22nd Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, Sept 5-15, 2024
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The Soldier's Lagoon
The Soldier's Lagoon
September 9, 2024
Directed by Pablo Alvarez-Mesa, this riveting experimental work delves deep into the misty Páramo region, into an ecosystem rich in water, but also saturated with oral narratives that populate the territory like foggy patches. Reflecting on the construction of oral history and its relation to the land, the film traverses a living and elusive archive, suspended between Simon Bolivar’s past and Colombia’s present.
The Cinematheque -
Fields of Presence
Fields of Presence
September 11, 2024
Director Jorge Lozano in attendance.
"This poetic experimental documentary is a tribute to my daughter, Briana Sarita, and her multifaceted life, a collaborative reflection intertwining fiction film archives, acting, and photographs to evoke memories and breathe life into moments and events. Her singing serves as a connecting thread, offering parallel interpretations. The film explores events since 1978, employing a non-chronological and non-linear approach, providing a unique artistic perspective. Shot in Colombia, Spain, and Costa Rica, it culminates in Victoria, BC, where she was tragically murdered in March 2021. However, the film focuses on celebrating her life and her essence employing diverse formats, including super 8mm, VHS, Super VHS, 3/4″, 4K HD, Drone 5K video, GoPro, and Instant 360."
The Cinematheque -
Open Sky (with The Vampires of Poverty)
Open Sky (with The Vampires of Poverty)
September 12, 2024
A Peruvian father labours patiently, chipping at the white volcanic stone that forms an extraordinary landscape. His son is part of the modern world: he uses cameras and drones in order to create the digital model of a church on a computer. Separated by the mysterious death of the wife/mother figure in the family, these men do not connect, and yet their paths cross in a ghostly manner.
Preceded by THE VAMPIRES OF POVERTY (1977, 28 min)
A classic film of Colombian cinema by directors Carlos Mayolo & Luis Opsina that simulates being a documentary about filmmakers who exploit misery with mercantilist purposes. It is a scathing criticism of “porno-misery” and the opportunism of the dishonest documentary making “socio-political documentaries” in the third world to sell them in Europe and win prizes.Cineworks -
Open Sky
Open Sky
September 14, 2024
Director Felipe Esparza Pérez in attendance!
A Peruvian father labours patiently, chipping at the white volcanic stone that forms an extraordinary landscape. His son is part of the modern world: he uses cameras and drones in order to create the digital model of a church on a computer. Separated by the mysterious death of the wife/mother figure in the family, these men do not connect, and yet their paths cross in a ghostly manner.
The Cinematheque