Foreign Filmmakers Express Joy at Festival in Havana

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 12 (ACN) Filmmakers Roberto Doveris from Chile and Maria Govan and Abigail Hadded, Bahamas expressed on Sunday in Havana joy for participating in the 38th edition of the International Film Festival of New Latin American Cinema underway until the 18th of December.

During a press conference in the Cuban capital, Doveris, Director the film The Plants (Las Plantas) expressed that his participation in the festival is an achievement, recognized for the quality of his organization and cinema proposals.

The Chilean filmmakers said he was impressed on the amount of people filling the theaters reaffirming that these types of festivals are very much connected to the population.

He said that it's encouraging to see so many people interested in art among them teenagers full of enthusiasm.

Doveris added that the movie The Plants (Las Plantas), which is the first feature film he has directed, was carried out with little resources and that is why he enjoys the success of the movie including an award and a Special Mention at the Berlin Festival in 2016.

The film with was aired for the Cuban public last Saturday, competes in the Opera Prima category and whose main actress is singer Violeta Castillo who interprets a young Argentinian immigrant that cares for her older brother in Chile and establishes relations with unknown people on Internet.

Maria Govan, Director of the Movie Play the Devil told the press that its fantastic to be participating in the Festival and it's an opportunity to show her work and learn about artists from different parts of the world.

Meanwhile, Abigail Hadeed, Producer of the fiction film that is competing in the category Feature Films said that Cuba is a beautiful and interesting country with a long history of films. She said that she enjoyed her first visit to Cuba in 1999.

Play the Devil tells the story of a young person from Trinidad and Tobago that plays a role in the theater and captivates an older successful business executive who encourages his sexual preference and who does so during the carnivals.

This year's festival, dedicated to Cuban filmmaker Julio Garcia Espinosa and the International Film and Television School in San Antonio de los Banos, included over 400 works aired in different theaters in Havana.