Dominican Pic ‘Tres Balas’ About Spain’s First Official Hate Crime Dominates Locarno’s Open Door Awards
08.08.2023 - 09:53
/ deadline.com
Dominican project Tres balas (Three Bullets) has dominated the awards handed out by Open Doors, Locarno Pro’s talent development program for artists from underrepresented communities.
The pic, directed by Génesis Valenzuela and produced by Wendy Espinal, picked up three awards, including a CHF 20,000 ($22,000) Open Doors cash grant alongside a €8,000 development grand handed out by France’s CNC.
Set in 1992, the project tells the true story of Dominican immigrant Lucrecia Pérez, who was brutally murdered by four neo-Nazis while living in Madrid. The attack was the first case of racism and xenophobia recognized by the Spanish State.
The projects synopsis reads: Through a visually enthralling journey intertwining colonial history, displacement, and criminal investigation, the director will delve into Lucrecia’s life as a way to explore the diaspora experience and dislocate the grand narrative of history- as she currently shares Lucrecia’s undocumented status. The present and the past connect, while fictional representation will emerge as a mechanism to help fill the gaps in the Afro-descendant memory of the Caribbean.
The biggest Open Doors cash prize of CHF 25’000 was picked up by Pantasma, a co-production between Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras by filmmaker Gloria Carrión. The pic ic produced by Leonor Zúniga.
For the second of its three-year cycle, Open Doors this year focused on the region of Latin America and the Caribbean. A total of eight projects in development were selected for its coproduction platform, the Projects’ Hub, along with eight creative producers who participated in the program’s talent incubator, the Producers’ Lab.
The Projects’ Hub jury consisted of Madeline Robert, Manager of visions sud