Two Latin American films were awarded this evening at the 78th annual edition of the Venice Film Festival: the Bolivian film El gran movimiento, the second film by Kiro Russo, received the Orizzonti Special Jury Award; and Chile’s Los huesos by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña received the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.
Set in La Paz, El gran movimiento follows a Elmer, a young miner, who arrives in the big city seeking to be reinstated in his work at the mine. The city is overwhelming, and Elder begins to feel sick. But quickly the drinks make him forget his pain and, together with his friends, he decides to stay and take a chance. Thanks to the old woman Mama Pancha, they get a job in the market. But Elder starts to get worse, choking and struggling for breath. His friends chip in to help him, but the doctor says there is no cure. Mama Pancha, very worried about the dying Elder, connects him to Max—a witch doctor, hermit, and clown—who will try to bring the young man back to life.
From the directors of the acclaimed film The Wolf House, Los huesos is a fictitious account of the world’s first stop-motion animated film. Dated 1901 and excavated in 2021 as Chile drafts a new Constitution, the footage documents a ritual performed by a girl who appears to use human corpses. Emerging in the ritual are Diego Portales and Jaime Guzmán, central figures in the construction of authoritarian and oligarchic Chile.
The 48th edition of the Venice Film Festival took place September 1-11.
