A muddily solemn study of refugees at an Amazonian intersection of nationalities — and other existential states — turns quite literally luminous in “Los Silencios,” a sensitively observed, patience-rewarding sophomore feature from Brazilian writer-director Beatriz Seigner. Though the ongoing tragedy of the Colombian armed conflict weighs heavily on this intimate portrait of a family riven by it, Seigner’s film isn’t politically portentous. Instead, it uses topical scene-setting for a more lyrical meditation on the liminal nature of refugee identity, drifting into the supernatural to ponder the everyday struggle of living with death in more ways than one. Modest in form but enlarged with strength of feeling and increasingly striking visuals, this Cannes Directors’ Fortnight highlight isn’t an obvious commercial play, but should accumulate boutique distributor interest as it moves calmly through the festival circuit.
After Seigner’s jaunty 2010 debut “Bollywood Dream,” which followed a trio of Brazilian actresses attempting...
After Seigner’s jaunty 2010 debut “Bollywood Dream,” which followed a trio of Brazilian actresses attempting...
- 5/18/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Red carpet protest highlighted fact only 82 women have been honoured in Official Selection over 71 editions of festival.
Cate Blanchett and Agnes Varda led 82 female industry figures in a silent ascent of the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday protesting the lack of female representation at the event over its 71 editions.
Moving, historic, 82 women from all countries and professions in cinema have just made the red carpet entrance for Les Filles Du Soleil (Girls Of The Sun) by Eva Husson. #Cannes2018 #Competition pic.twitter.com/0YY9SNbRqg
— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) May 12, 2018
Other stars joining the protest...
Cate Blanchett and Agnes Varda led 82 female industry figures in a silent ascent of the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday protesting the lack of female representation at the event over its 71 editions.
Moving, historic, 82 women from all countries and professions in cinema have just made the red carpet entrance for Les Filles Du Soleil (Girls Of The Sun) by Eva Husson. #Cannes2018 #Competition pic.twitter.com/0YY9SNbRqg
— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) May 12, 2018
Other stars joining the protest...
- 5/12/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
“Land and Shade” follows Alfonso (Haimer Leal), a humble farmer who returns to the sugarcane fields of rural Colombia to tend to his estranged, gravely ill son (Edison Raigosa). Alfonso sees the woman that was once his wife for the first time in years, along with his daughter-in-law and his grandson, but he also must confront the trauma and devastation that he abandoned so many years ago. Industrial progress has ruined the land, perpetual clouds of ash fill the air, and all the while, Alfonso’s family still want to remain. The film also stars Hilda Ruiz, Marleyda Soto, and Felipe Cárdenas. See an exclusive clip from the film above featuring Alfonso discussing the presence of ash.
Read More: The Complete Cannes 2015 Film Guide
“Land and Shade” is the debut film from Colombian director César Augusto Acevedo. The screenplay for “Land and Shade” was his graduate thesis at Universidad del Valle’s School of Social Communications. The film premiered during the International Critics’ Week section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Camera D’Or award, presented to the best first feature film, as well as the France 4 Visionary Award and Sacd Award. It was also the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 AFI Film Festival. The film will be distributed by Outsider Pictures in the United States.
“Land and Shade” will open at the Village East Cinema in New York on June 17, 2016.
Read More: Here’s How the AFI Fest 2015 Filmmakers Funded Their Films
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Related storiesIndiewire's 2016 Cannes Critics Poll Results: A Strong Year for WomenNicolas Winding Refn To Produce Remake of Giallo Film 'What Have You Done To Solange?'The 2016 Indiewire Cannes Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival...
Read More: The Complete Cannes 2015 Film Guide
“Land and Shade” is the debut film from Colombian director César Augusto Acevedo. The screenplay for “Land and Shade” was his graduate thesis at Universidad del Valle’s School of Social Communications. The film premiered during the International Critics’ Week section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Camera D’Or award, presented to the best first feature film, as well as the France 4 Visionary Award and Sacd Award. It was also the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 AFI Film Festival. The film will be distributed by Outsider Pictures in the United States.
“Land and Shade” will open at the Village East Cinema in New York on June 17, 2016.
Read More: Here’s How the AFI Fest 2015 Filmmakers Funded Their Films
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Related storiesIndiewire's 2016 Cannes Critics Poll Results: A Strong Year for WomenNicolas Winding Refn To Produce Remake of Giallo Film 'What Have You Done To Solange?'The 2016 Indiewire Cannes Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival...
- 6/15/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
The International Film Festival in Guadalajara (FICG31) celebrated its 31th anniversary this year and moved to the center of town, a move toward regaining its early luster within the galaxy of younger festivals now competing for resources in México. With its myriad of activities beyond the mere programming of films, its mentoring other festivals such as Puerto Vallarta and Oaxaca, I would give it two thumbs up.
On Friday, March 11, it announced its awards and officially announced next year’s Guest of Honor, Germany, closing with the German film, Doris Dörrie’s “Fukushima Mon Amour” (Isa: The Match Factory). This film is a deeply moving homage to the spirit of humanity, recovery and love as a German clown, played by Rosalie Thomass and her clown partners, the wonderful Moshe Cohen of San Francisco and Nami Kamata, visit the people remaining at the devastated town of Fukushima and Rosalie bonds with the last geisha of Fukushima played by the beautiful Aya Irizuki. It premiered at the Panorama of the Berlinale where Doris won the C.I.C.A.E. Award and the Heiner Carow Prize.
Official Competition Winners FICG31
Mezcal Award for Best Mexican Film to “Maquinaria Panamericana”/ “Panamerican Machinery”
Mezcal jury
The jury consists of 30 students from related fields from universities or major schools of Mexico, Latin American, Europe and Canada. Serving as a sort of tutor, Jose Ramon Mikelajauregui, Director of Dis was responsible for the academic program held at FICG31.
The Mezcal Award consisting of 500,000 Mexican pesos went to the director, Joaquín del Paso for “Maquinaria Panamericana”/ “Panamerican Machinery”, a portrait of an inefficient factory on the edge of Mexico City where the workers lock themselves in when the owner is found dead in the back of the warehouse and they discover he has been bankrolling the wages out of his own pocket for years.
A coproduction of Mantarraya Producciones, it also won the Fipresci Prize at its premiere in the Forum of the Berlinale. International sales agent (Isa) is the new Paris-based sales and co-production company Luxbox whose
co-ceo Fiorella Moretti was formerly head of sales at Ndm, the Mexico City-based sales company she set up with director Carlos Reygadas and producer Jaime Romandia of Mantarraya Productions in 2012 to sell “Post Tenebras Lux”.
Co-ceo Hédi Zardi previously worked in sales for Fortissimo and went on to Unifrance, the French cinema promotions agency and then to the PR and events company Le Public Systeme, where he was in charge of industry initiatives at Marrakesh and Deauville festivals.
The pair got to know one another through Gabriel Ripstein’s “600 Miles”, winner of the best first feature last year at the Berlinale, which Zardi associate produced and Moretti sold.
Special Mention went to “Margarita” directed by Bruno Santamaría Razo
Infinitum Aaward Grante dby the Public, consisting of 150,000 pesos, went to " El Charro de Toluquilla" (Isa: Imcine) by José Villalobos Romero, a doc about mariachi singer Jaime Garcia Dominguez who became fascinated by the recklessness and ladies´ man lifestyle of the classic Mexican movie characters with one difference: he´s got HIV. Jaime faces an inner maturing process as he decides between keeping this lifestyle or becoming a family man. It also won the award for Best Iberoamerican Documentary of 150,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the director.
Best Latin American Fiction Film consisting of 250,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars went to the production company of Felipe Guerrero’s film “ Oscuro animal”, about three women forced to flee their homes in a war torn region in Colombia. The film also won Best Actress Award (s) for Marleyda Soto, Luisa Galiano and Jocelyn Vides Meneses and Best Photography Award to Fernando Lockett.
A coproduction of Argentina, Greece, Netherlands, Germany and Colombia, it is being sold internationally by FiGa. It previously played in the Rotterdam Film Festival’s Tiger Competition and Ficci Cartagena 2016’s Official Dramatic Competition. At the Berlinale’s Efm 2016 it was part of the World Cinema Fund’s First Look section. Financing for the film came from Colombia’s Proimágenes, Argentina’s Incaa, Netherlands’ Hubert Bals Fund, Fundación Typa, and Germany’s Nrw and World Cinema Fund.
It also won the award for Award for Best Iberoamerican Director consisting off 150,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars, because “almost wordlessly it portrays a complex and painful situation in Colombia which is all too common in Latin America.”
Special Feature Film Jury Award Iberoamerican Fiction of 125,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars, went to the production company of “The 4th Company”/ ”La 4a Compañía” by Amir Galván Cervera and Mitzi Vanessa Arreola, based upon a true story about an underdog prison (American-style) football team that, against all odds, wins against the police force team. The jury stated that it “considers it a cinematic achievement about a shameful moment in the history of Mexico to be remembered and not to be repeated”. Adrian Thief also won for Best Actor, and he is that! There is no Isa of record, so those ISAs reading this should check it out on Cinando! It’s a seller!
Award for Best Latin American Film of 125,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars went to the superb debuting director from Puerto Rico, Angel Manuel Soto for“La Granja”/ “The Farm”. Also the first film produced independently by Tom Davia’s Cinemaven (but check out his credits!), this film is a full-circle “Crash”-style story that rivals “Gemorrah” in its look at the barrio called “The Farm” or “La Granja” in which the lives of a midwife, a young boxer, a janitor, a mute kid and a young couple collide in a story about the desperate pursuit of happiness on the mean streets of La Granja. Shot on a budget of $250,000, this film took four years to complete as the Puerto Rican government film establishment sought to block its production and release – and you can see why. It previously played in Fantastic Fest.
This is another discovery film with no Isa, and I am sure the agents have already locked their eyes upon writer-director Angel Manuel Soto. He lives in Los Angeles. “Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Son of a car salesman and a flight attendant. Studied architecture and advertising. Always loved films. Now he makes them. He is a cinephile. He travels all over the world doing it, including Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, France, USA, and Puerto Rico. He is not planning on stopping.”
Best Screenplay Award went to Marina Seresesky for “La Puerta Abierta”/ “Open Door” (pictured above). Marina also directed this first film. She has made two shorts previously. After Ficg it will play at Sofia Iff 2016 in International Competition, San Diego Latino 2016 and Chicago Latino 2016 Film Festivals.
Movies Recommended for Selection for the Golden Globes Awards 2017 are “The 4th Company” and “Ciudades Desiertas” / “Deserted Cities” by Roberto Sneider.
Documentary Jury Special Award of 100,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the director Jorge Caballero for“Patient”/ "Paciente" Isa Rise and Shine, a new company in Germany, picked up the film at its world premiere in Competition at Idfa.
Best Iberoamerican Short Film Award D of 75,000 pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the directors Miguel de Olaso and Bruno Zacharias for the 10 minute short “ Los Angeles 1991”.
Special Mention went to “Juan's Sundown”/ "El Ocaso de Juan" by Omar Deneb Vargas Juárez
Rigo Mora Award for Best Mexican Animated Short Film of 100,000 Mexican pesos went to the director Alejandro Rios for “ The Cats”/"Los Gatos."
Maguey Award for best Lgbt film went to "Theo et Hugo dans le meme bateau"/ "Paris 05:59" of France, directed by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.
Special Mention went to “Neon Bull” of Brazil, directed by Gabriel Mascaro for its poetic and innovative illustrating of how traditional ideas of masculinity slowly have been made obsolete inviting us to question our own perspectives on gender bias.
After the Awards, Ficg gave a great closing night party. Lots of good people, new and old friends, great salsa band, danced til 3! Here’s me with my friend David Martinez of Raindance Film Festival. Coming from Guadalajara, living in London, this year he came home with Elliot Grove of Founder and Director of Raindance, and Aaron Wileman of Imaginative Exposure who gave a Master Class on Film Funds and Product Placement.
And of course I presented my own book in its abridged, Spanish language format, published by the University of Guadalajara Press, Cine Iberoamerican Industria y financiamiento por pais (Iberoamerican Cinema: Industry and Financing by Country). Read more about it here.
On Friday, March 11, it announced its awards and officially announced next year’s Guest of Honor, Germany, closing with the German film, Doris Dörrie’s “Fukushima Mon Amour” (Isa: The Match Factory). This film is a deeply moving homage to the spirit of humanity, recovery and love as a German clown, played by Rosalie Thomass and her clown partners, the wonderful Moshe Cohen of San Francisco and Nami Kamata, visit the people remaining at the devastated town of Fukushima and Rosalie bonds with the last geisha of Fukushima played by the beautiful Aya Irizuki. It premiered at the Panorama of the Berlinale where Doris won the C.I.C.A.E. Award and the Heiner Carow Prize.
Official Competition Winners FICG31
Mezcal Award for Best Mexican Film to “Maquinaria Panamericana”/ “Panamerican Machinery”
Mezcal jury
The jury consists of 30 students from related fields from universities or major schools of Mexico, Latin American, Europe and Canada. Serving as a sort of tutor, Jose Ramon Mikelajauregui, Director of Dis was responsible for the academic program held at FICG31.
The Mezcal Award consisting of 500,000 Mexican pesos went to the director, Joaquín del Paso for “Maquinaria Panamericana”/ “Panamerican Machinery”, a portrait of an inefficient factory on the edge of Mexico City where the workers lock themselves in when the owner is found dead in the back of the warehouse and they discover he has been bankrolling the wages out of his own pocket for years.
A coproduction of Mantarraya Producciones, it also won the Fipresci Prize at its premiere in the Forum of the Berlinale. International sales agent (Isa) is the new Paris-based sales and co-production company Luxbox whose
co-ceo Fiorella Moretti was formerly head of sales at Ndm, the Mexico City-based sales company she set up with director Carlos Reygadas and producer Jaime Romandia of Mantarraya Productions in 2012 to sell “Post Tenebras Lux”.
Co-ceo Hédi Zardi previously worked in sales for Fortissimo and went on to Unifrance, the French cinema promotions agency and then to the PR and events company Le Public Systeme, where he was in charge of industry initiatives at Marrakesh and Deauville festivals.
The pair got to know one another through Gabriel Ripstein’s “600 Miles”, winner of the best first feature last year at the Berlinale, which Zardi associate produced and Moretti sold.
Special Mention went to “Margarita” directed by Bruno Santamaría Razo
Infinitum Aaward Grante dby the Public, consisting of 150,000 pesos, went to " El Charro de Toluquilla" (Isa: Imcine) by José Villalobos Romero, a doc about mariachi singer Jaime Garcia Dominguez who became fascinated by the recklessness and ladies´ man lifestyle of the classic Mexican movie characters with one difference: he´s got HIV. Jaime faces an inner maturing process as he decides between keeping this lifestyle or becoming a family man. It also won the award for Best Iberoamerican Documentary of 150,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the director.
Best Latin American Fiction Film consisting of 250,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars went to the production company of Felipe Guerrero’s film “ Oscuro animal”, about three women forced to flee their homes in a war torn region in Colombia. The film also won Best Actress Award (s) for Marleyda Soto, Luisa Galiano and Jocelyn Vides Meneses and Best Photography Award to Fernando Lockett.
A coproduction of Argentina, Greece, Netherlands, Germany and Colombia, it is being sold internationally by FiGa. It previously played in the Rotterdam Film Festival’s Tiger Competition and Ficci Cartagena 2016’s Official Dramatic Competition. At the Berlinale’s Efm 2016 it was part of the World Cinema Fund’s First Look section. Financing for the film came from Colombia’s Proimágenes, Argentina’s Incaa, Netherlands’ Hubert Bals Fund, Fundación Typa, and Germany’s Nrw and World Cinema Fund.
It also won the award for Award for Best Iberoamerican Director consisting off 150,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars, because “almost wordlessly it portrays a complex and painful situation in Colombia which is all too common in Latin America.”
Special Feature Film Jury Award Iberoamerican Fiction of 125,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars, went to the production company of “The 4th Company”/ ”La 4a Compañía” by Amir Galván Cervera and Mitzi Vanessa Arreola, based upon a true story about an underdog prison (American-style) football team that, against all odds, wins against the police force team. The jury stated that it “considers it a cinematic achievement about a shameful moment in the history of Mexico to be remembered and not to be repeated”. Adrian Thief also won for Best Actor, and he is that! There is no Isa of record, so those ISAs reading this should check it out on Cinando! It’s a seller!
Award for Best Latin American Film of 125,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars went to the superb debuting director from Puerto Rico, Angel Manuel Soto for“La Granja”/ “The Farm”. Also the first film produced independently by Tom Davia’s Cinemaven (but check out his credits!), this film is a full-circle “Crash”-style story that rivals “Gemorrah” in its look at the barrio called “The Farm” or “La Granja” in which the lives of a midwife, a young boxer, a janitor, a mute kid and a young couple collide in a story about the desperate pursuit of happiness on the mean streets of La Granja. Shot on a budget of $250,000, this film took four years to complete as the Puerto Rican government film establishment sought to block its production and release – and you can see why. It previously played in Fantastic Fest.
This is another discovery film with no Isa, and I am sure the agents have already locked their eyes upon writer-director Angel Manuel Soto. He lives in Los Angeles. “Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Son of a car salesman and a flight attendant. Studied architecture and advertising. Always loved films. Now he makes them. He is a cinephile. He travels all over the world doing it, including Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, France, USA, and Puerto Rico. He is not planning on stopping.”
Best Screenplay Award went to Marina Seresesky for “La Puerta Abierta”/ “Open Door” (pictured above). Marina also directed this first film. She has made two shorts previously. After Ficg it will play at Sofia Iff 2016 in International Competition, San Diego Latino 2016 and Chicago Latino 2016 Film Festivals.
Movies Recommended for Selection for the Golden Globes Awards 2017 are “The 4th Company” and “Ciudades Desiertas” / “Deserted Cities” by Roberto Sneider.
Documentary Jury Special Award of 100,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the director Jorge Caballero for“Patient”/ "Paciente" Isa Rise and Shine, a new company in Germany, picked up the film at its world premiere in Competition at Idfa.
Best Iberoamerican Short Film Award D of 75,000 pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the directors Miguel de Olaso and Bruno Zacharias for the 10 minute short “ Los Angeles 1991”.
Special Mention went to “Juan's Sundown”/ "El Ocaso de Juan" by Omar Deneb Vargas Juárez
Rigo Mora Award for Best Mexican Animated Short Film of 100,000 Mexican pesos went to the director Alejandro Rios for “ The Cats”/"Los Gatos."
Maguey Award for best Lgbt film went to "Theo et Hugo dans le meme bateau"/ "Paris 05:59" of France, directed by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.
Special Mention went to “Neon Bull” of Brazil, directed by Gabriel Mascaro for its poetic and innovative illustrating of how traditional ideas of masculinity slowly have been made obsolete inviting us to question our own perspectives on gender bias.
After the Awards, Ficg gave a great closing night party. Lots of good people, new and old friends, great salsa band, danced til 3! Here’s me with my friend David Martinez of Raindance Film Festival. Coming from Guadalajara, living in London, this year he came home with Elliot Grove of Founder and Director of Raindance, and Aaron Wileman of Imaginative Exposure who gave a Master Class on Film Funds and Product Placement.
And of course I presented my own book in its abridged, Spanish language format, published by the University of Guadalajara Press, Cine Iberoamerican Industria y financiamiento por pais (Iberoamerican Cinema: Industry and Financing by Country). Read more about it here.
- 3/17/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
A pair of sections that we’ve been covering almost since its inception, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced their selections for the New Auteurs and American Independents line-ups and we’ve got a noteworthy, eyebrow-raising sampling of award-winning items from the Cannes played hellish immigration drama Mediterranea from Jonas Carpignano to Sundance (Josh Mond’s James White) to SXSW (Trey Edward Shults’ Krisha) winners. Since Park City days, our Nicholas Bell has reviewed a good chunk of these titles, but we’ll still likely have a couple of more reviews once the festival begins. Here are the selections and jury members.
New Auteurs Selections (11 Titles)
From Afar – When a middle-aged man is assaulted and robbed by a young criminal, an unlikely relationship develops. Dir Lorenzo Vigas. Scr Lorenzo Vigas. Cast Alfredo Castro and Luis Silva. Venezuela/Mexico. U.S. Premiere
Disorder – Matthias Schoenaerts plays an ex-soldier who becomes locked...
New Auteurs Selections (11 Titles)
From Afar – When a middle-aged man is assaulted and robbed by a young criminal, an unlikely relationship develops. Dir Lorenzo Vigas. Scr Lorenzo Vigas. Cast Alfredo Castro and Luis Silva. Venezuela/Mexico. U.S. Premiere
Disorder – Matthias Schoenaerts plays an ex-soldier who becomes locked...
- 10/15/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Following the unveling of the Official Selection, news from the Cannes Film Festival (May 13-24) continues to arrive. The prestigious Critics' Week –aimed at discovering the world's most interesting directors– announced the list of films to be included in the 54th edition of this event, one of the Festival's most important, along with the Directors' Fortnight.
The big news for Colombia is the selection of director/screenwriter César Augusto Acevedo's first film, "La Tierra y la Sombra" (Land and Shade), one of the seven feature films chosen to compete from among 1,100 submissions from around the world. The film was produced by Jorge Forero, Paola Pérez Nieto and Diana Bustamante, partners and founding members of Burning Blue, the production company responsible for some of the most internationally recognized films to come out of Colombia in recent years ("El vuelco del Cangrejo," "La Playa D.C," "La Sirga," "Solecito," "Los Hongos," "Climas," "Refugiado," and many others).
In "La Tierra y la Sombra," a woman refuses to give up the land she has fought to defend all her life; a son is incapable of leaving his mother, to the point of risking his own life; a father must confront past mistakes in order to recover the loved ones he abandoned; a brave wife fights to save her family; and a child grows up in the midst of devastation. Staged in a family microcosm –a tiny house and a tree surrounded by a formidable sugar cane filed–, the film presents the final days of these characters intent on repairing the fragile ties that bind them as they face their own imminent demise in the overwhelming wake of progress. Out of this situation comes a cruel story, densely populated with metaphors and allegories for culture, the fatality of alienation and oblivion, the fragility of memory, the inevitability of family breakdown, and the solitude it provokes.
The film was produced by Burning Blue (Colombia) in co-production with Ciné-Sud Promotion (France), Tokapi Films (Holland), Rampante Films (Chile), and Preta Portê Filmes (Brazil). In addition to director/screenwriter Cesar Acevedo, the film's crew included cinematographer Mateo Guzmán; editor Miguel Schverdfinger; art director Marcela Gómez; actor trainer Fátima Toledo; and soundman Felipe Rayo. The film stars Haimer Leal as Alfonso; Hilda Ruiz as Alicia; Edison Raigosa as Alfonso's and Alicia's son Gerardo; Marleyda Soto as Gerardo's wife Esperanza; and Felipe Cárdenas as Gerardo's and Esperanza's son Manuel.
According to César Acevedo: "The idea for this film was born of personal pain. At the time I began writing the screenplay my mother was dead, my father was a ghost, and given my inability to generate memories, they seemed completely lost to me. Thus arose my need to make a film that would allow me to recover the two most important people in my life, using the language of film. What I intended at the time was a reflection on our lives together, and what they might have been, based on the most private, the most important elements of this relationship. I believed that only by returning to my roots would I be able to face what I'd forgotten. This led to my decision to create a microcosm consisting of a small house and a tree, where I could somehow be reunited with those I loved most."
That was just the beginning, however, and the film couldn't remain tied to this initial concept with time tugging it in another direction. Acevedo continues: "As I began writing the screenplay I realized that the house was inhabited by ghosts, who drifted through the rooms, incapable of speech, unrecognizable to each other. It took a long time to accept that what I was trying to accomplish was impossible, simply because everything I was looking for had disappeared with them. So I distanced myself from the original intention with the sole purpose of better developing my characters and the film's conflict and the idea arose of telling the story of a dysfunctional family's attempt to repair the ties that bind them, just before being separated for good. Not only are they forced to confront the feelings of others, but, more challenging still, they discover feelings they never knew existed, or never suspected they harbored. "
Burning Blue: Spearheading the Internationalization of Colombian Cinema
After participating in the 65th Berlin Film Festival's Forum less than two months ago with Jorge Forero's film "Violence," Burning Blue is proud to announces the inclusion of "La Tierra y la Sombra" in the Cannes Festival's Critics' Week. This selection confirms Burning Blue's role as key Colombian representative in major film events around the world.
Burning Blue's efforts to produce daring films focusing on the value and power of stories, and construction of self-sustaining formats to achieve significant results internationally, allowing Colombian films to be seen worldwide, are examples of the creativity and innovation in Latin America productions and prove that Burning Blue has succeeded in asserting itself in a depressed market with a new vision that provides transcendent stories.
The successful start-up of a co-production model allowing films to work with partners in France, Germany, Poland and Holland –not to mention Latin America, where they have co-produced with Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brazil; the presence of the company's films in more than 200 festivals, with commercial releases in countries like the Us, Greece, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Eastern Europe, and several African nations (as well as co-producing countries); an the company's presence at the Cannes Film Festival in four consecutive years (co-producers of Argentine director Diego Lerman's "Refugiado" in 2014; co-producers of Oscar Ruíz Navia's short film "Solecito" at the 2013 Director's Fortnight; and producers of William Vega's "La Sirga" and Juan Andrés Arango's "La Playa D.C." included in the 2012 Director's Fortnight and Certain Regard sections, respectively) make Burning Blue Colombia's most visible presence on the global film market.
Although Burning Blue has achieved major recognition for its films on the international market, the company aspires, above all, to participate in the creation of films by and for Colombians and, in even more romantically ambitious terms, the creation of Latin American cinema for the Latin American subcontinent. The stories told, therefore, speak profoundly of the continent's many different peoples and uncover the traditions, imagery, dreams, desires, fears and problems facing these richly diverse, passionate, and complex cultures. To this end, Burning Blue hopes to harness the favorable international attention garnered to date to continually ignite local interest, using international platforms as a springboard to its natural audience: Colombia.
Burning Blue, led by Diana Bustamante, Jorge Forero and Paola Pérez Nieto, is currently developing the feature films "Asilo" (Jaime Osorio Márquez), in co-production with Rhayuela Cine, "Desobsesión" (Jorge Navas), and the co-production "Niño Nadie" (Fernando Guzzoni), produced for Chile's Rampante Films.
Diana Bustamante produced Ciro Guerra's "Los Viajes del Viento" (included in the 2009 Cannes Festival's Certain Regard section) and Oscar Ruiz Navia's "El vuelco del cangrejo" (2009 Toronto Film Festival premiere and Fripresci Award at the 2010 Berlinale Festival and Forum). She also designed and managed Caracol Television's film department from 2008 to 2012, taking more than 20 Colombian feature films from the financing to final promotion stages. She recently became the artistic director of the Cartagena International Film Festival (Ficci), contributing to the success of the festival's 55th edition last March, and is currently working on the 2016 festival.
"La Tierra y la Sombra" - Nothing But Success
The process of creating and financing "La Tierra y la Sombra" allowed the film to mature with assistance from specialists, tutors, and evaluation committees at a number of national and international institutions and festivals, each of them helping to move the film towards its world premiere at the upcoming Cannes Festival.
During the project's development stage it won a development grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund in 2009 and was selected the following year to participate in the Pitch Workshop at Colombia's Cali Film Festival. The project also took part in the Ibero-American Films Crossing Borders event at the 2010 Havana Film Festival and the 2012 Ibero-American Co-Production Meeting at the Huelva Film Festival in Spain.
It was, however, in 2013 that the project became a reality, winning at the Cartagena International Film Festival's Co-Production Meeting, which made it possible to attend the Cannes Marché Du Film. The film went on to win a Casa de las Américas Film Project Development grant from the Carolina Foundation and a production grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund. Also in 2013, the Hubert Bals Fund awarded the project a development grant and the San Sebastian Film Festival selected it for the Co-Production Forum.
The final push came in 2014 when the project was invited to participate in Boost! at the Rotterdam Film Festival in Holland and received production grants from both the Ibermedia and Hubert Bals Funds. Shooting took place in late 2014 with post-production following in early 2015 and, finally, the film's submission, in the company of another 1,100 feature films, to the Cannes Festival.
The big news for Colombia is the selection of director/screenwriter César Augusto Acevedo's first film, "La Tierra y la Sombra" (Land and Shade), one of the seven feature films chosen to compete from among 1,100 submissions from around the world. The film was produced by Jorge Forero, Paola Pérez Nieto and Diana Bustamante, partners and founding members of Burning Blue, the production company responsible for some of the most internationally recognized films to come out of Colombia in recent years ("El vuelco del Cangrejo," "La Playa D.C," "La Sirga," "Solecito," "Los Hongos," "Climas," "Refugiado," and many others).
In "La Tierra y la Sombra," a woman refuses to give up the land she has fought to defend all her life; a son is incapable of leaving his mother, to the point of risking his own life; a father must confront past mistakes in order to recover the loved ones he abandoned; a brave wife fights to save her family; and a child grows up in the midst of devastation. Staged in a family microcosm –a tiny house and a tree surrounded by a formidable sugar cane filed–, the film presents the final days of these characters intent on repairing the fragile ties that bind them as they face their own imminent demise in the overwhelming wake of progress. Out of this situation comes a cruel story, densely populated with metaphors and allegories for culture, the fatality of alienation and oblivion, the fragility of memory, the inevitability of family breakdown, and the solitude it provokes.
The film was produced by Burning Blue (Colombia) in co-production with Ciné-Sud Promotion (France), Tokapi Films (Holland), Rampante Films (Chile), and Preta Portê Filmes (Brazil). In addition to director/screenwriter Cesar Acevedo, the film's crew included cinematographer Mateo Guzmán; editor Miguel Schverdfinger; art director Marcela Gómez; actor trainer Fátima Toledo; and soundman Felipe Rayo. The film stars Haimer Leal as Alfonso; Hilda Ruiz as Alicia; Edison Raigosa as Alfonso's and Alicia's son Gerardo; Marleyda Soto as Gerardo's wife Esperanza; and Felipe Cárdenas as Gerardo's and Esperanza's son Manuel.
According to César Acevedo: "The idea for this film was born of personal pain. At the time I began writing the screenplay my mother was dead, my father was a ghost, and given my inability to generate memories, they seemed completely lost to me. Thus arose my need to make a film that would allow me to recover the two most important people in my life, using the language of film. What I intended at the time was a reflection on our lives together, and what they might have been, based on the most private, the most important elements of this relationship. I believed that only by returning to my roots would I be able to face what I'd forgotten. This led to my decision to create a microcosm consisting of a small house and a tree, where I could somehow be reunited with those I loved most."
That was just the beginning, however, and the film couldn't remain tied to this initial concept with time tugging it in another direction. Acevedo continues: "As I began writing the screenplay I realized that the house was inhabited by ghosts, who drifted through the rooms, incapable of speech, unrecognizable to each other. It took a long time to accept that what I was trying to accomplish was impossible, simply because everything I was looking for had disappeared with them. So I distanced myself from the original intention with the sole purpose of better developing my characters and the film's conflict and the idea arose of telling the story of a dysfunctional family's attempt to repair the ties that bind them, just before being separated for good. Not only are they forced to confront the feelings of others, but, more challenging still, they discover feelings they never knew existed, or never suspected they harbored. "
Burning Blue: Spearheading the Internationalization of Colombian Cinema
After participating in the 65th Berlin Film Festival's Forum less than two months ago with Jorge Forero's film "Violence," Burning Blue is proud to announces the inclusion of "La Tierra y la Sombra" in the Cannes Festival's Critics' Week. This selection confirms Burning Blue's role as key Colombian representative in major film events around the world.
Burning Blue's efforts to produce daring films focusing on the value and power of stories, and construction of self-sustaining formats to achieve significant results internationally, allowing Colombian films to be seen worldwide, are examples of the creativity and innovation in Latin America productions and prove that Burning Blue has succeeded in asserting itself in a depressed market with a new vision that provides transcendent stories.
The successful start-up of a co-production model allowing films to work with partners in France, Germany, Poland and Holland –not to mention Latin America, where they have co-produced with Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brazil; the presence of the company's films in more than 200 festivals, with commercial releases in countries like the Us, Greece, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Eastern Europe, and several African nations (as well as co-producing countries); an the company's presence at the Cannes Film Festival in four consecutive years (co-producers of Argentine director Diego Lerman's "Refugiado" in 2014; co-producers of Oscar Ruíz Navia's short film "Solecito" at the 2013 Director's Fortnight; and producers of William Vega's "La Sirga" and Juan Andrés Arango's "La Playa D.C." included in the 2012 Director's Fortnight and Certain Regard sections, respectively) make Burning Blue Colombia's most visible presence on the global film market.
Although Burning Blue has achieved major recognition for its films on the international market, the company aspires, above all, to participate in the creation of films by and for Colombians and, in even more romantically ambitious terms, the creation of Latin American cinema for the Latin American subcontinent. The stories told, therefore, speak profoundly of the continent's many different peoples and uncover the traditions, imagery, dreams, desires, fears and problems facing these richly diverse, passionate, and complex cultures. To this end, Burning Blue hopes to harness the favorable international attention garnered to date to continually ignite local interest, using international platforms as a springboard to its natural audience: Colombia.
Burning Blue, led by Diana Bustamante, Jorge Forero and Paola Pérez Nieto, is currently developing the feature films "Asilo" (Jaime Osorio Márquez), in co-production with Rhayuela Cine, "Desobsesión" (Jorge Navas), and the co-production "Niño Nadie" (Fernando Guzzoni), produced for Chile's Rampante Films.
Diana Bustamante produced Ciro Guerra's "Los Viajes del Viento" (included in the 2009 Cannes Festival's Certain Regard section) and Oscar Ruiz Navia's "El vuelco del cangrejo" (2009 Toronto Film Festival premiere and Fripresci Award at the 2010 Berlinale Festival and Forum). She also designed and managed Caracol Television's film department from 2008 to 2012, taking more than 20 Colombian feature films from the financing to final promotion stages. She recently became the artistic director of the Cartagena International Film Festival (Ficci), contributing to the success of the festival's 55th edition last March, and is currently working on the 2016 festival.
"La Tierra y la Sombra" - Nothing But Success
The process of creating and financing "La Tierra y la Sombra" allowed the film to mature with assistance from specialists, tutors, and evaluation committees at a number of national and international institutions and festivals, each of them helping to move the film towards its world premiere at the upcoming Cannes Festival.
During the project's development stage it won a development grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund in 2009 and was selected the following year to participate in the Pitch Workshop at Colombia's Cali Film Festival. The project also took part in the Ibero-American Films Crossing Borders event at the 2010 Havana Film Festival and the 2012 Ibero-American Co-Production Meeting at the Huelva Film Festival in Spain.
It was, however, in 2013 that the project became a reality, winning at the Cartagena International Film Festival's Co-Production Meeting, which made it possible to attend the Cannes Marché Du Film. The film went on to win a Casa de las Américas Film Project Development grant from the Carolina Foundation and a production grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund. Also in 2013, the Hubert Bals Fund awarded the project a development grant and the San Sebastian Film Festival selected it for the Co-Production Forum.
The final push came in 2014 when the project was invited to participate in Boost! at the Rotterdam Film Festival in Holland and received production grants from both the Ibermedia and Hubert Bals Funds. Shooting took place in late 2014 with post-production following in early 2015 and, finally, the film's submission, in the company of another 1,100 feature films, to the Cannes Festival.
- 4/27/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.