The 35th edition of the Cinélatino Film Festival, Rencontres de Toulouse, took place in (France) from March 26th to April 2nd. The SIGNIS jury awarded a documentary film and a short documentary film from the festival’s selection.
The SIGNIS documentary feature film prize was awarded to “La Colonial” by David Buitron Fernández from Mexico, with a running time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. The film tells the story of La Colonial, a large house that welcomes all those who pass through, especially the excluded. The documentary bears witness to the sacred dignity of the human being, to solidarity and fraternity towards the excluded. According to the jury, “the director captured the daily looks and gestures of the residents of La Colonial with emotion, compassion, benevolence, and beauty. The alternation between white and black elevates this documentary in the sense of a sacredness and illuminates it with love and tenderness”.
The SIGNIS short documentary film prize was awarded to “Las huellas que vamos dejando” by Andrés Alonso Ayala from Mexico, with a running time of 12 minutes. The film conveys the director’s message for a society that has a duty to protect our natural resources through the beauty of its images. “The film reminds us that we must raise our voices, even if we are not listened to, all together and for the common good. The filmmaker delivers this universal message with sobriety and poetry”, says the jury.
The members of the SIGNIS jury in 2023 were Stephanie Ventura from Venezuela, Piero Loredan from Italy, and Philippe Cabro from France. The jury members were deeply moved by the films and their messages, which were both timely and universal, as they captured the beauty and dignity of the human experience, and reminded everyone about our shared responsibility to protect and care for our world and all who live in it.
In conclusion, the SIGNIS Prizes at the 2023 Cinélatino Film Festival highlights the importance of cinema in conveying important messages about our world and the human experience. The films selected by the jury are a testament to the power of cinema to inspire, challenge, and move watchers, reminding them about our joint duty in this world.