by Jorge Federico Echevarria, Sydney’s Spanish Film Festival Coordinator
City of God, Amores Perros and Nine Queens are references to what is known as the new Latin American cinema, in an uneven playing field that has Brazil, Mexico and Argentina as the strong players. With established film industries and decent government and private funding, each of these countries produce around 50 feature films per year, some of which turn into festival award-winners and a very small percentage into box office successes.
Cuba is also an important reference as far as the new Latin American cinema is concerned, since the term was being used in the late 60’s and 70’s to express a desire to produce films that showed the ‘crude reality’ of Latin America and its main advocate was Humberto Solas. The International Film School- San Antonio de Los Baños- also marks an important step in this process and is almost a rite of passage for most Latin American film directors.
Latin American cinema continues its trend of inward looking stories that take us deep into a country’s soul. Recent festival award- winners from Colombia and Peru show a mix of a violent history and magic realism that makes us dig deeper into a new kind of emerging cinema.
In the case of Colombia, production quality and quantity has shot up thanks to an excellent reform in 2003 that saw the Ministry of Culture incorporate Cinema, and introduce legislation and changes to taxation that isolated taxes charged to distributors and producers to be reinvested in new productions. This also encouraged private funding to a level never seen before. Since then Colombia has been producing excellent films that have won a host of awards and have had reasonable box office success.
Colombia’s dark history with drugs during the 80s and the political 50 year internal war means that Colombian audiences are sensitive to content that portrays their country as violent or drug ridden, however, some amazingly written arthouse films have come out in the last few years. While arthouse films audiences are smaller, the international success is growing, and festival and distribution rights demanded for Colombian films in the last few years has increased considerably. You can find at least a couple of Colombian films in the world section of your local video shop.
Ciro Guerra, Andy Baiz and Carlos Moreno
Sergio Cabrera and Victor Gaviria brought us the first stories and style of the new Colombian cinema and emerging directors that are causing a stir include Ciro Guerra, Andy Baiz, Carlos Moreno. Colombia has a growing catalogue of feature films and in the last two years at least 30 films have made the grade for international film festivals and distribution around the world.
A rich cultural past and mysticism makes Peruvian cinema an eye opener for new audiences, their most prolific director is Francisco Lombardi with around 17 films directed since the late 70’s. Recent works by Daniel and Diego Vega, Claudia Llosa and Javier Fuentes-Leon have brought to life a new world of images and sounds from the capital city, coastal towns and the Andes in ways never seen before. Peru has not had a Ministry of Culture or Film specific legislation until this year, and most of the late success has been thanks to International Script Grants and co-productions from the ever present Spanish Government powerhouse Ibermedia and other European and Latin American countries. The proposed new legislation was rejected outright by local filmmakers and the process to find a balance will take some time, but the established filmmakers, along with the new generation, will continue writing, producing and directing great films.
Diego and Daniel Vega and Claudia Llosa
Peru has also had a blood soaked internal war that peaked in the late 80s and being the number one coca grower in the world has also left a legacy of corruption and murder that does not match that of Pablo Escobar’s days in Colombia, but its affects are still being felt.
Peru has one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and if there is a time to take the big steps in legislation to support film via the Ministry of Culture, the time is now. We should see some more great films coming form Peru in the next few years with a blockbuster about the Last Inca in the works right now that failed to get government support but has generated enough interest from abroad to continue production.
Peruvian Gold-http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/peruvian-gold/2007/02/21/1171733848260.html
Colombian Films to check out
The Colours of the Mountain- Carlos Cesar Arbelaez, 2010
This heart wrenching film tackles universal themes of violence and the effects of conflict on ordinary people.
The Wind Journeys-Ciro Guerra, 2009
A musician travels a great distance to return an instrument to his elderly teacher.
Crab Trap- Oscar Ruiz Navia, 2009
A drama set in the black communities of Colombia’s Pacific coast, where a man looking to flee the country by boat encounters a local fisherman.
Satanas: Profile of a Killer – Andy Baiz, 2007
(Australian DVD release)
Based on the Mario Mendoza’s book and inspired by true events, tells three interconnected stories happening on the eve of the infamous Pozzetto Massacre.
Bluff- Felipe Martinez, 2007
A man catches his girlfriend cheating on him with his boss, and gets fired because of this. When he finds his boss cheating on his ex-girlfriend, he blackmails him. But things will end up upside-down when a murder shows up.
Peruvian Films to check out:
October- Daniel Vega and Diego Vega, 2010
Clemente, a moneylender of few words, is a new hope for Sofía, his single neighbour who is devoted to the October worship of Our Lord of the Miracles. They’re brought together over a new-born baby, fruit of Clemente’s relationship with a prostitute who’s nowhere to be found.
Undertow- Javier Fuentes-Leon, 2010
An unusual ghost story set on the Peruvian seaside; a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town’s rigid traditions.
The Milk of Sorrow- Claudia Llosa, 2009
Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. Fausta chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother’s footsteps.
Made in USA- Claudia Llosa, 2006
Madeinusa is a 14- year-old girl, who lives in an isolated village in the Cordillera Blanca Mountain range of Peru. This strange place is characterized by its religious fervour; from Good Friday at three o’clock in the afternoon (the time of day when Christ died on the cross) to Easter Sunday, the whole village can do whatever it feels like. During the two holy days sin does not exist: God is dead and can’t see what is happening. However, everything changes with the arrival in the village of Salvador, a young geologist from Lima, who will unknowingly change the destiny of the girl.
Days of Santiago- Josuè Mendez, 2004
Santiago returns home from the Peruvian army ill-prepared to cope with the realities of life. Haunted by his violent military past, he is conflicted by his desire for education and his temptation to join his comrades in a decadent life of crime.
