Gramado Film Festival 2005

Taking place in a small town in the Serra Gaúcha hills of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the Film Festival of Gramado celebrated its 33rd birthday this year as the biggest film festival in Latin America. Its origins were inauspicious, beginning as a side programme of films at the region’s winter festival the Festa das Hortências in 1969. Increasing in popularity each year, it broke away to form an independent event as the Gramado Festival of Brazilian Cinema in 1973. From the get-go Gramado has courted controversy. TODA NUDEZ SERÁ CASTIGADA was shown at the festival in 1973, only to be banned from nationwide distribution by the government. The same fate befell PRA FRENTE, BRASIL in 1982. The seventies and eighties were a time of military dictatorship in Brazil, but despite this unfavourable political climate, the festival of Gramado continued to grow. In 1992 it expanded its scope to become the Gramado Festival of Ibero-American cinema, opening its programme to films from hispanophone Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. Now it is officially the Gramado Festival of Brazilian and Latin film, open to cinema from any romance language-speaking country. Albeit increasingly commercial, and evincing an unfortunate tendency to TV TIMES style tinsel and glitz, Gramado continues to reveal a diverse and diverting range of films, both from Brazil and the Latin world. This year’s crop of films, though perhaps not as bountiful as in previous editions, revealed a few gems that could well find their way to British screens

The programme is divided into various categories, the principal ones being: Brazilian 35mm Fiction, Brazilian 35mm Documentary, Latin 35mm, and Brazilian 35mm and 16mm shorts. These all compete for the festival’s awards, known as Kikitos, in traditional categories such as best director, actor etc. There is a popular jury prize as well as various critical accolades and awards for lifetime achievement. Besides these there are parallel events including showings of avant-premieres, restored classics and a programme of short films from the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Awards this year include

EDUARDO ALBIN TROPHY – Hector Babenco (director of CURANDIRU, PIXOTE and KISS OF THE SPIDERMAN)

KIKITOS

BRAZILIAN 35mm FICTIONAL FEATURES

Best Film – GAIJIN by Tizuka Yamasaki
Best Director – Tizuka Yamasaki
Best Actor – Lázaro Ramos for CAFUNDÓ
Best Actress – Priscilla Rozembaum for CARREIRAS
Best Supporting Actor – Miguel Ramos for O CERRO DO JARAU
Best Supporting Actress – Aya Ono in GAIJIN
Best Script – Pedro Zimmerman for DIÁRIO DE UM NOVO MUNDO
Best Editing – Giba Assis Brasil for SAL DE PRATA
Best Photography – José Roberto Eliezer for CAFUNDÓ
Best Music – Egberto Gismonti for GAIJIN
Best Art Direction – Vera Hamburger for CAFUNDÓ
Special Jury Prize – Paulo Betti and Clovis Bueno for CAFUNDÓ
Special Audience Prize – DIARIO DE UM NOVO MUNDO

BRAZILIAN 35mm DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

Best Film – SOY CUBA by Vicente Ferraz
Special Jury Prize – DOUTORES DE ALEGRIA by Mara Mourão and DE LUTO A LUTA by Evaldo Mocarzel
Critics Prize – SOY CUBA by Vicente Ferraz
Audience Prize – DOUTORES DE ALEGRIA by Mara Mourão

LATINO 35mm FICTIONAL FEATURES

Best Film – A LESS WORSE WORLD by Alejandro Agresti
Best Director – Alejandro Agresti
Best Actor – Roque Valero for PUNTO Y RAYA
Best Actress – Julieta Cardinali for A LESS WORSE WORLD
Jury’s Special Prize – A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN by Sergio Arau, Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Guerrero
Critics Prize – PUNTO Y RAYA by Elia Schneider