After the success it achieved in past years, the Venezuelan film exhibition VENEZCINE has announced its return to Mexico City for a third edition, which will be held in the first week of October 2023.
This is a non-profit initiative promoted by LOBA LAB, a production house founded by Venezuelan actresses Carla Müller and Maga Díaz, who currently reside in the Mexican capital. According to spokespersons for the event, the purpose of VENEZCINE is to continue building cultural bridges between Mexico and Venezuela, in addition to generating an exhibition window for valuable cinema made in the South American nation.
«With the certainty that this is the best way to continue strengthening cultural ties between Venezuela and Mexico, we promote a space of plurality, creation and recognition for cinema. A party to celebrate our seventh art,” reads an official statement.
VENEZCINE 2023 programming
On this occasion, they participate a total of seven feature films and six short films addressing themes such as absentee fatherhood, debauchery, values, ethics, human relations, drug trafficking, child trafficking and the humanitarian crisis, within a variety of genres, including drama, fantasy, science fiction and the horror. The following titles stand out:
- Boxby director Lorenzo Vigas – Representative of Venezuela at the 2023 Oscars.
- One Wayby director Carlos Daniel Malavé – Candidate from Venezuela for the 2023 Goya Awards.
- Strengthby director Jorge Thielen Armand – Special mention at the Biarritz Festival 2020
- The exorcism of Godby director Alejandro Hidalgo – Highest-grossing Venezuelan horror film of 2022.
- Once upon a time in Venezuelaby director Anabel Rodríguez Ríos – Present at the 2020 Sundance Festival.
Within the framework of VENEZCINE 2023, there will also be the exclusive premiere in Mexico of two Venezuelan feature films that will close the exhibition:
- Children of the breezesby director Marianela Maldonado – Best Documentary at the 2023 Mérida Film Festival.
- Simonby director Diego Vicentini – Candidate from Venezuela for the 2024 Goya Awards.
As we said before, the programming also includes a curation of short films. Among them, four directed by students from the Cinematographic Training Center (CCC) of Mexico:
- The perfect dateby director Roberto Campos – Official selection of Shorts México 2023.
- A weird worldby director Eugenia Llaguno – Official selection of the New York Latin Festival 2023
- Oloteby director Lau Charles – Best short film at the Argentina International Political Film Festival 2022.
- Tail of ratby director José Armando Salomo Rosas – Present at the Vladivostok International Film Festival of Asian Pacific Countries 2022.
- clean sexby director María Conchita Díaz – Awarded at the 2015 Guanajuato International Film Festival.
- In the end, the seaby director Ana Karen Alva Medina – Official selection of Shorts México 2021.
When and where?
The VENEZCINE 2023 film exhibition will take place in person at the facilities of the Film Faculty —located in the Roma Sur neighborhood of CDMX— from October 4 to 8, 2023.
There will be a total of seven screenings – a unique screening for each participating feature film – throughout the five days of the event. From Wednesday, October 4 to Friday, October 6, the screening time will be 7pm. Then, on the weekend there will be a double feature: from Saturday, October 7 to Sunday, October 8, the screening times will be 5pm and 7:30pm.
Tickets will cost $70 pesos. They can be purchased through Eventbrite or directly at the box office, before each performance. There will be free entry for Film Faculty students who show their credentials.
The screenings will also include brief Q&As with the presence of directors, producers and actors, who will talk about their creative processes.
Official poster of VENEZCINE 2023
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to get lost too. Preferably, in a movie theater.