Anhell69 by Theo Montoya
The Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA), honoring social impact storytelling, highlighting eye-opening documentary filmmaking and XR/Interactive experiences that exemplify excellence in their potential to inspire social change, have announced the nominees for its 12th edition, which includes four Latin American films from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Chile.
The Colombian documentary Anhell69, directed by Theo Montoya explores the dreams, doubts, and fears of an annihilated generation, and the struggle to carry on making cinema. A funeral car cruises the streets of Medellín, while a young director tells the story of his past in this violent and conservative city.
Montoya remembers the pre-production of his first film. The young queer scene of Medellín is cast for the film, but the main protagonist dies of a heroin overdose at the age of 21, just like many friends of the director. Anhell69 had its world premiere as part of the 37th edition of the Venice International Film Critics’ Week, the independent parallel section of the Venice Film Festival.
The Chilean documentary The Eternal Memory / La memoria infinita is the fifth feature film by Academy Award-nominated director Maite Alberdi. The documentary tells a profound and moving love story that balances vibrant individual and collective remembrance with the longevity of an unbreakable human bond. It follows Augusto and Paulina, who have been together and in love for 25 years.
Eight years ago, their lives were forever changed when Augusto was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As one of Chile’s most prominent cultural commentators and television presenters, Augusto is no stranger to building archives of memory. The documentary won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023.
The Brazilian film Samuel and the Light, the debut feature by Vinícius Girnys, follows a village and the changes it faces. Samuel, a young child, lives in a small fishing village on the coast of Paraty, between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. At first, the idyllic daily life set the tone of the film. The arrival of electricity and tourism in the village enhances the deconstruction of an idealized paradise.
At the Guadalajara International Film Festival, Samuel and the Light received the FEISAL Award for Best Film and the Best Ibero-American Documentary Feature Award, an Academy Awards Oscars 2024 qualifier price.
The Costa Rican short Between Earth and Sky directed by Andrew Nadkarni follows an ecologist’s quest to answer questions on her research but also her life. For her entire professional life, renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni pioneered climbing techniques to study what grows back after an ecological disturbance in the rainforest canopy. After surviving a life-threatening fall from a tree, she must turn her research question onto herself to understand the effects of disturbance and recovery throughout her life.
SIMA winners will be announced on February 8, 2024.
