Latin passion remains on screen
Festivalíssimo goes on without funding
Times are tough for Festivalíssimo, but Elisa Pierna won’t give up. Despite working with the barest of bare-bones budgets, the founder and general director of the LatinAmerican film festival is more determined than ever to bring movies from the Spanish diaspora to Montreal screens.
Festivalíssimo’s 17th edition takes place Thursday through March 11 (returning to its longstanding time frame after two years of running in May and June), with a lineup that includes 17 feature films, with special sections on Cuban and Chilean cinema.
“It’s a festival that has its place,” Pierna said.
“We work with a lot of passion, even without funding.”
Until 2010, Festivalíssimo received money from the Quebec government. In that final year of funding, the fest was given $75,000 ($50,000 from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and $25,000 from the Ministry of Tourism).
That ended, Pierna explained, when the government changed its funding criteria last year. Since then, she has been scrambling to keep her festival afloat. Tuesday afternoon, she received more bad news in the form of a phone call from Telefilm Canada informing her that the agency would not be able to contribute to the festival this year.
“But at least they took the time to call,” she said.
The show goes on. If 17 years of experience have taught the Spanish expat anything, it’s how to track down quality films by any means necessary. Much of Festivalíssimo’s lineup consists of movies that have had success on the international festival circuit.
Two were part of Cannes last year. Las Acacias, by Argentina’s Pablo Giorgelli, won Cannes’s coveted Caméra d’or. It’s a roadmovie romance between a solitary truck driver and the mother of an 8-month-old girl. Porfirio, by Colombia’s Alejandro Landes, tells of a handicapped man in an Amazonian village who wishes he could fly; the film was part of the fest’s Director’s Fortnight.
In Festivalíssimo’s opening film, La Hora Cero, by Venezuela’s Diego Velasco, a hit man breaks into a hospital, taking patients hostage in order to save a friend. The closing film, Anónimo, by Chile’s Renato Pérez Arancibia, is a family drama about a former criminal trying to reconnect with his family.
Pierna praised Alberto Ramos Ruiz, of the Havana Film Festival, who assisted with this year’s programming.
Ruiz helped bring in several films that appeared at the Havana festival, including Riscado, by Brazil’s Gustavo Pizzi, about an aspiring actress looking for her big break; La Mitad de Oscar, by Spain’s Manuel Martín Cuenca, about a brother and sister who are reunited after the death of their grandfather and must deal with their secret past; and La Independencia Inconclusa, by Chile’s Luis R. Vera, a threehour documentary about the major issues affecting Latin America over the past 200 years.
The latter is part of Festivalíssimo’s Focus on Chilean Cinema category, which also includes Viola Chilensis, a documentary by Vera about the popular singer Violeta Parra.
Among the other titles at the festival are Gordo, Calvo y Bajito, by Colombia’s Carlos Osuna; Habanastation, by Cuba’s Ian Padrón; No Tengas Miedo, by Spain’s Montxo Armendáriz; and two films by Mexico’s Yulene Olaizola, including last year’s Paraísos Artificiales.
A special section called Young Cuban Cinema includes two programs of documentary shorts and one of short fiction films.
Despite her event’s financial problems, Pierna remains upbeat.
“I want the festival to continue,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of interest this year. Maybe it’s because we’re returning to our original dates, or it’s a result of being passionate, but I feel like it will be a big success.”
Festivalíssimo runs Thursday to March 11 at Excentris, 3536 St. Laurent Blvd. All films are subtitled in English. For tickets and more information, call 514-847-2206 or visit festivalissimo.ca.
“I want the festival to continue. I think there’s a lot of interest this year.” FESTIVALÍSSIMO FOUNDER ELISA PIERNA