KAYE

Director's Note

Throughout Chile’s history, tomas de terreno—informal land occupations—have stood as proof of working-class resilience and self-organization in the struggle for decent housing. Today, public discourse brands them as hotbeds of crime, drugs, and violence. Reality, of course, is far messier: these harsh stereotypes fuel discrimination that blocks thousands from jobs, schooling, and healthcare. Kaye invites audiences inside one of these settlements—to share its daily grind of effort and hope, and to confront the same contradictions and internal tensions found in any community.
The film’s heartbeat is its cast. Twelve-year-old Antonella Bravo, who herself lives in a toma, makes a powerful acting debut as our lead, bringing an authenticity no professional could fake. She’s joined by rising urban-music star Benji Gramitos, who not only steps into his first screen role but also supplies original tracks for the movie. Rounding out the ensemble are acclaimed actresses Paola Lattus, Paula Dinamarca, and Marcela Salinas, alongside local girls and families from Chile’s Central Coast. Together they form Kaye’s core family—a matriarchy that mirrors the thousands of Chilean households run by women—and help us, as I did in my first feature Perro Bomba, shine a light on the Chile that lives in the shadow of economic “progress.”