- The opening ceremony was hosted by actress Mariana Loyola and included the surprise participation of Fernando Solís, the iconic voice of FICValdivia, who came in person for the occasion.
- A tribute was paid to eleven Latin American filmmakers for the 30th anniversary of the festival.
- The short film Color (1955), by Uruguayan experimental director Lidia García Millán, opened this version of the festival. Also screened was an audiovisual summary of the thirty years of FICValdivia.
- The event was broadcast on FICValdivia’s online platform, social media, and ATV Valdivia’s streaming signal. You can see it here.
The inauguration of the 30th edition of the Valdivia International Film Festival took place at 8:30 pm on Monday, October 9. Around 600 people filled Cervantes Theater to kick off a version that marks the long-awaited return to in-person activity. During the opening ceremony, details were announced about the pictures in FICValdivia’s 2023 Official Selection, the juries that will have the task of evaluating and awarding the movies, as well as the Opening, Central, and Closing Films, this year’s Tributes, the International Gala, and the Chilean Gala.
In attendance to the activity were the Minister of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, Carolina Arredondo Marzán; Los Ríos Regional Governor Luis Cuvertino Gómez; the Mayor of Valdivia, Carla Amtmann Fecci; the Vice Chancellor of Research, Development, and Artistic Creation at UACh, Mylthon Jiménez Castillo; and the Founder and first director of FICValdivia Lucy Berkhoff.
Lucy Berkhoff . Fernando Lataste
They were joined by various cultural agents, local and regional authorities, and special guests. The first authority to take the stage was the Minister of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, Carolina Arredondo, who stressed that “decentralization is one of the central pillars of President Gabriel Boric’s government, as it is for us at the Ministry of Cultures, so it is very important to be here and witness how the sustained work of the team behind FICValdivia has consolidated it as one of the most important festivals in the country. We congratulate those that, throughout these 30 editions, have maintained their commitment to the growth and visibility of the national audiovisual sector, as have we, from the Ministry, through the various instances of support this event receives. Have a great time this cinema week.”
For her part, Valdivia mayor Carla Amtmann Fecci said that it is a good time to highlight the reasons behind the municipality’s investment in the iconic event: “the conviction present in the origins (of the festival) is the same with which we lead the city. We think big: we believe that the potential of our beautiful city – the potential of its people – deserves to be known worldwide (…) We reaffirm our commitment to support 30 years of festival because its origin, present, and future are also the origin, present, and future of Valdivia.”
Los Ríos Regional Governor Luis Cuvertino Gómez thanked the Festival, which “has positioned the region nationally and abroad. This event also allows us to unite in the great causes, including regionalization, creating spaces for a more democratic society.”
Mylthon Jiménez Castillo, UACh Vice Chancellor for Research, Development, and Artistic Creation, recalled that “the UACh cinema club has been operating uninterruptedly since 1963. It was 3 decades later, when the cinema club was run by Lucy Berkhoff, that the idea of creating an international film festival was born (…) to celebrate the thirty years of this screening space. Another thirty years have gone by, and the festival has grown and achieved prestige; we hope to continue accompanying it for another 30 years.”
Finally, FICValdivia Director Raúl Camargo Bórquez remarked on the trust that exists in the regional and cultural authorities to solve the challenges involved in organizing an international festival with the prestige and trajectory of this iconic event.
Fernando Solís . Mariana Loyola Ruz
CPCV RECOGNITION
At the ceremony, María Loreto Vega, President of the Board of the Valdivia Cultural Center for Film Promotion, presented the CPCV award to Antonia Suárez and Robert Muñoz, founders and producers of Fungifest, who received this recognition for their contribution to the region’s cultural development.
“Being the production house in charge of FICValdivia is a labor that we take on with affection, commitment, and professionalism. Therefore, the public and private actors involved in this event have a task that must go beyond formal protocol milestones. When an event like this, after 30 years in existence, is still subject to competition, and to the budgetary dates and readjustments, as it happened this year, beyond the willingness to commit which we greatly acknowledge, it is necessary and urgent to hold more effective conversations on financing, projection, and stability,” said Vega, president of CPCV’s board of directors.
CONCESSION FOR THE CULTURAL CENTER
Meanwhile, the Regional Secretary of National Assets, Jorge Pacheco Rosas, formally signed the concession of free use for the Cultural Center, for the entire space of the building located at Anibal Pinto #1895, which will be the future home of CPCV/FICValdivia and a Neighborhood cinema.
This is because in 2019, National Assets presented 66% of the space, and this year one hundred percent of the property has been confirmed. The signing of this document allows the neighborhood cinema project to grow and to welcome us in a few years’ time.
30 YEARS TRIBUTE
In commemoration of FICValdivia’s 30th anniversary, the festival paid tribute to Latin American filmmakers, when the event’s director called to the stage 11 creators who have had an emblematic presence at FICValdivia: Ignacio Agüero, Sebastián Lelio, Martin Rejtman, Dominga Sotomayor, Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña, Claudia Huaiquimilla, Alexandra Cuesta, Kiro Russo, Juliana Antunes, Azucena Losana.
The 30th edition of FICValdivia will be held from Monday, October 9 through Sunday, October 15, in a live format with seven venues around the city. In addition, the Science Waterfront will host CINEMÁS, a FICValdivia space that brings together music and cinema in the open air.
Along with these activities, there are different functions, free shows, talks, and live music performances. All the information at www.ficvaldivia.cl
FICValdivia was founded and is organized by Universidad Austral de Chile; produced by the Valdivia Cultural Center for Film Promotion; convened by the Great City of Valdivia, the Los Ríos Regional Government, and Codeproval; financed by the Audiovisual Fund, the Collaborating Festivals Program of the Audiovisual Arts and Industry Council, and the Support Program for Collaborating Cultural Organizations of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage.
