The Colombian film Land and Shade / La Tierra y la sombra, the debut feature by César Augusto Acevedo was the winner of the New Auteurs Grand Jury Award, the top prize at the 2015 edition of the AFI FEST in Los Angeles. The film had its world premiere at the International Critics’ Week of the Cannes Film Festival last May, where it was presented the Caméra d’Or Award for Best First Film.
Land and Shade tells the story of Alfonso, an old farmer who has returned home to tend to his son, who is gravely ill. He rediscovers his old house, where the woman who was once his wife still lives, with his daughter-in-law and grandson. The landscape that awaits him resembles a wasteland. Vast sugar cane plantations surround the house, producing perpetual clouds of ash. 17 years after abandoning them, Alfonso tries to fit back in and save his family. The film was picked by Outsider Pictures for U.S distribution.
Additionally, the Venezuelan film Desde allá / From Afar, the debut feature by Lorenzo Vigas was presented by with the Special Jury Mention for Screenplay.
