Chile's Antonia Zegers, Star of Pablo Larrain's ‘The Club,' Boards Peruvian helmer Joanna Lombardi's ‘The Comeback'(EXCLUSIVE)

Chilean actress Antonia Zegers, whose notable credits include several of Pablo Larrain's films, including 'Tony Manero,' 'The Club,' 'No,' and his Pinochet-as-Dracula pic, 'The Count,' has boarded the upcoming drama 'The Comeback' ('El Regreso') by Peru's Joanna Lombardi.
Zegers, who also toplined Lucia Puenzo's lauded series 'The Pack' ('La Jauria') serves as a juror at the Ibero-American Fiction section of the ongoing 40th Guadalajara Film Festival (FICG), wrapping on June 14.
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'What first drew me in was the chance to work with Joanna – there's a quiet strength in her, a way of seeing the world that speaks to me. I trust that together, we'll create something truly special,' she told Variety.
Lombardi is a former creative executive for Movistar in Latin America and leading Peruvian shingle Tondero Films. Her directorial feature debut 'Casadentro' won Montreal Festival's Golden Zenit as well as the international critics Fipresci award. She also directed Peru's first Netflix Original 'How to Get Over a Breakup' ('Soltera codiciada').
Set against the little-known Aug. 28 festivities in the coastal border town of Tacna in Peru, 'The Comeback' follows Martha, a once-famous actress in crisis, who returns to Tacna to sell her family home and use the proceeds to fund a play that she hopes could revive her career. As the city celebrates Aug. 28th, which marks the anniversary of Tacna's return to Peru after its war with Chile, her plans are upended by her sister's sudden illness, forcing Martha to stay in the place she hoped to leave behind.
'This film is about memory, but it is also about identity as Martha left home at 18 for Chile, which upset her family. She was seen as a Peruvian in Chile but when she returns, she is seen as Chilean because she has picked up a Chilean accent,' said Lombardi who has put together a crack – mostly female – team that includes Inti Briones ('To Kill a Man,' 'Jayro Bustamante's 'Rita') as her DP, Chile's Soledad Salfate ('A Fantastic Woman') as her editor and Luciano Supervielle ('The Freshly Cut Grass') as her music composer.
Chile's Florencia Larrea ('My Tender Matador') and Uruguay's Agustina Chiarino of Bocacha Films ('Agárrame fuerte'), both key drivers of Latin American cinema, have also boarded as co-producers. They are seeking a European producing partner.
'The Comeback' is written by Lombardi's mother, author Giovanna Pollarolo, the wife of Peru's legendary filmmaker Francisco Lombardi, who wrote all the screenplays to his films, including his hit Goya-nominated satire 'Captain Pantoja and the Special Service.'
'It will be the first time I collaborate with my mother,' said Lombardi, adding: 'It was her idea to set a story in Tacna, which we later co-developed. Tacna was where my father was born and where I spent all my childhood summers.'
For some historical context, Tacna played a pivotal role in The War of the Pacific, in which Peru was defeated by Chile in 1883. Yet Tacna remained under Chilean control until August 28, 1929, nearly 50 years later. Almost a century has passed, but the conflict remains unresolved. Deep-seated resentment toward Chile still lingers among the people of Tacna, a reality that must be addressed for true reconciliation. 'Every August 28, the city comes to a standstill to celebrate but ironically, few Peruvians outside Tacna know or remember why,' she said.
'Sometimes I feel people are split between those who want to remember the past and those who prefer to move forward. I often wonder which is healthier,' she mused.
Filming is scheduled to take place in Tacna in August next year.
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