Six debut films, have been selected for Films in Progress 36, a professional initiative called twice yearly by the San Sebastian Festival and Cinélatino, Rencontres de Toulouse with the purpose of supporting Latin American cinema.
The debut films are El árbol rojo / The Red Tree by Joan Gómez (Colombia – Panama – France), Las vacaciones de Hilda / Hilda’s Short Summer by Agustín Banchero (Uruguay – Brazil), Madalena by Madiano Marcheti (Brazil), Nudo Mixteco by Ángeles Cruz (Mexico) and Os caminhos do meu pai / The Paths of my Father by Mauricio Osaki (Brazil – Poland) and Sin señas particulares / Non Distinguishing Features by Fernanda Valadez (Mexico).
Four films presented in Films in Progress at San Sebastian and Toulouse will participate in this year’s Festival: El Príncipe / The Prince, by Sebastián Muñoz, selected for the Critics’ Week in Venice in Horizontes Latinos; Agosto / August, by Armando Capó, which also participated at the Co-Production Forum and Films in Progress 32 in Horizontes Latinos; and Los Tiburones / The Sharks, by Lucía Garibaldi, winner of awards at Films in Progress 34, as well as at Sundance and Guadalajara in Horizontes Latinos. Algunas bestias / Some Beasts, by Jorge Riquelme, winner of an award at Films in Progress Toulouse will participate in New Directors.
EL ÁRBOL ROJO / THE RED TREE
JOAN GÓMEZ ENDARA (COLOMBIA – PANAMA – FRANCE)
Production: IN VIVO FILMS, VISO PRODUCCIONES
When his father dies, Eliécer is left to care for the half-sister he’s never met, called Esperanza. His mission is to take the girl to the capital to find the mother who abandoned her as a baby. The decision not to take responsibility for the girl, and the fulfilment of his duty, oblige Eliécer to set out on a journey on which he will accept the company of Toño, the young boatman whose dream is to make it to the city to become a boxing champion. At the end of the road, Eliécer must decide if he wants the home and family that he and Esperanza had lost. Debut film.
LAS VACACIONES DE HILDA / HILDA’S SHORT SUMMER
AGUSTÍN BANCHERO (URUGUAY – BRAZIL)
Production: TARKIOFILM , ARISSAS
Hilda is a solitary woman who lives in the town of Concepción and who deliberately breaks the ties of any kind of affectionate relationship with those in her immediate circle. Her life is interrupted by the news that the son she hasn’t seen for years is coming to visit. Thus start the preparations to improve her house and her image, both of which have deteriorated in recent times. As the date approaches, her son cancels the visit and postpones it indefinitely. Now Hilda must live a summer in the past. Debut film.
MADALENA
MADIANO MARCHETI (BRAZIL)
Production: POLO MS CINEMA E VÍDEO ME, RACCORD PRODUÇÕES ARTÍSTICAS E CINEMATOGRÁFICAS
The body of Madalena, a trans woman, is lying in a field of soy. In a peripheral neighbourhood, Luziane lives without great expectations. In a luxury condominium on the other side of town, Cristiano, under pressure from his family, tries to prove that he can take care of his father’s soy plantation. In a far-off corner of the forest, Bianca and other friends transmute their love for the death of their friend Madalene. Though Luziane, Cristiano and Bianca do not know one another, Madalena’s spirit, hanging over the town, forms a bond between them. Debut film.
NUDO MIXTECO
ÁNGELES CRUZ (MEXICO)
Production: MADRECINE , MADRECINE , EI2 MEDIA
Three intertwined stories during the patron saint’s celebrations in San Mateo, a town in Oaxaca’s Mixteca region. Esteban, a migrant, returns after three years to discover that Chabela, his wife, is now with another man. Furious, he summons the locals to pass judgement on her at a meeting. María returns from her mother’s funeral only to be rejected by her father. Uncertain and hurt, she asks Piedad, her childhood lesbian girlfriend, to leave with her. Toña relives her own pain when her daughter is sexually abused and returns to confront her family to protect the girl. Debut film.
OS CAMINHOS DO MEU PAI / THE PATHS OF MY FATHER
MAURICIO OSAKI (BRAZIL – POLAND)
Production: DEZENOVE SOM E IMAGENS , KRAKÓW FILM KLASTER
Trung, a truck driver who travels constantly in North Vietnam, learns that his mother-in-law has been taken to hospital and that he has to take care of Vy, the 10-year-old daughter he hardly knows, since she’s been raised by her grandmother. His next trip is already booked and, despite being loath to take his daughter with him, he has no option. Trung and Vy are forced into each other’s company on an emotional journey between two generations on the roads of North Vietnam: her first and his last. Debut film.
SIN SEÑAS PARTICULARES / NON DISTINGUISHING FEATURES
FERNANDA VALADEZ (MEXICO)
Production: CORPULENTA PRODUCCIONES, AVANTI PICTURES
Magdalena sets out on a peregrination in search of her son, who disappeared en route to the US border. Travelling through the desolate towns and landscapes of today’s Mexico she meets Miguel, a young man recently deported from the United States who is on his way home. The two accompany one another: Magdalena looking for her son, and Miguel eager to see his mother again in a territory where victims and aggressors ramble together. Debut film.