Anahí Berneri is an Argentinian film and theater director and scriptwriter. Previous feature films include “Un Año Sin Amor,” “Encarnación,” and “Por Tu Culpa.” She has been recognized with awards from the Berlin International Film Festival, Mar del Plata International Festival, and the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

“Alanis” will premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

AB: “Alanis” chronicles three days in the life of a prostitute and her young son as she balances her line of work with maternal and societal demands. The film shows the intimacy between actress Sofía Gala and her son Dante: their looks, their primal relationship, the laughter and tears they let me capture.

The film is set in a multiracial, marginalized, immigrant-populated Buenos Aires. These are neighborhoods Dominican prostitutes were lured to with hopes of a better future, and where they must fight to win a place in the street and the “private” apartments. The legal vacuum, the persecution and shame of those who work the streets, their struggle simply to find a way to survive, is laid bare in the film.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

AB: I was called by an Argentinian actors’ association, SAGAI, and a directors’ association, PCI (Independent Cinema Project), to work on a short film. I was given a script where it was not clear if the character was a prostitute or a victim of human trafficking.

That script paradox caught my attention and I wondered why as a society we talk as if prostitution and human trafficking are the same. And I started doing some research and found out the current laws in Argentina reinforce the idea that every prostitute is a victim of trafficking and there is always a person who is the victimizer. In my opinion, the actual victimizer in most cases is the state.

My first reaction was not to accept the project because I didn’t have a clear position and even feminist associations wouldn’t speak about it. It is a matter that splits waters and in the middle are women unprotected.

We talked with different prostitute associations. Some are for and some are against legalizing prostitution. However, none of them want to see their daughters as prostitutes. Some consider prostitution as women’s slavery and others are fighting to have rights to protect them. Argentina has signed international agreements in order not to go against prostitution. But in fact prostitutes are being chased, punished, and prosecuted.

The film doesn’t have a solution at all — politicians are the ones who must provide a solution. I just shot it in order to show a real problem in an intimate way, showing three days in a life of a woman.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

AB: I want them to think about their own moral ideas about prostitution, an unsolved and universal paradox.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

AB: The most difficult challenge was to work with a baby and to find the appropriate climate for violence and sex scenes.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

AB: After shooting the short film we noticed that we had the beginning of a feature. We didn’t have time to develop the project because our baby actor was growing older. Therefore we started shooting as soon as possible by self-financing.

It was two-stage shoot. We shot for two weeks and edited using the short film material. After rewriting the script with the edited material we finally shot for one week more. It was a very tight film schedule and budget.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at the Toronto International Film Festival?

AB: I believe it’s a an international window for my work and career. It’s my third time at TIFF and I have always been welcomed by the market.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

AB: The best advice for this film was “shoot right now, or drop it.” The worst advice was “you must release the film as soon as posible.” I knew it was worth waiting for the right time and festivals.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

AB: Go to a school and shoot. Don’t try to be a man on the set. Think and shoot with your own body.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

AB: I love many woman-directed films. In fact, “Alanis” was inspired by “Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles” by Chantal Akerman. I think Akerman was one of the most influential women in the story of cinema. I love her way of filming in real time capturing ordinary life, and the humanity of her characters.

W&H: There have been significant conversations over the last couple of years about increasing the amount of opportunities for women directors yet the numbers have not increased. Are you optimistic about the possibilities for change? Share any thoughts you might have on this topic.

AB: Yes, I am optimistic! I am proud of my country because we have many good women directors: Lucrecia Martel, Celina Murga, Natalia Smirnoff, and Albertina Carri are some of my favorites. We started so many years ago fighting for a place in film industry from the organization La Mujer y el Cine. They were pioneers, with director Maria Luisa Bemberg at the head. And in the ’90s with the explosion of the New Cinema and film schools, women had access to a place showing their talent.