In the Name of Ibero-American Cinema: Kurzfilmfestival der ALBA
An insight into current Ibero-American cinema through the South-American Short Film Festival
June 03rd, 2016
It has been six years since the embassies of Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela organised a common short film evening. The main goal of the project is to encourage the discussion of social issues facing these countries. This year film productions were selected from among every part of the community – representing the joyful, the painful and the complicated aspects life.
Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, ALBA. With this initiative the member countries hope to create a common space for networking and exchange between one another. The festival uses film as an interesting expression of their cultures.
The comedy Oveja Negra illustrates how hard can it be to find one’s place, especially in a circus family, (Ecuador 2011 Director: Hernán Salcedo). The contagious life-affirming attitude of a group of children and adolescents with disabilities in Havana is described in the documentary Vida (Cuba 2004, directed by Mayra Zaldívar Aguilera). Estamos aquí (Bolivia 2012 Director: Katie Meola) portrays Afro-Bolivianer who are connected to the dance and music of Saya, and to the culture of their ancestors. Lo que nunca pensé decir forces us to ask ourselves about when the right moment for a declaration of love is(Venezuela 2010 Director: Juan Salazar Fermín). The dramatic loss of a companion is tackled in Un día de perros (Nicaragua 2014 Director: Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo).
References and Links
News from Berlin
Nela Pejkovic, Berlin Global
