Cine Pobre Film Festival

The Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre, based in the coastal city of Gibara in the eastern province of Holguín (Cuba) is one of the most popular events of the alternative film circuit. Since its first edition in 2003, the festival has been dedicated to low-budget movies made for less than 300,000 dollars.

History

When Humberto Solas founded Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre in 2003, the choice of Gibara as the principal venue was quite unexpected. The town is a hefty 800-kilometre trek from Havana and an hour's drive along poor roads from both Holguín (which boasts an international airport) and the pristine beaches of Guardalavaca (home to many all-inclusive resorts). Moreover, Gibara has no hotel and a limited number of private rooms (which are booked up early for Cine Pobre week). Nevertheless, the town was declared a National Monument in 2004. Despite the remoteness, relocating the Festival is unlikely because of the very close relationship that has been built over the years between the festival and the people of Gibara.

Participants

The catalogue contains both quality and diversity. Filmmakers from every continent are represented, from countries with a long-established cinematic tradition (United States, India, Germany, France, Burkina Faso) and others with an emerging industry (Chad, Ecuador, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mauritania). The themes covered are similarly eclectic, including serious, historical, funny and heart-warming looks at love, migration, communication, alienation and engagement. The top prize is 15,000 euros.

Events

As the Manifest of the Event stated, « Low-Budget Cinema » does not mean cinema devoid of ideas or artistic quality. It refers to a type of cinema of restricted economic possibilities, done in less developed countries or in those around them. During the course of the week, there are also a number of concerts, exhibitions, meetings… The International Low-Budget Movie Festival relies on the key support of the Cuban Institute for Movie Art and Industry (ICAIC), the Ministry of Culture of Cuba, the Provincial Government of Holguín Province and the City of Gibara, among other institutions.

Jury

Limited in the number of films which may be shown, the selection committee spends much of the year deciding on the next year's selection. Juries selecting the winning films in each category (Fiction & Documentaries) are well-known artists, critics and film directors.

8th Edition – 2010 (upcoming)

The 8th International low-budget Film Festival opens May, 5, 2010.

7th EDITION – 2009 In 2009, the director of the Festival, Sergio Benvenuto, stated that 266 works were shown, from more than 20 countries. This year, the jury was composed of :

Gonzalo Fredes
Xenia Rivery
Ivan Trujillo Bolio
Eslinda Nunez
Marharita Maruregui Fernandez
Ricardo Benett Santamaria
Guillermo Monterforte
Jesus Leon Solana
Lisette Vila
Elsa Methol
Juan Antonio Garcia Borrero
Marta Nin

The 2009 winners :

Querida Bamako, by Omer Oke y Txari Llorente. España. – Best Feature-length Film
Humillados y ofendidos, by Javier Horacio Álvarez, César Brie and Pablo Brie. Bolivia – Best documentary

WINNERS (Best Feature-Length Film & Best Documentary only ) 2003 :

Last Ball, de Peter Callahan (EE.UU.) - Best Feature-length Film
Siyamo, de Mahmoud Reza Sani (Iran) – Best documentary

2005 :

Lichter (Germany) by Hans-Christian Schmid - Best Feature-length Film
Los Ecos y la Niebla (Cuba) by Rigoberto Jiménez - Best documentary

2006 :

La ciudad del so (Czech Republic) by Martin Sulik - Best Feature-length Film,
Soñar en Nablus (Spain), by Sergi Sandúa and Carlos Delfa - Best Documentary

2007 :

Noticias lejanas de México, by Ricardo Benet - Best Feature-length Film
Voyage en Sol Majeur (France) - Best Documentary, from France, directed by Georgi Lazarevki

2008 :

Outlanders (England), by Dominic Lees - Best Feature-length Film
Under The Ahmadabad Sky (Italy) by Francesca Lignola y Stefano Rebechi - Best Documentary

External links