(From left to right) Producer and DP Rodrigo Michelangeli; Miami International Film Festival's Jaie Laplante and director Jorge Thielen Armand (Photo courtesy of the Miami International Film Festival).
The Venezuelan film La Soledad was the most popular film at the 34th Miami International Film Festival, winning the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. Having its North American premiere in the Jordan Ressler Screenwriting Competition of the festival, the directorial debut by Jorge Thielen Armand was scheduled for a second screening following its successful premiere screening at the Tower Theater.
After Venice, Cartagena, and Miami, La Soledad will continue its successful film festival run with upcoming screenings at the 41st Atlanta Film Festival, March 24-April 2; the 48th Nashville Film Festival, April 20-29; and at the 31st Chicago Latino Film Festival, April 20 – May 4. Additional engagements at other international film festivals will be announced in the next few weeks.
Hailed as ”affectionate, sometimes humorous, sometimes poetic and ultimately devastating” (RogerEbert.com), Thielen Armand’s hypnotic blend of fiction and a documentary-like style looks beyond the headlines and gives a voice to those affected by contemporary Venezuela’s inner turmoil. La Soledad is the story of José, a young father who discovers that the dilapidated mansion he squats in will soon be demolished. Desperate to save his family from homelessness, José embarks on a mystical search for a cursed treasure that is rumored to be buried in the house.
Based on the filmmaker’s family and childhood home, most of the characters are played by his real friends and family members. Supported by the Biennale College program of the Venice Film Festival, Thielen Armand’s lyrical debut feature offers an poignant allegory of the reality of today's Venezuela, which like his childhood home, seems forgotten in time and inhabited by people who have hope but who are not provided with opportunities.
