What It Is
Films in Progress is a joint initiative organised
by the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival
and the Rencontres Cinémas d'Amérique Latine de
Toulouse, the aim of which is to facilitate the completion of
rigorously selected Latin-American fictional feature films which,
while they have actually been filmed, are having difficulty
with the post-production stage, by presenting them to a group
of professionals who can contribute to their completion. Two
yearly rendezvous have therefore been established within the
framework of their respective festivals (Toulouse in March and
San Sebastián in September).
Films in Progress was born in 2002, marking
the first time that two festivals have joined forces in Europe
with the purpose of offering new openings to Latin-American
cinema, currently faced with unprecedented financial insecurity
making it extremely difficult for them to culminate their projects.
By way of a few recent examples, two feature films screened
at Films in Progress, Cinéma, Aspirina e Urubús by Marcelo Gomes (Brazil) and Sangre by Amat
Escalante (Mexico) , were released at Cannes as part of its
official selection, Un Certain Regard in 2005 and El
Violín by Francisco Vargas, this year.
The Toulouse and San Sebastian Festivals similarly offer these
films, once completed, the chance of screening in their different
sections. For instance, the following films have participated
in the Official Selection at San Sebastian: Historias
mínimas, Ojos que no ven, Sumas y restas, El cielito,
O veneno da madrugada or Iluminados
por el fuego, not to mention the numerous titles
forming part of Zabaltegi and Horizontes Latinos. |
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