Tuesday, February 23, 1999
Latin American films get day in the sun at festival
FILM: Screenings will promote obscure movies to distributors,
diverse Los Angeles audience
By Sandy Yang
Daily Bruin Staff
Certainly no one will mistake UCLA’s annual Contemporary Latin
American Films series for a type of Sundance focusing on films from
these parts of the world. Distributors and Hollywood people aren’t
likely be found in the James Bridges Theater. But, like the
Sundance festival, the series showcases emerging talent unknown in
the States.
Presented by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, this year’s
series includes six Latin-American films that have played in
festivals without being picked up for distribution. Having the
films premiere in Los Angeles gives audiences a chance to see what
isn’t normally playing at the nearest megaplex and filmmakers an
opportunity to get exposure in a promising, yet often brutal
industry.
"(Filmmakers) want to show (their films) in Los Angeles because
it has a large population of people from Central America, South
America and Mexico; and also because it’s where Hollywood is
located. So they want to maintain a presence even in the shadows of
the beast," says David Pendleton, program coordinator of the
series.
As program coordinator, Pendleton visited the Toronto Film
Festival last January where he chose the films for the series.
Running from last Thursday until Feb. 28, the series includes
Argentina’s "Silvia Prieto" and "The Cloud (La Nube)," Mexico’s
"Divine," which has already been shown, "Bajo California – The
Limit of Time" and "Under a Spell," and Brazil’s "Friendly Fire,"
which will appear this week.
Different genres and styles influenced Pendleton’s choice, but
films that have not attained recognition in the states or been
commercially driven were more likely candidates.
"You weigh a number of factors," Pendleton says. "One thing that
we don’t show a lot of in any of our programs … are films that
are popular successes in their own country. The films we show …
are either supported by the government or by international
financing. We’re looking for someone who doesn’t have a huge
following and who’s not a viable commercial director."
Founded in 1990, the archive headed a 5-year project on Mexican
cinema through the support of the MacCarther Foundation, where
numerous aspects of Mexican filmmaking were discussed and explored
in different mediums. Covering material from the golden age of
films to contemporary cinema, publications and a catalog from
academic conferences were completed, and leading filmmakers were
invited to speak. Once the project was over, leftover funds helped
continue and promote Latin American filmmaking, which has
materialized into this annual festival.
Even before the funding, the archive has always been sensitive
to the artistry and work that have come out of Latin American
countries.
"The archive started in the ’70s. It’s safe to say that the
archive is committed to showing Latin American work since (the
archive’s) inception and has been one of the foremost institutions
in Los Angeles doing that," says Cheng-Sim Lim, programmer of the
archive.
This year is no exception as the six films demonstrate their
varied styles and subjects from Latin American talent. "Friendly
Fire" plays with film noir and is about comrades who exact revenge
on a police captain who tortured them years before. "Silvia Prieto"
was dubbed an Argentinian "Clerks" by Sundance. "Bajo California,"
directed by the editor of "Like Water for Chocolate," is an art
film which emphasizes its visual beauty with a remorseful man who
visits his grandmother’s grave only to begin a personal
journey.
With an average of only a handful of Latin American films
actually getting nationwide distribution here, the series also
indicates a struggle for filmmakers who are not just Latin
American, but artists outside of Hollywood who are trying to find a
wider audience outside of their country.
"The limited number of Latin American films that are distributed
every year reflects the limited number of international films that
are distributed every year," Lim says.
This recent phenomena can be attributed to the increasing number
of American filmmakers who are breaking out of the Hollywood mold
and making more independent films that previously were only seen in
the foreign market. Especially in the ’60s and ’70s, when
experimental subjects and styles of filmmaking were explored,
foreign films found an audience which was looking for an
alternative to traditional Hollywood.
Lim says, "Some people have said that (the decreasing
distribution of foreign films) has to do with the rise of the
independent American cinema. The market segment who use to support
the foreign films in the ’60s and ’70s has now been filled by
American independent films."
Lim continues, "What they use to get in the European films – the
more liberal views about sex and certain modes of storytelling that
are episodic and not so action or plot-driven – were found in
foreign films. Therefore, it’s harder and harder for foreign films
to make it in this country."
With limited opportunities to see such films, many filmgoers may
not even be aware of the diversity of films made in Latin American
countries. Through advertising in publications such as L.A. Weekly
and the L.A. Times as well as in Spanish publications, the archive
hopes it will draw audiences who are familiar with the country and
the filmmaker as well as filmgoers who are just driven by their
curiosity.
"It’s nice to go to a film like ‘Silvia Prieto’ with people who
are from Argentina and have heard about this filmmaker, but it’s
also nice to see people who have no connection with Argentina, but
are coming because they are curious about the particular or they
are curious about Latin American films," Pendleton says.
"In Los Angeles, you can have an insider audience as well as a
crossover audience," Pendleton adds. "I think having both of them
is one of the strengths and one of the pleasures of programming
films like this in Los Angeles."
FILM: The remaining films in the series – "Bajo California- The
Limit of Time," "Friendly Fire" and "Under a Spell" – will be
showing Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 28 at 7
p.m. respectively at the James Bridges Theater. Director Carlos
Bolado Munoz will present a lecture with his film, "Bajo California
– The Limit of Time." General admission is $6 and $4 for students
and seniors. For more information, call (310) 206-FILM.
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