AUDIENCE AWARD Documenta Madrid 09
2009 / Luis Alaejos y Raúl Díez Alaejos / 100 min. / Spanish (english subtitled)
Contact: Antropodocus. dosalolejos@gmail.com
PALACIO (trailer) Largometraje Documental / Feature Documentary Film
There is an enormous building in a city of Latin America. It opened as a hotel in 1928 when the country was experiencing an economic and cultural boom. The building was designed by an architect who was a Freemason and wanted to integrate the Mason aesthetic in the buildings construction. Many of the decorative elements of the building can only be fully understand by Masons.
The economic bonanza was short lived and the country soon entered a recession that lasted until recent years. Luxurious dances salons became low class party halls and many of the rooms were made into apartments for rent. Many renters were attracted by the building’s exotic and bohemian atmosphere. Others were simply looking for a small apartment that could be rented cheaply. The neiborghood quickly grew to have 1.500 inhabitants, with renters living in spaces ranging from 10 square meters to 200 square meters.
Along with the uniqueness of the building, we were drawn to the variety of its inhabitants; some living in opulence, others in poverty. We were drawn to the mysterious air that permeates the building and how this affects its inhabitants. We also found it intriguing that the building has a long history of frequent suicides; stories of ghosts that roam the elegant hallways are legendary.
For two months, we rented one of the apartments and we became part of the community. We knocked on doors, and when they weren’t slammed in our faces, we began to learn about why the building held so much intrigue. We were received by all kinds of people; stressed and strange, lazy and worried, artists of little and great reknown, those who had recently arrived, those who wanted to leave but couldn’t and people that planned to live out the rest of their days there.
So far, we have filmed more than 70 interviews. At this point in our project, we need to return to film more of the building
which is crucial to the story. We also need to get more archival photos of the building.
For these reasons, we are hoping to get the support needed to complete our film. We feel that its an important story, not just because its tells of a fascinating tale of a group of people who live inside a mysterious building, but also because of the extravagant co-existance of such different social classes.
