/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-LATAM: Brazilian Stories Conquer Havana Festival

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Dec 17 2002 (IPS) - Two Brazilian films, one a bold incursion into violence and the other the story of a homosexual man who seeks stardom, captivated audiences and critics alike at the 24th Festival of New Latin American Film.

Fernando Meirelles’s "Cidade de Deus" (City of God) and Karim Aïnouz’s "Madame Satan", according to Cuban film critic Joel del Río, "already qualify as being among the best Latin American cinema of recent times," regardless of whether they receive any prizes.

"Cidade de Deus" went on to win the festival’s top prize for feature-length fictional film, El Gran Coral, sharing the honour with Argentina’s "Tan de repente" (So Suddenly), by Diego Lerman.

After seeing Meirelles’s and Aïnouz’s films, "we have no option but to bow to the absolute superiority of the Brazilian showing," which included three other feature-length films. Such a collection of works has not been seen in Havana since 1986, commented Del Río.

The third-place award went to the Brazilian film "O Invasor" (The Invader), by Berto Brant. "Madame Satan", however, ended the festival empty-handed.

The expectations generated by "Cidade de Deus" prompted the festival organisers to prepare a showing by invitation only, a measure used only for exceptional cases in an attempt to control the crowds.

Meanwhile, "Madame Satan" came under fire from Rolando Pérez Betancourt, a critic writing in the government-run daily ‘Granma’, who wondered if the explicit scenes of homosexual sex were "artistically necessary", suggesting that the director had crossed the aesthetic line.

The film tells the true story of Joao Francisco dos Santos, a poor, gay Afro-Brazilian who tries to launch a career and win respect as a human being in the Rio de Janeiro of the 1930s and 1940s.

According to Del Río, the ordeal of the lead character "is related through an impressive visual approach, despite the evident lack of resources to recreate the historic era."

"Madame Satan" is "further proof that to make a good film it is much more important to have something relevant to say, and know how to say it well and with emotion, than to have a million-dollar budget," said the critic.

More than 20 cinemas in the Cuban capital and several more around the island – many with the capacity to hold more than 1,000 people – were packed for the duration of the festival, which ran from Dec 3 to Dec 13.

In addition to the 41 fictional feature-length films competing in the festival, there were 17 in the category of first works, 31 documentaries and 27 animated films. The public also enjoyed showings of "independent films" from Canada, Norway, Spain and the United States.

The agenda also included conferences and demonstrations on new digital film technologies, and the distribution of films via the Internet, including production systems, downloading and authentication by users.

Among the films outside the competition but included in the festival, the audience tended to favour "Frida", a production by U.S. director Julie Taymor on the political, artistic and sexual life of the late Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

The same fate did not greet "La virgen de la lujuria" (Virgin of lust), by Mexico’s Arturo Ripstein, which many critics considered overwhelming, too long and – although in keeping with the director’s aesthetic approach – a far cry from his previous successes.

Competing in the documentary category was "Balseros" by Spanish filmmaker Carlos Bosh, which caught the attention of Cuban audiences in particular as the film follows the fate of seven Cubans who take to the sea to try to reach the United States.

Bosh won a Coral award for the best foreign documentary on Latin American issues. His work recounts how the Cuban emigrants were detained at the U.S. Guantanamo base then allowed to enter the United States, where they ultimately confronted harsh reality.

"The documentary carries a strong emotional charge," acknowledged Bosh.

Argentine actor Federico Luppi told a press conference in Havana that the Latin American film industry is "very good", but better cultural policies are needed to foment production.

"With limited resources a great deal has been achieved," said Luppi, a veteran actor with 75 films to his name.

Nevertheless, he said, "These artists can’t be working solely on a voluntary basis. Government policies are needed, political leaders need to realise that this forms part of a country’s cultural wealth."

Luppi was among the honoured guests of the festival, alongside two men who made their mark on what is known as "new Latin American cinema", Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha (1939-1981) and proponent of Italian neo-realism Cesare Zavattini (1902-1989).

Eric Rocha, son of the New Brazilian Cinema founder, commented that the problem in Latin America is not commercial films, which are always going to be successful, but rather the lack of spaces for experimentation, the scarcity of films by young directors. What is needed is space for all types of cinema, and for this to motivate the aesthetic debate."

The gala event marking the end of the festival Friday was presided by director Roman Polansky and Colombian Nobel Laureate in Literature, Gabriel García Márquez.

(IPS correspondent Patricia Grogg contributed to this report.)

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-LATAM: Brazilian Stories Conquer Havana Festival

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Dec 17 2002 (IPS) - Two Brazilian films, one a bold incursion into violence and the other the story of a homosexual man who seeks stardom, captivated audiences and critics alike at the 24th Festival of New Latin American Film.
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