In its 27th edition, Chile arrives at the Malaga Festival (Andalusia/Spain) with a large delegation, both at the Festival and in the industry area, reported CinemaChile.
“This year, documentaries in competition predominate, which demonstrates the vigor of this genre in Chilean cinema, also coinciding with the second Oscar nomination for ‘La memoria infinite’”, by Maite Alberdi,” says Alexandra Galvis, vice president of APCT and general co-coordinator of CinemaChile.
Galvis also highlights that both the feature films and the short are “co-productions, another of the great trends that is repeated in the different Festivals and that responds to the need to complete the financing by the national industry, but that greatly favors to its internationalization.”
The Chilean presence in the juries of different sections also stands out: the actress Antonia Zegers, in the Official Section, the Chilean actress (based in Madrid) Luisa Mayol in ZonaCine, the journalist Matías Rebolledo (based in Madrid) as the Critics’ Jury and MAFIZ level (Málaga Festival Industry Zone) Gabriela Sandoval, president of the APCT (Association of Film and Television Producers), Málaga WIP Spain Jury.
In competition
“The snow between the two”, by Pablo Martínez Pessi, is a co-production between Chile (Errante), Sweden (Pråmfilm AB) and Uruguay (Gabinete films). Inés travels to Kiruna, a town on the Arctic-Swedish polar circle and more than thirteen thousand kilometers from Uruguay. Revisit her past of exile captured in hundreds of handwritten letters between her and her father, imprisoned for 14 years in Uruguay. Letters in which they shared dreams and difficulties, where writing and family became a bridge to be together, wherever. The film will have its premiere on March 7.
Meanwhile, “Otro sol” is the debut feature of Francisco Rodríguez Teare. It is a co-production between Chile (Araucaria Cine), France (Don Quichotte Films) and Belgium (Michigan Films) that arrives in Malaga after having won the Latin American competition at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. Another Sun is a group of real and fictional characters trapped in a movie. The film is circular and seeks to invent and verify the myth of Alberto Cándia, a Chilean international thief who robbed the Cathedral of Cádiz in Andalusia. It will premiere on March 4.
Finally, “La dios quebrada”, directed by the Chilean-Venezuelan, Ximena Pereira, will be in the documentary short film competition. It is one in co-production with Venezuela. The myth of María Lionza, the goddess of Venezuela, merges with the experience of a migrant filmmaker who longs for her lost Goddess. Through two decades of filming, the film reveals the different faces of the fracture of the iconic statue of the Goddess in the middle of a Caracas marked by a sharp political and social division. It will have its premiere on March 3.
MAFIZ: Málaga Festival Industry Zone
From March 4 to 8, MAFIZ will be held, the meeting of the Festival’s industry area, which has been taking place since the 20th edition. On this occasion again, in collaboration with MAFIZ, the Chilean production and post-production company Yagan Films together with SANFIC (Santiago International Film Festival) and SANFIC Industria will award four awards in two sections of the Málaga Festival Industry Zone (MAFIZ), an initiative that strengthens the presence of the Chilean audiovisual industry internationally.
In turn, the Chilean presence will be found in the following sections:
MÁLAGA FESTIVAL FUND&CO-PRODUCTION EVENT
In this category, innovative Ibero-American cinematography is sought, with content that raises awareness in society. Two Chilean projects were selected from among 120 applications: Room 205, directed by Pablo Díaz del Río. Produced by Río Estudios, Magma Cine and Storyboard Media. Fiction based on one of the largest political conspiracies in Latin America, a conspiracy that concludes in the death of former Chilean president Eduardo Freí Montalva; and Un amputado directed by Ignacio Pavez and produced by Naira Cine and Bússola Films. It narrates what happens to Raúl after the amputation of an arm and all the consequences that this event unleashes on his existence.
MÁLAGA WORK IN PROGRESS IBEROAMERICANO (WIP)
Of the seven films selected in this section (already in post-production stage) three are Chilean. “Patio de Chacales” is the debut feature of Diego Figueroa, and produced by Alejandro Ugarte, set during the Pinochet dictatorship and produced by Infractor Films. A man begins to hear heartbreaking screams of people being tortured in a nearby house. The film is inspired by real events.
“Kaye” is the second feature film by Juan Cáceres, who debuted in 2019 with “Perro Bomba” (which won three awards at the Málaga Festival). Produced by the Chilean companies Infractor Films, Pejeperro Films and Pobre Jaula, together with the Italian company Ombre Rosse, the film stars Yeka, a girl who lives in a village that Chilean society associates with crime and drug trafficking.
The third title is “The Great Illusion of Sebastián Pereira”, produced by the Chilean LaWarrior Films, tells the story of a young Cuban who dreams of being part of the cast of a Netflix series. The project was awarded to be part of Málaga WIP during its participation in FIDBA Doc Lab. It is scheduled to premiere in March 2025.
SHOWCASE MÁLAGA – FICVIÑA
MAFIZ, through Málaga WIP, celebrates its first edition of Showcase Málaga, a program to showcase films in Work in progress organized in conjunction with FICViña.
These projects that are in the post-production phase are:
“The true story of People In The Dragon”, directed by Pablo Green (Lanza Verde and Tercer mundo, Chile). A promising Chilean band that is about to consolidate itself, having been confirmed as the closing act of the 2009 Viña Festival. However, two days before the big show, Álvaro, its vocalist and composer, dies in an accident. Looking for international release, sales and distribution agent.
“Miguel’s Plan”, by Pablo Stephens (NEOFILMS, Chile). Miguel is a secret agent of the Pinochet dictatorship. After the defeat of the dictator in the 1988 plebiscite, this man creates an armed group of poor children to carry out a macabre plan. Looking for an international premiere, distribution company and sales agent.
“After the fog”, by Miriam Heard (Producer -1cine and Echo art films, Chile) In Chile in 1988, months before the plebiscite, María (8) lives during the week in a boarding house in Osorno where she can go to the school. She longs for the days she spends with family. She is looking for European co-producers for post production, distribution and sales agent.
“#300 CARTAS”, by Lucas Santa Ana (Matchbox films and Locodelaltillo, Argentina). Jero and Tom are the couple everyone wants to be. Jero takes care of his aesthetics and his cryptocurrencies. Tom is alternative and loves poetry. They live together and are happy… or so they think. Looking for co-production to complete sound post-production processes, co-production to finance the purchase of musical rights for pre-existing songs, color correction and distribution.
