Overview of Filmmaking in Central America, Caribbean | Variety – Variety

Central American and Caribbean filmmakers are coming into their own, despite the myriad obstacles they face.

Scant resources, infrastructure, and training are just some of the challenges in the region. However, film production has risen in some territories, especially in Panama, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico where state-backed film funds are available.

Due to recession-related budget cuts, Trinidad & Tobagos already limited film fund has been dormant of late although state org FILM TT has been offering micro-grants towards marketing costs. In 2015, Costa Rica launched film and TV production fund El Fauno, valued at 250 million colons ($446,735), and has backed 17 projects so far.

The regions burgeoning cinema needs all the support it can get, said IFF Panama founder-director Pituka Ortega-Heilbron who has made it her life mission to support the arts and hopes that the festival will not only give the films a much-need platform but nurture new audiences.

The festivals Central American & Caribbean section and pix-in-post platform Primera Mirada showcase the growing sophistication of a budding film industry.

Heat, color and rhythm are recurring elements in these films, with the exception of Costa Rican drama The Sound of Things, which has a more austere look to it, said artistic director Diana Sanchez.

Despite external influences, whether from their studies abroad, theres an honesty and visceral quality to these filmmakers work, said Ortega-Heilbron.

I believe there is a tendency ever more pronounced for the region to produce two kinds of films: Those that are more complex, with profound themes, and the more commercial audience-friendly films, said Habanero Films Alfredo Calvino who brings Cubas controversial Santa y Andres by Carlos Lechuga to IFF Panama. Banned in Cuba, Santa & Andres has been making the round of festivals worldwide. Habanero Films is also handling Costa Rican Hilda Hidalgos (Del Amor y Otros Demonios) latest film, still in post, Violeta al fin.

For the first time ever, IFF Panama is closing with a Caribbean film, Carpinteros (Woodpeckers) by Jose Maria Cabral of the Dominican Republic. Carpinteros was also the first Dominican film to compete at the Sundance Film Fest. Inspired by real-life detainees at the Dominican Republic Najayo prison, the pic centers on a romance that blooms between two inmates in neighboring prisons where they learn to communicate via a sign language. Female lead Judith Rodriguez Perez also plays a key role in Primera Mirada entry, Cocote by DRs Nelson Carlos de los Santos. Carpinteros Dominican-Haitian lead Jean Jean also has a documentary he directed competing at IFF Panama, Si Dios Quiere, Yuli, (God Willing, Yuli), which turns on the injustices Haitians suffer in the Dominican Republic where they are treated like second-class citizens.

Some of last years Primera Mirada entries are in this years Central America & Caribbean selection, led by Costa Rican Jurgen Urenas Abrazame como Antes (Embrace Me Like Before) which centers on a transsexual prostitutes bid to create a family. Dominican Yanillys Perezs debut feature Jeffrey, winner of Torontos Dropbox Discovery Film Award, is another 2016 Primera Mirada alum playing at IFF Panama.

Julio Hernandez Cordon, who won the Primera Mirada Grand Prize in 2015 with I Promise You Anarchy, is back with his sixth feature film Atras hay relampagos (Behind, Theres Lightning), which premiered at Rotterdam. Bikes, instead of Anarchys skateboards, are key elements in Hernandezs latest drama about the travails of two young women. The story stems from two friends who have a falling out, said Hernandez. I wanted to make a movie where vintage cars, bicycles and lush vegetation were present, he added.

An animated feature made the cut this year: Martiniques Alain Bidard, Battledream Chronicle, a dystopian thriller with videogame aesthetics about slaves revolting against tyranny. Given the Caribbeans slave history, the film has a decidedly political undertone.

Panamas La Matamoros, Delfina Vidals account about Panamas first feminist, is among the noteworthy documentaries coming from the region where the non-fiction genre is prevalent due to its relatively low production costs. Another Panamanian entry, docu Cimarronaje en Panama by Toshi Sakai, explores the history of the rebel slaves in colonial-era Panama.

I would like to think that a new wave of talent will enrich film production in Central America, said Hernandez. Now that theyve managed the nuts and bolts of making a film, they need to polish their content, and find or decide on an aesthetic that is uniquely Central American; for that, we need more productions, he said.

The 6th IFF Panama runs from March 30 to April 5.

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Overview of Filmmaking in Central America, Caribbean | Variety - Variety