Shorts in Competition – Program 1

Beginning with disappearance, this shorts program delves into the various types of absence present in our lives. As we dive deeper, the exploration of grief intensifies, addressing processes of denial, internal and personal searches, and the reconstruction of losses. And then, what remains? What lingers as memories and stories we choose to tell? This showcase celebrates human resilience and the ability of cinema to capture and transform pain into something we can share and talk about, providing a meeting point for reflection and emotional connection. We conclude with a resignification of death, emphasizing the importance of preserving identity and personal history, and offering the promise of rebirth.

Comenzando por la desaparición, este programa de cortos explora los distintos tipos de ausencia presentes en nuestras vidas. Al sumergirnos, se profundiza la exploración del duelo, abordando los procesos de negación, las búsquedas internas y personales, y la reconstrucción de pérdidas. Y después ¿qué queda? ¿Qué permanece en forma de recuerdos e historias que elegimos contar? Esta muestra celebra la resiliencia humana y la capacidad del cine para capturar y transformar el dolor en algo que podemos compartir y conversar, brindando un punto de encuentro para la reflexión y la conexión emocional. Cerramos con una resignificación de la muerte, resaltando la importancia de conservar la identidad, la historia personal, y ofreciendo la promesa de un renacer. 

Tuesday, Sept 10 at 4:00 PM
Cineworks

VLAFF Membership required

Running time: 109 min


ENSAYO PARA LA MEMORIA

Dir. Denise Chirich
Argentina, 2024 | Spanish with English subtitles | 12 min

Where do we keep the memories that can’t be held in a photo? An open dialogue about how we construct memory around the disappeared persons during the last Argentine military dictatorship.

Denise Chirich is a young filmmaker based in Buenos Aires. She has a degree in Image and Sound Design at UBA. Her final project was the short film “Ensayo para la memoria” (2023), premiered at MDQ International Film Festival; received the award for Best Animation at Film School Fest Munich.


PIGEON LOFT
Palomar

Dir. José Luis Jiménez Gómez
Cuba, 2023 | Spanish with English subtitles | 13 min

In rural Cumanayagua, Cuba, Cristian(14) forges an emotional bond with the pigeons while building a pigeon loft with his grandfather, a relationship that helps him keep the memory of his murdered father alive and heal the wounds of his past.

José Luis Jiménez Gómez is a theater and film director, founder of the collective Teatro Vívere, and the production company Cachipa Films. With a background in short films, he is currently working on his debut feature film, “Fifteenth Station”. He graduated from the Chavón Film School and is a student at EICTV, Cuba.


NEGRA SOMBRA

Dir. María Salafranca
Cuba, 2023 | No Dialogue | 7 min

This film is a poetic journey through the feeling of absence and despair of a mother who has lost her son. With the help of a popular legend, this film attempts to evoke the feeling of grief that María, a strong Cuban woman who recently lost her daughter, goes through.

María Salafranca has directed the documentary short films Cimientos, premiered at the Festival International du Film de Fribourg; Compañía, winner of the best documentary short film at the Concordian Film Festival; Servicio Necrológico para Usted, premiered at Vision du rèel 2024. She is currently studying documentary directing at the EICTV in Cuba.


DYSPHONIAS
Disfonías

Dir. Manuela Giraldo Londoño & María Camila Pulgarín Zapata
Colombia, 2024 | Spanish with English subtitles | 16 min

On his small estate, Juan is interrupted by the unusual song of a motmot bird, which announces a premonition of death. The misfortune is fulfilled with the loss of his voice. Manuela, his daughter, embarks on a search to rediscover him, through an intimate narrative that explores the past, the new facets and silences of a man who is no longer the same.

Manuela Giraldo Londoño graduated in Communication and Audiovisual Languages from the Universidad de Medellín. Dysphonias is her first documentary short film as a director. Worked as a location assistant for the film The Kings of the World by Laura Mora, and was production coordinator for the film Pepe, the imagination of third cinema of director Nelson Carlo. She is currently writing the script for her next fiction short film.

María Camila Pulgarín Zapata graduated in Communication and Audiovisual Languages from the Universidad de Medellín. Dysphonias is her first documentary short film as a director and producer. Worked as a director and screenwriter on fiction short films such as Wanderers, in the post-production stage, and as a production coordinator for 3D animation projects. Currently the founder of Lúcida Cine, a collective interested in exploring new disruptive narratives in cinema and at the same time, advances the development of his next short documentary film.


PRELUDE OF A STORY
Prólogo de un cuento

Dir. Ashley Salman Herrera
Chile, 2023 | Spanish with English subtitles | 17 min

After a mother’s passing, a daughter searches through archival footage to understand who she was, and how it connects to the father’s abusive relationship that is shaping her understanding of womanhood.

Ashley Salman Herrera is a Chilean-American Filmmaker based in Atlanta, US. “Prelude of a Story” is her first short film, and it premiered at LALIFF (Hollywood, CA, 2023), continuing a successful international festival run in over 15 film festivals as well as receiving Awards for Best International Short Film and Jury Special Mentions. Currently she is finishing the script of her first documentary feature “The Witch Old Story” a coming of age essay on womanhood.


GRACIELA

Dir. Laura Bermúdez
Honduras, 2024 | Spanish with English subtitles | 19 min

Through a journey of  the memory of her granddaughter, we discover the story of Graciela Bográn, the first woman in the history of Honduras who managed to be part of a government cabinet. From her own writings, we immerse ourselves in the imagination of one of the greatest leaders of the suffrage movement in Honduras.

Laura Bermúdez is a Honduran filmmaker. She has been a fellow in the Getting Real Program,  Locarno Open Doors program , Berlinale Talents , Talents Guadalajara , American Film Showcase, Locarno Industry Academy, Guadalajara Doculab, among others. Currently working on her documentary feature film “Allá Donde Nace el Sol”, supported by the Mexican Institute of Cinematography IMCINE, is in the post-production stage.


SOLE

Dir. Ana Berdeja
Mexico, 2024 | Spanish with English subtitles | 15 min

Content Forecast: Suicide (not depicted on screen, but an integral part of the storyline).

Sole is a star embalmer with decades of experience. One morning she is given the job of preparing the body of Lu, a transgender man whose body shows anomalies, including a farewell note in her hand and a Pinocchio costume. Sole quickly becomes fond of Lu, but her feelings change when she comes to the conclusion that Lu would have wanted to say goodbye dressed as a man. At first, Sole tries to dress him as a girl. However, like Lu, she hides things about herself. When Lu discovers them, Sole is able to see and respect Lu’s identity.

Ana Berdeja has held a variety of positions in audiovisual projects while pursuing a career as a filmmaker since 2017. She studied a master’s degree in screenwriting, and works as head of video for a non-profit. Her greatest interest is the human nature reflected through absurdity and magical realism.


LUTHIER

Dir. Carlos González Penagos
Colombia, 2023 | No Dialogue | 12 min

In the South American mountains, a reclusive luthier manages to create a mystical connection between nature and the musical instruments he builds, so he decides to try to revive the last red condor.

Carlos González Penagos is a Colombian Graphic Designer (Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Stop Motion Director, and Animator who has spent over 7 years crafting imaginative worlds through stop motion animation, from commercial projects to personal endeavors through the use of visual metaphors, materials, and textures. His debut short film, Luthier, offers a captivating look at his relationship with the countryside and his passion for the majestic Andean mountains.