My Almost, Almost Mum (Mi casi, casi mamá)

With her parents divorced and her mother on the other side of the world, Clara feels like her life has been turned upside down. That is, until Luisa—a woman with outrageous headscarves and secrets waiting to be uncovered—arrives at her house to become her “almost-almost mom.” A wig, a handful of adventures, and a magic phrase will be all it takes for Clara to discover that some people come into our lives to change the way we see the world.

Clara Aguilera is a shy young girl living with her father and feeling as though her world has been turned upside down. Her parents have divorced, and her mother has moved to another country for work. At school, her classmates constantly remind her of that absence, calling her “the girl whose mommy abandoned her.” So when her father arrives home with Luisa, an extravagant woman carrying a suitcase and wearing a different headscarf every day, Clara has no idea what to think. Even less so when she learns that Luisa is there to stay. When her father suggests calling her her new mother, Clara immediately objects. A mother can only be one person. After much thought, she comes up with a compromise: Luisa will be her “almost mom.”

Luisa is full of surprises. An actress by profession, she seems capable of turning any ordinary moment into a scene from a movie. But Clara soon begins to wonder what lies beneath those colorful scarves and one night discovers that Luisa is bald. Not long afterward, she realizes that Luisa is going through a difficult illness and needs special care. Driven by curiosity, Clara sneaks into her room and finds an album filled with photographs from her acting career. Luisa catches her, but instead of being angry, she proposes a deal: Clara will help her find a wig, and in return Luisa will teach her the secrets of acting. Thus begins a relationship that transforms the “almost mom” into something even more meaningful: her “almost, almost mom.”

From then on, the search for the perfect wig becomes an extraordinary adventure. In every shop they visit, inspired by Luisa’s magical words, “Lights, camera, action!”, they let their imaginations run wild. Together they become Cleopatra and an Egyptian princess, wander through French palaces alongside Marie Antoinette, and embark on adventures where anything seems possible. Yet during one of these journeys, Luisa suddenly grows tired and falls ill, revealing the fragility hidden beneath her vibrant spirit.

When Mother’s Day arrives, Luisa is too weak to attend the celebration. Instead, she gives Clara one of her scarves and reveals the true meaning behind her magical phrase. “Lights, camera, action!” is an invitation to imagine that we can become whoever we want to be. Clara wears the scarf during her school performance and shines on stage. Unfortunately, when she returns home, she learns that Luisa has been admitted to the hospital.

During a visit, Clara discovers that they still have one final mission to complete. Luisa dreams of an electric-blue wig covered in stars, but no shop seems capable of matching her imagination. Then Clara remembers one of Luisa’s lessons: when we cannot find what we are looking for, we can always imagine it. Closing her eyes, she transforms her imagination into an extraordinary dream machine. When she opens them again, the perfect wig is there. Blue, dazzling, and covered with stars. At last, Clara and Luisa have their grand finale.

Not long afterward, in the middle of the night, Clara’s father wakes her with heartbreaking news: Luisa has died. During the farewell, Clara once again whispers, “Lights, camera, action,” transforming the moment through her imagination into one final shared stage. Characters from all their adventures appear, and Luisa, wearing her magnificent blue wig, takes her final bow to a round of applause. Years later, Clara becomes an actress herself. She keeps the scarves and bracelets that belonged to her “almost, almost mom.” Before every performance, she repeats their magical phrase and remembers that while some stories end, the magic of those who taught us how to imagine can stay with us forever.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: José Ignacio (Chascas) Valenzuela is a Chilean writer and screenwriter. He has published more than thirty novels and has created thirteen television series and films produced in Chile, Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico. He was selected by The New York Times as one of the ten best young Latin American writers. As a screenwriter, he has received numerous awards, including Screenwriter of the Year from the PROCO Communication Institute and the Diosa de Plata International Film Festival. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the television series Amores. His telenovela La casa de al lado, broadcast by Telemundo, received the Best Novela of the Year award at the Miami Life Awards, while Santa Diabla, also broadcast by Telemundo, won Novela of the Year at the Premios Tu Mundo.

My Almost, Almost Mom is a tender and moving story for the whole family, set within an imaginative visual universe that gives the novel significant audiovisual potential. The relationship between Clara and Luisa forms the emotional heart of the story, while the interplay between reality and fantasy creates opportunities for memorable visual sequences: wig shops become gateways to different eras, historical figures come to life, and Clara’s imagination transforms difficult moments into worlds filled with color, humor, and wonder.

The novel stands out for the originality of its characters, particularly Luisa, a charismatic, eccentric, and instantly recognizable figure capable of connecting with both children and adults. Through a child’s perspective and the transformative power of imagination, the story explores complex themes such as divorce, separation, illness, and loss. The result is an emotional family story with the potential to combine adventure, comedy, fantasy, and heartfelt emotion while remaining fully accessible to younger audiences.

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Limited Series, Feature Film, TV Movie.

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish.