BONSÁI New Auteurs

In on attempt to impress Emilia, Julio lies about reading Proust. Suddenly, the two are plunged into a love affair set among university classrooms, study groups and punk rock concerts. Eight years later, working as a freelance editor and struggling to become a writer, Julio offers to transcribe the handwritten manuscripts of Chilean novelist Gazmuri. Because his fee is too high, Gazmuri does not hire him, but Julio proceeds to write his own version of Gozmuri ‘s novel anyway, incorporating idealized memories of his college romance with Emilia. Based on Alejandro Zambra ‘s novel, BONSAI humorously intercuts between past and present as Julio confronts his frustrating adulthood by revisiting and rewriting his memories. Contributing to the current explosion of contemporary Chilean cinema, Cristian Jimenez’s nostalgic tale of love and literature is a striking tribute to lies, fiction and all things artificial.