ÓSCAR RUIZ NAVIA, the great Colombian filmmaker, now hangs out, lives and makes films, in Montreal.
VLAFF, which will celebrate its 24th anniversary in 2026, is a festival that has been a contemporary of directors who have been making films for two decades. One of them is Óscar Ruiz Navia (Cali, Colombia, 1982), one of the most prolific Colombian filmmakers with a solid filmography as both director and producer, with films premiered at festivals such as Berlin, Cannes, and Toronto. We have presented almost all of his films as a director, starting with his ópera prima, EL VUELCO DEL CANGREJO (premiered and awarded in Berlin, 2009), and many others from his work as a producer. The list is extensive and represents some of the best Colombian—and Latin American—films of recent times.
Fortunately for us, Oscar emigrated to Canada, to beautiful Montreal, just two years ago. He recently finished his first work as a Canadian filmmaker, TIGERS CAN BE SEEN IN THE RAIN, which had its world premiere at the prestigious New York Film Festival a few months ago. A beautiful short film shot on 16mm and Super 8 during the Quebec winter.
Óscar has a previous film with Canadian participation while he was still living in Cali; FAIT VIVIR (2020), is a film about the unique music and dancers group Orquesta GKO. The group is based in Montreal and Oscar’s sister Anina is part of it.
Programming Director Christian Sida chatted with Oscar Ruíz last week, while Óscar was moderating Q&As at the Montreal RIDM Documentary Festival.
How has life as an immigrant been for you, and what are your plans?
It’s been a very long process since the pandemic, a very complex process, and although I love my country and Cali very much, I felt a huge need to take a leap, a significant change in my career and personal life. The idea is to put down roots here. Obviously, I’m very interested in staying connected to Colombia. I still have my company in Colombia, but the idea is to stay here and be able to collaborate between both countries.
Besides working on your projects, what else do you do in Montreal?
I came in 2023 and enrolled at Concordia University to do a master’s degree in Film Studies. I finished, and I’m about to submit my thesis so I can graduate.
What project are you working on now?
Right now, I’m in post-production on a new short film called DUERMEVELA, duermevela is one single word, (Sleep, Wake, Sleep), which is like a state between sleep and wakefulness that happens to everyone, to all human beings. It’s a fiction short film that continues to explore the themes of grief and migration. I’m also developing a feature film called POPULAR which I’m making with Diana Bustamante. She’s the producer of the film, and it’s a co-production with Mexico, France, and Canada. We’re currently in the financing stage. We’re going to shoot most of it in Montreal and some in Cali.
What was your experience like with TIGERS CAN BE SEEN IN THE RAIN?
It was a very personal experience; everything was done in a very hands-on way, with the support of several Colombian and Canadian friends. Pablo Alvarez-Mesa and Charles Duquet (both based in Quebec) were the cinematographers. The support of Concordia University was also vital. Then I secured a Colombian co-production from Triángulo (Simón Vélez) and special support from Burning (Diana Bustamante), both Colombian companies. I worked on the sound design with the talented Mercedes Gaviria.
VLAFF wishes Óscar Ruiz the best of luck in Canada and many films to come!
Selected filmography as a director: EL VUELCO DEL CANGREJO (2009, Berlin FF), SOLECITO (2013, Cannes, Directors’ Fortnight), LOS HONGOS (2014, Locarno, Rotterdam FF).