This year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival has the largest number of Latin American films in its selection and official markets than ever before, according to festival director José Luis Rebordinos.
The line-up includes three titles in the official selection: two from Argentine directors – Manuel Abramovich Pornomelancholia and Diego Lerman replacement – and Oddity by Chilean director Sebastian Lelio.
“It’s a very good moment for Latin American cinema both for the quantity and the high quality of the proposals,” says Rebordinos.
Argentina in focus
Of the strong showings for Argentine films, Nicolás Batlle, president of the country’s national film body INCAA, says his organization ‘doubled down’ on support for filmmakers during the pandemic – a move he believes is bearing fruit today.
“We proved that in moments like these, the role of the state is crucial to accompany our cultural industries.”
Batlle points to the country’s strong cinema tradition, which he says is now adapting to the demands of streaming platforms and new trends in the global market. There are, he says, great opportunities for co-production, especially with other Latin American countries.
As well as two titles in the Race, Argentina has four titles in the Zabaltegi range. The country also has seven projects in the Co-Production Forum.
“We are proud of the many emerging female directors that Argentina is producing,” says Batlle. He quotes Clarisa Navas, director of the 2020 hit One in a thousand and Agustina Sanmartín, 2021 principal To kill the Beast. Both filmmakers present their new projects in the festival market.
New Chilean models
The president of the Association of Cinema and Television Producers of Chile, Gabriela Sandoval, admits that it is a good time for local talent and production. “[There are more] films that deal with themes that represent us as a region and consider a global audience.”
New production models – involving partnerships between countries and platforms, and public and private funding – are also consolidating in the region, he says.
Except for Lelio Oddity (a UK-Ireland co-production for Netflix) Chilean talent is represented by Niles Atallah – who won a special jury award in Rotterdam for King in 2017. Atallah will present Fire Doll in shop. A second project in the market is that of María Paz González To die on your feeta gritty drama produced by top Chilean producer Giancarlo Nassi of Quijote Films.
Horizontes Latinos includes that of Manuela Martelli 1976 and of Patricio Guzman my imaginary country. Diego Cespedes’ Creatures that melt under the sun is in Zabaltegi.
“Our expectations are really high. We have collected 70 awards so far this year and have seen a greater national presence not only in our usual markets, but also in others like across Asia,” says Sandoval. “The upcoming Busan festival for example will feature a significant Chilean presence.”
Emerging Mexican producers
Mexico has also submitted a greater number of projects to industry programs than in previous years. Once almost entirely dependent on public funding, many new Mexican production companies are working on low-budget projects for which they are seeking international co-production partners. “I have a feeling that something interesting could sprout,” says Javier Martín, the festival’s Latin American delegate of the Mexican contingent.
There are two Mexica films in Horizontes Latinos and two projects in Forum, while the WIP section is showing a co-production with the UK (Laura Plancarte’s The Mexican Dream) and another with Brazil (Guto Parente’s A strange path).
From Costa Rica to Nicaragua
In particular, this year’s festival features smaller Latin American countries, which are often underrepresented in international events. Nicaragua, for example, has Laura Baumeister competing in the young directors Girl of rage.
Costa Rica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic come away with two titles in different sections.
Colombia also competes in the main competition with Kings of the World, the highly anticipated sophomore effort of Laura Mora whose The killing of Jesus earned a special mention in New Directors in 2017.
