- Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono, a cult figure for film buffs, will be one of the stars of the festival, which has organized a program with six of his films, including the international premiere of Tokyo Vampire Hotel.
- Deborah Stratman and Socavón Cine complete the list of guest filmmakers for this 24th edition.
In its 24th edition, the Valdivia International Film Festival (FICValdivia) will evidence once again why it is the most important in Chile and one of the most prestigious in Latin America, as it comes brimming with unforgettable movies, premieres and prominent guests that will meet with those attending this cinematographic celebration, taking place in the beautiful capital of Los Ríos Region, this coming October 9 to 15.
International Guests
The audience at the festival will have the unique opportunity to meet renowned Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono. Considered a world-famous cult author, the director will visit Valdivia, along with the actress from his films Megumi Kagurazaka, to accompany a retrospective of his work, where action, gore, humor and the bizarre will make an explosive mix that will liven our festival nights. Suicide Club (2001), Love Exposure (2008), Guilty of Romance (2011), Why Don’t You Play in Hell (2013), Love and Peace (2015) and Tokyo Vampire Hotel (2017) are the six pictures programmed from his filmography.
FICValdivia is one of the few festivals in the world that still screens films in celluloid. And, as it is tradition, our event promotes this decision, inviting a director that works and screens in this format. This year’s chosen director is American artist Deborah Stratman, a fundamental figure in contemporary experimental cinema. Her programmed films are Untied (2001), The Magician’s House (2007), These Blazeing Starrs! (2010), In Order Not to Be Here (2002) and The Illinois Parables (2016).
Our Focus on an Up-and-Coming Short Film Director will offer titles by Socavón Cine, a Bolivian Audiovisual Community integrated by Pablo Paniagua, Kiro Russo, Carlos Piñeiro, Gilmar Gonzales and Miguel Hilari. The collective has already been present at FICValdivia with features by Miguel Hilari (El Corral del Viento) and Kiro Russo (Viejo Calavera). In 2017, we will screen a number of shorts, with the attendance of Paniagua, Russo and Piñeiro. The movies in the series are: Martes de Ch’alla, Max Jutam, Plato Paceño, Amazonas, Enterprisse, Juku, Nueva Vida, La Bestia, Uno and Despedida.
Thanks to the American Embassy, another one of our guests that will participate in meetings with the audience is Debra Zimmerman, executive director at Women Makes Movies, a non-profit New York organization that has supported the work of women filmmakers since 1983.
Likewise, programmers from festivals such as Locarno, Berlinale, Cannes, Rotterdam, Jeonju, FIDMarseille, Visions du Reel, Mar del Plata, Bafici, True/False, Sao Paulo, Olhar de Cinema, DocLisboa and Transcinema will visit our event, as distinguished guests.
Opening and Closing
The opening film will be La Telenovela Errante. After filming it at the beginning of the 90s, Raúl Ruiz searched for financing to complete what was his first film in Chile after exile. Since he didn’t secure it immediately, he abandoned the project, which would later be assumed, after his death, by his widow, filmmaker Valeria Sarmiento, and by the actress Chamila Rodríguez. This is how, after a period of almost archaeological research, they finished La Telenovela Errante, along with Galut Alarcón. FICValdivia will be the second festival in the world to screen the piece, with the attendance of protagonists Luis Alarcón, Francisco Reyes, Patricia Rivadeneira and Mauricio Pesutic, together with one of the driving forces behind this recovery, Chamila Rodríguez.
Lucky is not just a film; it is a living tribute to the great American actor Harry Dean Stanton (Paris, Texas), who stars on this lovable film full of comedic, surreal and dramatic situations. He is accompanied by Twin Peaks director David Lynch, who exhibits his great acting talent. Directed by fellow actor John Carroll Lynch, Lucky is the can’t-miss Closing Film.
Gala
It is not just Raúl Ruiz that returns to Valdivia with a film that was considered lost. In 1986, Jean-Luc Godard made Grandeur et décadence d’un petit commerce de cinéma, which never premiered in movie halls, until 2017, when it was recovered, and now joins our Great Cinema Masters series, which this year will also screen the latest works by Hong Sang-soo (three films), Claire Denis, Valeska Grisebach, Philippe Garrel, F.J.Ossang and the highly-awaited return of Lucrecia Martel to the big screen with Zama.
Jury
Those in charge of adjudicating the International Feature Competition are Ela Bittencourt, programmer at True/False and La Mostra de Sao Paulo; Kiro Russo, Bolivian filmmaker, member of the Socavón Cine collective, and Chilean director Jerónimo Rodríguez.
In the Chilean Feature Competition, the jury is made up of Magdalena Arau, programmer at Bafici; Gerwin Tamsma, programmer at Rotterdam, and Emilie Bujes, artistic director at Visions du Reel.
Meanwhile, the jury for the Latin American Short Film Competition is composed of Aaron Cutler, programmer at Olhar de Cinema, Carlos Piñeiro, Bolivian filmmaker, member of the Socavón Cine collective, and DocLisboa programmer, Agnes Wildenstein.
Finally, the jury for the Cine Chileno del Futuro Competition (Future Chilean Cinema) is made up of Locarno programmer, Sergio Fant, Jeonju programmer, Jang Byungwon, and Rebecca de Pas, programmer at FIDMarseille.
The titles of the films in competition will be announced next Thursday, September 21.
Festival Pass Purchase
Like every year, the festival offers passes for those who want to have full access to all the films in the program. Online sale will be available from September 4 to October 9 at www.joseluisr15.sg-host.com. The Student Pass is CLP 8,000 and the general admittance Festival Pass is CLP 16,000. Moviegoers above 60-years-old can enter all screenings free of charge, needing only to show their ID at the door.
Additionally, there will be a special Festival Pass sale at CLP 8,000, for those that buy it in person, at Calle Pérez Rosales #787, Valdivia, available from September 20 to 29.
About FICValdivia
The Valdivia International Film Festival screens Chilean and international pictures in four competitive categories: International Feature, Chilean Feature, Latin American Short Film, and Latin American Children’s Short Film. Its out-of-competition program includes historic retrospectives, focuses on contemporary filmmakers, political, avant-garde and gender films, plus a section for children and their families. It was founded and is organized by Universidad Austral de Chile, produced by the Valdivia Cultural Center for Film Promotion (CPCV), convened by the Great City of Valdivia, the Los Ríos Regional Government and CODEPROVAL, and financed by the Chilean National Council for Culture and the Arts.
