The 54th annual Cartagena Film Festival began on Thursday with promise of many famous faces and films ranging from Latin America to Iran.
Latin America’s oldest film festival will last for six days and will host many famous faces such as John Sayles, Clive Owen and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu as 260 filmmakers have the opportunity to show their work.
Across the six days 135 films from 27 different countries will be shown ranging from Hollywood productions to independent films from Iran. One of the most hotly anticipated from a Colombian point of view is the film which will open the festival, “Ciudad Delirio”, about a famous Colombian dance troupe.
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Despite the fact that, according to Lina Rodrigues, manager of the Festival Internacional de Cine Cartagena de Indias (FICCI), “half of the projections will be international and the rest will be Iberoamerican,” this years festival does boast fantastic films from lesser known cinematographers from countries such as Palestine, Poland, Romania and Singapore.
One of the most controversial films to be shown is “Kiarostami” (Taste of Cherry) which deals with post- revolutionary Iran and belongs to the genre of new wave Iranian cinema.
With regards to Colombian entries into the festival, “Marmato”, a documentary about a traditional Colombian mining town is set to make waves as it conveys the impact of the growing trend of large-scale mining on Colombia.
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The Cartagena Film Festival has hosted many big names in the past such as Greta Garbo, Jack Nicholson and Isabella Rossellini. Even Alfonso Cuarón, who just won an Oscar for his work as director of “Gravity,” has attended the festival in the past.
With regards to Latin American cinema, Alejandro González Iñárritu will be receiving an award for Most Outstanding Director in Mexico and Latin America for his most recent trilogy, Amores Perros, 21 grams and Babel. Iñárritu will also be giving a masterclass at the festival.
British actor Clive Owen is guest of honor at the free-entry event which will run until February 19.
