The era of turbulence has not left film festivals untouched. Despite being massively hit by public-sector cuts or the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to remodel and redefine their priorities post-pandemic. They are adapting to the fluctuating political landscape and the global condition of cinema going as inferred from a roundtable discussion at Chile’s Sanfic Industria last week, aptly named ‘Film Festivals’ Present and Future’.
The panel comprised of authorities from three major Latin American events including Carlos Nuñez, artistic director of Sanfic, Ilda Santiago, director of the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, and Estrella Araiza, managing director of Mexico’s Guadalajara Festival.
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The discussion panel also included representatives from two festivals known for inclusion of Latin American movies: José F. Rodríguez, senior programmer at Tribeca, which regularly awards movies from the region such as Uruguay’s “Don’t Let Me Go” this year, and Javier García Puerto, a programmer at Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival. Both these film festivals are known for showcasing Spanish-language movies that defy stereotypes, such as Tribeca winner “Huesera” from Michelle Garza and Agustin Toscano’s “I Trust You,” the best director laureate from 2023’s Tallinn Rebels With a Cause.
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Here are five key points from the panel, moderated by LatAm Cinema’s Gerardo Michelin. Observations made during the roundtable will resonate with many events globally.
Continuous Adjustment to a New Normal
To illustrate, post-March 2020, the Tribeca Film Institute indefinitely paused its funding models due to the pandemic. In 2021, the Tribeca festival moved from mid-March to early June, an adaptation Rodriguez acknowledged at Sanfic as a “roller coaster.” The institution is now in discussions to reopen its industry activities, including a WIP showcase curated by financiers and distributors, as well as scheduling an industry week of panels and meetings. Two decades ago, Santiago remarked that Brazil was quite isolated from the rest of Latin America. However, now and largely due to increasing co-production, she sees Rio as a hub attracting young viewers who are interested in Latin American films. Santiago’s first-ever visit to Chile was to catch films.
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