‘Lovers Fare Goodbye,’ ‘Memories of a Burning Body,’ ’Knightmares,’ ‘Woman,’ ‘Impermanence’ Win Big at Ventana Sur, as Attendance Skyrockets
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Mexican Rigoberto Pérezcano’s “Lovers Fare Goodbye,” a poignant, exquisitely shot tale of star-crossed young love dominated prizes at Primer Corte, Ventana Sur’s key arthouse pic competition. The prize and dozens of others were announced Friday at Latin America’s most important film-TV mart-meet.
Organizers confirmed a total Ventana Sur attendance of 4,300 delegates, some 30% up on just a year ago.
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Lensed in black-and-white and set in the Oaxaca valley, “Lovers” was always the frontrunner Primer Corte, which, with parallel section Copia Final, focuses much of the attention of buyers at Ventana Sur.
“Lovers” six prizes looks like a historical record. So do the total 88 industry awards at 12 of 14 sections – and Variety might be missing some – dolled out at Ventana Sur’s kudos ceremony. That serves testament to just how much the market has grown from 2009 when it launched at Buenos Aires’ former Harrods building with, of sections, just Primer Corte and a Thierry Frémaux-presented European Film Week.
Following, very brief notes on some of the major winners in the biggest sections:
Primer Corte
A triumph for producer Cristina Velasco at Paloma Negra Films, with “Lovers Fare Goodbye,” from “Northless” director Pérezcano snagging the crucial Cine+Plus Award which bids fair for a sale to France. It wasn’t the only act in town, however, with horror-laced psychological thriller “The Drowned,” from emerging Ecuadorian auteur Juan Sebastián Jácome (“Cenizas”) and Victor Mares scored three nods.
Copia Final
Costa Rican Antonella Sudasassi Furnis’s “Memories of a Burning Body” near swept the board, thanks to a hybrid fiction-doc peppered by reconstruction of past events, as Ana (68), Patricia (69), and Mayela (71) in the present open up about their hidden sexuality, breaking the silence they shared with mothers, sisters, daughters, and granddaughters.
Netflix Award at SoloSerieS
Unarguably the hardest fought plaudit at Ventana Sur, with winner “Impermanence” proving one five finalist screenplays chosen from 620 submissions from women screenwriters. The line to simply attend the five finalists’ pitches snaked deep down a corridor of Buenos Aires’ Universidad Católica Argentina; finalists presented to one of the market’s liveliest since young audiences in one of Ventana Sur’s most spirited sessions. “Impermanence,” a peripatetic study of the stigma of menstruation from Colombia’s Laura Otálora, won perhaps for having the most original and social issue skewed premise.
Impermanence
Proyecta
Prizes went to highly contrasting packages; Peru’s son-mother coming of age drama “Tell Me How Much You Love Me” from Camila Zavala Chocano, pretty much off the radar before making its market debut at Ventana Sur; and Brazilian-Cuban co-production “Moa,” from Marcel Beltrán, which was the biggest winner at Locarno’s 2022 Open Doors, María Farinha Films now boarding as a co-producer in another promising sign of a standout proposition.
Animation!
In one of the most simpático moments at the awards ceremony, Silvina Cornillón, the high respected head of Animation! stopped in her tracks talking on stage when she realized that she was addressing the largely Spanish-speaking audience in English, and had been talking to the section’s English-speaking jury in Spanish.
Her confusion is highly understandable. Under Cornillón, Animation! has built into Latin America’s most connected animation space, working with Annecy and part of La Liga, a three-way alliance of Animation!, Mexico’s Pixelatl, and Spain’s Quirino Awards.
Two titles stood out by winning double, both plaudits related to these axes. Series “Knightmares,” a horror comedy for 8-12s directed by Mexican award-winning publicist and radio novela scribe Juan Sotelo, scored an invitation to pitch at Animation!’s special focus program at Annecy’s MIFA Market and full access accreditation for the Co-Production & Business Forum at next year’s Quirino Awards.
Each episode framing a poetic fable and a small journey of self-knowledge, “Tales of Mungará,” from Brazil’s Carnaval Filmes, scooped an accreditation from MIFA and a La Liga Ibero-American Animation Award, comprising a full invitation to the Quirinos and Pixelatl.
Paradiso WIP Award
Won in 2021 by Gabriel Martins’ family drama “Mars One,” which went on to be selected for Sundance, this year’s $10,000 cash prize went to another deserving title, “The Cuban Doctor,” a film turning on a sense of agency and a quality not that common in movies: kindness.
Blood Window
Honors were broadly spread between a clutch of titles with two titles winning double nods: “Spittle,” a frenetic gore action movie from Argentina’s always intriguing and changing Martin Desalvo (“The Hunter’s Silence,” “El Ciego”) and “The Woman Who Dreamt Under Water,” a psychological tragedy-thriller the directorial debut of screenwriter Carla Sierra and producer Ale García, behind “This Is Not Berlin” and “Dead Man’s Hand.” “Woman’s” win scooped the biggest whoops of applause at the whole ceremony, a reminder of a bigger than normal Mexican presence at this year’s Ventana Sur.
Two other winners, Ximena García Lecuona’s “No Me Sigas” and Caye Casas’ “Malamuerte” were among the biggest buzz titles at this year’s Ventana Sur.
At the Blood Window Screenings, “Charming,” the fourth feature from Argentinian maverick José María Cicala, reigned supreme with a small town tale of serial murders, psychosis and corruption.
Tinta Oscura
Now in its second year and backed by Buenos Aires independent Del Toro Films (“Auxilio”), a high-caliber competition was won by Mexico’s extraordinarily prolific and multi-prized horror writer Sandra Becerril (“Desde tu infierno”) with “All Your Fears,” a nightmarish tale of possession and even worse. Del Toro is now ready to produce, will update on production details at Cannes.
Maquinitas
“Ghostless” by Brazil’s Coffeenauts, garnered the Most Promising Game award in the Maquinitas section aimed at fostering video game projects. Described as a “fusion of various genres, combining elements from Metroidvania, base builders, and themes reminiscent of ‘Blade Runner,’” it expands on mankind’s worst existential scenario come true when the AI it has created takes over and it’s become a fight for survival. Individuals are interviewed to determine whether they are secretly androids or not.
Principio del Film
Six titles won the First Draft Award given to raw, unproduced projects. Standouts were animated feature “Uky and Lola in the land of Fire” from Chile’s Fabian Andrade, a Cannes Marché du Film-featured project which traces Young Selk’nam Uly and Shaman Lola as they unlock ancient magic to rescue their tribe from encroaching ranchers. “Wild Horse”(“Cimarrón”) from Argentina’s Mariana Chiesa and Juan Sabio focuses on a marginalized teen who tends to a racehorse and betrays his belief system in order to win over a pastor’s daughter. It was a 2020 INCAA Raymundo Gleyzer-selected project. “Birthing”(“Alumbramiento”) from Mexico’s Sireneé Limon-Lason Blanco, is set in 1870s Mexico where our heroine, Matilde, defies norms by becoming the first female student at the National School of Medicine. Project was developed at FONCA Young Creators and received Mexico’s IMCINE Film Creators Incentive with Elisa Miller advising.
VENTANA SUR’S 2023 PRIZES:
PRIMER CORTE
Cine+Plus Award
“Lovers Fare Goodbye,” (Rigoberto Pérezcano, Mexico)
Le Film Français/Cannes Film Market Award
“The Drownings,” (Juan Sebastián Jácome, Victor Mares, Ecuador, Uruguay)
Sofía Films Award
“Lovers Fare Goodbye,”
NMF / Color Front Award
“Seeds,” (Eliana Niño, Colombia, Spain)
LaMayor Cine Award
“The Drownings,”
APCLAI Award
“Lovers Fare Goodbye,”
CAACI Award
“Lovers Fare Goodbye,”
Dolby Vision Atmos
“The Drownings,”
Visom Digital
“The Cuban Doctor,” (Bernard Lessa, Brazil)
“Lovers Fare Goodbye,”
Stone Milk
“Lovers Fare Goodbye,”
COPIA FINAL
Cine+Plus Award
“Memories of a Burning Body,” (Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, Costa Rica, Spain)
Le Film Francais/Cannes Film Market Award
“Memories of a Burning Body,”
APCLAI Award
“Memories of a Burning Body,”
Percepciones Textuales Award
“A House with Two Dogs,” (Matias Ferreyra, Argentina)
Ibero-American Film Festival Miami Award
“Memories of a Burning Body,”
Special Mention
“Tiger,” (José María Cabral, Dominican Republic)
SOLOSERIES
Netflix Award
“Impermanence,” (Laura Otálora, Colombia)
Flixxo Awards
“Callback,” (Juan Francisco Chapur, Argentina)
“The Magical Jonson,” (Franco Dadone, Peru)
“Apparently,” (Carlos Indriago, Spain)
PROYECTA
WEMW Award
“Tell Me How Much You Love Me,” (Camila Zabala, Peru)
Sørfond Award
“Moa,” (Marcel Beltrán, Cuba, Brazil)
BLOOD WINDOW LAB
Sitges, Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia Award
“Spittle,” (Martín Desalvo, Argentina)
Bifan/NAFF Award
“Don’t Follow Me,” (“No Me Sigas,” Ximena García Lecuona, Mexico)
Fantasolab
“Spittle,” (Martín Desalvo, Argentina)
Terror Molins Film Festival Award
“The Woman Who Dreamt Underwater,” (Ale García, Carla Sierra, Mexico)
“At the End of the Night,” (Jorge Navas, Colombia)
Cine Qua Non Lab Award
“Malamuerte,” (Caye Casas, Spain)
FANT.LATINA
Woman In Fan
“The Woman Who Dreamt Underwater,” (Ale García, Carla Sierra, Mexico)
SCREENINGS
La Mayor Award
“Do Not Enter,” (Hugo Cardozo, Paraguay)
Sofia Films Award
“Charming,” (José María Cicala, Argentina)
Chemistry Award
“Charming,” (José María Cicala, Argentina)
Lahaye Media Award
“Charming,” (José María Cicala, Argentina)
Sitges, Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia Award
“Deep Argento,” (Giancarlo Rolandi, Italy)
“Marisa y Gomoso,” (Pablo Parés, Argentina)
Hypnotic VFX
“Charming,” (José María Cicala, Argentina)
TINTA OSCURA
Del Toro Films Award
“All Your Fears,”(Sandra Becerril, Mexico)
ANIMATION!
Mifa/Annecy Award
TV Series
“Bolla,” (Ariadna Galaz, Jorge Peralta Calladitos, Mexico)
“Knightmares,” (Juan Pablo Sotelo, Mexico)
Feature Films
“If I Die,” (Esther Vital, Brazil, Spain)
“Seed,” (Andrés Sehinkman, Federico Carlini, Argentina)
Mifa/Annecy Special mention
“Tales of Mungará,” (Nara Aragão, Renata Roberta Azevedo , Brazil)
“Lucila,” (Bernardita Ojeda, Chile)
Pixelatl Award
“Electro Andes,” (Damián Fernández Gómez, Rojo Mc Gil, Argentina)
Weird Market Award
“Astropackers,” (Luisa Velásquez, Felipe Rodriguez, Colombia)
Premios Quirino Awards
“Knightmares,” (Juan Sotelo, Mexico)
“La Veta del Diablo,” (Germán Acuña, Chile)
La Liga de la Animación Iberoamericana Award
“Tales of Mungará,” (Nara Aragão, Renata Roberta Azevedo, Brazil)
LatinX in Animation Award
“Kolaval,” (Karla Velázquez, Mexico)
PUNTO GENERO
Género-Dac Award (Argentine Film Directors)
“Mom Lulú,” Mar Rivera (México, Estados Unidos, Honduras)
“Where We Belong,” (Obeida Benavides, Colombia
Apima Género Award
“Lonely Hearts,” (Caru Alves de Souza, Brazil, France)
AND Género Award
“Orgasms, Sex and All That,” (Teresa María Saporiti, Argentina)
EL PRINCIPIO DEL FILM
Final Draft Award
“Wild Horse,” (Mariana Chiesa, Juan Sabio, Argentina)
“Before The Future Comes,” (Gabriel Di Giacomo Rocha, Brazil)
“Uky and Lola in the land of Fire,” (Fabian Andrade, Chile)
“Electric Angel,” Carlos Franco Esguerra, Colombia)
“Birthing,” (Sireneé Limon-Lason Blanco, Mexico)
“The Escape,” (Rolando Meléndez, Puerto Rico)
“Valizas,” (Rodolfo Santullo, Uruguay)
Fantástica Audiovisual
“Before The Future Comes,” (Gabriel Di Giacomo Rocha, Brazil)
Noche Americana
“Spellbound,” (Lucila Las Heras, Matías Alejandro Gamio, Argentina)
MAQUINITAS
Most Promising Game
“Ghostless,” (Coffeenauts, Brazil)
Best Art
“Hollow Flowers,” (Ruido Amigo, Argentina)
Best Design
“Tempus Vitae,” (Whiteboard Games, Argentina)
Best Technical Challenge
“Airborne Arena,” (Fireborne Games, Uruguay)
DOCSUR
Festival de Trieste APCLAI Award
“Lost Mariachis,” (Francisco Ohem, México)
APIMA DOC Award
“3000 KM by Bike,” (Ivan Vescovo, Argentina)
DOCU DAC Award
“A World Imagined,” (Marcos Rodríguez, Argentina, Taiwan)
Edgar Allan Post Award
“Rita Lee – B Side,” (Oswaldo Santana, Brazil)
El Cono del Silencio Award
“Jorge Polaco,” (María Onis, Argentina)
Guateque Cine Award
“Lost Mariachis,” (Francisco Ohem, México)
Percepciones Textuales Award
“3000 KM by bike,” (Ivan Vescovo, Argentina)
“Troubles in Paradise – The Myth of Motherhood,” (Patricia Fróes, Brazil)
Cannes Docs, Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes Award
“3000 KM by bike,” (Ivan Vescovo, Argentina)
Doc.co Poster Award
“Negror,” (Joyce Prado, Sidney Santiago Kuanza, Brazil)
“3000 KM by bike,” (Ivan Vescovo, Argentina)
RECAM Award
“Troubles in Paradise – The Myth of Motherhood,” (Patricia Fróes, Brazil)
Conicet Documental Award
“Ayvu – to Speak My Forbidden Language,” (Joaquin Pedretti, Argentina, Paraguay)
A+E History Channel
“Love Does Not Exist,” (Fermín de la Serna, Argentina, U.S.)
Special Mention DOC SUR 2023
“In Deep Waters Travels a Dream,” (Inti Jacanamijoy, Colombia)
“Bonpland, Naturalist and Spy,” (Francisco de Santis, Argentina)
“The French Girl’s Crime,” (Miguel Ángel Rocca, Maximiliano Mastrángelo, Argentina)
FANTASMATICA
Weird Animation, Video Games & New Media Market Award
“The Uncle’s Song,” (Miguel Otálora, Colombia)
“Hollow Flowers,” (Daniel Yepes, Argentina)
“Black Bird,” (Esteban Pérez Ojeda, Chile)
“A-347,” (Milton Andrés Cruz Rojas, Colombia)
Cine Qua Non Lab Award
“Black Bird,” (Esteban Pérez Ojeda, Chile)
Study Boards Award
“Black Bird,” (Esteban Pérez Ojeda, Chile)
-Anna Marie de la Fuente contributed to this report.
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