Latin America Made Its Mark at the Venice Film Festival

Beyond the Mexican Guillermo del Toro, often labeled as the sole Latin American presence at the recently concluded Venice Film Festival, the works of two young filmmakers—one from Ecuador and another from Cuba—also garnered significant attention.

Guillermo del Toro's Return

Although he left this time without awards, Del Toro appeared at the 82nd edition of La Mostra with his version of Frankenstein. Critics described it as an excellent film, closer in style to the Hollywood productions of his recent works than to his earlier, fantastical Pan's Labyrinth, which was a co-production between Mexico and Spain.

New Voices in the Horizons Section

However, Latin America's participation extended further. Competing in the festival was Hiedra (Ivy) by young Ecuadorian director Ana Cristina Barragán, which won the Horizontes (Horizons) Award for Best Screenplay. This section of the festival is dedicated to promoting new cinematic vanguards and aesthetics.

Also premiering and competing in the Horizons section, among the fourteen short films presented, was Norheimsund by Cuban filmmaker Ana Alpízar. A graduate of the Faculty of Audiovisual Media Arts at the University of the Arts in Havana and the San Antonio de los Baños International School of Film and Television, Alpízar currently resides in the United States, where she studies film direction at New York University.

A Universal Theme with Cuban Roots

Alpízar's work at the Venice Festival tackles the universal theme of emigration, which also profoundly affects Cuba. The title of the fiction short, Norheimsund, is the name of a village in Norway. It is from this location that one of its inhabitants establishes a romantic telephone connection with a young Cuban woman. She and her mother do everything possible to make this man the ideal means to leave the country.

Recognition in a Prestigious Venue

Awards notwithstanding, the selection of these two young Latin American artists' works to compete in Venice—the cradle of the world's oldest film festival and one of the most relevant in the annual international circuit—constitutes, in itself, a significant recognition.