By: Liz Lopez
Source: Cine las Americas
Cine Las Americas announced the award winners of the 21st annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF21), bringing an end to five film and event-filled days celebrating the work of Latinx, Ibero-American, and American Indigenous filmmakers. CLAIFF21 concluded with announcements of the winners, presented by festival director Jean Anne Lauer, festival jury coordinator Elena Bessire, and jury members Zoe Hopkins, Olivier Lapuente, and Angie Reza Tures.
“This year’s closing night celebrated 21 years of Cine Las Americas in the company of many returning fans and supporters, as well as with attendees who were joining us for the first time – which is everything any festival team hopes for” stated Lauer. “We opened the festival with a life-affirming journey from South America to Europe, and ended it with a kayak adventure along the west coast of Canada, and throughout the week we enjoyed hearing audience responses to those films and every one they viewed in between.”
The festival showcased contemporary films and videos from all over the world, with primary emphasis on films of the Americas. The selection was comprised of 126 titles representing 30 countries in production or co-production of the titles: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, French West Indies, Germany, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, Uganda, UK, USA, Venezuela. All films were presented in English and/or subtitled.
The festival granted jury and audience awards in ten categories, including the annual Hecho en Tejas competition, and the Emergencia Youth Film competition.
Winners:
Narrative Feature Competition (for a 1st or 2nd Feature)
Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature – “Tourments D’Amour (Torments of Love)
Dir. Caroline Jules, France/Guadeloupe/French West Indies
Statement from the Jury:
“Caroline Jules’ poetic use of camera evokes all your senses, and in an instant makes you feel the lingering pain of your inner child. It explores the complexity of father-child relationships and invites the audience to be empathetic with those who struggle with connecting with their family. It shows the pain and reality of unresolved family problems.”
Audience Award for Narrative Feature
“Tourments D’Amour (Torments of Love)
Dir. Caroline Jules, France/Guadeloupe/French West Indies
InkTip Award
As part of the narrative feature prize package, Caroline Jules, director of “Tourments D’Amour” (Torments of Love) will be offered an InkTip Script Listing. InkTip Script Listings provide writers/filmmakers with the opportunity to get their scripts read by InkTip’s extensive network of producers, reps, managers, agents, and other qualified industry professionals.
Documentary Feature Competition
Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature – “Nada queda sino nuestra ternura” (Nothing is Left but Our Tenderness)
Dir. Sébastien Jallade, Peru
Statement from the Jury:
“NADA QUEDA SINO NUESTRA TERNURA (NOTHING IS LEFT BUT OUR TENDERNESS) opens the doors to the lives of families who suffer the horrors of war and who sing songs of forgetting. Just as we see a bridge being built out of clay, director Sébastien Jallade crafts the story so that we walk next to the souls of these people. Through gorgeous composition of shots the viewer experiences the literal and lyrical bridge as a catharsis, opening our eyes to the global issue of displacement.”
Audience Award for Documentary Feature
“My Bolivia, Remembering What I Never Knew” Dir. Rick Tejada-Flores, USA
Narrative Short Film Competition
Jury Award for Best Narrative Short “La hora de la merienda (“Teatime”)
Dir. Alba González de Molina, Spain
Documentary Short Competition
Jury Award for Best Documentary Short – “SIGO ACÁ” (“I’m Still Here”)
Dir. Tana Gilbert, Chile
Hecho en Tejas Competition
Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) Award – “Hakla” (“Stammer”)
Dir. Tania Romero, USA
Statement from the Jury:
“The films of the Hecho en Tejas Showcase were absolutely brilliant, beautiful and left me wanting to see more. It was incredibly difficult to select only one winner but I am happy to announce that HAKLA (STAMMER) ultimately won my heart. I enjoyed the relationships between Ish, his father and late mother, Ish’s determination to pursue and continue dancing through heartbreak, and most especially the salsa-bollywood fusion dance that I felt was so unique and super cool. It looked like it was a fun film to make. Congratulations!”
Hecho en Tejas Audience Award – “A Strike and an Uprising (In Texas)”
Dir. Anne Lewis, USA
Music Video Competition
Audience Award for Best Music Video “No regreso”
Dir. Hugo Rubiano, USA/Colombia
Emergencia Youth Film Competition
Audience Award for Best Youth Film – “Find A Way”
Dirs. Akil Carrillo, Ellie Aronica BAYCAT, San Francisco, CA, USA
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The jury for CLAIFF21: The Feature Film Jury was comprised of guest filmmakers Lucía Gajá (Mexico), Iván D. Gaona (Colombia), and Zoe Hopkins (Canada). The Hecho en Tejas juror was Angie Reza Tures, an El Paso-based filmmaker and founder of Femme Frontera. The Short Film Jury was comprised of Cine Las Americas Film Selection Committee members Lisa Dreyer, Diana Jauregui, and Olivier Lapuente.
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ABOUT CINE LAS AMERICAS: Cine Las Americas is a multi-cultural, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Austin Texas, offering theatrical screenings of films made by or about Latinos or Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Films from Spain and Portugal are also included, enhancing a truly Pan-American cinematic experience. The mission of Cine Las Americas is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging the diverse Central Texas community through film and media arts.
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.