Argentina and Brazil shared the main prize at the Bafici

At the moment, the Gaumont cinema is not closed. So at least he assured Mirtha Legrand the president of Incaa, Carlos Pirovano. It sounds logical. Where else would Argentine films be seen if the Gaumont closes? There is the largest theater of the national cinema, there and the other two of the complex go almost all the Creole production, and it is literally filled to the brim with the public that loves this cinema (also the entrance is accessible, unlike other circuits) .

The closure would also affect the entire circuit of indoor venues linked to the Gaumont programming. For now, the historic Cineclub Núcleo maintains its weekly screenings (there is a contract until the end of the year) and several films have agreed on their release date, starting with “Another damn movie”a history of Argentine horror cinema, announced for next Thursday.

There and in other theaters, several views at the Bafici already announce its next premiere, such as “Fito’s Havana”, “A Man Who Writes” (about Abelardo Castillo), “Imprenteros” and “Fierce Legend”about the phenomenon of “Tangoferocious”, Marcelo Piñeyro’s film about Tanguito. Meanwhile, today the prizes will be awarded to the Bafici winners, among them a multitude of enthusiastic Argentinians. And a tear will be shed for Laurent Cantetwhich with its debut “Human Resources” won the top prize of the 3rd Bafici. That was one of the first prizes of his life, which he just gave up at only 63 years old.

The winners

The Grand Prize of the International Competition was won, ex aequo, by the Brazilian “A paixao Segundo GH”, by Luiz Fernando Carvalhobased on a novel by Clarice Lispector, which also takes the Best Performance award for María Fernanda Cándidoand the national “The pleasure is mine”portrait of a drug dealer and scammer, from Sacha Amaralwhich also receives two awards from parallel juries.

Balancing the scores, the American “Riddle of Fire”, by Weston Razoolia beautiful tale of three vermin children, worthy of a good release in commercial theaters, wins the awards for Best Feature and Art Direction, and the Canadian “Intercepted” by Oksana Karpovichabout the war in Ukraine, the Best Director and the Signis from the Catholic jury.

In the Argentine Competition they climb to the podium “Vrutos”, with short v, of Miguel Baudrama of violent fools (Grand Prize and Best Direction), politicians “The Changing of the Guard”, by Martín Farina (Best Feature and two parallel awards) and “Correspondent”, by Emiliano Serra (no official award but three parallels), the Tucumán “Ships and cathedrals”, by Nicolás Aráoz (official award for Best Photography, endorsed by the Association of Directors of Photography award), and the documentaries “Imprenteros”, by Vega and Zapico, and “Dejar Romero”, by Fernández Mouján and Khourian (both with special mentions).

And in the Avant-garde and Genre Competition, a common corner of many absurdities, finally a good one, worthy of a premiere in commercial theaters: the Irish eclogue “That They May Face the Rising Sun” by Pat Collins (Best Feature Film and Director), in a list crowned by three women: the Dutch Nina Gantz for “Wander to Wonder” (Grand Prize) and the actresses Lola Amores with “The Wild Woman”, from Cuba, and Elena Topalidou, with “Highway of a Broken Heart”, from Greece.

Distributed among the three competitions, four foreigners and six Argentines also received their awards: “Berta and Pablo”, “I never went to Disney”, “The Astronaut Lovers”, “Dead Man”, “The Passion” and “Homophobia!”. And in terms of short films, “The Ghosts You Draw on My Back”, from Serbia (Best International), “When everything burns”, by María Belén Poncio (Best Argentine) and others from Spain and Brazil.

On the occasion we alluded to at the beginning, Pirovano He also assured Mirtha the continuity of Incaa, which is not closed, but suspended without date its promotion, economic support and maintenance tasks, precisely the responsibilities for which It was created in 1968 by the dictator Juan Carlos Onganía through decree 17,741 (it was then called INC), which expanded the promotion of cinema in 1957 signed by Pedro Eugenio Aramburu.

Now the question is: if Incaa stops giving loans and subsidies, will the next Bafici have the same amount of national innovations? In one of those, the 100% independents will stand, those who do not require the slightest help from the Incaa, such as “Portrait of a sunrise” who just won the grand prize at the Rome Latin Festival without going through any office.