Filmmakers Gianluca Matarrese and María Silvia Esteve come together to talk about the complexities in the relationship between filmmaker and character, and the enriching process of collaborations between these. Gianluca comes to IDFA with two films: GEN_ (2025) in Signed and I Want Her Dead (2025) in the International Competition. Both works reveal how a filmmaker can build relationships of trust that open up the most intimate spaces within their characters, even when working with their own family. María Silvia premieres her film Mailin (2025) in the International Competition, inviting us into the depths of her character’s hugely painful experience and resilient spirit. Though their cinematic tools are very different, both filmmakers offer audiences a chance to enter the very private spaces of their characters, and accompany them through some of their greatest struggles. How do we understand authorship when asking so much of someone?

The conversation between Gianluca, María Silvia, and the moderator, film critic Dana Linssen, will delve into questions of trust, distance, and creative control when working with a variety of characters.