Six films, five first works and a second feature film, have been selected for Films in Progress 34, from among a total of 181 productions: Mateína by Joaquín Peñagaricano and Pablo Abdala (Uruguay – Brazil – Argentina); Los tiburones by Lucía Garibaldi (Uruguay – Argentina); El Príncipe by Sebastián Muñoz (Chile – Argentina); Sirena by Carlos Piñeiro (Bolivia); Ni héroe ni traidor by Nicolás Savignone (Argentina); and Los fuertes by Omar Zúñiga (Chile).
Films in Progress is the programme of aid to Latin American films called twice yearly by the San Sebastian Festival and Cinélatino, Rencontres de Toulouse. Created in 2002, today it is a platform for the international launch of new talents and a reference meeting point for the Latin America audiovisual industry.
Mateína is the first feature film directed by Joaquín Peñagaricano and Pablo Abdala. Both are the writers and directors of the short films La velocidad de los ceibos (2006) and Nuestra hospitalidad (2010). Mateína is set in the Uruguay of 2045 where everything’s pretty much the same, except that it is now forbidden to drink mate.
Los tiburones (Sharks) is the feature film debut from Lucía Garibaldi (Montevideo, 1987),who turns her eyes to a seaside resort threatened by the rumour of sharks approaching its coasts and reflects on the search for empathy.
El Príncipe is also the first work from Sebastián Muñoz, who has worked as an art director for Chilean filmmakers including Alicia Scherson and Pablo Larraín. Set in the Chile of the early ‘70s, it narrates the experiences of a twenty year-old sent to prison for stabbing his best friend.
Sirena, by the Bolivian filmmaker Carlos Piñeiro (La Paz, 1986), author of short films such as Plato paceño (2013) and Amazonas (2015), relates the search for and rescue of an engineer’s body in a remote island on Lake Titicaca.
After directing Hospital de día (2009) and Los desechables (2013), Nicolás Savignone shot Ni héroe ni traidor, about a young boy who dreams of going to Spain to study music.
Omar Zúñiga (Santiago, 1985) won the Teddy Award at the Berlinale in 2015 with the short film San Cristóbal. He now debuts in feature films with Los Fuertes, a film starring a man who falls for a local boatswain while visiting his sister in a remote Southern Chilean town. The film is produced by the Chilean director Dominga Sotomayor, recent recipient of an award in Locarno for her film Tarde para morir joven (Too Late to Die Young).
Five films presented at the recent editions of San Sebastian and Toulouse have been selected for this year’s Horizontes Latinos: Enigma by Ignacio Juricic Merillán (Films in Progress 33); Familia Sumergida by María Alché (Films in Progress 32), premiered in the Cineasti del Presente section of the Locarno Festival; Ferrugem / Rust by Aly Muritiba (Films in Progress 32), selected for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance; Los silencios by Beatriz Seigner (Films in Progress 33), premiered at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes; and Marilyn by Martín Rodríguez Redondo (Films in Progress 31), presented in the Panorama section of the Berlinale.
While a small seaside resort is agitated with the rumour of sharks arriving to its coasts for the first time, Rosina seems to be the only one who’s not worried, even showing empathy for the supposed rovers. Now she takes advantage of the moment to move silently and do everything she wants to do but shouldn’t, as though driven by animal instinct. Los tiburones (The Sharks) talks about being surrounded by many but feeling alone, about what’s hidden beneath the surface, about hot blood, the sea and the irremediable search for empathy.
San Bernardo, Chile, 1970. One drunken night, Jaime, a lonely and narcissistic 20 year-old, stabs his best friend in what seems to have been a fit of passion. Sentenced to prison, he meets El Potro, an older, respected man to whom he becomes close, revealing both a profound need for warmth and his ferocious desire to be recognised. Together they establish a relationship known in prison terms as "black love", enabling Jaime, now "El Príncipe", to discover affections and loyalties, as well as the power struggles that go on behind bars.
Lucas travels to visit his sister in a remote southern Chilean town, before going to live in Canada. Opposite the ocean and the fog he meets Antonio, the boatswain on a local fishing ship. When an intense romance emerges between the two, the relationship will force them to face up to their reality and abandon their solitude, learning to trust those around them. While the waves thunder into the bay, their strength, independence and adulthood gain strength against the tide.
While a small seaside resort is agitated with the rumour of sharks arriving to its coasts for the first time, Rosina seems to be the only one who’s not worried, even showing empathy for the supposed rovers. Now she takes advantage of the moment to move silently and do everything she wants to do but shouldn’t, as though driven by animal instinct. Los tiburones (The Sharks) talks about being surrounded by many but feeling alone, about what’s hidden beneath the surface, about hot blood, the sea and the irremediable search for empathy.
We’re in 2045. Little has changed in Uruguay, except for one single yet very important difference: it is now forbidden to drink mate. Underground mate salesmen Moncho and Fico travel to the different towns to bring the dearly-loved infusion to their customers. One day they decide to do away with the middlemen and set out for Paraguay on the trail of the myth of pure mate. Mateína is an absurd comedy combining elements of popular South American culture with a tale of adventures, friendship and dreams.
Buenos Aires, 1982. Matías has recently finished his military service and dreams of going to Spain to study music. His problems come down to convincing his girlfriend to meet him there at a later date and to getting round his father’s opposition. But the playing board changes completely when the Falklands War breaks out and he is drafted along with his friends. At first Matías will agree to the call-up, but gradually he will realise that he doesn’t feel this war – or perhaps any other – to be his own or sincere, no matter how just its cause may seem.
Lake Titicaca, 1984. Morgan Cabrera, a renowned La Paz engineer, drowns in a boating accident. The unfruitful search for his body is called off when confirmation arrives that it has been found on a remote island. A commission sets out to retrieve the corpse. When the engineers arrive on the island, the community members, who only speak Aymara, refuse to allow them to take the corpse because, according to their beliefs, doing so would ward off the possibility of a bountiful harvest. Finally, the community members allow them to take the corpse, but it never reaches its destination...
Films in Progress Industry Award. Presented by the companies Ad Hoc Studios, Deluxe Spain, Dolby Iberia, Laserfilm Cine y Video, Nephilim Producciones, No Problem Sonido, and Wanda Visión, this award consists of the post-production services listed in the Award Rules for the winning film.
Film Factory Award consisting of the pre-buy of the worldwide distribution rights of one of the films selected for Films in Progress 34 for a minimum guaranteed of 30,000 going to the main producer of the film. If the rights are for the whole world except Spain, the minimum guaranteed will be 20,000 euros. The other terms and conditions of the agreement will be negotiated by the parties at a later date.
Films in Progress has the support of the following institutions and companies: Conferencia de Autoridades Cinematográficas Iberoamericanas (CACI), Deluxe Spain, Dolby Iberia, Film Factory, Laserfilm Cine y Video, Nephilim producciones, No problem Sonido, Programa Ibermedia, Wanda Visión, and the collaboration of Association Rencontres Cinémas d'Amérique Latine de Toulouse (ARCALT), Activités Sociales de l'énergie (CCAS), Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée (CNC), Cinéfondation, CINÉ + Commune Image, Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d'Art et Essai (CICAE), Conseil Général de la Haute Garonne, Eaux Vives, École Nationale Supérieure d'Audiovisuel (ENSAV), Europa Distribution, Firefly, Gaumont Wilson, Le-Lokal Production, Mactari, Mairie de Toulouse, Producers Network (Marché du Film-Festival de Cannes), Région Occitanie Pyrénées-Méditerranée, Signis and TitraFilm.