Argentinean and Cuban Films Awarded at Jeonju in Korea

By Cinema Tropical

Historia del miedo / History of Fear, the directorial debut by Argentine director Benjamin Naishtat was the winner of the top prize for Best Film in the international competition at the 15th edition of the Jeonju Film Festival, which is South Korea's biggest indie film event. The award comes with a cash prize of approximately $19,000 USD.

Set in an economically destabilized Argentina, History of Fear weaves stories of characters from multiple social strata into an interlocking narrative of paranoia and fear. The isolation of wealth and detachment from neighbors causes insecurities to fester, feeding a “security consumption” culture and all its incumbent paraphernalia.

Additionally, the Cuban film Hotel Nueva Isla by Irene Gutiérrez and Javier Labrador was the recipient of the Special Jury Award in the international competition, with a cash prize of $6,000 USD. A documentary-fiction hybrid, the film is about the formerly luxurious Hotel Nueva Isla, which now in ruins, is a shelter for people living on the fringes of society. Jorge, a solitary government functionary retired who is losing his memory, spends his time locked up in the building until the evacuation becomes imminent.

In total four Latin American films -out of ten, were included in the international competition.