Martin Scorsese Mentee Celina Murga Prepares Next Film “The Rehearsals”
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, The Rehearsals (Los Ensayos in original title) by Argentine director Celina Murga is among the 15 projects selected for the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Murga is best known for her dramas The Freshly Cut Grass and The Third Side of the River—both executive produced by Martin Scorsese—as well as her 2003 debut feature Ana and the Others.
Adapted from several short stories by Japanese-Argentine author Alejandra Kamiya, The Rehearsals tells the story of Eva, a woman nearly fifty years old who lives with her eighty-year-old mother, a prominent retired doctor on the verge of Alzheimer’s disease. Eva’s family home is also home to her teenage son and younger sister, who share in the mother’s care. Amid small celebrations, hospital visits, and disagreements over how to care for her mother, a mysterious presence of bulls surrounds the house. By blending everyday reality with the strange and fantastical, the film explores human vulnerability and how love, connection, and a renewed sense of life can emerge through the process of caring for others.
Reflecting on the work, Murga stated: “This film reflects on how our society views aging, decay, and death. We live in a culture that rewards youth and productivity while increasingly ignoring aging bodies and slowed time. Yet, confronting non-existence can open new windows of intimacy and a fresh understanding of dynamics. The Rehearsals was born out of a desire to make these experiences visible and to question what we lose by denying our limited condition.”
She plans to film the project in Uruguay by 2028, taking advantage of the country’s new financial incentives, which include tax exemptions of up to 30% on eligible costs.
The project is currently consolidating its financial structure and international co-production setup, led locally by the Uruguayan production company Alterna Media. María Laura Berch, Joaquín Romero Vercellino, and Lucía Vela from the company are serving as executive producers.
The Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum will take place from September 21 to 23 during the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival.
Murga further elaborated on her new project and Martin Scorsese’s influence on her work:
Martin Scorsese chose you as his mentee and executive produced The Third Side of the River as well as your latest film to date, The Freshly Cut Grass. Are you still in touch with him? How has this experience shaped your filmmaking perspective? Yes, we are still in contact. In fact, he attended the screening of The Freshly Cut Grass at the Tribeca Film Festival. He has a deep understanding of the challenges of filmmaking around the world, especially for female directors. He always shows interest in what I’m doing; he sends emails to ask about my projects and suggest new ideas.
I value not only his position as an iconic director in global cinema history, but also his human commitment and profound understanding of the power of cinema across different cultures. That is my most valuable asset from this experience: a sense of mission—why we make films, what it can mean, and how that purpose can inspire others.
You mentioned that The Rehearsals is based on short stories by Alejandra Kamiya. Did you combine several stories? What drew you to them? I combined several stories. The main story, titled The Rehearsals, comes from the book Patience of Water on Every Stone, but I also borrowed characters and situations from other stories in that book, as well as from Fallen Trees Are Also the Forest. The complex and intense connection between parents and children, the deep bond between humans and nature, and death as an inevitable part of life were the themes that drew me in. I was also captivated by the narrative style that gently nudges reality toward the fantastical.
Is the story set in Argentina but being shot in Uruguay due to tax exemptions? The story is set in Argentina’s Entre Ríos province, though the landscape and cultural context exist similarly on the Uruguayan side of the river. Since the film is being produced by the Uruguayan company Alterna Media, Uruguay’s audiovisual incentives were a key factor in making production viable. However, beyond the economic aspect, there is a strong cultural and geographical bond between Entre Ríos and Paysandú that gives meaningful depth to this collaboration.
What concepts are you exploring in this project? The core of The Rehearsals is not Alzheimer’s disease itself, but rather “caregiving” as a daily act and a manifestation of accepting the cycle of life. The film follows a daughter trying to accompany her mother through the final stage of life. I want the cinematic lens to transform into an ethical question: how can we look at someone undergoing decline without reducing them to their fragility? More than a film about Alzheimer’s or death, it is first and foremost a film about love.
