Today marks the premiere of “400 metros planos” (400 meter dash), a film short directed by the first graduate of private university Universidad Veritas´s cinema and TV school.
The short, directed by Federico Lang, was filmed in San Francisco de Coyote in the northwestern province of Guanacaste using a cast of mostly amateur actors. The firm starts José Daniel López, Mishelle Morera, Carlos Cubillo, and María Laura Acevedo, a professional actress with experience in film and television.
The movie follows the story of Diego and his mother, doña Sonia, an athlete whose dreams were shattered by a physical disability. Early in the movie, Diego´s father abandons the family, leaving doña Sonia devastated. Diego and his best friend, Ana, decide to cheer up doña Sonia by having Diego join a track and field team and make his mother´s dreams come true. However, before this can happen, Diego needs to acquire a pair of tennis shoes.
“It´s the story of how Diego acquires the tennis shoes to help his mother,” director Federico Lang explained. “What matters the most to him is her happiness and not his own economic wellbeing. I wanted to tell this story because it reflects a common situation in our country, where a lot of the time responsibility falls on the children.”
Lang is the first graduate of Universidad Veritas´ film and television school, the only film school in Central America.
The screening of the short, which will be free and open to the public, will take place today at 8 p.m. at San José´s Cine Variedades (Ca. 5, Ave. Central and 1). For more information, call 2224-2312.
