MY LOST COUNTRY
In the year 2022, Ishtar visited the theater department
of Baghdad Institute of Fine Arts. In an empty classroom, she evoke the memory of her father, the Iraqi theater director Mohsen Sadoon Yasin.
At his home in London, in the last stage of his life, Mohsen looks through a window and remembers the songs of his land Iraq. Fragments of life are intertwined, in an invocation with a non-linear time, a rather cyclical one, like in Sumerian cosmologies. With the correspondence, the encounters and separations, we enter an intimate world where the facts of life are crossed by historical, social, political events. It is the yearning of a country, imagined, conquered, that takes us to different continents and latitudes. There is a thread of time and also an emotional thread, with hopes, desires, love between a father and daughter. Duration: 93 minutes Formato: DCP color y blanco y negro. Languages Spanish, Arabic and Russian Producer Country: Costa Rica (Astarté Films) Co-producer Country: Egypt (Hassala Films) Iraqi Films (Iraq) Chile (Cintamani Films)
World premiere at Envision Competition, IDFA, 2022
AWARDS
“Outstanding Artistic Contribution” Award - IDFA, 2022.
Fipresci and the Special Jury Prize-Ismailia
Internacional Film Festival. Nominated by Arab critics
for Best Documentary Feature at the Cannes Film
Festival. Nominated by Network for Best Human Rights
Film at the Karama International Film Festival in
Jordan. Armando Céspedes Marín National Audiovisual
Arts Award in the Directing Category, awarded by the
Ministry of Culture in Costa Rica.
EL CAMINO
Saslaya, a twelve-year-old girl, escapes from her native Nicaragua with her little brother Darío, in search of her mother, who emigrated eight years ago to the neighboring country, Costa Rica.
World premiere at the Official Competition in the Berlin International Film Festival, FORUM, 2008.
Duration: 91 minutes. Formato: 35mm- HD- Color. Language: Spanish.
Producer Country: Costa Rica ,Astarté Films, Luis Javier Castro.
Co-producer Country: France, Gedeon Programmes.
AWARDS
Special Jury Award Fribourg International Film Festival Switzerland, 2008. Ecumenic Jury Award Fribourg Film Festival Switzerland, 2008. FIPRESCI Award International Federation of Film Critics Guadalajara International Film Festival Mexico 2008 Special Jury Mention Best Iberoamerican Film Guadalajara International Film Festival Mexico, 2008 Rail D'Oc Award Rencontres Cinéma d'Amérique Latine Toulouse, France, 2008 Best Latin American Film Award Santiago International Film Festival SANFIC Chile, 2008 Roberto "Tato" Miller S.I.C.A. Award Best Latin-American Film Mar del Plata International Film Festival Argentina, 2008 Jury Special Award Central American Film Festival ICARO Guatemala,2008 Best Director Award Central American Film Festival ICARO Guatemala, 2008 Best Actress Award Central American Film Festival ICARO Guatemala,2008 Best Actress Award Punta del Este International Film Festival Uruguay, 2008 Best Iberoamerican Film Award Casa America of Catalonia International Gibara Film Festival Cuba, 2008 Best Latin American Film Award international Gibara Film Festival Cuba, 2008 Signis Award Guadalajara International Film Festival (Film in progress) México, 2007 Ruben Gámez Award Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico, 2007
DOS FRIDAS
"Dos Fridas” is inspired by a true story: Judith Ferreto lives her last days of life in her house in Costa Rica. The closeness with death leads her to relive her memory, when she was the personal nurse of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.
World premiere at the Official Competition in the International Film Festival Tallin Black Nights, Estonia, 2018.
Duration: 92 minutes. Formato: DCP Color. Language: Spanish.
Producer Country: Costa Rica (Astarté Films, Luis Javier Castro).
Co-producer Country: México, Universidad de la Comunicación y Romanos Films
AWARDS
Best Film - International Film Festival in Central America Ícaro, Guatemala. Best Director Award - International Film Festival of Central America Ícaro, Guatemala. Best Cinematography Award - International Film Festival in Central America Ícaro, Guatemala. Best Art Direction Award - International Film Festival in Central America Ícaro, Guatemala. Best Director Award - Gibara International Film Festival, Cuba. Award for Best Cinematography - International Film Festival of Gibara, Cuba. Best Art Direction Award - Gramado International Film Festival, Brasil. Special mention - St. Petersburg International Independent Film Festival, Rusia. Rachmaninov Space Art Award - St. Petersburg International Independent Film Festival, Rusia. Remi Golden Award, in the category of Experimental Drama, at The 53rd Annual World Fest-Houston, Texas, USA. Audience Award for Best Film, Vienna Latin American Film Festival, Austria.
