Operas Prima at the Cinema Festival
- Submitted by: admin
- Arts and Culture
- Cinema
- Events
- Havana
- International
- 12 / 03 / 2007
Year after year, movie lovers follow the mark of the feature films in every edition of the Festival of the New Latin American Cinema, but this December 2007, I have to send an SOS: do not miss an Opera Prima.
In that category, in which compete filmmakers who present their credentials with their first feature films, in many cases after making their documentaries, with works that sometimes have still imperfections and immaturities.
However, in the category of opera prima are expected some, very attractive movies, from different optic and from very different approaching to the reality of the continent, already inspired in experiences, nowadays situations or inspired in the great literature.
A good part of the young directors are not over 35 years old, they are men and women who bring movies to Havana, which have been already showed in other international events, such as Cannes, San Sebastian, Toronto the Robert Redfords Sundance and some are very strong candidates to the Goya, or even Oscar battle.
Among all the titles there is a touching one that has shudder the spectators, as it happened in Cannes, and has created the polemic. Im talking about XXY, by the young Argentinean filmmaker Lucía Puenzo, daughter of Luis Puenzo, director of "La historia oficial".
This young of 31 years old talks about a singular store, about a teenage, Alx, 15 years old, who is hermaphrodite and present family prejudices, taboos and a strong doses of personal drama, sex and love. In the starring roles we can find that great actor, Ricardo Clarin as the father. This is a movie that everybody must see. It won the great price of the Critic Week (chosen by journalist and critics) as well as the Apoyo ACID/CCAS and the Gran Rail D'Or awards and a mention of the Regard Jeunes Award, several awards in Cannes.
From Uruguay arrives another of the most applauded movies of the 2007, El baño del Papa, by César Charlone and Enrique Fernández, a tragicomedy, with a sense of humor and also very tender, that present those poor inhabitants of the town of Melo, who in 1998, waited for His Highness, with business ideas to alleviate their misery, such as Beto, an hallucinated smuggler, who is the main character of the movie. This is a movie that is competing for a Goya and also for the Oscar and for its quality is one of the strongest movies.
Another attractive opera prima proposal is the Mexican movie La misma luna, with good critic in the Sundance Festival al, that talks about the emigration to the USA, from the point of view and the misfortunes of a boy in the border crossing to join his mother. The movie is made by the young filmmaker Patricia Rigen.
The Cuban movie Personal Belongins, by Alejandro Brugués, is a love story of a young couple that gets together in the middle of a crisis, he wishing to leave and she willing to stay, even though her entire family left. This movie won the award in the past Festival of Poor Movie, ij Gibara.
From Brazil arrives the movie Mutum, by Sandra Kogut, inspired in a novel of the writer Guimaraes Rosa. In this case the main character of the movie is also a boy in the countryside, he arrives to Havana with several awards, such as the ones from the festivals of Bogota, where it won the best movie, edition. The movie also won the best movie and the best edition in the lat Rio Festival.
From Mexico, arrives the movie Cocochi, by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, a couple of filmmakers, who are partners in the work and in life. This is a movie that is moving not through cities and the middle classes, but in the country environment of the tarahumaras.
(Cubasi)
In that category, in which compete filmmakers who present their credentials with their first feature films, in many cases after making their documentaries, with works that sometimes have still imperfections and immaturities.
However, in the category of opera prima are expected some, very attractive movies, from different optic and from very different approaching to the reality of the continent, already inspired in experiences, nowadays situations or inspired in the great literature.
A good part of the young directors are not over 35 years old, they are men and women who bring movies to Havana, which have been already showed in other international events, such as Cannes, San Sebastian, Toronto the Robert Redfords Sundance and some are very strong candidates to the Goya, or even Oscar battle.
Among all the titles there is a touching one that has shudder the spectators, as it happened in Cannes, and has created the polemic. Im talking about XXY, by the young Argentinean filmmaker Lucía Puenzo, daughter of Luis Puenzo, director of "La historia oficial".
This young of 31 years old talks about a singular store, about a teenage, Alx, 15 years old, who is hermaphrodite and present family prejudices, taboos and a strong doses of personal drama, sex and love. In the starring roles we can find that great actor, Ricardo Clarin as the father. This is a movie that everybody must see. It won the great price of the Critic Week (chosen by journalist and critics) as well as the Apoyo ACID/CCAS and the Gran Rail D'Or awards and a mention of the Regard Jeunes Award, several awards in Cannes.
From Uruguay arrives another of the most applauded movies of the 2007, El baño del Papa, by César Charlone and Enrique Fernández, a tragicomedy, with a sense of humor and also very tender, that present those poor inhabitants of the town of Melo, who in 1998, waited for His Highness, with business ideas to alleviate their misery, such as Beto, an hallucinated smuggler, who is the main character of the movie. This is a movie that is competing for a Goya and also for the Oscar and for its quality is one of the strongest movies.
Another attractive opera prima proposal is the Mexican movie La misma luna, with good critic in the Sundance Festival al, that talks about the emigration to the USA, from the point of view and the misfortunes of a boy in the border crossing to join his mother. The movie is made by the young filmmaker Patricia Rigen.
The Cuban movie Personal Belongins, by Alejandro Brugués, is a love story of a young couple that gets together in the middle of a crisis, he wishing to leave and she willing to stay, even though her entire family left. This movie won the award in the past Festival of Poor Movie, ij Gibara.
From Brazil arrives the movie Mutum, by Sandra Kogut, inspired in a novel of the writer Guimaraes Rosa. In this case the main character of the movie is also a boy in the countryside, he arrives to Havana with several awards, such as the ones from the festivals of Bogota, where it won the best movie, edition. The movie also won the best movie and the best edition in the lat Rio Festival.
From Mexico, arrives the movie Cocochi, by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, a couple of filmmakers, who are partners in the work and in life. This is a movie that is moving not through cities and the middle classes, but in the country environment of the tarahumaras.
(Cubasi)
Comments