The 10th Panama Int’l Film Festival wrapped Sunday, Dec. 5 with Michel Franco’s Acapulco-set drama “Sundown” closing the event.
Winners of the rough-cut sidebar Primera Mirada were announced at closing night, which took place at festival venue, La Manzana de Santa Ana. Costa Rican entries took home the top prizes this year, indicative of the tiny Central American nation’s outsized filmmaking talent.
The Primera Mirada jury, led by Diana Sánchez, Marcelo Quesada and Paula Gastaud, bestowed the top prize to Costa Rican supernatural drama “Domingo and the Mist” by Ariel Escalante who took home the $10,000 cash prize; Mauricio Morales of El Salvador won the second cash prize of $5,000 for his docu “Milo, Breaking Frontiers.”
“I’m enormously thankful to Iff Panama for having not only supported ‘Domingo and the Mist,’ both in Primera Mirada as well as in the Panama Film Match a year and a half ago,...
Winners of the rough-cut sidebar Primera Mirada were announced at closing night, which took place at festival venue, La Manzana de Santa Ana. Costa Rican entries took home the top prizes this year, indicative of the tiny Central American nation’s outsized filmmaking talent.
The Primera Mirada jury, led by Diana Sánchez, Marcelo Quesada and Paula Gastaud, bestowed the top prize to Costa Rican supernatural drama “Domingo and the Mist” by Ariel Escalante who took home the $10,000 cash prize; Mauricio Morales of El Salvador won the second cash prize of $5,000 for his docu “Milo, Breaking Frontiers.”
“I’m enormously thankful to Iff Panama for having not only supported ‘Domingo and the Mist,’ both in Primera Mirada as well as in the Panama Film Match a year and a half ago,...
- 12/6/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Launched in 2015, Iff Panama’s rough-cut sidebar Primera Mirada has proved a vital launch pad for Central American and Caribbean films in post, providing that all-important impetus towards their final completion.
A jury led by Diana Sánchez, Marcelo Quesada and Paula Gastaud along with head curators, festival director Pituka Ortega Heilbron and Iff Panama industry head Karla Quintero, selected five projects out of 13 applications this year.
Reflecting on the criteria they used to choose the finalists, Ortega Heilbron said: “Aside from quality, we seek new voices that will represent our region. Central America is influenced by U.S. and European cultures so these mélange of cultures makes for a unique identity; we’re looking for projects that speak to our identity as Central American and Caribbean.”
“Our region’s cinema is often overlooked, but it has so much vibrance and power; even with the pandemic, our filmmakers were generating new cinema,...
A jury led by Diana Sánchez, Marcelo Quesada and Paula Gastaud along with head curators, festival director Pituka Ortega Heilbron and Iff Panama industry head Karla Quintero, selected five projects out of 13 applications this year.
Reflecting on the criteria they used to choose the finalists, Ortega Heilbron said: “Aside from quality, we seek new voices that will represent our region. Central America is influenced by U.S. and European cultures so these mélange of cultures makes for a unique identity; we’re looking for projects that speak to our identity as Central American and Caribbean.”
“Our region’s cinema is often overlooked, but it has so much vibrance and power; even with the pandemic, our filmmakers were generating new cinema,...
- 12/3/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes – A 2017 Cinéfondation First Jury Prize winner, Costa Rica’s Valentina Maurel returned to the Cannes Festival with a new short, the Critics’ Week entry “Lucía en el limbo,” as she prepares her first feature, “El jardin en llamas” (The Garden on Fire).
Given that debut features of top Cinéfondation winners are offered a slot in Official Selection , “Garden” could well be Cannes-bound.
Produced by Marcelo Quesada and Karina Avellán at Costa Rica’s Pacifica Grey, France’s Geko Films and Belgium’s Wrong Men, “Lucía en el limbo” turns on a 16-year-old girl struggling to understand what is expected of her. She wants to lose two two things at all costs: Her lice and her virginity. The later she regards as a kind of initiatory rite inducting her into adulthood. But desire proves far more complex, and disorienting. Variety talked to Maurel about her shorts, past and present, and...
Given that debut features of top Cinéfondation winners are offered a slot in Official Selection , “Garden” could well be Cannes-bound.
Produced by Marcelo Quesada and Karina Avellán at Costa Rica’s Pacifica Grey, France’s Geko Films and Belgium’s Wrong Men, “Lucía en el limbo” turns on a 16-year-old girl struggling to understand what is expected of her. She wants to lose two two things at all costs: Her lice and her virginity. The later she regards as a kind of initiatory rite inducting her into adulthood. But desire proves far more complex, and disorienting. Variety talked to Maurel about her shorts, past and present, and...
- 5/28/2019
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Panama City — “The main problem is how to reach audiences beyond festivals,” says the Locarno Festival’s Nadia Dresti.
The Locarno Industry Academy, which now boasts a network of events outside the Swiss city, aims to help a budding new generation of distribution, sales, exhibition and programming execs to develop answers.
Iff Panama and Locarno have just concluded the Academy’s first edition in Central America.
Reaching audiences is ever harder. “Box office for festival films is going down. One or two big films manage to reach theaters. But most don’t,” said Dresti, who founded the Academy in 2014.
“Festivals used to be a launch pad to the theatrical market, but now sales agents often make their revenues from screening fees at festivals and stop there. We want to develop innovative strategies to change this situation.”
One of the problems is that younger people no longer watch arthouse films in...
The Locarno Industry Academy, which now boasts a network of events outside the Swiss city, aims to help a budding new generation of distribution, sales, exhibition and programming execs to develop answers.
Iff Panama and Locarno have just concluded the Academy’s first edition in Central America.
Reaching audiences is ever harder. “Box office for festival films is going down. One or two big films manage to reach theaters. But most don’t,” said Dresti, who founded the Academy in 2014.
“Festivals used to be a launch pad to the theatrical market, but now sales agents often make their revenues from screening fees at festivals and stop there. We want to develop innovative strategies to change this situation.”
One of the problems is that younger people no longer watch arthouse films in...
- 4/11/2019
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
Panama City — The 8th Iff Panama has further reinforced its industry dimension, with a record number of submissions to the Primera Mirada pix-in-post sidebar and more sales agents and festival programmers attending the event, which this year includes the Locarno Industry Academy and a new Fipresci Award for the 12-pic Stories from Central America and the Caribbean competition.
2019 boasts a record number of guests and, according to the organizers, advance ticket sales are higher than ever.
23 films were submitted to Primera Mirada, covering different genres from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Panama.
“The selection is powerful and has strong voices,” says Karla Quintero, co-ordinator of Iff Panama’s Industry and Educational Programs. “The films have a consolidated discourse and pay testimony to incredibly sensitive filmmakers in whose films the region’s identity definitely shines through.
She added: “These are exactly the voices this award is meant to amplify and empower.
2019 boasts a record number of guests and, according to the organizers, advance ticket sales are higher than ever.
23 films were submitted to Primera Mirada, covering different genres from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Panama.
“The selection is powerful and has strong voices,” says Karla Quintero, co-ordinator of Iff Panama’s Industry and Educational Programs. “The films have a consolidated discourse and pay testimony to incredibly sensitive filmmakers in whose films the region’s identity definitely shines through.
She added: “These are exactly the voices this award is meant to amplify and empower.
- 4/5/2019
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
Costa Rican animation studio Osopez is developing 3D CGI black comedy series “The Pleasefixers,” its most ambitious project to date, which has been selected for pitching at Ventana Sur’s 3rd Animation! showcase.
Co-created by Osopez’s Ariel Arburola and Carlos Redondo, the 12-episode, 23-minute TV show targets young adults and adults, aged 18-34.
“Pleasefixers” follows a special group of people working for a company that deals with washed-out clients who used to be famous and now are desperate for a rebranding that allows them to become popular and get back in business.
Each one of the characters – Yorgos, Iggy, Tamara, Taylor, Frank and Mrs. Page – has a personality based on the specific archetype user of social media platforms YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Tinder, Facebook and Pinterest.
“It kind of looks and behaves like a TV show, but it’s not. It’s a comic strip. Like the Sunday funnies, but on crack,...
Co-created by Osopez’s Ariel Arburola and Carlos Redondo, the 12-episode, 23-minute TV show targets young adults and adults, aged 18-34.
“Pleasefixers” follows a special group of people working for a company that deals with washed-out clients who used to be famous and now are desperate for a rebranding that allows them to become popular and get back in business.
Each one of the characters – Yorgos, Iggy, Tamara, Taylor, Frank and Mrs. Page – has a personality based on the specific archetype user of social media platforms YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Tinder, Facebook and Pinterest.
“It kind of looks and behaves like a TV show, but it’s not. It’s a comic strip. Like the Sunday funnies, but on crack,...
- 12/12/2018
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid — New York-based Visit Films has acquired world sales rights outside Chile and Central America to Costa Rican comedy “Helmet Heads,” Neto Villalobos’ follow-up to first feature “All the Feathers” which, screening at Toronto in 2013 and playing over 30 festivals, established him as one of Central America’s most distinctive auteurs.
Produced by Karina Avellán and Marcelo Quesada for Costa Rica’s Pacífica Grey and Vilalobos, at Sucia Centroamericana, and co-produced by Dominga Sotomayor and Omar Zúñiga for Chile’s Cinestación – which, along with Sotomayor’s own “Too Late to Die Young,” gives the Chilean production house two movies in Discovery – “Helmet Heads” (Cascos Indomables) weighs in as a comedic but loving tribute to friendship and the streets of San José, where it was shot.
That is framed in a coming of age tale of Mancha, so called because of a blotch on his face, who leads a carefree adultescent life,...
Produced by Karina Avellán and Marcelo Quesada for Costa Rica’s Pacífica Grey and Vilalobos, at Sucia Centroamericana, and co-produced by Dominga Sotomayor and Omar Zúñiga for Chile’s Cinestación – which, along with Sotomayor’s own “Too Late to Die Young,” gives the Chilean production house two movies in Discovery – “Helmet Heads” (Cascos Indomables) weighs in as a comedic but loving tribute to friendship and the streets of San José, where it was shot.
That is framed in a coming of age tale of Mancha, so called because of a blotch on his face, who leads a carefree adultescent life,...
- 8/22/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Panama City — One of the biggest challenges facing filmmakers from Central America and the Caribbean is how to release their films in neighboring countries.
This is a problem facing Latin American cinema as a whole, but in larger countries such as Mexico, Argentina or Portuguese-speaking Brazil, the home territory is sufficiently large to achieve significant box office revenues.
In Central America, the countries have small populations and limited domestic funding opportunities, which can be asphyxiating for local filmmakers.
Two Panamanian features are planning multi-territory releases in 2018 – Abner Benaim’s “Ruben Blades is Not my Name” and Arturo Montenegro’s “Frozen in Russia.” This year’s Primera Mirada pix-in-post sidebar also included the omnibus film “Days of Light” which involves six Central American countries, and will be released across the region.
Iff Panama’s industry events attract an increasing number of festivals, distributors and sales agents, which this year included the Tribeca Film Institute,...
This is a problem facing Latin American cinema as a whole, but in larger countries such as Mexico, Argentina or Portuguese-speaking Brazil, the home territory is sufficiently large to achieve significant box office revenues.
In Central America, the countries have small populations and limited domestic funding opportunities, which can be asphyxiating for local filmmakers.
Two Panamanian features are planning multi-territory releases in 2018 – Abner Benaim’s “Ruben Blades is Not my Name” and Arturo Montenegro’s “Frozen in Russia.” This year’s Primera Mirada pix-in-post sidebar also included the omnibus film “Days of Light” which involves six Central American countries, and will be released across the region.
Iff Panama’s industry events attract an increasing number of festivals, distributors and sales agents, which this year included the Tribeca Film Institute,...
- 4/12/2018
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
The Costa Rica International Film Festival has announced the full list of winners from its fifth edition. An initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Youth’s Film Center, this year’s festival included 72 films from around the world and ran from December 8 to December 17 in San Jose.
Read More: Costa Rica’s Big Movie Dreams: How a Country With 150 Theaters Plans to Improve the Central America Film Industry
The jurors of the 2016 fest announced the competition and audience award winners in each of the festival’s three categories at the closing ceremony Saturday at the Magaly Theater.
“After 10 intense days, the 2016 edition of the Costa Rica International Film Festival comes to an end, having firmly established that it is committed not just to national and Central American cinema, but to strengthening its ties with audiences, whose numbers swelled this year compared to the 2015 edition,” Crfic Artistic Director Marcelo Quesada said in a statement.
Read More: Costa Rica’s Big Movie Dreams: How a Country With 150 Theaters Plans to Improve the Central America Film Industry
The jurors of the 2016 fest announced the competition and audience award winners in each of the festival’s three categories at the closing ceremony Saturday at the Magaly Theater.
“After 10 intense days, the 2016 edition of the Costa Rica International Film Festival comes to an end, having firmly established that it is committed not just to national and Central American cinema, but to strengthening its ties with audiences, whose numbers swelled this year compared to the 2015 edition,” Crfic Artistic Director Marcelo Quesada said in a statement.
- 12/19/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
The Costa Rica International Film Festival (Crfic) has announced its complete lineup for its fifth edition. This year, 72 films have been chosen to represent the world’s best in independent cinema, with four world premieres and three Latin American premieres taking place, and over 60 features to be presented for the first time in the region.
“At Crfic we are interested in approaching the idea of artistic diversity; covering a broad spectrum of styles and proposals found in contemporary national and international cinema,” said Marcelo Quesada, Artistic Director for the Festival. “Our identity and our program is built around a free, coherent and risky cinema that moves away from the usual places and bring us closer to different voices and world visions from over 30 countries.”
Read More: Costa Rica Selects Esteban Ramirez’ ‘Presos’ as Oscar Submission
Taking place at the capital city of San José, the festival will run from December...
“At Crfic we are interested in approaching the idea of artistic diversity; covering a broad spectrum of styles and proposals found in contemporary national and international cinema,” said Marcelo Quesada, Artistic Director for the Festival. “Our identity and our program is built around a free, coherent and risky cinema that moves away from the usual places and bring us closer to different voices and world visions from over 30 countries.”
Read More: Costa Rica Selects Esteban Ramirez’ ‘Presos’ as Oscar Submission
Taking place at the capital city of San José, the festival will run from December...
- 11/30/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Central American cinema is the focus of two competitive sections at the sixth Costa Rica International Film Festival, set to run in San José from December 8-17.
The competitive Central American Feature Film roster comprises Costa Rican titles Abrázame Como Antes (pictured) by Jurgen Ureña, El Sonido De Las Cosas by Ariel Escalante, and La Sombra Del Naranjo by Patricia Velásquez and Oscar Herrera; Marcela Zamora’s Los Ofendidos (El Salvador-Mexico); and Guido Bilbao’s Es Hora De Enamorarse from Panama.
Non-competitive sections include Panorama, Radar, Youth, Bridges and Special Presentations. The festival will also pay tribute to director Kelly Reichardt.
“At Crfic we are interested in approaching the idea of artistic diversity; covering a broad spectrum of styles and proposals found in contemporary national and international cinema,” said artistic director Marcelo Quesada. For full details click here.
Production has begun in Winnipeg on genre bending horror, Trench 11. Rossif Sutherland plays a First World War tunneller...
The competitive Central American Feature Film roster comprises Costa Rican titles Abrázame Como Antes (pictured) by Jurgen Ureña, El Sonido De Las Cosas by Ariel Escalante, and La Sombra Del Naranjo by Patricia Velásquez and Oscar Herrera; Marcela Zamora’s Los Ofendidos (El Salvador-Mexico); and Guido Bilbao’s Es Hora De Enamorarse from Panama.
Non-competitive sections include Panorama, Radar, Youth, Bridges and Special Presentations. The festival will also pay tribute to director Kelly Reichardt.
“At Crfic we are interested in approaching the idea of artistic diversity; covering a broad spectrum of styles and proposals found in contemporary national and international cinema,” said artistic director Marcelo Quesada. For full details click here.
Production has begun in Winnipeg on genre bending horror, Trench 11. Rossif Sutherland plays a First World War tunneller...
- 11/30/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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