The Colombian film Amparo, the debut feature film by Simón Mesa Soto was announced this morning as the only Latin American film participating in the 60th edition of the Critics’ Week, the independent sidebar of the Cannes Film Festival, taking place July 7-15, 2021. Seven feature films will participate in this year’s edition of the Critics’ Week, being all eligible for the Camera d’Or for Best First Film at Cannes, and also competing for the Nespresso Grand Prize, and the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award.
Simón Soto, who was born in Medellín in 1986 and studied at the London Film School, is no stranger to Cannes. He premiered his short film Leidi in the 2014 edition of the French Festival, winning the Palme d’Or, and he participated in the official short film competition again in 2016 with Madre.
Set in Colombia during the nineties and starring Sandra Melissa Torres, Diego Alejandro Tobón, Luciana Gallego, and John Jairo Montoya, Amparo tells the story of a single mother who attempts to keep her family together after her son Elías is unexpectedly drafted by the army and assigned to the front in the country’s most dangerous war zone. To do this, she embarks on a journey against time in a society ruled by men, corruption and violence.
Additionally, and as it has been for several years now, Critics’ Week will also screen Mexican short films from the Morelia Film Festival. This year the lineup is comprised by Bisho by Pablo Giles, La oscuridad by Jorge Sistos Moreno, Pinky Promise by Indra Villaseñor Amador, and Un rostro cubierto de besos / A Face Covered With Kisses by Mariano Rentería Garnica.
