Starting at 8pm, the Valdivia International Film Festival celebrated the Opening Ceremony of its 24th edition. The function took place at the Aula Magna Auditorium of Universidad Austral de Chile, gathering important figures in national and international cinema, and hosted by actors Francisco Reyes and Daniela Vega.
The Valdivia International Film Festival, which takes place on October 9 to 15, is a project sponsored by the National Council for Culture and the Arts, with the support of Universidad Austral de Chile, the Los Ríos Regional Government, the Great City of Valdivia, and the Los Ríos Corporation for Regional Development, institutions that together with the Valdivia Cultural Center for Film Promotion give life to this event.
Among the attendees to the opening ceremony was Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono, one of the honored guests present in this edition of the festival, along with other important personalities in the world of film direction, production and acting.
After a few minutes’ wait, between flashes and interactions with the press, those attending were invited into the auditorium. The room went suddenly dark, setting the stage for the first of the night’s tributes. Homage was paid to the late Chilean folklorist Margot Loyola, presenting a sequence of her 1950 film “La Hechizada,” with her singing “Los Ríos” in the background.
In the words of festival director Raúl Camargo, “Margot Loyola summarizes very well the spirit behind the festival, in a rationale of recovering our memory, the small and simple stories, and sharing those with people from other latitudes. Next year is Margot Loyola’s centennial, and just like last year with Violeta Parra, we started before the official celebrations.”
Once the first screening concluded, the hosts of the gala, Francisco Reyes and Daniela Vega, proceeded to welcome everyone in the house, sharing some of the novelties, partnerships and sponsors in this new edition of Chile’s most important film festival.
The night continued with the opening speeches. Among the speakers were FICValdivia director Raúl Camargo, Universidad Austral Chancellor Oscar Galindo, the Chairman of the Board at CPCV, Juan Quintana, the Mayor of Valdivia, Omar Sabat, and Los Ríos Regional Intendant Ricardo Millán.
After the honors, the announcers presented the list of films participating in the four competitions taking place at FICValdivia: International Feature, Chilean Feature, Latin American Short Film and Latin American Children’s Short Film.
Finally, the ceremony closed with the screening of the documentary “Nostalgias del Far West,” which follows the steps of poet Jorge Teillier, returning to Lautaro, his hometown. Teillier is another of the honorees in this 24th version of the Valdivia International Film Festival.
“With the rationale of situating the honorees in southern Chile,” said festival director Raúl Camargo, “we have, at closing, a tribute to poet Jorge Teillier, who also belongs in the south. What we want to vindicate is a recovery of what southern Chile is, the logic of how we behave in the south, and how we can make contributions from southern Chile.”
Day two at the festival kicks off today with the amazing opening film, the unpublished “La Telenovela Errante”, of the late Chilean master, Raúl Ruiz.
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.
Press contact:
Javier Mardones Miranda
(tel) +569 4634 2979
