By Brian Lepire
When a woman breaks with society’s expectations to pursue her dream, obstacles arise and lines are drawn. MAMACHAS OF THE RING documents the struggle of Carmen Rosa and her career as a Bolivian cholita wrestler. We were able to ask director Betty Park about how she first came across the film’s subject and her experiences bringing Carmen Rosa’s story to the public.
Q: How did you first learn about the Bolivian cholita wrestling movement and what compelled you to tell the story of Carmen Rosa and the other professional female wrestlers?
A: My first encounter with the wrestling cholitas was through a photo essay I saw while traveling down in Peru and Bolivia. It was one of those moments when everything falls silent because you’re so focused on this one thing that has completely captured your imagination. The image of the cholita flying through the air in a wrestling ring was arresting, and I thought that there must be a story behind them.
Q: Your documentary is one of several entries at this year’s festival to combine live action and animation. Why did you decide to use stop-motion animation to help describe the very physical world of professional wrestling?
A: I’m generally interested in mixing media, and decided to use stop-motion animation fairly early in the production process. I was looking for a creative way to tell the story that would also fit with the aesthetic of Bolivia and the wrestling world. CG would have been too slick, 2D too comic-like, title cards too traditional…claymation seemed like the perfect choice. The goal was to create this third world where fantasy meets reality…in a slightly fantastic way.
Q: This movie is your debut as a feature film director. What lessons did you learn while making this movie you would like to pass on to aspiring filmmakers?
A: One of the things I wish I had been privy to earlier on in my filmmaking process is the dialogue surrounding new ways of fundraising and distributing indie films. There is much talk about how the more traditional distribution strategies are broken, and as a result there is a lot of experimentation going on with regard to building and reaching audiences through new media.
Q: “Mamachas of the Ring” has been in several film festivals around the world, including the Slamdance, Buenos Aires and Rome Film Festivals. What have been some of your favorite experiences showing this movie across the globe?
A: It’s been such an incredible experience seeing the film with audiences in different countries, but I’ve especially enjoyed meeting the Bolivian and Latin American expats who make it out to the screenings. I feel like they view and appreciate the documentary in a unique way.
Q: What would you like the Salem audience to take away from the film?
A: I think most people would be drawn to this film because it seems like such an odd phenomenon, but what I really want people to leave with is an understanding of Carmen Rosa’s struggle as a woman living in a macho society, and as a person who is torn between something she intensely loves and the obligations she has in her personal life. They are two things I connect with personally, and I hope other people will be able to relate to it as well.
MAMACHAS OF THE RING screens in the main theater Sat, Feb 27 at 11 a.m., Sat, Feb 27 at 1:15 p.m. and Mon, Mar 1 at 5 p.m.
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