences openly. Their stories are told in a poetic manner: as they narrate their lives off-screen, another woman of their age embodies their memories, secrets and desires.

Cast

 * Sol Carballo as Woman
 * Paulina Bernini as Young Woman
 * Juliana Filloy as Girl
 * Liliana Biamonte as Mother
 * Juan Luis Araya as Husband
 * Gabriel Araya as Father
 * Leonardo Perucci as Boyfriend
 * Cecilia García as Grandmother

Production
The project was selected in the development pitch at the Costa Rica International Film Festival, preselected at the Hubert Bals Fund, Script and Project Development Bright Future and at the San Sebastián Co-production Forum. The co-production of Sub stance Films and Playlab Films is directed by Antonella Sudasassi and co-produced with Estephania Bonnett Alonso.

Filming began in Costa Rica from November 2022. It ended on 18 December 2022, and post-production took place in Spain.

Release
Memories of a Burning Body had its world premiere on 19 February 2024, as part of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, in Panorama.

In January 2024, Tenerife's Bendita Film acquired the international sales rights of the film.

Reception
Giorgia Del Don reviewing the film at Berlinale for Cineuropa wrote, "Antonella Sudasassi Furniss’ second feature film is an emancipatory cry uniting different generations of women who have been held back by limits set by the patriarchy."