/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-LATAM: The Unstoppable Havana Festival

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Nov 27 2001 (IPS) - More than 400 films are ready in Cuba to enthral the lovers of what is known as “the seventh art” during the 23rd International Festival of New Latin American Film, the island’s top annual cultural event.

The event, slated for Dec 3-13, includes 87 works from Latin America, half of which are in the running for the Grand Coral, the top award for fiction-based films.

Also competing, in separate divisions are 20 “first films”, nearly 40 documentaries and a dozen animated films.

Mexico, with nine films (four feature-length), Brazil with eight, Argentina and Cuba with six each, and Chile and Venezuela with four each, are the countries that will have greatest presence at the festival and have the best shot at a Coral prize.

According to film critics, Cuba, Brazil, Chile and Mexico could surprise audiences in Havana with more than one dazzling film, though the Argentine filmmakers Eliseo Subiela, with “El lado oscuro del corazón 2” (The Dark Side of the Heart 2), and Juan José Campanella, with “El hijo de la novia” (Son of the Bride), are being mentioned as top candidates for the Grand Coral in fictional film.

“Lavoura Arcaica” (To the Left of the Father), by Brazilian Luiz Fernando Carvalho, as well as the Chilean films “La fiebre del loco” (Loco Fever) by Andrés Wood, and “Taxi para tres” (Taxi for Three) by Orlando Lubbert, will arrive in Havana preceded by major publicity campaigns.

The film-focused media are also highlighting “Y tu mamá tambien” (And Your Mother Too), by Mexico’s Alfonso Cuarón, which will compete with Cuba’s “Las noches de Constantinopla” (Constantinople Nights) by Orlando Rojas, and “Miel para Ochún” (Honey for Ochún) by Humberto Solás, among others.

“Miel para Ochún”, starring Jorge Perugorría, famous for his role in “Fresa y Chocolate” (Strawberry and Chocolate), and Isabel Santos, is the first Cuban film shot using digital technology and then transferred to celluloid.

Cuban filmmaker Solás, one of the masters of the island’s film industry with works such as “Lucía” and “Un hombre de éxito” (A Successful Man), saw his latest film premiere early this year to much applause from movie critics and audiences.

“Miel para Ochún” is the story of a young man’s visit to Cuba. The lead, played by Perugorría, was exiled as a boy, and returns to search the island for his mother, who he has not heard from since he left the country.

The festival organisers have assured that the event will not be dampened by the international tensions arising from the Sep 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and the subsequent US-led military strikes against Afghanistan.

For renowned Cuban intellectual Alfredo Guevara, president of the film jury for the festival, it was not a possibility to consider suspending the festival at this historic moment in which fraternity, understanding and tolerance are essential.

Amidst an international war against terrorism, this film festival offers an opportunity to persevere in the “courage of cultivating friendship, of refusing to withdraw the bridges of understanding,” Guevara told the press as he confirmed that the event would go on.

He also praised the “veritable flood of first films” that are in the running in this year’s festival, saying it symbolises the fact that art has survived “terrorism and war, and the neoliberalism that has attempted to equate film with merchandise.”

The works will be screened in 20 theatres, scattered throughout Havana and other cities and, as in past years, organisers are expecting crowds to surpass a half-million during the festival’s run.

“I always request vacation so I have more time to see good cinema, not only the Latin American films, but also those from Europe, Asia and even Africa,” says Neyda Fernández, 40, an engineer who claims that the Havana festival is “enriching”.

The film exhibitions that traditionally run in parallel to the official contest will this year include works from Germany, Spain, United States, Netherlands, Italy and Sweden.

Also slated for showings are film and videos by indigenous artists and numerous works that have won awards at recent festivals in Venice, San Sebastián, Berlin and Cannes.

At the 22nd Havana Festival, held here last December, the Grand Coral for fiction went to the Brazilian film “Eu, Voce, Eles” (Me, You, Them) by Andrucha Waddington, which also won the prize for best musical score.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-LATAM: The Unstoppable Havana Festival

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Nov 27 2001 (IPS) - More than 400 films are ready in Cuba to enthral the lovers of what is known as “the seventh art” during the 23rd International Festival of New Latin American Film, the island’s top annual cultural event.
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