BAFICI News

Vencido este viernes el plazo para la inscripción de cortometrajes nacionales, así como tambien sucedió con largos internacionales y nacionales la semana anterior, ahora la próxima fecha de cierre es el miércoles 15 para los aspirantes a partir de esta nueva versión de Buenos Aires Lab (ver aparte). En todos los casos, la respuesta fue y es contundente: gran cantidad de inscriptos y mucha expectiva por la próxima edición del Festival, a esta algura uno de los más prestigiosos del mundo en su categoría.

Este viernes vence el plazo de inscripción de largometrajes nacionales e internacionales para el proceso de selección que determinará la programación de la 14ª edición del BAFICI. Para ello es necesario completar la ficha de inscripción online, disponible en la sección “Inscripción” ubicada a la izquierda de esta pantalla (allí también puede consultarse el reglamento). Junto con el formulario se debe enviar una copia en dvd de la película postulada, por correo o personalmente (hasta las 19 h) a la oficina de programación del Festival, Av. Roque Sáenz Peña 832 sexto piso, C1035AAQ. El cierre para la inscripción de cortometrajes se concretará el próximo viernes 3 de febrero.

The Buenos Aires Lab has been revamped for 2012 to explore, reflect on and experiment with the possibilities of making an independent film in Latin America nowadays. In this year's edition, to be held from April 13 to 15, the BAL will focus on the early stages of a project, even when the production of the film has not yet been defined, in order to encourage young filmmakers to find their own way. For this purpose, a new section will be included this year, Production Lab, dedicated to film projects or ideas for a film project (with or without a producer). And the section Work in Progress (WIP) will continue this year, for films currently in the shooting or post-production stage. The deadline for submitting materials is February 15, inclusive, for both cases.

The projects chosen to receive a grant from the Línea Audiovisuales program of the Fondo Metropolitano de la Cultura, las Artes y las Ciencias have already been announced. The selected candidates will receive funding to finish and/or afford the post production of short films (20 thousand pesos) and full-length films (80 thousand pesos). The selected feature films are La araña vampiro, by Gabriel Medina ; Los salvajes, by Alejandro Fadel(photo); and La Chica del Sur, by José Luis García. And the selected shorts, Nubes, by Manuel Abramovich; Oaxaca Tohoku,by Pablo Mazzolo; and Pude ver un puma, by Eduardo Williams.

The call for grant proposals closed on a very positive note: we have had a very good response to this initiative, reflected in the number of projects submitted for a grant from the Línea Audiovisuales program of the Fondo Metropolitano de la Cultura, las Artes y las Ciencias. The aim of this funding is to enable and/or facilitate the finishing, post-production, enlargement, advertising and/or promotion of short and full-length films. The results of the selection will be announced on the official website of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires and on the official website of BAFICI (www.buenosaires.gov.ar/Cultura and www.bafici.gov.ar).

National and international full-length films and Argentine short films are still being accepted to participate in the film selection process for the 14th BAFICI, in 2012. The deadline for full-length films is January 27, while for short films, February 3.

Register online for free and find all the information (about rules, requirements, submission) at this website, clicking on the “Registration” button on the left side of the screen.

The 13th edition of Traveling BAFICI will be held between August and December 2011, organized by the Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires in collaboration with local institutions from the Argentine cities Bahia Blanca, Bariloche, Cipolletti, Cordoba, Mendoza, Neuquen, Parana, Resistencia, Rosario, Santa Fe, Tandil and Viedma, in addition to the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. There will be screenings of films from the different sections of the 13th edition of the Festival, held in Buenos Aires this year. They include the Argentine Los Marziano, by Ana Katz; El Estudiante, by Santiago Mitre; Ostende, by Laura Citarella; and Novias madrinas 15 años, by Diego and Pablo Levy.

As usual and within the framework of the Buenos Aires World Book Capital 2011, the new publications of the 13th BAFICI are available for sale at the cultural store (Tienda Cultural) of the Casa de la Cultura located at Av. de Mayo 575 in the City of Buenos Aires.

It is possible to purchase the film guide and other publications of the 13th BAFICI, the latest in the store’s catalog. The books presented and now available are: El cine como destrucción, by Kijû Yoshida, and Festival, by César Aira. The former, organized in three large chapters, traces the great career of the Japanese filmmaker through interviews and articles by other authors and himself. The latter is the novel written by cult author Aira in 2010, in the spare time he had in between screenings as an Official Jury member of the BAFICI.

300 thousand people participated in a celebration of the world’s best independent cinema, which ended last Sunday with positive results from all points of view. The festival numbers include: 210 thousand tickets sold, 1083 screenings and 438 films featured (100 short, 307 feature and 31 medium-length films), with the participation of 300 international guests—comprising actors, directors, producers and film critics from the five continents. Among these figures, Argentina’s participation is remarkable. 113 titles were screened, with a good amount of debut films, what highlights one of the premises of the Festival: to be the international launching pad, in the best possible scenario, for a generation of young filmmakers who find here a dream screen for their emerging talent.

On Saturday, April 16th, at the Club La Trastienda de Buenos Aires, the actress Mirtha Busnelli presented the winners of the 2011 BAFICI in the different sections of the Festival. The French film Qu'ils reposent en révolte (des figures des guerres) (photo), by Sylvian George, about the harsh conditions in which African immigrants live in Europe, received the major award in the International Official Selection and also the FIPRESCI prize. In this category, the jury recognized El estudiante, by Santiago Mitres, with a special award. On its part, La carrera del animal by Nicolás Grosso won Best Film in the Argentine Official Selection. The Best Director award in the international competition went to Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari, for Attenberg, while Román Cárdenas won the category in the Argentine competition for his film Las Piedras. In the Short Films Competition, the following films were awarded: El juego by Benjamín Naishtat (Argentina/ France), Soy tan feliz by Vladimir Durán (Argentina) and La fiesta de casamiento by Gastón Margolin and Martín Morgenfeld (Argentina).