Cinema from Venezuela at Instituto Cervantes

A scene from “Hermano.” Directed by Marcel Rasquin in 2010, the film is about two young men who have been raised as brothers and look to their soccer skills as a way of getting out of their slum. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/IC Manila

MANILA, Philippines—The Embassy of Venezuela, Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy of Spain present the film cycle “Cine de Venezuela”, a series of Venezuelan films to be shown from the 3rd to the 6th of December at the Instituto Cervantes theater in Manila.

The cycle will kick off on the 3rd of December, at 7:30 pm, with one of the most popular movies of contemporary Venezuelan cinema –the film “El manzano azul,” directed by Olegario Barrera in 2012. It relates the story of Diego, an 11-year-old city boy who has to spend his summer in the countryside of the Venezuelan Andes with his grandfather whom he hardly knows.

With no high-tech gadgets, he is miserable and bored. One day, he discovers an odd blue apple tree and meets a young girl in which he takes a strong liking to. Through a series of misadventures, Diego grows closer to his grandfather and learns to live life differently.

Along with that opening film, the line-up of “Cine de Venezuela” features two more movies tackling some of the issues of contemporary Venezuelan society.

“Hermano,” directed by Marcel Rasquin in 2010, is about two young men who have been raised as brothers and look to their soccer skills as a way of getting out of their slum. While a scout is in town, an act of violence threatens to tear them apart.

The film has enjoyed a very successful career in film festivals around the world. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Havana Film Festival and the Colón de Oro in the Huelva Latin American Film Festival. It also bagged the Audience Award in the Moscow International Film Festival, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, and the 2011 Lima Latin American Film Festival.

“Hermano” will be shown on the 6th of December (Saturday), at 2 pm.

The film series will be closed by the movie “Patas arriba” (Alejandro García Wiedemann, 2011), screened the same day, at 4pm. In a small mountain town, the widow Renato teaches his six-year-old granddaughter the importance of the small things in life, the value of friendship and the respect towards other people’s views. Renato´s health is quickly deteriorating, so his daughters have decided to send him to a hospital against his will. But he has other plans. With the help of his granddaughter, he plans to escape and sail from Venezuela to Brazil, as he once promised to his deceased wife.

All movies will be shown in their original version in Spanish with English subtitles. The screenings will take place at the Salón de Actos of Instituto Cervantes, 855 T.M. Kalaw, Ermita, Manila.

Entrance is free admission on a first-come, first-served basis. For further information please log on to Instituto Cervantes’ website www.manila.cervantes.es or www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila, or call 526-1482.