• The first film In the Shadow of Light and the feature film Bringing the Voice will have their world premieres in competitive sections.
• In addition, two projects, Millionaire and Artificial Clouds, will be part of the official selection of Meet Market, one of the largest markets in the world with more than 200 representatives of the industry among television networks, distributors, festival programmers, and international exhibitors.
DOWNLOAD CHILE AT SHEFFIELD DOCFEST 2023
The 30th edition of Sheffield DocFest, the United Kingdom’s leading documentary film event, is scheduled from June 14 to 19 and will count on a solid Chilean presence of eight Chilean filmmakers and producers, with two feature films in competition and six projects. On the one hand, the world premiere of In the Shadow of Light, the first feature film directed by Ignacia Merino and Isabel Reyes and produced by María José Díaz and Francisca Barraza, is an official selection in the First Feature International Competition section of the festival. In addition, Bringing the Voice, directed by Klaudia Kemper and produced by Mitzy Saldivia, has been selected to participate in the International Competition section.
This year, the delegation consists of eight female producers and directors Ainara Aparici, Klaudia Kemper, Francisca Barraza, Daniela Camino, María José Díaz, Carola Fuentes, Ignacia Merino, and Isabel Reyes. Diego Pino, the deputy director of Chiledoc, will coordinate the industry and networking activities for the Chilean delegation. It is also noteworthy to highlight the support and funding from the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage to make the presence of part of this delegation possible.
«I am delighted that once again this year, we can count on a high-level delegation to represent us at this important international festival, and I would like to highlight the fact that, in addition, it is women filmmakers who will be participating. The documentary genre is valuable for preserving memories and providing historical accounts of various themes, including moments, processes, progress, and setbacks, and what we are seeing is a faithful reflection of the success of Chilean documentaries at the international level» comments Andrea Gutiérrez, Undersecretary of Culture and the Arts.
«It is no coincidence that a Chilean delegation with a large presence now attends Sheffield Doc Fest. As Chiledoc, we have strengthened a relationship with the festival and the market for more than seven years thanks to the quality of the documentary works from our country. This relationship with Chile translates today into a strong possibility for filmmakers and producers to find here more windows to the world», says Diego Pino, deputy director of Chiledoc.
World premieres
In the Shadow of Light, produced by Dos Be Producciones, Galgo Storytelling, and Funky Films, portrays life in a small town where rural life cohabits with the power grid that supplies energy to the rest of the country. Among hundreds of pylons, transformers, and thermoelectric plants, a boy ventures into the territory and plays at hunting rabbits. Amid the darkness, the looming presence of prominent industry reflects the machinery of an unequal system.
In The Shadow of Light
Bringing the Voice, directed by the visual artist and filmmaker Klaudia Kemper will also have its world premiere. This feature film portrays Klaudia’s decision to return to her childhood home in Brazil to visit her elderly father. For twenty years, they have written each other letters of intense depth. However, their correspondence is interrupted since her father had a cerebral accident and became aphasic, losing the capacity for language, which was his strength as a psychoanalyst and father from a distance. Do human beings need to communicate with their surroundings? How do we communicate? Are we dependent on language? Can affection build language beyond words? Can a camera be a communication device between two individuals who can’t talk? These are some of the questions raised by the film.
Bringing the Voice
A collective force
In addition to these powerful feature films, the Chilean delegation portfolio includes a series of projects, including two selected for the important Meet Market, where producers can connect with over 200 financiers, TV networks, distributors, film festival programmers, and international exhibitors, making it one of the largest markets and presentation spaces for documentaries in the world.
The projects selected in this significant market are Millionaire and Artificial Clouds. The first, directed by José and Felipe Isla and produced by Ainara Aparici and Daniela Valenzuela, portrays a story full of emotions that begins in 2018 when a modest farmer wins Chile’s largest lottery. However, his joy turns to despair when he discovers that the winning ticket is wholly damaged. He embarks on an exciting adventure to reclaim his prize alongside his family.
Millionaire
The second project is directed by Josefina Buschmann and produced by Daniela Camino from Mimbre Films. Artificial Clouds follows the journey of a data cloud from its mineral origin to its electronic ruins. Along the way, the cloud comes across beings and communities that live alongside it or resist its presence, observing the planetary damage its existence generates while asking: Can there be technological development without sacrificing ecologies and communities?
Artificial Clouds
The Chilean catalog has four more projects, including Ancestral Secret VR, a mixed-reality experience that takes the viewer on an immersive journey. The production company behind it is Galgo Storytelling. An old Inca prophecy states that in the hard times of the world, harmony will come back when the condor and the eagle fly together again. The condor represents the indigenous peoples, and the eagle the globalized world. The condor represents indigenous people, while the eagle represents the globalized world. This magical journey explores the Q’ero cosmovision, which redefines the relationship between humanity and Mother Earth through an immersive experience beyond reality’s physical limits. The project is directed by Francisca Silva and produced by María José Díaz, who is also the producer.
Ancestral Secret VR
Knowing Your Nature is a five-episode mixed reality series also produced by Galgo Storytelling. Directed by Francisca Silva and produced by María José Díaz, the series offers various meditation practices along different trails in a big native forest. They encourage the viewer to train the mind with mindfulness exercises, appreciating the correspondence between our internal states and the natural environment. This mixed reality experience and training invites us to connect with the richness of the external and internal forest. To return to the present moment and discover our well-being and sources, it is necessary to have walked the path.
Knowing Your Nature
Antarctic Mission and Lonko are directed by Jota Loyola and produced by Juan Ramírez, Carola Fuentes, and Rafa Valdeavellano from La Ventana Cine. In the first project, under the Antarctic ice, a group of scientists uncovers a story of hope amidst the catastrophe caused by climate change. Meanwhile, Lonko portrays a story developed in a Mapuche community. After the death of a renowned Lonko or Mapuche leader, his children must decide who will continue with the leadership of their community. The legacy of their father, the reconnection with their Mapuche roots after the evangelization of the church, and the relationship with the Chilean State for the recovery of usurped lands will be part of the challenges they will face.
Antarctic Mission
Lonko
About Chiledoc
We are the organization that represents Chilean documentaries in the world. We aim to promote these documentaries and talents internationally through participation in markets and festivals. We seek to boost the sector’s growth by creating and strengthening networks, constant diffusion, and promoting associative practices. We want to be «a collective force.»
Chiledoc is a public-private organization promoted by ProChile and the Chilean Documentary Corporation CCDoc.
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