Colombia. The second edition of the SmartFilms Festival, the most prestigious film competition made entirely with cell phones in Latin America, which concluded in Bogotá on August 25, was simply spectacular, and I can attest to it... I had the honor of being part of the jury in the Professional category, which allowed me to witness the very high general level of the short films presented by the contestants.
Among the most voted by the jury, the IDB chose Cristhian Mendoza to exhibit his short film "Desde otra galaxia", double awarded (Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography), at the event Idear Soluciones para Mejorar Vidas in Washington DC, on October 4.
Cristhian is 22 years old and studied Audiovisual and Multimedia Communication at the University of La Sabana, Bogotá. Together with Mateo Moya they founded the production company Roble Films, and last year they won in the Professional category of the first edition of SmartFilms, with their moving video "Un minuto más".
"From another galaxy" struck me, since it addresses with great height the delicate issue of people deprived of their liberty, in a creative and well-kept aesthetic way, and I am pleased that Cristhian can present his work in the IDB field, given that one of our main missions is to help solve the different social problems of the region.
Cristhian, were you surprised to have won in the Best VFX Animation category?
Yes, for me it was an absolute surprise, I didn't expect it! I am Director of Photography, and this year Mateo, who directed the short, from the beginning proposed that we make a digital composition, with matte painting, and I had my doubts, since I had never ventured into that field before. If it is poorly done, it shows a lot... He insisted on me for weeks and ended up convincing me. So this was my first time in that technical area, but it didn't go badly!
You are also the co-writer of "From Another Galaxy", how did the idea come about, what were they inspired by?
Last year we participated with Mateo from Proyecto 48. It occurred to us to make a short film about a man with a piñata head... We won with "Dulce piñata" in Bogotá, and they sent us to participate in Filmapalooza, in Atlanta. And this year, following that line, Mateo proposed that for SmartFilms we develop the idea that in places like prisons, many people – both guilty and innocent – end up practically transforming themselves into aliens, alienated beings, far from what for them is basically their world, their family, their affections, sometimes abandoned even by their own relatives, or by the state, and that makes them beings from another galaxy... Then we began to think about how we could capture this reality, not from the documentary but from the fiction, and exploit the visual part, so that this delicate matter was more "digestible" for the viewer and generated empathy.
I was watching the making of "From another galaxy", and there you talk about the difficulties involved in moving from conventional equipment, optics and SLR cameras, to the smartphone format to make a film ...
Yes, but in the end it was a spectacular experience, and we managed to overcome the various technical obstacles that were presented to us. For example, the stabilizer support to make the smartphone work like a Steadicam was a small adaptation that we made from some selfie sticks. They have the same screw where the tripod shoes are placed, so we take advantage of that particular feature of the device.
You will participate in the Demand Solutions in Washington DC, and your short film is quite aligned with the social issues that we address from the IDB...
Yes, and I'm very excited about that. Although I am not yet as much of an activist as I would like to be, what we do have in mind with my partner is that at some point in our lives we would like to make documentaries that allow us to help certain communities in need, exposing the reality that they have to live. Give visibility to the problems faced by the most vulnerable. That could be our contribution to the cause, based on what we know how to do.
What did you think of the overall level of this latest edition of SmartFilms, compared to the previous one?
Decidedly, it raised the level a lot, compared to last year. I saw many realizations of excellent quality, very good photography and editing, very good scripts ...
If you had to give a piece of advice to the next contestants of SmartFilms 2017, having been a winner for two consecutive years, what would you tell them?
I would tell them to make short films all the time, not to stop, because that's really the only way to discover what you need to improve, what you need to change, comparing your day-to-day work with what you would long to do. Also, that they see a lot of cinema, many audiovisual products, that they link with other filmmakers and continue to take risks, which is the most important thing. Get rid of prejudices and launch yourself to experiment, do, do, do ... That is the only way to achieve good results.
Text written by Alejandra Luzardo, Co-founder of Demand Solutions, Leader and Strategist of Innovation, Creative Economies and Entrepreneurship of the IDB (Twitter: @Alejandral)
