See also: San José hosts international short film fest
Artistry against the clock: that’s what 89 students from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) put on display in the most recent Las 48 Horas (48 Hours) short film competition.
Now in its third edition, the contest, which challenges students from the university’s Collective Communication Science Department to produce a short film in just two days, resulted in 10 films showcased Oct. 2 at the UCR Law School Auditorium.
“This year we’ve strengthened the alliances with different organizations – Centro de Cine, Dele Foco, Caramba Films, and La Feria Producciones – that encourage audiovisual production, with the objective of creating a more competitive environment,” organizer David Mesén told The Tico Times.
Each production team had to incorporate four distinct elements into their production: a character, a place, an object and an audiovisual reference.
The screening began at 6:30 p.m. with the short film La Culpa, produced by Paradox Producciones, last year’s winners. This particular short film played with the concept of guilt. A little boy and girl appear playing in a forest on a beautiful mountain. Simultaneously, a young woman, whose name is never revealed, appears in a wooden house nearby. The contrast between the children and this woman is very evident; the children are depicted as naïve and innocent, while the woman is struggling with guilt, represented by a human figure wearing a black strand of cloth covering its face along with instrumental music used to create suspense.
Right after this short film, the competition began. A few highlights:
- Amanecemos (“Let’s Go ‘Til Dawn”), produced by the Anacronía Salvaje crew, shows a young couple having fun around the city of San José, encouraging the viewer to stop time for a moment to enjoy life.
- Causalidad (“Causality”), by the Guacamole crew, is set in a boxing ring at the moment when 20 year-old Luis takes a fatal fall. Through comedy and drama, the short film explains how this incident can be tracked down to his past when he was a child.
- Pasteles para mí (“Cakes for me”), by La Voló Productions, a colorful, cupcake-filled film, is about Amanda, a young, lonely woman who always receives these delicious pastries on her doorstep at the same hour, and becomes obsessed with the idea of finding out who is mysteriously delivering these cakes.
- Complicidad (“Complicity”), by Apolo Productions, about a young man and woman who struggle to dispose of a body without getting caught. The audience joins these friends through their struggle with humor.
- Buenos Perdedores (“Good Losers”), by the Esteban Crew, about a hopeless romantic who seeks a mystical cure online and ends up encountering Kumiko, a sarcastic rabbit.
- Le Temps Qu’Il Dure (“The Times that Last”), by Asco Rosado & Cereal Monchis Productions, journeys through the subconscious of Blanche as she seeks to revive the one true love of her life. The film has a je nais ce quoi that captivates your attention.
Costa Rican directors Nicolás Pacheco, Alexandra Latishev Salazar, Cristobal Serrá, Marcela Esquivel, and Pietro Bulgarelli, and audiovisual producers Karina Avellán Troz and Gastón Sáenz, were the judges of the competition. Le Temps Qu’Il Dure won best edition, best sound direction, best art direction, best photography direction, best direction, and best short film; Buenos Perdedores won best incorporation of elements; Complicidad won best challenge incorporation, and Causalidad best script. The prizes included tickets for the shnit International Shortfilmfestival kicking off today in San José, workshops from La Feria Producciones, a professional casting at deleFOCO, a $500 equipment from Caramba Films rental and a cash prize.
