By: Carlos Rossini

Lila Avilés’ debut feature, The Chambermaid, depicts the experience of Eve, a young single mother working her way up in the elite Mexico City hotel industry. Avilés journey from theater production to filmmaking parallels the protagonist’s coming of age as they both approach new chapters of their lives with curiosity and determination. Through Avilés’ lens, Eve’s work week blurs into an endless stream of changing sheets, waiting on guests, and even babysitting for a wealthy guest. Eve’s motivation to take care of herself and her son Reuben who we hear about often, though never appears on screen encourages her study in pursuit of her GED in addition to her long days at the hotel. Through highlighting Eve’s perseverance The Chambermaid brings humanity to the thankless roles of invisible women in the service industry.

Whirring and buzzing sounds that fill tight corners and cramped hallways in The Chambermaid induce a sense of claustrophobia for the audience.Enhanced by Carlos Rossini’s cinematography whose tight shots frame Eve engulfed in stark white towels and hotel commissary while confined in the linen closets capture how lodged Eve is in her situation.

Eve’s relationships at the hotel prove fruitless. It’s no surprise that she is unable to advance her career in the hotel industry. Whereas, with Avilés’ curiosity in moving from the theater space into film. Avilés found support from producer Tatiana Graullera who stood by her through a timely 17 day production for The Chambermaid, and helped pull through for post production funding by assisting Avilés with applications for grants and government initiatives. In contrast, Eve seldom benefits with her interactions with peers or superiors. Most of the time these interactions just add to Eve’s back-breaking workload.

However, Eve’s relationships are not the only aspect of this film that were found sterile-the landscape of the hotel was cold, white and barren. White linen, white towels, white walls… counting it all could go on forever. It is easy to say that Eve was the most visually stimulating artifact within the composition which gave an almost documentary feeling to the film.

This documentary/non-fiction feeling also comes from the films “soundtrack”. The soundstage of The Chambermaid was without music but imbued with foley-machines whirring, cafeteria echoes, steps, and running water but no music. This aspect of the film exemplifies the sterility of Eve’s experience as a cog in the hotel machine. Avilés does a brilliant job personifying the hotel as a multifaceted space with a class system that reeks of privilege and exploitation.