Pantalla Pinamar Film Festival: Movies on the Beach

by Lauren Pringle, Contributing blogger

For the 9^th year Argentina collaborated with Europe to host Pantalla Pinamar set in an elegant beach town on the South Atlantic coast, which featured an array of talent from European and Argentine Cinema, including documentary, fictions and shorts.

The gold prize winner of this year was: “NOT SO MODERN TIMES“, by Simón FRANCO which follows the story of a solitary man in Patagonia. Payagula, the central character lives a humble life until one day he receives a satellite dish that will change his perceptions of the world forever. The story is simple and beautiful and is an Argentine, Chilean and German co-production.

The silver award goes to “THE FINGER“, by Sergio TEUBAL. Watch the trailer with English subtitles!

An Argentine production the story is set in the Argentine interior in 1983. After years of bloody dictatorship, the country is preparing to return to democracy. But the population is not accustomed to voting. It has no idea of how you choose who will rule. In the provincial town of Cerro Colorado, the man running for mayor is murdered. As an act of vengeance, the man’s finger will be kept in a jar. Standing on a shop counter, it gains a life of its own. It will serve as an excuse to solve a murder, renew the faith of the sceptics, and relive love stories in Cerro Colorado. A black comedy based on Alberto Assardourian’s novel ‘El dedo de Baldomero’ (‘Baldomero’s Finger’).

The Bronze award goes to “THE BONES TUNNEL“, by Nacho GARASSINO. Another Argentine production, the plot follows a prison break during Argentinas troubled political history.

Want to get a jump on next year´s action? Check out http://www.incaa.gov.ar/pantallapinamar/index.php

In Competition at Cannes from Argentina

The 2011 Cannes film festival will have the short film Soy tan feliz, byVladimir Durán, produced by Gale Cine and Servo Films from Argentina in competition for the Golden Palm award, after winning best short film in the 2011 BAFICI (Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival).

2011 BAFICI Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival approaches!

by Fer Murjica, contributing blogger

From April 6^th until April 17^th, different cinemas in Buenos Aires will be hosting the BAFICI (Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival) showing a selection with more than 426 different independent films from Argentina and all over the world.

Starting yesterday and until April 6^th, people will be able to buy pre-sale tickets for the movies they want. The numbers are promising with almost 17400 tickets sold in the first day. Last year 280,000 people attended, making it the most important film event in Argentina.

Festival of Unusual Cinema – Furtive Love

by Amelia Batho, contributing blogger

As you can see from our blog, Argentina has a fantastic spectrum of film festivals – Green, Short – and no subtleties to this one either – Unusual.

‘Amores Furtivos’ is the title of this months 6^th annual Unusual Film Festival here in Buenos Aires.

All the films in some way incorporate the ‘furtive love’ theme, hence the festival title – but these films are not mainstream ‘pochocleras’ (spanish for “popcorn film”), hence the festival genre – ‘unusual’. These low budget films have unpredictable and unusual story lines that we are not used to seeing in conventional cinema. Many (I say many, but the total number of films in the festival is five!) have participated in international film festivals including Festival Mar de Plata and most of them are by Argentine directors who are renowned for directing slightly unusual films.

The festival started on Wednesday 1^st September with ‘La Invencion de la Carne’ from Argentine director Santiago Lopez – most famous for his film ‘Strange’ which he directed back in 2004. Films will be shown every Wednesday throughout this month in the Arte Cinema (Espacio INCAA km 3) at 8pm. The next film is a supernatural thriller called ‘Gritos en la Noche’ (Screams in the Night) by another Argentine director Carlos Silva Nigri.

If you therefore fancy an alternative cinema experience, pop down to the Art Cinema in Constitucion barrio every Wednesday this month.

Check out this blog for more information on the films:

http://festivaldecineinusual.blogspot.com/2010/08/septiembre-2010-cine-inusual-en-el-arte_23.html

First Green Film Festival Comes to Buenos Aires

by Amelia Batho, Contributing Blogger

Right now the environment is a hot topic and a major concern for many of us from all different walks of life. So why not combine your love of film with your concern for all things green and head down to the Green Film Festival taking place from the 12^th to the 16^th August at Cinemark Alto Palermo (Beruti 3399, Esquina Burnes). The aim of the festival is to showcase the best in current environmental cinema while providing interesting, high quality entertainment.

Tickets are available now from the Cinemark box office and cost $17 for one film or $150 for ten. It proves to be a diverse and thought provoking festival with ten unique, award winning films covering themes from climate change to sustainable development, and directed by a range of international Directors from the United States to Japan. A few notable films are “Food, Inc” and “The Age of Stupid.”

Check out the website for more details on showing times and film information, http://www.greenfilmfest.com.ar/index.html and have a look at this short trailer for a sneak preview of some of the fantastic cinematography on show.

And I’ll be updating you with reviews of films in the next few weeks!

Buenos Aires Human Rights Film Festival 2010

by Tracey Chandler, Contributing Blogger

Check out this short clip from the Human Rights Festival about massive rape of women in Kenya (it’s in English):

Buenos Aires really is a great place for film and more than that, there’s always a way to be able to see a film in the capital on the cheap or even for free. At present, the Buenos Aires Human Rights Film Festival is making its mark in the city at a number of different venues including the INCAA Gaumont space at Congreso and the Alianza Francesa space on Córdoba, fairly close to 9 de Julio. Most of the venues show a number of films every day for free, but even on the rare occasion that an entrance fee is asked for, the price is generally fairly low, in the region of AR$6.

The festival covers a broad range of human rights issues and lasts for an entire week, jam-packed with showings during the day and in the evenings. It covers both shorts and full length feature films on the subject and presents films from all over the world, including El Salvador, Holland, France and Kenya, to offer as simple examples. The variety on offer is invitingly broad and films range from five minutes to nearly two hours in length.

One particular Spanish produced presentation, “Viejas Costumbres,” directed by Francisco Guaita, deals with the physical abuse of women from El Salvador in domestic situations and explains how in general women still earn at least 30% less when working in comparison to men. It also documents how these women are unable to study because they are generally living alone, having separated from the father of their children, and are now the main breadwinners of the family. At 20 minutes, it provides an interesting introduction into the way in which many people are forced to live in poverty stricken El Salvador.

A second showing, entitled “Umoja, Le Village Interdit Aux Hommes,” directed by J. Crousillac and J. M. Sainclair, is a French made short about a group of Kenyan females who live alone in the African village, Umoja, where men are not allowed, hence the title. The women want to leave behind their abusive and violent relationships with their husbands and begin new lives where they earn their own money, have their own property and livestock and live a life without fear. It is a fascinating story with some beautiful moments where young children are innocently captured in play. The video above is a five minute upload of Umoja, the African village in question, just to give you an idea of location in which the film was set, and what the women face.

Argentine Cinema in Cannes Film Festival

By Tracey Chandler, Contributing Blogger

The two week Cannes Film Festival this year (12th – 23rd May 2010) promises to be a great fortnight for Argentine Cinema. Indeed, it is likely to be a great fortnight for South American Cinema in general, with unexpected strong entries from countries like Venezuela, Uruguay and Peru making appearances outside the official entries through what is known as “Critic’s Week” or “La Semana de la Crítica.” These  entries that present merit and excellence in film-making and once again will provide a strong presence for Argentina in the Cannes Film Festival.

With reference to Argentine Cinema at Cannes this year, two films that were recently shown in the BAFICI festival in Buenos Aires are already included in the “Critic´s Week” or “La Semana de la Crítica” line-up. The first is “Un Certain Regard de Los Labios,” by Iván Fund-Santiago Loza and the second is a short entitled, “Cynthia Todavía Tiene Las Llaves,” directed by Gonzalo Tobal.

Perhaps even more exciting is the fact that “Carancho,” the most recent full length feature film by Pablo Trapero, stands a good chance of being listed in the official programme and thus stands a chance at receiving a Golden Palm. Take a look at the trailer below. In addition, CLICK HERE to find out how you can see Trapero´s recent work for half-price at Hoyts Cinemas when it is released in Buenos Aires on 6^th May:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHtGJmAXARg

BAFICI Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival Starts Tomorrow

There are festivals that are more competitive, that have more money, and that end up in more distribution deals, but few are as fun, as widely attended and as culturally important as BAFICI, the annual Buenos Aires festival that celebrates the weird, quirky and just plain good of global cinema.

BAFICI started in 1999 and grows each year: in 2008 there were 220 thousand spectators at the 1011 screenings in the 9 venues of the festival.

With its wide range of films including Argentine, Latin American and worldwide premieres as well as well-deserved retros, BAFICI is the greatest, most prestigious event for the independent cinema in Latin America. Many of the films shown go own to world fame but for the majority, this will be the only chance for them to be seen by an Argentine public.

And for the first time, buying tickets is easy! Yesterday I went on to the website, browsed films by date and hour and venue, read the descriptions, and then just clicked to buy on-line. A big improvement over past years, when you had to wait on long lines and they would always run out of schedules.

Be warned: many screenings sell out!

The advance sale of tickets for the 12th BAFICI, which starts on Wednesday the 7th of April, continues through this weekend. Through the internet, on the website www.festivals.gob.ar and personally at the Hoyts Abasto cinema complex (Av. Corrientes 3247).  During the festival, from Thursday the 8th, tickets will be on sale at $10 pesos on the ticket booths in every cinema.

I won’t be able to go to as many films as years past (where I would go to 5 a day) but I will be posting reviews to the films I get to see.

See you at Abasto!

CALL TO FILMMAKERS TO SUBMIT FILMS TO THE 5TH SYDNEY LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL

Last year our documentary short “Hombre Vs Meteorito” (Man vs. Meteorite) was selected to participate in SLAFF and we wanted to pass on the news that the competition is now accepting entries. It’s a great festival because it shows films to the large Argentine/Chilean immigrant community in Sydney, Australia and also values films that are crowd pleasers over “art-house” fare. Read below to see how your film can enter!

The Sydney Latin American Film Festival (SLAFF) is pleased to inform you that their call for entries for the 5th Sydney Latin American Film Festival is now open. The deadline for submissions is 30 April 2010.

The 5^th Sydney Latin American Film Festival will take place in Sydney, Australia between the 1^st and the 19^th of September and once again this year will recognise the Best Feature Film, Best Documentary and Best Short as voted by our audiences with cash prizes. The Festival will also once again feature Australian-based films in a local filmmakers’ session and present the prestigious the local filmmaker award and accompanying prize.