Feature film winners also take in 'Cutting Through Rocks' and 'Lost Land' as Alternativa announces it will target Africa for its next edition
The 3rd Alternativa Film Festival wrapped April 30 in Medellín, Colombia with generous cash prizes doled out to five feature films and two shorts. These were selected from 15 feature-length films and 15 shorts hailing from Latin America and Asia.
Liza Surganova, head of the itinerant film festival founded by tech company inDrive, announced that Africa would be the next focus region for the 4th edition, leaving specifics for a later date. Related Stories Margo Price, Brandi Carlile, I'm With Her, S.G. Goodman Score Multiple Nominations for Americana Honors & Awards
The five categories for feature films included a $20,000 cash prize per category while the two winning shorts received $10,000 each.
About Indonesia, Surganova reflected that they didn’t have the luxury of time to build the industry connections they fostered in Colombia, citing the invaluable help of Colombian promotional entity Proimagenes and the local production team led by Natalia Agudelo Campillo’s MadLove.
In a press conference Surganova held alongside inDrive CEO Arsen Tomsky prior to the closing ceremony, she stressed that the festival would take place where inDrive was present.
But lofty ideals need a pragmatic application, in this case, distribution. However impactful their messages are, these films won’t make an impression if not widely seen. Alternativa is addressing the issue by creating a distribution arm that has already been in talks with platforms, TV channels, in-flight systems and other ancillary distribution modes.
The industry section held April 28-30 focused on three themes: impact, distribution and connecting with the global south.
The panel labeled A Guide to Collaborating with Streaming Platforms across the Global South drew the biggest audience, with panelists from Mubi, Retina Latina and Chilean TVOD platform, Pijama. A note of caution from Retina Latina’s Yenny Alexandra Chaverra: The streaming market is concentrated in large platforms that offer access to only 20% of the movies produced worldwide. They simply are unable to buy and screen all the films made across the world.
The 3rd Alternativa Film Fest ran over April 21–30.
Source: variety.com