16 Productions Will Compete in the Costa Rica International Film Festival 2017

For the CRFIC, cinema is like going on a trip; it is to travel unknown and unique places; to travel remote worlds or as close as the neighboring country, a neighborhood that you do not frequent in the city or even your own body; to revisit moments or places that, despite having been seen again and again, could still harbor mysteries.

The diversity of universes is the main premise under which dozens of national and international films offered to the public by the Costa Rica International Film Festival meet each December in the city of San José.

The CRFIC is a festival still young and in the process of evolution, but eager to grow and consolidate an inclusive and humanistic imprint, respectful of any artistic or individual expression, and that recognizes in the cinematographic art an expeditious way for spiritual nourishment and entertainment.

Films with prestigious awards at international film festivals and competing for a nomination at the Oscar Awards 2018 make up the billboard of the Costa Rica International Film Festival.

The program includes films such as On Body and Soul (Hungary, 2017), winner of the Golden Bear and the Critics Award at the Berlinale and representative to the Oscars for Hungary; The other side of hope (Finland, Germany, 2017), recognized with the Silver Bear for best direction at the Berlinale and best film of the year for the Federation of Cinematographic Critics; and Happy End (Austria, France, Germany, 2017), official selection of the Cannes Film Festival and aspiring Oscar for Austria.

The invitation is to live, dream and experience the CRFIC, a festival in which all the cinematographic modalities and narrative strategies coexist, because what most excites us are the stories that the films tell.

10 of the selected proposals will participate in the Forum of presentation of projects of the CRFIC, for Costa Rican works, and the other 6, in the section Cinema in construction, which opens space to Central American proposals.

The Forum for the presentation of projects will award a prize of ¢ 3 million to finance the stage of development or production of the project, as well as access to the Cinéma platform at Développement de Cinélatino, which connects professionals from Latin America and Europe. In this space, you will also have professional advice from Paulo de Carvalho, producer of Autentika Films, from Germany.

For its part, the category of Films in Progress will provide ¢ 3 million to a Costa Rican film and ¢ 2.5 million to a Central American film in the post-production stage. In addition, an award from the Argentine company Boogieman Media will be given for the elaboration of a key art and another from Say the SAME Subtitles for translation and subtitling in 2 languages.

The director and editor Marina Meliande will also provide advice; and the founder of Boogieman Media, Fernando Rajlevsky. The jury of the Industry section is formed by the executive director of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, Christian Sida-Valenzuela, the director and founder of FiGa Films, Sandro Fiorín, and the filmmaker Paz Fábrega.

“This year we propose an eclectic variety of stories and approaches to reality with romance films, black comedy, zombies, epics, animations, virtual reality and war dramas, among others”. This advance is a small loophole towards dozens of audiovisual poetics, with a program that brings together films from more than 30 countries, spoken in almost 20 languages, “said del Toro, who was part of the jury in charge of programming.