Ver Cine Colombiano: Noticias | Proimágenes Colombia

Memoria, a Colombian co-production beneficiary of the Colombia Film Fund (FFC), directed by the Thai Apichatpong Weerasethakul, produced by Diana Bustamante, and shot in Colombia (see COLOMBIA PANTALLA 105), received on July 17 the Jury Prize, one of the three most important at the Cannes Film Festival, along with the Grand Prix and the Palme d'Or. The film stars Tilda Swinton, Colombians Juan Pablo Urrego and Elkin Díaz, and French actress Jeanne Balibar. 
 
The award, shared with the film Ha'berech by Nadav Lapid, was presented at the award ceremony by the British actress Rosamund Pike, thanks to the verdict of the 74th jury that was chaired by Spike Lee, in the company of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Song Kang-ho, Tahar Rahim, Mati Diop, Jessica Hausner, Myléne Farmer, and Kleber Mendonça Filho. “Thanks to our teams in Colombia and Mexico, it is to you that I dedicate this Award. Tilda Swinton, Jeanne Balibar, Agnes Brekke… They gave me the most beautiful gift for the spirit. Tilda, we've talked a lot about this dream, and here we are. You are one of the most remarkable human beings, you have taken me under your protection, and it is an opportunity to be with you”, declared Weerasethakul in his speech. The film is expected to hit Colombian theaters in October this year, thanks to the distribution of Cineplex.
 
Likewise, the actress Sandra Melissa Torres, protagonist of the film Amparo directed by Simón Mesa Soto and produced by Juan Sarmiento (see COLOMBIA SCREEN 105), received the Rising Star Award from the Louis Roederer Foundation in the Critics' Week, section parallel to the Cannes Festival. This award has been given for three years to the best actor or actress in one of the seven feature films in competition, together with a € 5,000 incentive. In 2018, Félix Maritaud received the award for his role in the feature film Sauvage, and in 2019 it was Ingvar Sigurðsson, for the film Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur. 
 
The character of Amparo, a single mother willing to do anything to prevent her son from doing military service, is inspired by the director's mother, who in an interview for Critics' Week commented: “She did everything possible to protect us, my brothers and me. I wanted to pay tribute to him by making this movie. "Sandra Melissa Torres, a non-professional actress, was selected to play this role after a four-month casting process: “I had people by my side who trusted me, who knew how to lead me, guide me, and get that out of me that I didn't know I had. It was something wonderful, a very beautiful experience ”, she assured in an interview for the newspaper El Espectador.