FILMS IN PROGRESS 16

Films in Progress will present six films from Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, and

Six films from Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina will be presented in Films in Progress on 22 and 23 September at the coming San Sebastian Festival.

A tiro de piedra (Mexico), by Sebastián Hiriart; Agua fría de mar (Costa Rica-France), by Paz Fábrega; Lucía (Chile), by Niles Jamil Atallah; Norberto apenas tarde (Uruguay), by Daniel Hendler; Rompecabezas (Argentina-France), by Natalia Smirnoff and La vida útil (Uruguay), by Federico Veiroj, are the six movies selected for the 16th edition of Films in Progress, the aid programme for Latin American films organised twice yearly by the San Sebastian Festival and the Rencontres Cinémas d'Amérique Latine de Toulouse.

The number of participants has duplicated in comparison with last year at San Sebastian. We have received 115 projects from 21 countries against the 64 titles from 20 countries aspiring for selection in 2008. From the projects received, we have selected six films to compete for prizes helping them to complete their productions.

The following awards will be granted at Films in Progress 16:

• The Films in Progress Industry Award: Kodak (división de cine profesional), Mediapro, Molinare Madrid, No Problem Sonido, Technicolor Entertainment Services Spain and Titra Film will jointly assume the post-production of a selected film until achieving an English subtitled 35mm print. • The TVE Award, Carrying 60,000 euros and consisting of the purchase of the broadcasting rights for one of the selected films. • The Casa de América Award for Aid to the Post-Production of Latin American Films, carrying 10,000 euros (gross).

Plus:

• Films participating in Films in Progress have access to international diffusion on the Instituto Cervantes world network.

FILMS IN PROGRESS

A TIRO DE PIEDRA (A Stone Throw Away) Director: Sebastián Hiriart · Screenplay: Gabino Rodríguez, Sebastián Hiriart · Photography: Sebastián Hiriart · Cast: Gabino Rodríguez Running time: 118 m. · Mexico

Jacinto Medina, a youngster of 21, is bored with his life as a shepherd in the north of Mexico. He finds a keyring on the ground and, taking it as a signal and guided by his dreams, sets out on a voyage stretching thousands of kilometres. Directorial debut from the Mexican Sebastián Hiriart.

AGUA FRÍA DE MAR Director: Paz Fábrega · Screenplay: Paz Fábrega · Photography: María Secco · Cast: Montserrat Fernández, Lil Quesada Morúa, Luis Carlos Bogantes Running time: 79 m. · Costa Rica-France

On New Year's holidays, Mariana (21) and Rodrigo (30) drive to the Pacific coast. There, late at night and in the middle of nowhere, they find Karina (7) who ran away from home. The couple decides to stay the night and deal with the situation in the morning. But by dawn, the girl’s gone.

LUCÍA Director: Niles Jamil Atallah · Screenplay: Niles Jamil Atallah · Photography: Niles Jamil Atallah · Cast: Gabriela Aguilera, Gregory Cohen, Eduardo Barril, Esperanza Silva, Andrés Kalawski Running time: 120 m. · Chile

Lucía is a young woman who works as a seamstress in a factory and lives with her father in an old house in Santiago, Chile. The film takes place in December 2006 during the weeks that take place from the ex-dictator Pinochet’s funeral to Christmas. Through the simple observation of Lucía’s daily life, the spectator is allowed access into a hidden and neglected world of a generation of Chileans striving to recover from the military dictatorship. Directorial debut.

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NORBERTO APENAS TARDE (Norberto’s Deadline) Director: Daniel Hendler · Screenplay: Daniel Hendler · Photography: Arauco Hernández · Cast: Fernando Amaral Running time: 83 m. · Uruguay

Fired from his job, Norberto tries his luck as a real estate agent, putting off telling his wife. His new boss recommends that he attend a personal assertiveness course to overcome his timidity and he starts studying acting at a beginners’ workshop. While preparing the 3-monthly show, while he fails in his endeavours to behave credibly towards his clients and his wife, what he does discover is a tremendous ability to lie to himself. Directorial feature debut from the in ’s El abrazo partido (2004), Best Actor Award at Berlin Festival

ROMPECABEZAS (Puzzle) Director: Natalia Smirnoff · Screenplay: Natalia Smirnoff · Photography: Bárbara Álvarez · Cast: Maria Onetto, Gabriel Goity, Arturo Goetz Running time: 88 m. · Argentina-France

María del Carmen, a 50-year old suburban housewife, discovers a special talent for solving puzzles. On the road to enlightenment she meets Roberto, a millionaire in his 60s aspiring to participate in a world puzzle competition in Germany. Together they form an invincible pair on the games table. This opens the floodgate to desires and discoveries. How does life continue with all of this? Exactly the same, impossible. Directorial fiction-length feature from the assistant director of films by Lucrecia Martel, Pablo Trapero, Jorge Gaggero and Alejandro Agresti.

LA VIDA ÚTIL (A Useful Life) Director: Federico Veiroj · Screenplay: Inés Bortagaray, Gonzalo Delgado, Arauco Hernández, Federico Veiroj · Photography: Arauco Hernández Holz · Cast: Jorge Jellinek, Manuel Martínez Carril, Paola Venditto Running time: 67 m. · Uruguay

Jorge (45) lives with his parents and has been working at a Film Archive for 25 years. He is a film programmer, he makes technical support, and he conducts the film news show at a radio station in . Without any other job experience than working at the Film Archive, Jorge loses his position. A Useful Life explores the way Jorge changes his way of living in order to adapt to the new world that appears to him. After all, maybe ‘movies’ will help him survive. From the director of Acné (Films in Progress 12, 2007).

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