– Oasis, the latest feature film from the Mapa Fílmico de un País (MAFI) collective, will have its world premiere on February 19 in the Festival’s Forum section.
– Also making its world debut is the hybrid short film Towards the Sun, Far from the Center, with an LGBTIQ+ theme, directed by Luciana Merino and Pascal Viveros and produced by Javiera Pineda.
– The Chilean documentary will also be represented by Chiledoc to promote the talents and productions of the sector at the European Film Market (EFM), the market of the Berlinale, one of the largest in the world.
CHECK THE CHILEDOC AT BERLINALE AND EFM CATALOGUE
With a delegation of recognized and emerging filmmakers, Chile will be present at the 74th edition of the Berlinale and its EFM market from February 15 to 21. This contingent, along with its diverse range of projects, will participate in one of the most significant film events on the planet under the umbrella of CinemaChile, the brand that promotes Chilean audiovisuals worldwide, and Chiledoc, whose mission is to foster and promote the Chilean documentary sector internationally. Both sectorial brands, with 15 and 6 years of experience, respectively, receive support from ProChile.
This year, Chile arrives in Berlin with new filmmakers in sections such as Forum, featuring the feature film Oasis directed by Tamara Uribe and Felipe Morgado and produced by Alba Gaviraghi and Diego Pino, and with the experimental short film Towards the Sun, Far from the Center directed by Luciana Merino, Pascal Viveros, and produced by Javiera Pineda, selected in the Berlinale Shorts category.
«For over 20 years now, ProChile has been supporting the internationalization of creative industries and our audiovisual sector through the fieldwork of its commercial offices. This year, the delegation will consist of at least 15 Chilean production companies with a presence in various sections of the Festival, achieving positioning and visibility for our country, its talent, creativity, and quality. This is in addition to the significant milestone of having two national productions nominated for the Oscars. Apart from being a fundamental pillar in shaping the image of our country, the participation of our cinematographic works in these instances helps us diversify our export offering, which is a priority for ProChile as it celebrates its five decades of existence,» comments Lorena Sepúlveda, National Director of ProChile.
«Today, the documentary is serving as a great ambassador for Chilean cinema. Examples include the Oscar-nominated film The Eternal Memory and Malqueridas, which received three awards at the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week. Now we have the premiere of Oasis and Towards the Sun, Far from the Center at Berlinale, one of the most important film festivals in the world. The documentary sector has consolidated its artistic and technical quality and, above all, its ability to attract global audiences with the themes it addresses,» points out Paula Ossandón, director of Chiledoc, who will give a talk on state funding for film and television, aiming to enhance to promoting co-productions between Chile and countries such as Germany, with which there is a film co-production agreement.
In addition, Germán Vergara, ProChile’s commercial attaché in Berlin, emphasizes the importance of Chilean productions reaching these spaces that offer new opportunities for the film industry: «It is very relevant for Chile to be present at the Berlinale and the European Film Market because these spaces serve as a gateway to the heart of the creative industry in Berlin and, from there, to all of Europe and the world. We are thrilled to arrive as a country with high-quality productions at this edition of the event, which also kicks off the season of audiovisual festivals on the continent. In 2024, the Chilean audiovisual industry has already marked the year with excellent cinematic achievements, and as ProChile, we are here to support the consolidation of their business internationally.»
Alexandra Galvis, vice-president of APCT (Association of Film and Television Producers), states, «CinemaChile arrives at the Berlinale celebrating its 15th anniversary. It was precisely at EFM that it worked its first market as a Chilean audiovisual promotion agency, and today, it arrives as a consolidated brand, dedicating all its efforts to promoting Chilean talent. Therefore, it is no coincidence that this anniversary can be celebrated with historic milestones, such as having two nominations at the Oscar Awards.”
Documentaries in Competition
The two world premieres of Chilean documentaries at the Berlinale will take place on Monday, February 19. The first will be Oasis, directed by Tamara Uribe and Felipe Morgado and produced by Alba Gaviraghi and Diego Pino, in the Forum section, and will compete for the Berlinale Documentary Award. Later, the premiere of Towards the Sun, Far from the Center, an experimental short film directed by Luciana Merino and Pascal Viveros and produced by Javiera Pineda, is scheduled as part of the official competition in Berlinale Shorts, and will compete for the Teddy Award, dedicated to LGBT+ subjects.
Oasis, created by Mapa Fílmico de un País (MAFI) members, shows how Chile chooses to write a new Constitution after an unprecedented social revolt. A motley assembly will be in charge of putting on paper the dreams of dignity and social justice of a whole people. What could go wrong?
The premiere of this feature film will be attended by its directors as part of a section that selects works that address the uncertainties of the outside world by embracing unpredictability in their plots and structures, giving more space to new filmmakers of choice.
«We are pleased about this invitation and to be able to show our film. With it, we want to contribute images and reflection to this political and social process that has been historic for our country and unprecedented for the world, from a collective point of view,» says the co-director of the documentary, Tamara Uribe.
In Towards the Sun, Far from the Center, two women wander around Santiago looking for a place to live their love. A digital zoom transforms images recorded in 4K, building a new sentimental architecture of a city where the peripheries become the center. The story narratives evolve into a city symphony that focuses on small gestures, revealing a territory that demands to be rediscovered.
With the participation of its two directors and producer, the world premiere of this short film is programmed within a section featuring pieces that explore different formal languages, ranging from fiction formats to experimental films, animations, hybrid forms, and documentaries.
«Towards the Sun, Far from the Center is a symphony of a city that is wondering and trying to discover the sentimental architecture of Santiago,» says Luciana Merino. «I like to think of the short film as a vanishing point that allows us to imagine new possibilities and landscapes for the place we inhabit,» adds Pascal Viveros.
Documentaries with International Potential
La Ventana Cine, a renowned documentary production company (Chicago Boys; Breaking the Brick) and television content producer (¿Qué comes?; #Por qué en mi jardín), will make its way to the German capital represented by its director, Carola Fuentes.
«We closed 2023 with four international co-productions, and that has us very excited. We are convinced that even though Chile can be considered a small market in terms of audience, it is an enormous source of stories waiting to be told and shared with the rest of the world, and that fills us with passion. EFM is one of the most important markets in the circuit. For us, it’s an opportunity to meet in person with our co-producers – the German company Taglicht Media – and connect with other potential allies or producers with whom we can start new projects together,» says Carola Fuentes.
Project Portfolio
I Don’t Want to Say Goodbye
Katy Winter (16) takes her own life in a Starbucks, leaving behind a letter containing clues about her death and the culprits of the brutal cyberbullying she endured. The young girl attended one of the most elite schools in Chile, and the accused individuals are resisting going to trial, casting doubt on whether Katy’s parents were the true culprits of her depression. Why did Katy Winter commit suicide?
Dream Democracy
César Hidalgo, a prodigious Chilean physicist, creates a disruptive mathematical model for citizen representation amid the Social Outbreak in Chile in 2019. After accepting his failure, he decides to investigate how technology has influenced democracy and how it will impact it in the future, driven by the desire to leave a better world for his daughter.
About Chiledoc
Its goal is to promote and create global collaboration networks for the audiovisual production of Chilean documentaries, fostering exportation. It is a public-private alliance between ProChile, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Chilean Documentary Corporation (CCDoc).
Press contact
Mariola Quirland | internacional@chiledoc.cl
internacional@chiledoc.cl
@copyright Corporación Chilena del Documental CCDoc
