The Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (BAFICI), celebrates its 14th edition with a screening of 449 films (shorts and features), incorporating new sections and 360° projection.
Sergio Wolf, the artistic director, said at the launch of the official program, the festival aims to question the definition that the teacher André Bazin inquired in the 50’s, about: What is Cinema? A paradigm that renews in the social context in which we live: the rise of new technologies, information immediacy, growth of social networks, among others. “The BAFICI wants to preserve the future of cinema and for us the debuts are a large part of that future. So 50 percent of the national competition films are the first films of directors,” said Wolf. He also emphasized that this year increased the number of films that made its world premiere at the festival. “We are proud that producers and directors from around the world choose the festival for the worldwide release of their films. Only in the international competition we have six world premieres, “Aquí estoy, aquí no” (“Here I am, not here”), of the Chilean director Elisa Eliash, “The international sign for choking” of American Zach Weintraub (filmed in Buenos Aires) and “The House Emak Bakia!” the Basque filmmaker Oskar Joy. Each, for different reasons, generates expectations given its own story and the talent of its directors”, said artistic director.
Sections of the festival also renewed “Law of Desire” is the name of the section which includes titles that refer to sex as vital instinct in human life: there include “Q”, Frenchman Laurent Bouhnik’s provocative documentary “Il n ‘ya pas de rapport sexuel”, and “Buy me”. Other new sections include: “Pagan Pictures”, “Family Album” and “Space Odysseys,” Film and Architecture, which is presented as a natural consequence of the taste of the Festival’s program for those documentaries that portray the success and failure of different enterprises of construction.
The opening function was held with “The Latest Elvis”, the debut of Armando Bo, namesake grandson of the legendary Argentine director. The film premiered at the Sundance Festival this year and will have its national premiere at this year’s BAFICI, having previously participated in the BAL 2010. To close, was chosen “L’Enfant d’en haut”, the third feature of the French-Swiss director Ursula Meier award at the Berlinale.
“L’Enfant d’en haut”, by the French-Swiss director Ursula Meier.
The Planetarium Galileo Galilei, serves as the headquarters, where there will be screenings in the FullDome format enabling a visual field of 360 degrees! This will include special programming ranging from The Wall (U.S., 2005) by Aaron McEwen, to U2 (U.S., 2008) Andreas and Joe Doubek Stohel.
Meanwhile, outdoor functions with free admission, this year held at the Parque Centenario Amphitheater, with an attractive program for adults and children, which includes titles such as: Tomas Alfredson’s “Let the Right One In” (Sweden, 2008), “Dad, I’m a zombie” from Richard and Joan Ramon Espinach (Spain, 2011), Jalmari Helander’s “Rare Exports” (Finland, Norway, France, Sweden, 2010), Marcelo Machado’s “Tropicalia” (Brazil, UK, United States, 2011), and “There Are No Innocent Bystanders” by Roger Sargent (UK, 2011), among others.
Ticket sales begin today at Hoyts Abasto in the House of Culture (Avenida de Mayo 575) and online in www.festivales.gob.ar .
