Black Hole by Diego Araujo
Maravilla, the New York-based organization dedicated to raising awareness of Latin America through films and the arts, has announced the fourth annual edition of the Ecuadorian Film Festival in New York (EFFNY), which will take place October 25 through November 4 in three different venues in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens: Teatro SEA in Manhattan; the Queens Museum; and Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen in Brooklyn.
The competitive film festival, presented in partnership with the New York based community and media outlet Ecuayorker, it’s the first of its kind in the world dedicated to showcasing and celebrating the burgeoning cinema of Ecuador.
This year’s line-up is composed of five feature films: 52’’ from award winner film-maker Javier Andrade, a compelling chronicle of the devastation produced by the 2016 earthquake that hit Ecuador; Agujero negro / Black Hole, directed by Diego Araujo, an audience pleaser in native Ecuador, a dramatic comedy about a writer and his new responsibilities; Torero, a documentary by Nora Salgado about bullfighter Cruz Ordoñez, who has to confront a midlife crisis and the latter years of his career.
Rounding up this year’s selection is Cenizas a dramatic narrative by young filmmaker Juan Sebastián Jácome about a the conflicts between a daughter and her father, as the Cotopaxi volcano spews ash, issuing an eerie penumbra over Quito, Ecuador’s capital; Contragolpe, an emotional documentary about a small soccer club, Independiente, which reaches the final at South America’s most important tournament.
These five titles will be competing for the festival’s two awards: the Best Film Jury Award and the Audience Award. Accompanying the feature films, EFFNY will also be screening seven short films: Ruta viva by Sebastián Rea and Courtney Baxter, Alex, Listen to Your Heart by Dorian Cambi, Sospecha by Pablo Fiallos, El utilero by Andrés Cornejo, Como un pez fuera del agua by Priscila Zumárraga, Manuela by Jesahel Newton, and Capitán Escudo by Beto Valencia and Diego Castillo.
