Latin America Triumphs at FIDMarseille

Four Latin American films received awards at the 26th edition of FIDMarseille— one of them winning the highest honor of the festival. Entrelazados / Entangled (pictured left), a Colombian-Italian co-production directed by Italian artist and researcher Riccardo Giacconi, received the Grand Prix of the International Competition. The Georges de Beauregard International Prize was awarded to Santa Teresa & otras historias / Santa Teresa & Other Stories, a Dominican-Mexican-American co-production directed by Nelson de Los Santos Arias.

The Argentinean film Toponimia / Toponimy by Jonathan Perel was awarded with the Camira Prize, while his fellow countryman Daniel Rosenfeld received the Renaud Victor Prize for Al centro de la Tierra / To The Center of The Earth.

During an artist residence in Cali, Colombia, Riccardo Giacconi, the PhD candidate for the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, developed an experimental video documentary in which he explores a quantum physics principle. According to the EPR paradox, if two particles interact in a certain way and then become separated, regardless how distant they are from each other, they will keep sharing information. Thus, Entangled examines the connections between four apparently non-related episodes that supposedly occurred in Cali:  the disappearance of a cow; a form of possession caused by a puppet; the fall of a bus into a river due to a lion on the road; and a paradox in quantum mechanics.

Santa Teresa & Other Stories (pictured right), an experimental hour-long docu-fiction directed by Dominican Republic-born Nelson de los Santos Arias, explores the violence of the Mexican-American frontier. The film is a personal adaptation of one of the chapters of 2666, the posthumous novel of the renowned Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño, which narrates the investigations surrounding the serial murderers of female workers of factories situated in the border, in the fictitious city of Santa Teresa. As part of the award, a DCP copy of the film will be made—it was originally shot in 16 mm.

As part of the Renaud Victor Prize, To the Center of the Earth, directed by Argentine director Daniel Rosenfeld, was chosen among nine films by a voluntary group of inmates. In the film, a 70-year-old villager, Antonio Zuleta, living in Salta, in the north of Argentina, trains his son in how to make films documenting UFO activity around their home village.

The festival took place in the French city of Marseille between June 30 and July 6.

Six Latin American Films Are Competing at FIDMarseille

Six Latin American films, from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Dominican Republic, will participate in the main competition of the 26th edition of FIDMarseille, which will take place June 30-July 6 in France. The competing films are Al centro de la Tierra / To The Center of The Earth (pictured left) by Daniel Rosenfeld and Toponimia / Toponymy by Jonathan Perel, both from Argentina; Rastreador de estatuas / The Monument Hunter by Jerónimo Rodríguez from Chile; Entrelazado / Entangled by Riccardo Giacconi a coproduction from Colombia/Italy; and Retratos de identificaçao / Identification Photos by by Anita Leandro from Brazil; and Santa Teresa & otras historias / Saint Teresa & Other Stories by Nelson de los Santos Arias, a Dominican-Mexican-American co-production.

In To The Center of The Earth, a loving father-son relationship drama by Rosenfeld, in which a 70-year-old villager, Antonio, living in Salta, in the north of Argentina, trains his son in how to make films documenting UFO activity around his home village. At the same time, he seeks out confirmation in Buenos Aires from a specialist that the films he has shot of strange lights in the sky could be records of UFOs.

The theme of Intertwining prevails in Entangled (pictured right) by Italian-born director Riccardo Giacconi in various ways: in the intertwined stories told by several characters – a puppeteer, a psychic, a tailor and a scientist, who all happen to live in Cali, Colombia; in the interweaving of images and a sound that makes us hear the usually inaudible; in the connection to quantum physics, in which two particles, however distant, may share information, thus challenging the theory of relativity.

Rodríguez’s documentary essay film The Monument Hunter follows Jorge, a Chilean filmmaker living in New York, who decides to seek a statue of a Portuguese neurologist in a park in Chile, a curious investigation begins in the streets of Santiago, Brooklyn and Lisbon, but also through the history of his native country and his own family memory – for which he tries to fill in the gaps.

Identification Photos directed by Leandro tells the story of four Brazilian former guerrillas get their first glimpse of police identification photos taken after their respective arrests during the military dictatorship. The past resurfaces through the images, and with it comes a story of crimes so far unaccounted for.

Saint Teresa & Other Stories by Dominican director de los Santos evokes the reality of the Mexican border, its violence, its vagueness – by trying to render it as justice. The filmmaker has chosen to adapt, in his own way, a chapter from the renowned unfinished book, 2666 by Roberto Bolaño.

In Perel’s Toponymy (pictured left) -named after the discipline that studies the etymological origin of place names- the filmmaker revisits a series of towns in Argentina that were founded by the military government during the mid-70s to violently repress the local guerrilla insurgence.

Lerman's REFUGIADO Wins Argentina's Silver Condors

Diego Lerman’s Refugiado (pictured) beat out Wild Tales / Relatos salvajes last night, taking home the top prize at the 63rd Silver Condor Awards in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is writer-director Lerman’s fourth feature-length film and while this is not Lerman’s first time to the Silver Condors, this marks his first big win. His previous films, Suddenly (2002), Mientras tanto (2006) and The Invisible Eye (2010), all took home acting prizes in previous Silver Condor Awards. Lerman also won Best Original Screenplay and lead actress, Julieta Díaz, took home the prize for Best Actress.

The realist drama follows a mother and her young son as they flee an abusive husband and father.

Although Wild Tales (pictured right) didn’t take home the top prize, the Damián Szifron feature and Almodóvar brothers production still won in seven of the eleven categories it was nominated in, making it the film with most wins total. Some of the awards included, Best Director, Best Original Music and Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for Oscar Martínez and Érica Rivas respectively.

Wild Tales is a black comedy split into six shorts in which the character walk a thin line between civilization and brutality. Each short telling a story of revenge and losing control.

Other notable winners were the Paraguayan film 7 cajas / 7 Boxes for Best Ibero-American Film, Jauja for Best Cinematography, Betibú for Best Adapted-Screenplay, Agustín Toscano and Ezequiel Raduzky’s Los dueños / The Owners for Best First Film, and Martín Turnes’ Pichuco for Best Documentary.

The Silver Condor Awards are given annually by the Argentine Film Critics Association. This year’s ceremony took place in Buenos Aires on June 22, 2015.

Pioneering Salvadoran Filmmaker Alejandro Cotto Dies at 86

Pioneering Salvadoran filmmaker Alejandro Cotto passed away last Saturday, June 6, in his house situated in Suchitoto, at the age of 86. He was known for his major works in film during the fities and is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers for the production of national and international Salvadorian cinema for his successful depiction and representation of the poverty and realities of El Salvador through cinema.

He was born in 1928 in Suchitoto, where he spent the majority of his life and career. He received a college scholarship in Mexico where he studied with some of the leading filmmakers at the time including Emilio Fernández, Julio Bracho and Luis Buñuel with whom he would go on to collaborate with later in his career. His earliest and greatest influences are photographer Gabriel Figueroa. Some of his later accomplishments and contributions include preserving the culture and history of El Salvador and especially his native place of birth, Suchitoto.

Two of his first productions are Festival in Suchitoto / Festival en Suchitoto (1950) and Symphony of My People / Sinfonía de mi pueblo (1951). One of his most popular and most recognized films include The Face / El rostro (1961) in which his thesis asks the fundamental question of who possesses whom. Such as does the earth possess man or does man possess earth? The Cart of Dreams / El carretón de los sueños (1973) is a documentary in which he portrays the reality of childhood poverty in El Salvador.

In 1979, he initiated A Small Universe / Un universo menor, where he intended to portray the traditions of Suchitoto but because of armed conflict the film was not completed. After this, Alejandro dedicated himself to the ministry of cultural and artistic public works of his town.

He also has a vast experience as prominent public figure of El Salvador. In 1991 he was consultant to the city of El Salvador and he also converted his home into a prominent museum in Suchitoto called “Casa Museo de Alejandro Cotto.” He was honored with the National Tourism Award for all of his accomplishments including his promotional and cultural work in Suchitoto. He was later named the “Son of Suchitoto” for his great labor and work to conserve the patrimony and legacy of the city. Later in his career he is renowned for his successful depiction of El Salvador film and great advocacy to preserve its identity and culture.

Brazilian Short GUIDA Awarded at Annecy

Guida, the short film by Brazilian director Rosana Urbes was presented with the Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for Best First Film at the 2015 edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, which is considered the most prestigious film festival for animated films.

The film, which also won a Special Mention of the FIPRESCI Award, follows Guida, a sweet lady who has been working as a courthouse archivist for 30 years, decides to change her mundane routine when she sees a newspaper ad about life drawing classes at a cultural center.

This is the third year in a row that a Brazilian film is awarded at the Festival, after last year Ale Abreu’s The Boy and the World / O menino e o mundo won both the top prize for Best Film and the Audience Award, and in 2013, Luiz Bolognesie’s Uma história de amor e fúria (Rio 2096) won the Cristal Award for Best Film.

The 2015 edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival took place June 15-25 in France.

Argentinean Filmmaker and Actor Sergio Renán Dies

Acclaimed Argentinean film director, screenwriter and actor Sergio Renán passed away last Saturday, June 13 at the age of 82 in Buenos Aires. He directed the acclaimed film La tregua / The Truce (pictured below right), which became the first Argentine film to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1974.

He was born Samuel Kohan in 1933 to Russian parents in Entre Ríos, Argentina. As a child he played the violin and continued to pursue his artistic talents in music but as a frustrated musician he eventually evolved to screenwriting and directing.

Eventually he became a stage actor, playwright, screenwriter and opera director. His directorial debut in theater was with was Jean Genet’s The Maids in 1970. In 1974 he made his debut feature film La tregua based on Mario Benedetti’s novel. Starring Héctor Alterio and Ana María Picchio, the film follows a man who has to come to terms with his wasted youth, estranged family and grim prospects for the future.

After the success of La tregua, he directed Crecer de golpe / Growing Up Suddenly (1976), Sentimental (1981), and El sueño de los héroes / The Dream of Heroes (1997), among others. The last film he directed was Tres de corazones / Three of Hearts in 2007.

Renán also had an influential career as an actor working on La cifra impar / Odd Number (1962) and Circe (1964) both directed by Manuel Antín, and in Martín Fierro (1968) and Los siete locos / The Seven Madmen (1973) by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson. He was the director of the prestigious Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires between 1989 and 1996, and shortly in 2000. In March 2011 he was honored with the title of Illustrious Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires.