Chile at the FICG

5 octubre, 2021

By Crónica Jalisco
OCTOBER 5, 2021.

Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG), will count on the presence of around twenty Chilean films and projects, in its diverse industry and festival sections.

Around 50 Chilean audiovisual professionals will participate on-site and online in the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) in Mexico. The attendees will be part of various market activities, promoting the creation of networks and connections with their international peers. On the other hand, as a part of the festival’s program, feature and short films, in documentary, fiction, and animation short films will be exhibited.

ProChile’s general director Jorge O’Ryan points that “for its size, relevance and role within the Latin American audiovisual industry, Mexico is one of the scope markets for the Chilean audiovisual sector. In this context, FICG is a crucial event for ProChile, as this year looks to broaden and deepen our producing companies and their fiction, documentary and/or animation productions’ presence in this market. Actions like networking at DocuLab, Guadalajara Builds, or the Coproduction Meeting aim at forging bonds and strengthening links between Chilean and Mexican filmmakers, making the Chilean audiovisual industry grow.”

A total of 19 Chilean projects and films will participate in different industry sections and competitions at the festival. Eight projects at different development stages will be part of four FICG industry sections. One of them, Guadalajara Builds, will grant a sound postproduction award given by the Chilean producing company, Yagán films. Besides, eleven finalized productions –fiction, documentary, animation, and short films- will be presented as part of the festival’s official selection. Also, a documentary will be representing Chile in the non-competitive section, organized by FILM4CLIMATE.

The executive director of CinemaChile, a Chilean audiovisual sector national and international promoting agency, Constanza Arena, comments on the relation between our country and the competition: “As the sectorial brand for the entire Chilean audiovisual sector in fiction, documentary, and animation, in both feature, short and episodic format, we have been building a bond for over 12 years with the festival. This bond was founded on collaborative work supported by the director, Estrella Araiza’s and her team’s work, both in industry and the festival, with their particular attention to our filmography, standing out this year in its diverse sections.”

“There is a strong connection between Chilean and Mexican cinema, with common identities, interests, and languages. In FICG’s case, the festival and its industry section have been especially generous in recognizing and promoting Chilean cinema for a few years now. We value Guadalajara because it is an important space to connect with Latin American cinema and industry, create networks, and contact other producers in the continent, » adds Paula Ossandón, director of Chiledoc, the organization responsible for promoting and distributing the Chilean documentary sector around the world.

This time Chilean cinema stands out with eleven national productions selected to be part of the competition program. The movies exhibited at the Iberoamerican Feature Film category will be “Inmersion”, directed by Nicolás Postiglione and collectively produced; “To kill the beast” directed by Agustina San Martín and produced by Florencia Rodriguez; “Dusk Stone”, directed by Ivan Fund and produced by Catalina Vergara and Laura Tablón; and “My brothers dream awake”, directed by Claudia Huaiquimilla (“Mala junta”, 2016), and produced by Mariana Tejos and Pablo Greene. “My brothers dream awake” had its premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, and has had to this date good reviews from the critics.

In the Iberoamerican Documentary category, the awarded “The sky is red” movie, directed by Francina Carbonell, and produced by Gabriela Sandoval and Carlos Nuñez, will be presented. Besides, three short films selected for the Iberoamerican Short Film category will be presented; “An impossible love story”, directed by Javier Mardones, and produced by Margarita Fuenzalida; “I dreamed I was alive”, directed by Sebastián González; and “A house in the sand”, directed by Cristóbal García, and produced by Francisco Bisañez.

Among fifteen short films competing for the Rigo Mora Animation Short Film Award, three Chilean animation short films stand out. “Uninhabited”, directed by Camila Donoso, and produced by Antonia Puga; “Beast”, directed by Hugo Covarrubias, and produced by Tevo Díaz, winner of the Festivals Connexions Award at Annency International Animation Film Festival 2021, the largest in its genre; and “The bones”, directed by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, and produced by Lucas Engel, recent winner of the Best Short Film Award, at the Venice International Film Festival’s Horizons section. “Chilean animation shows up at Guadalajara with three selected short films, all different in technique and subject. This tells us of the consolidation of a diverse and content-rich landscape, more and more attractive to the world. It shows once more the strength and power of our national industry. This road has been pushed for several years now, to consolidate Chilean animation’s relevance in the world”, says María Pilar Gajardo, ANIMACHI’s president.

Also, the Chilean movie “Nidal”, directed and produced by Josefina Pérez-García and Felipe Sigala, participates at the Socioenvironmental Film Showing non-competitive section. The initiative, organized by FILM4CLIMATE, aims to raise awareness on climate change through films and their production. It is a parallel activity with titles from countries like France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Chile this year. “Nidal”, is an observational documentary showing how the real estate industry has destabilized the natural surroundings of Concón, a city on Chile’s coast, forcing its inhabitants and natural sceneries to find new ways to adapt and survive.