Winter Latino Festivals: Lights Down & Screens are Lit in Mexico and Argentina
Festivals abound at this time of year and down in the Latino / Latinx / Hispanic countries of Latin America, the lights are out and the screens are lit for the winter celebrations.
VideoBardo, Buenos Aires, Argentina 23rd / 24th November & 1st–3rd December
VideoBardo – the oldest festival of its kind in the world – has two main screening dates the 23rd and 24th of November and the 1st–3rd of December. They have a really strong selection of films this year – their own well-chosen curations by Director Javier Robledo and Marisol Bellusci, alongside ‘Claroscuro’ curated by Helios Sun (Mexico City) director and filmmaker Estefanía Diaz y Carlos Cruz (which I am honoured to be part of with Villanelle for Elizabeth not Ophelia). There is also a very interesting curation from Russia ‘I am not a song’ by Marina Fomenko. The whole event really feels innovative yet seasoned and established. Interspersed with the screenings there are also lectures, music and performance as well as an anthology of visual poetry from Argentina and Brasil by Claudio Magnifesta and Julio Mendonca, which I really would have liked to have attended. Overall, a really memorable occasion. I will be sad to miss it as I will be presenting at FOTOGENIA in Mexico City.
IPrograma Completo_Videobardo 2023
FOTOGENIA, Mexico City runs more or less continuously from the 22nd of November to the 3rd of December this year. I am so proud to announce that I am there for the screening of Frame to Frames : Your Eyes Follow ekphrastic poetry film prize, where, with artist Ana Segovia I will also be announcing the winner and learning more about her work. This event is one of the special programmes (no. 3) on December 2nd at 4pm at the Complejo Cultural Los Pinos (Calz. del Rey S/N, Bosque de Chapultepec I Secc, Miguel Hidalgo, 11580 Ciudad de México, CDMX) so please come along. More exciting news on this in the next post.
FOTOGENIA with leading Director Christian O. Pacheco-Cámara aka Chris Patch goes from strength to strength, now with SEVEN! venues across Mexico City and both live and online programming. It seems to be able to combine a vast broadcasting schedule (nightmare) with experimentation and audio-visual innovation – quite a feat! There are their own curations under different thematic titles, (such as ‘Despedida’ which directly translates as ‘Farewell’ or Angustia (Anguish or Distress)), a wide cross-section of experimental films, of Mexican artists, and a number of special programmes, alongside invited programmes such as from the International Poetry Film Festival of Thuringia. Fortunately, as Mexico City is huge, you are able to tailor your live viewing according to location and day.
https://www.fotogeniafilmfestival.org/en
I also aim to attend Helios Sun Poetry Film Festival, Mexico City, that coincides with FOTOGENIA, as I have Villanelle in that, whilst two of my other films – I Cannot be Human and Bull are being shown at FOTOGENIA – an embarrassment of riches. More exciting news about Frame to Frames and FOTOGENIA in the next post!
Helios is running from the 10th November – 12th December this year. According to Film Freeway Helios has three festival locations at: Galeria el Rule, Centro de Cultura Digital and Museo Archivo de la Fotografia and I am looking forward to meeting Estefania, Carlos and everyone when I am there and experiencing the event first-hand. They say:
‘We call for the realization or presentation of short, medium and feature films that through language, narration, technique and imagination expand the territory of poetry into audiovisual formats that allow us to open our eyes and approach in an authentic way the world we inhabit . We believe that moving images are a form of poetic writing that allow us to understand and elaborate expanded language codes, symbols and imaginary through which we can connect with people.’
