The Gramado Cinema Festival is one of the most important prizes for the ibero-american movie industry, which comprehends productions from Portugal, Spain and all of the countries that have been colonized by them in the past, when we talk about the american continent. In other words, almost all of the countries in latin-america.
The festival is brazilian, and happens, as its own name says, in the city of Gramado, located in the countryside of the Rio Grande do Sul state, that is situated in Brazil’s south region. The city is well known for its chocolates, architecture and unusual cold weather, characteristics that, all combined, have turned the city in a famous national touristic center.
During august, Gramado hostages this festival, that since 1973 has been bringing recognition and more visibility to the south american movie industry, especially in the alternative scene.
About the categories, the awards are divided in three segments: best foreign movie, best brazilian feature film, and best brazilian short film, and in each one there are another subcategories that premiate the productions, such as: best actor, best actress, best plot and best director, among many others. In 2018, plots about women’s lives and stories have starred the awards. Here are this year’s winners:
1. Best short film: Guaxuma
Image Source: IMDb
Guaxuma (2018) is an animation that tells the story of Nara Normande’s childhood, the movie’s director. The production focuses on her relationship with Tayra, her best friend at that time. Guaxuma, Nara’s hometown, is a seaside city situated in Pernambuco, and because of that, the animation and characters are all made of sand, bringing the idea of the beach presence in Nara’s first years of life.
2. Best foreign feature film: Las Herderas (The Heiresses)
Image Source: nziif
It is the first time that a paraguayan movie wins this prize in the Gramado Cinema Festival. The Heiresses (2018), directed by Marcelo Martinesse, tells the story of Chela (Ana Brun) and Chiquita (Margarita Irún), a lesbian couple that have been together for thirty years and have always had a wealthy lifestyle, but while they become older and continue to spend their inheritances, these women end up getting indebted.
When things get worse, Chela starts working as a driver for rich ladies, and during this time, she meets Angy (Ana Ivanova), a happening that changes everything in her life and in the relationship she has with Chiquita. As Martinesse declared for a brazilian newspaper, Paraguay is an invisible nation in latin america, and this pattern is reproduced in the movie industry. But by winning this prize in Gramado, and also representing the continent at the Berlim Film Festival this year, The Heiresses can change this scenario.
3. Best national feature film: Ferrugem (Rust)
Image Source: IMDb
Rust (2018) can be familiar to all of the girls in many countries around the world. And Why? Because the movie is about slutshamming. Directed by Ary Muritiba, the production tells the story of Tati (Tiffany Dopke), a girl that have her intimate photos spread out in the internet, and the consequences that happen after this. Rust debates the technology’s role in the current days, and what are its bad sides, that many times end up being minimized when compared to the advances it has brought. Built in the usual high school scenario, and bringing the adolescence as focus, the production brings a deep reflection about the modern life, so attached to the digital devices.