Catalina Vergara

The list of fantastic, mythical animals compiled by Carl Linnaeus in his seminal 18th century work Systema Naturae could well be the seed of Niles Atallah’s Animalia Paradoxa – an eccentric tale set in a post-apocalyptic world that follows a strange creature struggling to survive. Dressed in rags and a gas mask, moving like an alien dancer, Animalia roams through an abandoned building – crawling and stretching across concrete, plastic, waste. She laboriously carries and fills up an array of empty bottles to enjoy a modest bath. The camera eye lingers on her with compassion and explores the architectures of trash at an agonising pace. We know in our hearts that Animalia is a human-amphibian longing for the sea…

Opposite the imposing Andes stands Santiago de Chile, with its six million inhabitants, its clouds of pollution and its social housing high-rises stretching as far as the eye can see. During the lockdown, Felipe Elgueta and Ananké Pereira create a mosaic formed by moments from the daily life of immigrants living in cramped accommodation, the profile of a fragmented urban landscape.

Two women who have spent their whole lives together must deal with the illness affecting one of them. The sick woman decides not to have treatment and they move into a cabin in the woods to wait for the day that death will come into their lives. The situation sees the resurfacing of the love that time had buried under the routine. Gradually their relationship will strengthen as death bides its time outside the cabin.

One summer day the animals of the forest are invited to a party. They eat a ton of cake and dance all night long. When the party is over they find that all of the trees they use for shelter and food are gone. Strange creatures have stolen their homes, so they decide to go search for them.

A French singer from a small Indie rock band, narrates this intimate and personal journey through her artistic life, her changes and deep emotions lived with her band.

Michelsen, an older trucker who is lonely and sick, while traveling through Patagonia meets someone on the highway who reminds him of his daughter, whom he has not seen in years.

Based on the book by author Marcelo Matthey, this short film narrates his own life in a style reminiscent of school compositions. His constant strolls through streets, houses and beaches are recorded in notes of what he saw, felt or thought during these wanderings or moments, but almost only recalling the processes, the timeline in which things occur and come to mind, the trail of associations coming one after the other, like the steps of a person walking along a street. Immediate impressions, fleeting moments normally lost in time and which are captured in the images and sounds of this film.

María, a girl from Colonia Dignidad, in Chile —a kind of sectarian community, tyrannically mastered by the ruthless Paul Schäfer, a German madman, religious fanatic and child predator, who would end up turning the place into a torture center at the service of the military dictatorship ruled by Augusto Pinochet—, is punished for having lost three pigs, so she decides to run away and take refuge in an abandoned house hidden in the forest.

In the nineteenth century, a French adventurer sets off to establish a kingdom in the inhospitable South of Chile, uniting the feared Mapuche under him. The response of the Chilean army is devastating.

In the nineteenth century, a French adventurer sets off to establish a kingdom in the inhospitable South of Chile, uniting the feared Mapuche under him. The response of the Chilean army is devastating.

Looking for extras and locations, a filmmaker settles on Chiloé, the second largest island off the coast of Chile. He does auditions, but mainly listens patiently to the stories of young and old people. As an outsider, he cautiously searches for the soul of the community and its underlying tensions.

A film improvisation exercise, shooting during 12 hours and 3 cameras. A story create on set.

There is Luis, pushing his walker forward as he drags along the lawn chair he likes to sit on. And Dorian, a crutch under each arm, making frantic efforts to get the payphone working. And then Sara, legally blind and searching for the sink by feel. One of the residents has his own radio station and plays nostalgic songs and other recordings he makes for his housemates outside, like the sound of the sea. He also keeps his listeners informed of the latest news - which mostly consists of obituaries. These various portraits of people who have been forgotten by the outside world but still have a very rich inner life are beautifully filmed - every shot is like a painting, with the natural light playing an important supporting role.