Invited Country: Colombian Promises

9 December 2016
Festival
By Anaelle Meunier
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Featured Countries

Colombian Promises

 

 

(Los restratos – Iván D. Gaona – 2014)

 

 

 

Six programmes of short films invite Clermont-Ferrand to discover the many bright promises of young Colombian filmmakers engaged in the short form, in a country where cinema is in full bloom.

 

(Rio – Nicolas Serrano – 2012)

 

It’s no secret that Colombia is at a turning point in its history. Clearly, predictions were overturned by the results of the October referendum in which a small majority of Colombians rejected the negotiated peace with the FARC guerillas. But the cease-fire is in place. The desire for peace is as strong as ever, even if some steps remain before it can be fully established. Dressing wounds. Dressing for tomorrow. No less clearly, it is the younger generation that carries the greatest hope for the future. And it is this generation that we have the pleasure of inviting onto the festival screens at Clermont-Ferrand. It is through their gaze that we invite our audiences to become Colombian, at least for the duration of the Festival. Some thirty films made between 2007 and today give us the opportunity to plunge into the vision that young, talented filmmakers give us of their country, their society, their minds. Some of the names on the list will be familiar from past editions of the Festival: Iván Gaona, Franco Lolli (who is also on the International Jury this year, Monica Bravo, Rubén Mendoza… The programmes will mainly short films never shown before at the festival, but will also include a few landmark titles from previous editions or from our list of award winners from past years.

 

 

(La Jaula – Lony Welter – 2016)

 

The majority of individual voices are using fiction to express themselves in Colombian short films. Fiction that is sometimes very in tune with reality: scars of war, migration, social violence are all topics that are dealt with head on in some films. Others explore adolescence, the countryside and even sexuality with the same precise frankness. What they all share is a desire to tell stories. Stories that are meant to be told, of course. With a whole gamut of peculiar, tender, disturbing characters who spark our emotions, giving us the shivers, sometimes leading us into their mysteries. All told, these films help us to move beyond the clichés that Colombia is too often reduced to in our representations of it.

 

 

(Madremonte – Jorge Navas – 2016 )

 

The six programmes in Colombian Promises also point to Colombia’s rich, creative cinematic future, which is beginning to make its way onto the international scene. In conjunction with the films, Festival-goers will be able to take in a double exhibit at the Salle Gaillard, which is being put on in partnership with Bogoshorts, Bogota’s short film festival. Clermont-Ferrand will also be hosting a delegation of Colombian filmmakers and producers, as well as Colombian film students who will be participating at L’Atelier, the Festival’s temporary film school.

 

 

(Camino del Agua – Carlos Montoya – 2014)