School is now in session. Cannes’ La Résidence de la Cinéfondation, is celebrating its 20th session and this year’s lucky “students” well representing South America include the feature debut projects from Yaelle Kayam, Dominga Sotomayor, Franco Lolli and Daniel Joseph Borgman with sophomore projects from Cristian Jiménez and Michel Franco. Franco is the Mexican filmmaker with who I drew comparisons to Carlos Reygadas and Amat Escalante – his debut film Daniel & Ana, is a gut-wrenching portrait that re-victimizes its victims – a heavy, difficult to watch film about a crime that often goes unreported.
The Résidence de la Cinéfondation “welcomes its 6 latest winning candidates to support them in the writing of their first or second feature and help them prepare their film”.
– #4. Yaelle Kayam (Israel, 31): Providence is a humorous black comedy describing the contradictory behaviours of the settlers. The story takes place in a small village on the West Bank.
– #1. Dominga Sotomayor (Chile, 25): De jueves a domingo is the journey of a family towards the north of Chile by car, a trip that may be the last one they do as a family.
– #2. Franco Lolli (Colombia, 27): Gente de bien features the reunion of an unemployed father with his 10 years old son.
– Daniel Joseph Borgman (New Zealand, 29): The Weight of Elephants follows Jess, 14 age, a newspaper deliverer whose life is about to be shaken upside down following the terrible murder that takes place on his round.
– #3. Michel Franco (Mexico, 30): Lucia looks at how Roberto reacts to the ever-present memory of his dead wife and neglects his son.
– #5. Cristian Jiménez (Chile, 35): Bonsaï talks about two literature students in Valdivia, Julio and Emilia, and how they evolve.