Three European features will compete in the Feature Films for Children section at the 9th edition of Ojo de Pescado IFF, the oldest festival of its kind in Chile, with online screenings from August 29th – September 6th, and with a jury consisting of children and teens only.
Since 2012, in the coastal city of Valparaíso, Chile, the Ojo de Pescado Int’l Film Festival for Children & Youth hosts one of the most important cinema celebrations of the country, in which 4,000 youngsters, directors, actors and producers are invited to attend more than 60 screenings, followed by a massive closing ceremony. All of that in just seven days.
Despite the current turbulent times, the Ojo de Pescado IFF promises to be a cinema celebration … with online rather than traditional cinema screenings. “We want the festival to persevere. Young people need cinema, maybe now more than ever. With most Chileans locked up in their homes, we think this could be an opportunity to broaden our audience, not only with children from Valparaíso and their families, but even reaching out to the entire Chilean territory” explains Alejandra Fritis Zapata, director of Ojo de Pescado IFF.
The audience (limited to the territory of Chile) will have free access to an online platform, where Ojo de Pescado IFF is collecting recent young audience titles from around the globe. Besides three European movies, titles from Asia and Latin America have also been selected. One of them will receive the Best Feature Film Children award from the hands of a children’s jury. For BINTI (Belgium), FRITZI: A REVOLUTIONARY TALE (Germany – photo) and ALFONS JITTERBIT – COUNTDOWN TO CHAOS (Germany) this will be a Latin American or Chilean premiere, reaching out to the Spanish speaking industry. “Our goal has always been to bring the best international productions to Chile and Europe has always been a benchmark for us, as reaffirmed in this year’s competition,” concludes Alejandra Fritis Zapata.
