When Paz Fábrega was growing up in Costa Rica in the nineties, she loved movies, but the idea of becoming a filmmaker didn’t seem plausible. “It was really like deciding to be an astronaut or something,” she said in a recent interview at the Costa Rica International Film Festival’s fifth edition. “I didn’t know anyone who worked in film or anything like that.”
Fábrega’s experience is a typical one for aspiring directors in Costa Rica and throughout Central America. However, a number of recent developments throughout this emerging film community are starting to change the identity of the country and inspire a new generation of filmmakers to improve its reputation.
In Fábrega’s case, the desire to pursue a filmmaking career in Costa Rica arrived only once she saw a range of possibilities elsewhere. She spent three years in middle school living in New York while...
Fábrega’s experience is a typical one for aspiring directors in Costa Rica and throughout Central America. However, a number of recent developments throughout this emerging film community are starting to change the identity of the country and inspire a new generation of filmmakers to improve its reputation.
In Fábrega’s case, the desire to pursue a filmmaking career in Costa Rica arrived only once she saw a range of possibilities elsewhere. She spent three years in middle school living in New York while...
- 12/13/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
It is not easy to make a film in Guatemala. There is no national film commission, leaving filmmakers few opportunities for government funding. They must rely on the private sector to raise money but attracting investors is no easy feat. Audiences within the country mostly prefer to watch Hollywood blockbusters over national films making it unlikely that private investors will make their money back in ticket sales. And without a government entity overseeing the film industry there is no infrastructure to support filmmakers throughout the process of making their film.
Despite these challenges and against all odds there has been a boom in the number of films produced in Guatemala over the last few years. Projects have been completed by entering into partnerships with other countries in Latin America or Europe that have strong film industries. Plus, hiring professional actors in Guatemala can be a bargain, cutting down the budget.
Julio Hernández Cordón, one of Guatemala’s most celebrated directors, has made three award-winning films – Gasolina (Isa: Ondamax Films), Marimbas del Infierno and Polvo. His movies have garnered international attention and toured the film festival circuit. His debut feature film, Gasolina, was made for about $150,000. Because of the obstacles they face, Guatemalan filmmakers are forced to work with minimal budgets but the desire to tell authentic stories that take place within their own country drives them to forge ahead.
Mario Rosales, a New York-based but Guatemalan-born filmmaker, was one of those who felt compelled to hold up a mirror to Guatemalan society and portray the injustices he has witnessed. Mario set out to make a film about the increased violence in his country and began researching the worsening situation. A few months later his younger brother, who lives in Guatemala, became a victim of police violence while riding as a passenger in his friend’s car. They were shot at by police and after pulling over, were savagely beaten. Mario’s brother had been shot in the leg and was arrested along with his friend. They were jailed and denied medical attention. The day next day when Mario’s mother showed up to the police station with a lawyer, all charges were dropped and his brother was released. After a failed attempt at pressing charges against the police, Mario became even more determined to make his film.
El Regreso de Lencho (The Return of Lencho) tells the story of a 30-something graffiti artist who has returned to Guatemala after spending years living in New York. Disillusioned by the chasing the American dream, he goes back to his country in search of a more meaningful path. He reads, he paints murals, and together with other activists organizes an arts festival in Rabinal, a small village that is mostly indigenous. Rosales’ film portrays Post-Civil War Guatemala as the paradox that it is. Violence, on the part of gang members, petty thieves, and police, is a constant but a thriving community of young graffiti artists, writers, and musicians are attempting to use their art as means to change society. It’s not the kind of story that a major Hollywood studio is going to back. As is true for many Latin American filmmakers, the film became a do-it-yourself kind of project.
Rosales wrote, directed, and produced the film. The biggest challenge was raising money. The budget was $250,000 but as Rosales explains he never saw much cash, “I financed the film, with the collaboration of Maxi Films in Guatemala who gave us a truck full of equipment and a 16mm camera. Here in New York we collaborated with Romeo Galante Productions who did put down some cash for the film and airplane tickets for the crew that came from New York and Spain.” Some good news came right before heading down to Guatemala to shoot, Rosales was awarded a $100,00 grant from a foundation in New York. But, the money proved elusive, “We never got the funds. Even though the money did go to Guatemala, through a local Ngo, two weeks before production the Ngo that received the money wanted to censor the script. So we shot with no money, that was super difficult.” Even without the money, the production continued.
El Regreso de Lencho was shot in Guatemala city with a crew of about 50 people in 30 days. After a year of editing and putting together the soundtrack, the film premiered at the 2011 Havana Film Festival New York. After touring the film to different film festivals, Rosales continues to use a Diy approach and has decided to self-distribute the film. After the New York run he will take El Regreso de Lencho to Guatemala and in the spring heads to the West Coast, playing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.
El Regreso de Lencho (The Return of Lencho) opens November 9 at the Quad Cinemain downtown Manhattan, 34 West 13th Street.
El Regreso de Lencho on Facebook | Website | Trailer
Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on twitter.
Despite these challenges and against all odds there has been a boom in the number of films produced in Guatemala over the last few years. Projects have been completed by entering into partnerships with other countries in Latin America or Europe that have strong film industries. Plus, hiring professional actors in Guatemala can be a bargain, cutting down the budget.
Julio Hernández Cordón, one of Guatemala’s most celebrated directors, has made three award-winning films – Gasolina (Isa: Ondamax Films), Marimbas del Infierno and Polvo. His movies have garnered international attention and toured the film festival circuit. His debut feature film, Gasolina, was made for about $150,000. Because of the obstacles they face, Guatemalan filmmakers are forced to work with minimal budgets but the desire to tell authentic stories that take place within their own country drives them to forge ahead.
Mario Rosales, a New York-based but Guatemalan-born filmmaker, was one of those who felt compelled to hold up a mirror to Guatemalan society and portray the injustices he has witnessed. Mario set out to make a film about the increased violence in his country and began researching the worsening situation. A few months later his younger brother, who lives in Guatemala, became a victim of police violence while riding as a passenger in his friend’s car. They were shot at by police and after pulling over, were savagely beaten. Mario’s brother had been shot in the leg and was arrested along with his friend. They were jailed and denied medical attention. The day next day when Mario’s mother showed up to the police station with a lawyer, all charges were dropped and his brother was released. After a failed attempt at pressing charges against the police, Mario became even more determined to make his film.
El Regreso de Lencho (The Return of Lencho) tells the story of a 30-something graffiti artist who has returned to Guatemala after spending years living in New York. Disillusioned by the chasing the American dream, he goes back to his country in search of a more meaningful path. He reads, he paints murals, and together with other activists organizes an arts festival in Rabinal, a small village that is mostly indigenous. Rosales’ film portrays Post-Civil War Guatemala as the paradox that it is. Violence, on the part of gang members, petty thieves, and police, is a constant but a thriving community of young graffiti artists, writers, and musicians are attempting to use their art as means to change society. It’s not the kind of story that a major Hollywood studio is going to back. As is true for many Latin American filmmakers, the film became a do-it-yourself kind of project.
Rosales wrote, directed, and produced the film. The biggest challenge was raising money. The budget was $250,000 but as Rosales explains he never saw much cash, “I financed the film, with the collaboration of Maxi Films in Guatemala who gave us a truck full of equipment and a 16mm camera. Here in New York we collaborated with Romeo Galante Productions who did put down some cash for the film and airplane tickets for the crew that came from New York and Spain.” Some good news came right before heading down to Guatemala to shoot, Rosales was awarded a $100,00 grant from a foundation in New York. But, the money proved elusive, “We never got the funds. Even though the money did go to Guatemala, through a local Ngo, two weeks before production the Ngo that received the money wanted to censor the script. So we shot with no money, that was super difficult.” Even without the money, the production continued.
El Regreso de Lencho was shot in Guatemala city with a crew of about 50 people in 30 days. After a year of editing and putting together the soundtrack, the film premiered at the 2011 Havana Film Festival New York. After touring the film to different film festivals, Rosales continues to use a Diy approach and has decided to self-distribute the film. After the New York run he will take El Regreso de Lencho to Guatemala and in the spring heads to the West Coast, playing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.
El Regreso de Lencho (The Return of Lencho) opens November 9 at the Quad Cinemain downtown Manhattan, 34 West 13th Street.
El Regreso de Lencho on Facebook | Website | Trailer
Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on twitter.
- 11/7/2012
- by Vanessa Erazo
- Sydney's Buzz
Figa Films Marimbas From Hell just won the $30,000 Ibero Grand Jury Prize in the Miami International Film Festival. This premiered at San Sebastian 2010 and went on to play Tiff 10. Directed by Julio Hernández Cordón, whose Gasolina made an international splash, is now in production on another film to keep in your sites. Marimbas tells the story of Don Alfonso, a deliveryman who also plays marimbas, the traditional Guatemalan instrument who approaches an underground heavy-metal legend, Blacko, suggesting the two fuse their styles. What results is a distinct Guatemalan story that represents one of the things that the…...
- 3/23/2011
- Sydney's Buzz
San Sebastian -- Guatemalan director Julio Hernandez Cordon's unfinished Gasolina, about three teenagers on a road trip, took top prize at San Sebastian's Films in Progress sidebar Wednesday, picking up the Industry Award and the 10,000 ($14,000) Casa de America Award.
Sponsored by half a dozen post-production facilities in Spain, the Industry Award foots the bill for all the remaining costs to deliver a 35mm copy of the winning film, subtitled in English.
Films in Progress, a venture created by the Rencontres Cinemas d'Amerique Latine in Toulouse and the San Sebastian International Film Festival, is intended to facilitate the completion of films by independent Latin American and Spanish filmmakers at the post-production stage. It also guarantees winners a slot at San Sebastian.
Uruguayan director Federico Veiroj's Acne, about a 13-year-old boy's effort to overcome his shyness and acne to kiss a girl, and Brazilian Werner Schumann's Sol na Neblina, which deals with child prostitution, won the TVE Award. Sponsored by Spanish pubcaster Television Espanola, the award buys broadcast rights in Spain for the two films.
Sponsored by half a dozen post-production facilities in Spain, the Industry Award foots the bill for all the remaining costs to deliver a 35mm copy of the winning film, subtitled in English.
Films in Progress, a venture created by the Rencontres Cinemas d'Amerique Latine in Toulouse and the San Sebastian International Film Festival, is intended to facilitate the completion of films by independent Latin American and Spanish filmmakers at the post-production stage. It also guarantees winners a slot at San Sebastian.
Uruguayan director Federico Veiroj's Acne, about a 13-year-old boy's effort to overcome his shyness and acne to kiss a girl, and Brazilian Werner Schumann's Sol na Neblina, which deals with child prostitution, won the TVE Award. Sponsored by Spanish pubcaster Television Espanola, the award buys broadcast rights in Spain for the two films.
- 9/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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