Colombia in Rotterdam

Pantalla Colombia No.: 120
febrero 01 - 28 / 2023

Colombia had a significant presence at the Dutch festival, which concluded on February 5th, with two feature films, three short films in the official section, one short film in the educational program, and three projects in the market.

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The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is among Europe's five most prestigious film festivals, along with Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno. The festival's carefully curated program features high-quality selections of fiction and documentary feature films, short films, and media art. The IFFR showcases the works of talented emerging filmmakers while offering retrospectives and thematic programs. Additionally, the festival actively supports new film talent through its co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Lab, and other industry activities.
 
For its 52nd edition, Colombia participated in the feature film section with two films. The first was Mudos testigos (Mute witnesses), an experimental found-footage film by Jerónimo Atehortúa and Luis Ospina. The film uses fragments of twelve films from the silent period of Colombian cinema and literature quotations to create a new narrative for an imaginary movie: a romantic melodrama that takes place during the first half of the 20th century, depicting the story of the impossible love between Efraín and Alicia. The second film was Diego Guzmán's animated feature La otra forma (The other way), financed by the Film Development Fund in the Production modality. This dialogue-free proposal presents a dystopian future in which everything is molded into a world of straight lines and angles.
 
The festival's Short and Medium section offers a program of short and medium-length films showcasing works that run for under 63 minutes. Among them was Daniel Mateo Vallejo's Vienen las grietas (Here come the cracks), a film where nature beckons Keisi, who works in a rigid and sterile art gallery. The exhibition of photographs on display there reflects her yearning to escape. The film explores identity themes and how art institutions both appropriate and deny queer expression. In Kimberly Forero-Arnias' Recortes (Clippings), migration from the family farm to the big cities has left the filmmaker with a sense of loss for generations of ecological knowledge she has not inherited. Through this archive, diary, and family history, she weaves a story that amplifies the importance of shared learning and relationship-building about a place, over and above mere distanced observation.
 
Juanita Onzaga's Las tierras que te buscan (The lands looking for you) was a part of CineMart, IFFR Pro's co-production market that presents a list of projects in development to representatives of the international industry. 
 
The Marginal Cine production explores a young woman's journey through Colombia as she searches for the spirit of her missing brother. Estefanía Piñeres's Color-ido (Color gone) was included in the IFFR's Educational Program, which organizes educational activities and projects to familiarize children and students with independent cinema.
 
Thanks to the Bogotá Audiovisual Market and the support of the Film Development Fund (FDC), Jaime Guerrero and César Rodríguez participated in the Rotterdam Lab, a training workshop for producers who are just starting their careers, which offers emerging international professionals the means to build and develop their professional network.

Más noticias

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Colombia at the Berlin Film Festival

From February 16th to 26th, the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival is featuring an impressive Colombian presence. This participation includes the co-production Transfariana in the Documentary Panorama, Arde un reino (Burning kingdom) in the Co-production Market, Melancolía in the Fiction Toolbox, seven participants in the Berlinale Talents program, and Diana Bustamante and Juanita Onzaga as members of the jury. In addition, representatives from more than 20 institutions and companies are also taking part in the event. At the close of this edition, Arde un reino had received recognition by the Talent Highlight Award.
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Colombia in Clermont-Ferrand

Ten Colombian productions were part of the 45th edition of the world's most significant short film festival.