The Instituto Cervantes in Berlinhas launched its second call for short scripts in Spanish together with the Argentine screenwriter María Meira, winner of the award for best script at the San Sebastián 2017 festival, who will select a participant for the Script Pitch of the city’s short film festival, InterFilm, in addition to having the support of Cervantes for its realization in the city.
Hotbed of Spanish cinema
In Berlin, Latin Americans meet and unite for the language. “This is reflected in the stories, there are those who want to tell their immigration experience and those who want to tell the stories they bring from their place of origin,” says Meira, “that’s why I’m interested in the plant as a platform to give space for expression those different stories ”.
In addition to the workshop, the Instituto Cervantes joined one of the largest short film festivals in the world, InterFilm, allowing Latin American filmmakers to further develop in their field. Since last year, the course taught by Meira has selected a script to participate in the Script Pitch.
María Meira, screenwriter.
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Institutions and festivals in Berlin: pillars for Latin American cinema
Lina Mareike Zopfs, director of the Script Pitch and Script Lab of the InterFilm Festival, mentions in dialogue with DW that the 2020 experience with the scriptwriter selected by Cervantes, Mario Orias, was interesting. He was the only Latin American selected for the workshop.
This agreement between both institutions ensures the presence of a Spanish-speaking participant at the festival, bringing new possibilities for the development of Latin American cinema in Berlin.
“Script Pitch participants present their stories in a space that is also attended by producers and members of the industry,” says Zopfs about the workshop that awarded a prize of 2,000 euros for the making of the winning short film.
In addition to the workshop, both the Cervantes and the Ibero-American Institute screen films in Spanish throughout the year. “There is an interest in Latin America, clearly,” says the cultural coordinator of Cervantes, Romy Brühwiler in dialogue with DW.
Both institutions organize meeting and collaboration spaces for Latin American filmmakers in Germany. As a result of this, the Ibero-American Film Blog in Berlin was born as a joint idea with the Ibero-American Institute to want to promote Ibero-American participation in the Berlinale. Brühwiler comments that meetings are organized between the Latin American guests of the Berlinale with those who are interested in collaborating with their productions.
New Latin American filmmakers in Berlin
Ignacio J. Durruty is an Argentine filmmaker and has lived in Germany for six years. In his experience, living in the German capital has allowed him to travel to film. “Berlin is the center of Europe and that brings great advantages”, he comments in dialogue with DW. For Durruty, one of the most important benefits is the willingness and help to carry out projects. “I had not experienced that type of thing before”, adds.
This opinion is shared by another Argentine filmmaker, Patricio Mosse, 33, who, unlike Durruty, became involved with cinema only three years ago and mainly in Berlin.
With the aim of developing as an audiovisual producer, he moved to Berlin in 2018 because of the cultural offer and possibilities that exist. “What surprised me the most was the large number of people who want to do projects. It is a multicultural and cosmopolitan city with very different profiles, whose passion is to do”.
In Berlin, Mosse took a script course that allowed him to meet people from different countries with multiple views. According to the director, this experience enhanced his new short film, “Lorenza’s Bike”, which he filmed in Berlin in 2020.
“I found a team of 25 people who really wanted to do the project. At first, the participants were mostly European but it ended up being a group with a lot of Latinos,” adds Mosse.
The montage of the film was carried out by the Catalan editor Didac Palou, to whom Mosse sent the material to Spain. “In Argentina I don’t think it would have occurred to me to work with an editor in another country. In Berlin you are so in contact with international people that you don’t notice that there are borders and that makes you think differently.”
María Meira, screenwriter.
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Institutions and festivals in Berlin: pillars for Latin American cinema
Lina Mareike Zopfs, director of the Script Pitch and Script Lab of the InterFilm Festival, mentions in dialogue with DW that the 2020 experience with the scriptwriter selected by Cervantes, Mario Orias, was interesting. He was the only Latin American selected for the workshop.
This agreement between both institutions ensures the presence of a Spanish-speaking participant at the festival, bringing new possibilities for the development of Latin American cinema in Berlin.
“Script Pitch participants present their stories in a space that is also attended by producers and members of the industry,” says Zopfs about the workshop that awarded a prize of 2,000 euros for the making of the winning short film.
In addition to the workshop, both the Cervantes and the Ibero-American Institute screen films in Spanish throughout the year. “There is an interest in Latin America, clearly,” says the cultural coordinator of Cervantes, Romy Brühwiler in dialogue with DW.
Both institutions organize meeting and collaboration spaces for Latin American filmmakers in Germany. As a result of this, the Ibero-American Film Blog in Berlin was born as a joint idea with the Ibero-American Institute to want to promote Ibero-American participation in the Berlinale. Brühwiler comments that meetings are organized between the Latin American guests of the Berlinale with those who are interested in collaborating with their productions.
New Latin American filmmakers in Berlin
Ignacio J. Durruty is an Argentine filmmaker and has lived in Germany for six years. In his experience, living in the German capital has allowed him to travel to film. “Berlin is the center of Europe and that brings great advantages”, he comments in dialogue with DW. For Durruty, one of the most important benefits is the willingness and help to carry out projects. “I had not experienced that type of thing before”, adds.
This opinion is shared by another Argentine filmmaker, Patricio Mosse, 33, who, unlike Durruty, became involved with cinema only three years ago and mainly in Berlin.
With the aim of developing as an audiovisual producer, he moved to Berlin in 2018 because of the cultural offer and possibilities that exist. “What surprised me the most was the large number of people who want to do projects. It is a multicultural and cosmopolitan city with very different profiles, whose passion is to do”.
In Berlin, Mosse took a script course that allowed him to meet people from different countries with multiple views. According to the director, this experience enhanced his new short film, “Lorenza’s Bike”, which he filmed in Berlin in 2020.
“I found a team of 25 people who really wanted to do the project. At first, the participants were mostly European but it ended up being a group with a lot of Latinos,” adds Mosse.
The montage of the film was carried out by the Catalan editor Didac Palou, to whom Mosse sent the material to Spain. “In Argentina I don’t think it would have occurred to me to work with an editor in another country. In Berlin you are so in contact with international people that you don’t notice that there are borders and that makes you think differently.”
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