Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Emilia Perezis an unbelievably audacious film that feels like ifPedro AlmodovarremadeMrs.
Doubtfireas a searing musical crime drama.
What follows is operatic in every sense, at turns melodramatic, heart-wrenching, and endlessly mutative.
Under this unorthodox new arrangement, all of the women and the children blossom.
Things are idyllic for a while, until they very much arent.
Gascon, a 52-year-old Spanish actress, whos mostly done telenovelas up until now, is a total revelation.
I want to cry talking about it.Zoe Saldana:Mission accomplished.
Just to tell and be part of a compelling story.
You were both crying a lot during last nights premiere standing ovation.
What was going through both of your minds?Z.S.
How we all kept our heads down and did the work to bring the story to life.
I felt like I was a part of it.
I didnt feel like I was just in it.
Karla Sofia Gascon:First of all, the movie last night is not the one we shot.
The film I shot was pleasant, funny and light.
And then here all of a sudden he takes us on this roller coaster.
Hes taking us somewhere.
You both came to this movie from very different career points.
Were you worried at all about the risks and the musicality and the maximalism of it?
:I never feel established.
As an actor, I always feel like, This is the last thing Im gonna do.
Established is very kind, but I always feel like I havent grown enough.
Im always curious about whats on the other side.
Not because Im ungrateful.
I dream a lot.
Watching Jacques Audiards movies and thinking, I wish I could be a part of something like that.
I just hadnt seen you do this sort of singing or dancing on screen before.
I didnt know you had it like that!
In another life you could be a popstar.Z.S.:[Laughs.
]No, God.
Karla, was the experience similarly unbelievable for you?K.S.G.
But I couldnt take it in in fan mode.
It would have been dangerous.
When you enter a movie like this, you gotta prepare another way.
So I am so grateful for Zoe for being really friendly with me from the very beginning.
To open up and allow me to connect to her.
We were really like friends.
She was my partner on the set.
She came home with me to celebrate my birthday, the only person on set who did that.
:Karla and Jacques are both masters.
I dont think I ever interacted with Karla on set.
I interacted with Emilia.
The level of commitment … My questions were more like, Is this my mark?
Do I start on this beat?
Theres so much more that you learn by observing them in their natural elements as artists than anything else.
I always felt like I walked away learning from Karla and Jacques, every fucking day.
Was there a specific scene or moment on set when you felt you actually bonded as friends?K.S.G.
:What was magic on the set is there was a kind of transfer.
The characters contaminated us as actors.
The characters strong, mysterious bond, we could feel it between us.
:But I think the bonding happened a year before.
Because it was a really long process.
Karla had already been given the role for both characters, first for Emilia, then for Manitas.
And I came back to Paris and I was so nervous.
I thought maybe hed take me out of the project.
That I wouldnt have the role anymore.
And hes really difficult to approach when hes creating.
Hes extremely silent, hes not someone you could really get a firm answer from.
I was so nervous and Karla was like, Thats the way he is.
So we built this bond and this mutual trust.
Karla, last night seemed like a really life-changing moment for you.
Does it feel that way for you?
What do you want next for yourself?K.S.G.
:Im 52, and neither successes nor failures have changed my life.
Ive been through so many things.
Ups and downs, wonderful and disastrous things.
Im having great fun here.
Im really enjoying it.
But no matter what happens, it wont change who I am inside.
:I dont put a label on my craft.
My craft is gender-fluid, age-fluid, race-fluid, spirit-fluid.
But that cant be why you wake up every morning to make art.
You have to fulfill your ego and your spirit.
So I didnt join this movie because it was a trans story.
That is what drives me.
If that becomes a positive message for those who need it, its a double win.
But at some point you do have to choose a path that fulfills you.
