Nobody Knows I'm Here

Memo lives with his aunt on a sheep farm in southern Chile and speaks to nobody. As a child he had an extraordinary voice; his songs were released in another boy's name and that boy became a star. Years later a video posted online reopens everything. Gaspar Antillo's first film. Jorge Garcia plays Memo. At the centre is a stolen voice: a child's talent converted into someone else's career, and that lasting a lifetime. The telling is silent. Memo barely speaks and the film gives information in pieces through flashback. Jorge Garcia leaves his familiar television image entirely behind here; the performance carries the film. The cinematography builds a cold palette out of lake, fog and timber buildings. It went out on Netflix and became one of the Chilean films to reach international circulation. Who it is for: viewers who like quiet character drama and criticism of the music industry. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a fast narrative; this is very slow.