Unarchive
Dir. Cecilia Araneda
Solitude
Dir. Yoel Ortega
Sol
Dir. Andy Alvarez
The Age of Memory
Loops of memory. A possibility of forgetting. The incessant future teeming with the past.
This emotive shorts program highlights recent works by Latin-Canadian filmmakers.
Program running time: 75 min
Available for viewing ONLINE across Canada from August 26 – September 5.
Jatun Llaxta, Noh Kaah…
Dir. Marcos Arriaga
Toronto/Peru, 2020 | 8 min
No dialogue
An experimental film that explores ancient cities in Peru, Mexico, and the US. Images of Machu Pichu, Sacsayhuamán, Uxmal, Chichen Itza, and Mesa Verde have been blow up from Super 8 to 16 mm, handheld developed and reticulated to create an evocative view of our past.
“Some of the world’s oldest archeological sites take on new form and meaning when viewed from a different perspective, raising pointed questions about how our history is curated and presented.” – Hong Kong International Film Festival 45, Avant Garde Shorts Programme – 2021
Marcos Arriaga – Born in Lima, Peru, Marcos graduated with a Communications degree from San Martin de Porras University in 1985 and worked as a journalist before immigrating to Canada in 1987. He graduated from Sheridan College’s Media Arts Film Program in 1995 followed by a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Production at York University in 2003. Marcos works as a Film Technician in the Department of Cinema and Media Arts at York University and lives in Toronto, Canada. He works often in Super 8 and 16mm and has made over a dozen films. As a Director of Photography he has worked on several award-winning independent productions including: Honey Moccasin (1998), Deep Inside of Clint Star (1999), and Johnny Grey Eyes (2001).
Unarchive
Dir. Cecilia Araneda
Winnipeg/Chile, 2020 | 12.43 min
English & Spanish with English subtitles
Unarchive juxtaposes the filmmaker’s father’s life with the political history of Chile – his birthplace – over the past century. It reflects on how we remember and how we forget, and the role of the camera in transcending the complex space in between.
Chilean-born filmmaker Cecilia Araneda has completed 15 short films to-date, which have been presented at film festivals, artist run centres and art museums around the world, and that have been recognized with various awards and distinctions nationally and internationally. Many of her experimental shorts have screened at VLAFF including: Mer Bleue (2019), The Space Shuttle Challenger (2017), Presque Vu (2013), and What Comes Between (2009).
Avec le temps (With Time)
Dir. Eva Urrutia
Montreal/Argentina, 2019 | 30 min
Spanish & French with English subtitles
Estela learns that her cancer has returned. She begins to see her dead son in dreams and is forced to look into a past that she had, until now, successfully managed to forget. When her daughter Inés visits, Estela feels compelled to talk about a traumatic event that marked them both and turned their already strained relationship into an abyss of silence. An abyss that, with time, grows deeper and darker.
Eva Urrutia was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has lived in Canada since she was 21 years old. She studied Cinematography at the Film Union School (CFP S.I.C.A) in Buenos Aires, specializing in script writing, directing, and photography. Her previous short film, Through Your Eyes (2003), was projected in numerous film festivals, receiving awards at One World Film Festival in Ottawa and aluCine: Latin Film+Media Arts Festival in Toronto. Eva lived in Vancouver for fourteen years but is now residing between Montreal and Buenos Aires.
Solitude
Dir. Yoel Ortega
Vancouver/Cuba, 2021 | 9.57 min
After losing his only son, Ed has to find the strength to keep moving forward. Despite life’s challenges, he still has a reason to live.
Yoel Ortega was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to Canada in 2010. Since 2005 he has been working as a writer, director, producer, and editor in the local film industry. In 2016 he created Black Can Films Inc., a production company where he has been able to continue working on his films as well as helping other creators with their film projects. In 2019, Yoel released his short film 4:30 María, which has been shown in film festivals worldwide.
Sol
Dir. Andy Alvarez
Vancouver/Colombia, 2020 | 14.11 min | English
Set in 2042, the world is ravaged by climate change and a mother races to teach her daughter the emergency preparedness that comes with each disaster after experiencing a tragic loss.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Andy Alvarez is a director/producer based in Vancouver, BC. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BFA in Film Production. Her work includes La Mariposa (2017); Our Home (2019), which won the Lindalee Tracy Award at the Hot Docs Film Festival; the Crazy 8’s short film Sol (2020); and the TELUS Storyhive Web-series Pilot, Growing Up with Mi Familia (2020). She is one of the co-founders of Studio 104 Entertainment.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Vancouver Latin American Film Festival is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.