Felipe Galvez Readies to Ruffle Some Feathers with ‘The Settlers,’ a Western about Chile’s Bloody Colonial Past: ‘I Love to Be Controversial’
variety.comMarta Balaga Debuting Chilean director Felipe Gálvez doesn’t shy away from controversy. On the contrary: he actually welcomes it. “I love to be controversial,” he tells Variety in Cannes, where he is introducing blood-soaked Western “The Settlers,” posing some uncomfortable questions about his country’s colonial past. “If something is controversial, it’s a good sign.
It means it’s interesting. I am trying to provoke with my film, because this conversation is far from over.” Set in 1901, “The Settlers” sees three men (Benjamin Westfall, Mark Stanley and Camilo Arancibia) hired by a rich Spanish landowner (Alfredo Castro) to mark out his immense property.
One is American, one Scottish, one of Indigenous descent. But what is really expected of them is to get rid of the Indigenous tribes.
One of Chile’s most anticipated debuts in recent years, “The Settlers” is produced by Chile’s Quijote Films, and in pedigreed backing, co-produced by Argentina’s Rei Cine, the U.K.’s Quiddity Films, France’s Ciné Sud Promotion, Denamrk’s Snowglobe and Sweden’s Film i Väst.
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