Saturday, November 19, 2011

Yes Alternative!

When I mentioned that Gravity was screening at the 18th edition of the Barcelona Independent Film Festival L'Alternativa I forgot to mention the film was in competition! And it just won! Best Fiction Feature Film! There is always a weird disbelief that people all over the world not only want to watch the film we've made in our backyard but that people believe in it enough to applaud in this kind of way is nearly unbelievable- incredible! Still in shock!

Especially since we were up against some stunning films: Grimunho has such a vivid trailer (I covet the image of the woman by the waterside embracing the colored lights reflecting and bouncing in a twinkling world!) that deals with a mix of reality and fiction in a tender way pushing the boundaries of genre through the true lives of the older women it follows, Han Jia seems to be described as a humanist film quietly expounding on the malaise of China through a poetic portrait of the people whose lives are inherently effected by the politicized state, Las Marimbas del Infierno looks like it is downright spectacular- struggling marimba player meets struggling metal head/doctor who combine their forces for good, how could this not be wonderful?, Mercado de Futuros explores money and memory through visions of the present physical financial landscape, there isn't enough information on El Premio on the web but the trailer is exquisite and (if what I could find is correct) it is a politically inspired story of a child's clandestine life during wartime and, lastly, La Vida Util is a glowing black & white film about a man whose film entrenched life might be forced to change- a seemingly perfect mirror of the reality of all film artists and the world in general! Now who doesn't want to watch all of these films?

 Thank you L'Alternativa for programming some of the most progressive, personal, artistic stories out there in this huge cinematic world! I have no idea how you were able to pick a winner...! Here are a few pictures of (!!!Film Festival Award Winner!!!) Gravity in it's earliest stages of becoming a movie in our very own Pennsylvanian backyard!