It’s that time of year again. Every April, Buenos Aires becomes an oasis for movie buffswhich fill the Bafici rooms. Since 1999, the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival has offered the opportunity to see on the big screen films of different origins and styles, premieres and films from the past, which have one characteristic in common: being faithful to their own idiosyncrasy.
That is the deep meaning of cinematic independence; beyond budgets and modes of production, The Bafici films share the quality of being singular artistic expressions, with the ambition of reaching an audience open to the experience they propose.
The 27th edition of the festival organized by the Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires, which will begin on next Wednesday the 15th and will end on Sunday the 26th, promises to continue this cinephile tradition, presenting 327 titles, among which there is room for the discoveries of new talents and the confirmations of great authors.
The functions of the Bafici will be distributed between different locationswhich include the traditional Lugones room of the San Martín Theater; the May 25 Cultural Center; the Cacodelphia Art Cinema; the Gaumont; the Alvear Theater; the Pablo Ducrós Hicken Cinema Museum; and the theaters of the Cinépolis Plaza Houssay and Recoleta complexes. Ticket sales It is now available on the festival page, bafici.org. There you can also find the catalog and the programming grid, the two fundamental tools to put together a tour of the festival.
The task can be a little overwhelming, even for the most enthusiastic. Here is a summary of some of the most outstanding points of the offer of the next Bafici, to organize these days of movie marathon.
The films that start and close the festival occupy a privileged place within the programming. Part of the imprint of the Bafici director, Javier Porta Fouz, and its team of programmers is the strong presence of comedya genre that has its own section within the festival.
Following this criterion, this year’s opening film will once again be a comedy. Pride and prejudiceby the prolific Matías Szulanski, who has already opened the Bafici in 2023, revolves around the filming of a film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel of the same name, which promises to be far from the classic BBC-style versions.
Another genre always present at the festival is the musical, whether in the form of a documentary or fiction in which music plays a main role. That is the case of stolen lettersthe film chosen to close this edition. The new film by Irish director John Carney, responsible for Eleven, Sing Street and Can a love song save your life?, It stars Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, who play a veteran wedding singer and a former member of a boy band.
The diversity of Argentine cinema is represented in the different sections of the festival. Despite the deep crisis that the sector is experiencing, the effort and creativity of those who make films in the country are demonstrated in the number of national shorts and feature films that make up the programming of this new edition of Bafici.
The river trainby Lorenzo Ferro and Lucas A. Vignale, premiered at the last Berlin festival, is one of the feature films participating in the International Competition, where it will also be presented The victorsby Pablo Aparo, as a world premiere.
The short ones Camilo’s visits, by Itatí Olmedo; mother monster, by María Canale, and It remains in me, by Rafael Nir, will also be part of the international competitive section of the festival.
Follow the Argentine Competition It is a good way to catch up with what is happening in national cinema. In addition to the new talents, who are worth knowing, who are presenting their first films, the most recent feature films by renowned directors such as Raúl Perrone, one of the most programmed directors in the history of Bafici, who will premiere Cin3 Fili4. Ana García Blaya, director of The good intentions and The Uruguayanwill be present with a very personal film, Death is something that happens to others; Juan Villegas, director of Saturday and vegasamong other films, will present Do not kill; and Renzo Cozza, director of The fan and standing lookingwill premiere The time to go.
The plan for an ideal film festival experience involves a balance between indulging in the unknown, giving rise to the discoveriesand the reunion with renowned filmmakerswho arouse interest with their new works.
In this edition there will be no shortage of proper names, whether they are celebrities in the field of festivals or for the general public. Just like it happens with actresses Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart whose first films, in nous and The Chronology of Water, respectively, will be presented in the First Works section.
Old acquaintances from the festival will return with their new films. Of course, it cannot be missed the new one from Hong sang soo, the Korean director with followers as loyal as those of a pop singer’s fan club, who returns to the Bafici with The Day She Returns.
In the Careers section will also be presented Eight Bridgesby another regular of the festival’s programming, James Benning; Le Cris des afternoonsby Claire Denis; duseby Pietro Marcello; L’Etrangerby François Ozon; Blue Moonby Richard Linklater, for which Ethan Hawke He was nominated this year for the Oscar for Best Actor; My Wife Criesfrom the talented director Angela Schanelec; I Am Curious Johnnyby iconic punk rock documentarian Julien Temple; The Loneliest Man in Townby Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel; and a son of his ownby the Chilean documentary filmmaker Maite Alberdi.
One of the most fascinating qualities of cinema is its ability to bring the lives of others closer to the public. In the Bafici sections dedicated to places, cinema about cinema, arts and crafts, there are many documentaries about creative figures who left their mark on their respective disciplines.
Annemarieby Mariana Sanguinetti, focuses on the great photographer Annemarie Hienrich, great-grandmother of the director; while Xulby Cristián Costantini, covers the life and work of the multifaceted artist Xul Solar.
In Donn. Instrument of God, The filmmakers Florencia Dávila and Mariano Baez reconstruct, based on archival material, the life and incredible career of the dancer Jorge Donn.
Two fundamental filmmakers are represented in documentaries that put them in focus: Eric Rohmer, esprit d’enfance, by Pascale Bouhénic and Noël Herpe, dedicated to the great French director, who was part of the Nouvelle Vague; and The Ozu Diaries, centered on the Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu.
Musicians tend to be subjects of fascination, not only for the public, but also for filmmakers, who seek to capture that spell with their cameras. The opposite path reconstructs the story of Hernán Reyna, leader of the post-punk band El Corte, based on extensive research, interviews and compilation of archival material, carried out by directors Daniel Flores and Martín Wain, both with extensive experience in cultural journalism.
Also in the music section you can see Hell is lovely – Gulp.1985directed by Lisandro Carcavallo, about the presentation of the album by Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, in Cemento, a mythical enclave of Argentine rock, to whom the same director already dedicated a documentary, premiered at the Bafici.
For several editions, the festival has held a special section dedicated to younger audiences. Baficito offers a space for young moviegoers (and big ones too!) to watch shorts and feature films, with a variety of origins and aesthetics, which is missed in the everyday cinema billboard.
Among the valuable titles of the section, stands out Mary Anningby Marcel Barelli, a Swiss 2D animated film that focuses on a rebellious girl who embarks on a paleontological adventure.
Another type of discovery is the one that occurs in Papayaby Priscilla Kellen a Brazilian animated film, without dialogue, starring a small papaya seed with big aspirations.
Sometimes the biggest discovery at a film festival can come from recovery of the past. Claiming the importance of the conservation and dissemination of cinema from different eras, the Bafici offers five focuses that present the work of directors, and two special programs, dedicated to Canadian and Argentine cinematography.
The focus of this edition is on the Hungarian director György Pálfi; the Argentine director Liliana Paolinelli; the director and producer Pere Portabella; the young Japanese filmmaker Yugo Sakamoto; and the Spanish director Ángel Santos.
The National Film Board of Canada program It is made up of feature films made in that country, between 1966 and 1978, including Shiverby David Cronenberg.
The Cinema Museum’s selection investigates the independent identity of the festival, relating the work of the Generation of ’60 with current cinema, presenting a majority of functions in film format (16 and 35mm). movies like Alias Gardelitoby Lautaro Murúa; Circeby Manuel Antín; and The routesby Ignacio Tankel; live with The wickby Raúl Perrone; and with a focus on animated short films with dolls, made by Carlos González Groppa, in the 50s and 60s.
For its part, the Rescues section invites review, the opportunity to pay off a cinematographic debt, or the possibility of seeing for the first time in the theater a classic already seen on the small screen (be it TV, telephone or computer).
In this edition they will present The color of moneyby Martin Scorsese with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise getting sparks on the pool table; The disenchantmentby Jaime Chávarri, on its 50th anniversary; The idiocracyby Mike Judge hilarious in all its chilling foreboding quality; and two returns from the history of Bafici itself, at the height of the development of the New Argentine Cinema: City of Maryby Enrique Bellande, and Model 73by Rodrigo Moscoso.
As always, one of the sections to pay attention to in the Bafici will be the Avant-garde and Gender Competition, a proposal that puts experimental cinema side by side with films of popular genres. The combination, only apparently contradictory, usually results in a program with the most risky proposals from both sides.
There will also be the traditional Night section, in which horror and the fantastic have their place reserved. In this edition you can see new feature films by Argentine directors, such as Christian Bernard, who will premiere under your feet; and Ramiro and Adrián García Boglianowhich will present The stain.
There are many more films, organized into sections on politics, passions, coming of ageamong others, in addition to special activities. The best way to enjoy the festival is to choose a few films, organize the agenda and secure tickets. But it’s also a good idea, when possible, to put plans aside and watch a movie off the list. That’s where the biggest surprises appear.
More information, catalogue, programming grid and ticket sales in bafici.org
