There was both magic and realism involved for the Chilean creatives Francisca Alegría and Fernanda Urrejola, who brought Isabel Allende’s beloved novel “The House of the Spirits” to the screen as a limited series for Amazon Prime Video.
Alegría and Urrejola and “House of the Spirits” executive producer Eva Longoria detailed the backstory of the eight-episode series during their keynote address May 1 at the National Association of Latino Independent Producers’ Diverse Women in Media Forum. Variety gave “House of the Spirits” a rave review, calling the Spanish-language adaptation “sensational, and long overdue.” “House of the Spirits” bowed April 29.
Although Alegría and Urrejola did not have a long track record of managing elaborate period productions, the faith that FilmNation and Longoria’s Hyphenate Media showed in their vision for the Spanish-language adaptation and the support system they provided made all the difference.
“It’s really important when you have producers that believe in you and are protecting you and are sheltering you so that you can concentrate on just doing the best work,” Alegría said.
Alegría and Urrejola, who are partners in life and in producing, co-wrote the series and serve as showrunners and executive producers. Alegría directed half of the show’s eight episodes; Urrejola plays the key character of Blanca. Longoria was recruited as an executive producer by FilmNation because she had been vocal in the development community about her interest in adapting Allende’s works. The Chilean novelist and human rights advocate has been prolific since she gained international acclaim for her 1982 debut with “House of the Spirits,” a sprawling tale of a family and political dynasty told in the magical realism literary form popular in Latin American in the 20th century.
“I have been obsessed with Isabel Allende, specifically ‘House of Spirits.’ Just her as a human being and a woman and a Latina that I look up to. You know, she started her writing career at 40 — at 40!” Longoria said. “And so when FilmNation came and they’re like, ‘Hey, we’d like you to sit with, with these two ladies, and they had a Bible, they had a look book, they had a vision a vision board presentation that was every frame was like a painting, you just knew that this book was in the right hands.”
Longoria was blunt about her role in helping Alegría and Urrejola.
“I was brought on to add my voice and my political capital in this town, to make sure it landed at the right place, that it got the support and the budget that it needed,” she said.
Urrejola, who is a well-known Chilean actor, told the crowd at the W Hollywood hotel that the working environment on the project, which shot in Santiago and other parts of Chile, mirrored the dynamic of the novel.
“What is beautiful about this novel is that the female characters are so powerful because they are a woman. They’re not trying to be like men in order to be powerful,” Urrejola said. “That’s the power of women. We create community. We really create culture in that sense, and we don’t have to forget about that. And we’re so lucky that we have our female producers along the way with us, helping us to put our vision forward. But again, the novel talks about that and our point of view. The entry point was the healing process of generational trauma. It’s the granddaughter that is able to articulate what the previous generations couldn’t.”
Alegría credited the pair’s experienced producing partners with helping guide them through the most unfamiliar process of preparing for the final cut and getting ready for the marketing, press, distribution conversations with Amazon as well as FilmNation. This was unfamiliar territory for the showrunners.
“As independent filmmakers, working with such a big platform comes with knowing how to navigate. You you need to defend some things, and there’s other things that you take the point of view of the platform,” Alegría said.
Longoria reinforced this as an important point for the rising star producers in the room.
“You’ve got to pick the hill you’re going to die on. I see so many young writers that I try to develop with, and they just dig their heels in on the wrong thing. Studios are not your enemies. Producers are not your enemies. You all want to make something, and you got to defend your vision, and know what you need to defend and know what you need to let go. And that is a talent in and of itself,” Longoria said. “The platforms have information you don’t. So use that information producers have.”
The session, moderated by Cynthia Littleton, Variety co-Editor in Chief, ended with a discussion of the growing film and TV production infrastructure in Chile. (Longoria dubbed it “Chile-wood.”)
Bringing a national treasure like “House of the Spirits” to life in Chile was a dream come true for the pair, Urrejola said.
“I’m lucky enough to have worked in different parts of Latin America, and I can say that Chile has so, so much talent,” she said. “And the landscapes — you can find everything you want in Chile. You can see white, standard, beautiful beaches — very cold, though. And then it will look like the Caribbean. And then you can go to the Patagonia, which is a completely different, unique landscape, and the desert we have. We’re still fighting for the [production tax] rebate so we can make it even better, but we have co-production funds, and it’s getting better. It was a thrill to work in Chile and to have that amazing crew with us.”
(Pictured: Fernanda Urrejola, Francisca Alegría and Eva Longoria at NALIP’s Diverse Women in Media Forum, held May 1 at the W Hollywood.)