Maria Telòn, Maria Mercedes Coroy – Actresses – Ixcanul
FRED’s Nicolò Comotti interviews Maria Telòn and Maria Mercedes Coroy, actresses in Jayro Bustamante’s film Ixcanul, the Guatamelan gem in the main competition of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.
Maria Telòn and Maria Mercedes Coroy, both in their cinematic debut here, tell us how they prepared and got used to acting for the camera in Ixcanul, and also talk with us about their favourite aspects of the film.
Plot: María, a 17-year-old Kaqchikel Maya, lives with her parents on a coffee plantation at the foot of an active volcano – the titular Ixcanul. She is set to be married to the farm’s foreman. But María longs to discover the world on the other side of the mountain, a place she cannot even imagine. And so she seduces a coffee-harvester who wants to escape to the USA. When this man leaves her behind, María discovers her own world and culture anew.