1976 by Manuela Martelli
Directors’ Fortnight, the non-competitive independent parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival, has unveiled this morning the lineup for its 54th edition, which boasts 23 features films including two Latin American productions: 1976 by Manuela Martelli from Chile and A Male / Un varón by Fabián Hernández from Colombia.
Recently awarded the Grand Prix in the Cinéma en Construction competition at the Toulouse Latin American Film Festival, the debut feature by actor-director Martelli is set in 1976 in Chile. Starring Aline Kuppenheim, Nicolás Sepúlveda, Hugo Medina, and Alejandro Goic, the film follows Carmen as she heads off to the beach, to supervise the renovation of her family’s house. When the family priest asks her to take care of a young man he is sheltering in secret, Carmen steps onto uncharted waters, away from the quiet life she is used to.
A Male, the debut feature film by Hernández, tells the story of Carlos, who faces the rite of passage to become a man as he turns 16, amidst the threatening men in his environment. Concerned about his mother and sister, he forces himself to display a type of masculinity imposed by his social context, which is also a threat to himself. In private, Carlos explores his sensitivity, his fragility, and everything “real men” do not show. Carlos must choose between the streets in a slum in Bogotá, or following the beat of his contradictions. He dreams of Christmas Eve with his family, unaware that his life will be on the edge
