Mateo
by Maria Gamboa
►Synopsis
When the healing power of art weakens violence in Colombia.
Mateo, 16, collects extortion money on behalf of his uncle and uses his pay to help out his mother, who grudgingly accepts the ill-gotten money out of need. They live by themselves in the poor, violent neighbourhoods alongside the Magdalena River valley in Colombia.
To prove his worth, Mateo agrees to infiltrate a local theatre group in order to uncover its members’ political activities. As he becomes enthralled with the free-flowing creative lifestyle of the troupe, his uncle escalates demands on him to produce incriminating information on the actors. Under pressure, Mateo must make difficult choices.
Throughout this story composed from real life experiences, Mateo and his mother find their dignity as they face the perils of doubting the established hierarchy of Colombia’s armed conflict.
Specifications
Colombia/France 2014 86mn 1.85:1 Spanish 1st Feature Film
written by
Maria Gamboa & Adriana Arjona
co-produced by
- Daniel Garcìa & Maria Fernanda Barrientos – Dia Fragma
- Maria Gamboa – Una Obra De Teatro
- Thierry Lenouvel – CineSud Promotion
featuring
Carlos Humberto Hernandez,
Felipe Botero,
Myriam Gutierrez,
Samuel Lazcano
Festivals and Awards
- Representative of COLOMBIA for the Oscars.
- Miami 2014 – World Premiere – Best First Feature & Screenplay FICCI
- Cartagena 2014 – Colombia – Competition – Special Mention FIPRESCI Jury & Special Jury Award
- Panama – Competition
- The Colombian FF – USA
- Austin’s Cine Las Americas – USA – Best Feature film
- Zlin, Czech Republic – Competition
- Latinbeat – New York Lincoln Center
- Giffoni,- Italy – Competition – Generator 16 – Best Feature film
- Festival des Films du Monde – Montreal – Regard sur les Cinémas du monde
- Sydney Latin American, Australia
- AFI Latin American Film Festival
- Salé Film Festival, Marocco
- WienXtra, Austria
- Haifa, Israel
- Schlingel, Germany
- Providence Latin American Film Festival, USA- Best Film, Best Actress, Best Cinematography
- Las Palmas, Canarias, Spain
- Filmfest Osnabrück, Germany
- CINEMAISSI, Finland
- KINO SAGA, Lithuania
- Crime & Punishment, Istanbul, -Turkey
- Seville, Spain
- Huelva, Spain
- Eden Court Inverness, Scotland
- Cork, Ireland
- Hispanoscope, Belgium
- Filmar en America Latina, Switzerland
- Kerala, India
- Chennai, India
- Palm Springs, USA – Competition
- Göteborg, Sweden – world Cinema
- BUFF, Malmö, Sweden – world Cinema
- El Perro que Ladra, Barcelona
- Melbourne, Australia – Panorama
- Imago- Cine Colombiano de Barcelona, Spain
- Giffoni, Georgia
- Dias del Cine in Frankfurt, Germany
- Filmar Geneva, Switzerland
