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CANADA SHOWCASE : HISTORIC CINEMA
Videodrome
Sala Euquerio Guerrero – 20:00 hrs
Renewing horror movies
Appealing to psychological horror closer to the physical repulsion and psychological trauma caused by physical deformation, David Cronenberg renewed the horror genre and in the process became one of the most renowned cult directors in the world and one of the most innovative minds in the cinematic landscape at the time. Filmmaker of classic films such as The Fly, Scanners, Naked Lunch, eXistenZ, Dead Ringers, A History of Violence, Crash and Eastern Promises, troubled viewers in 1983 with the release of the delirious science fiction work Videodrome.
Awarded at the International Fantastic Film Festival in Brussels, as well as at the Genie Awards, Videodrome is a film that examines the evolution of the human being in relation to technology. A mix of conspiracies, surrealism and visceral terror, this difficult-to-classify film stands out for its prophetic vision of a world controlled by reality shows and the spread of clandestine extreme films. Using a parade of repulsive images, paroxysms of blood and tumors, Cronenberg speculates on the perversity of media that manipulate the masses and brings dangers to the human psyche.
The experience of watching Videodrome is quite difficult, but it allows us to witness some of the most disturbing scenes in fantasy and horror films. Few films have been so risky and there is no doubt that Cronenberg is one of the most intrepid directors in the industry, making science fiction films with stunning special effects without the benefit of computers or today’s digital technology.
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OFICIAL SELECTION DOCUMENTARY: PROGRAM 3
69 Minutes of 86 Days / Waiting for Hassana
Teatro Cervantes – 16:00 hrs
From Global History to Personal Story
As has been mentioned earlier in previous Imperdibles, documentary film has taken great leaps thanks to the notable uptick in its audience, something that is reflected in the proliferation of festivals specialized in screening them. This has influenced producers that are currently earmarking a greater resource for their development, as well as filmmakers who seek to experiment with new formats, expanding the reach of a genre that just like the essay in literature, is constantly moving and shies away from the limits surrounding it.
This third program of the Official Selection – Documentary presents two films that take on, from different angles and approaches, two stories that originated from terrorism. Both films represent a fresh take on the documentary genre, distinguishing itself from others by maintaining a personal point of view when telling its story.
69 Minutes of 86 Days, directed by the Norwegian filmmaker Egil Haskjold, tells the story of Lean, a three-year-old girl who travels from Greece to Sweden with her close family. Each step they take is one step closer to her grandfather in Sweden, which fills the little girl with vital hope, making this an energetic and optimistic story. Waiting for Hassana is a short film directed by Ifunanya Maduka that introduces us to the reality of Chibok, a small city in Nigeria afflicted by terrorist attacks from Boko Haram, an Islamic faction that, in its opposition to Western education, has kidnapped more than 2000 students, both women and little girls. Taking a specific case in 2014, when 276 women were kidnapped after the burning of their school, Waiting for Hassana focuses on the story of Jessica, a survivor who escaped and who shares her difficult story, but she joyfully remembers a friendship she made during her confinement.
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CANADA SHOWCASE : HISTORIC CINEMA
My Winnipeg
Sala Euquerio Guerrero – 18:00 hrs
El asalto de la fantasía documental
The Assault of the Documentary Fantasy
Screenwriter, director and cinematographer who has won awards at festivals such as BIFFF, Clermont-Ferrand, Las Palmas, RIFF, San Francisco, Sitges, SXSW and TIFF, with more than 30 films on his resume including The Dead Father, Dracula: Virgin’s Diary, The Saddest Music in the World, Keyhole and The Forbidden Room, Guy Maddin seamlessly weaves fantasy with memory into a fake documentary that serves as a portrait of his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
My Winnipeg, which premiered at Berlinale, originated in Maddin’s dream of escaping his city. Blending memories of childhood, distorted by his imagination and memory itself, with historical facts and dramatic interpretations, the director develops what he calls “docufantasia,” a delirious game that plunges us into an unexpected and exciting hypnosis. Reminiscent of silent films, German expressionism, Soviet montage and melodramas from the 1950’s converge in a surreal chronicle that superimposes three layers of narrative to talk about the heavy weightlessness of the ghosts of our past.
We may not be witnessing the birth of a new genre, but it’s a clear example of the openness of the documentary amidst the possibilities of experimentation. To witness My Winnipeg is to embark on an incredible journey towards “another self,” the one we see in the mirror; It’s to lead us through a story that jumps from memory to memory, as if from a novel by Marcel Proust. Perhaps the journey undertaken between the desire to leave home and to be haunted by it never ends, because the exploration of memory is infinite.
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OFICIAL SELECTION MEXICO: PROGRAM 1
Teatro Cervantes – 14:00 hrs
Un vistazo corto al nuevo cine mexicano
A Short Look at the New Mexican Cinema
The first day of GIFF in the state’s capital begins with a screening of Program 1 from the Official Selection – Mexico, which includes five short films made in the last year and seeking to win the competition that rewards the best in national cinema. With a total of 41 films in competition, the Official Selection-Mexico is presented as the most nourished in the festival, which makes it clear how important GIFF is to our country’s filmmaking.
Directed by Clemente Castor, who has participated at festivals like the Morelia Film Festival, the Houston Latino Film Festival and the Short Film Corner in Cannes, the short film Resplandece deals with the complexity of human relationships, especially in uprooting; CCC student Eddie Rubio’s Lucha tells a story about courage and perseverance as a way to face unjust violence with honor; Pigs, from Ariel-nominated actor Diego Cataño, tells the story of two dysfunctional young people who have a sick relationship and those who are about to fall into a violent tunnel towards their deepest fears. Fabián León López’s Chambelán strikes us by showing us the life of Daniel, a troubled teenager who is capable of doing the unthinkable in order to escape. The program finishes off with Eduardo Esquivel’s Lo que no se dice bajo el sol, about a woman who is upset because she can’t keep hiding her problems from her family, especially when she undergoes a separation that changes her life dramatically.
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