Six Colombian films are part of the twenty-eighth Biarritz Film Festival, which will take place September 30 - October 6
The Biarritz Film Festival has been held annually in this French city since 1991, with the objective of discovering Latin American culture through the screening of films, literary and university encounters in association with the IHEAL (Institute of Latin American Studies), photography exhibitions and concerts. This event is made up of three competitive categories: feature length fiction films, documentaries and the shorts competition.
In the Feature Length Fiction Competition, the films selected are Litigante by Franco Lolli, a coproduction between Colombia and France that was recently the opening film of the Santander International Film Festival – FICS, as well as being the inaugural film of the most recent edition of the Cannes Festival Critic’s Week. Alongside Litigante was selected the film La bronca by the brothers Daniel and Diego Vega, winners of the Jury Prize Un Certain Regard with their debut feature Octubre. This film produced by Colombian Daniel García Díaz from Día Fragma Fábrica de Películas is also part of the Latin Horizons section of the next San Sebastián Festival.
In the Documentary Competition, the Best Documentary Prize is awarded with a donation from France Médias Monde of 2500€ to the director, along with the Audience Prize. This year Fait Vivir by Oscar Ruiz Navia is participating. A coproduction between Colombia and Canada, the story centers around Manuk, a 5- year-old boy who narrates the tale of the Gypsy Kumbia Orchestra, 18 gypsy musicians, dancers and circus actors who invented the show “Makondo” and take it through different places in Colombia where the armed conflict opened wounds.
Homo Botanicus by Guillermo Quintero is also participating. It is the winner of the Best International Film prize of the documentary section of the thirty sixth Torino Film Festival and which had its first world premiere at the Dok Leipzig Next Masters Competition 2018, in addition to being screened at the recent fifty-ninth Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI).
Finally, the competition includes the coproduction of Señal Colombia together with Solita Producciones, Lebemel by the Chilean director Joanna Reposi Garibaldi. The documentary takes a look at the life of Pedro Lemebel (1952-2015), Chilean writer and visual artist. The documentary received the Teddy Award for the Best Documentary at the most recent Berlin Festival and was part of the 2019 Ciclo Rosa.
The Best Short receives as a prize its purchase by France Télévisions. Divinas Melodías, directed by Lucas Silva, produced by Holliwoodoo Films, participates in this competition. This short tells the story of Pacho and Genaro, two Afro-descendant peasants, while building a marimba; this becomes a mystical experience that will change their lives forever.
