Rarely do we act out norms and ideals as publicly and directly as in relation to our bodies. Social media serve as channels to manifest these norms, but at the same time, they also offer people an opportunity for performative self-expression and empowerment. Free Your Mind, Free Your Body shows four films with protagonists who resist the principles of a patriarchal society sometimes more, sometimes less actively, thus freeing not just their bodies but also their identities from repressive norms.
The Sunday screening is followed by a conversation on body and gender norms in the context of traditional social structures in the Andean nations.
Son of Sodom Theo Montoya / Colombia 2020 / 15' / DCP / colour / Spanish / Doc
«In August 2017, I chose Camilo Najar, known as Son of Sodom in the social networks, to be the main character of my first feature film. That casting revolved around his life, his sexuality, the future he saw for himself, and drugs. A week later, aged 21, he died from a heroin overdose. Who was Son of Sodom?»
Axel (23) is saving money for a sex change operation to become Alexa. Bastian (24) has to deal with his drag alter ego, Anna Balmanica. Alfonso (22), a young student from a poor neighbourhood, wants to change his social status. «SNAP» is a reflection about the body, the city, and the segregation that affects them. A story built through fragments of everyday life that the characters share on Snapchat.
The Foreign Body Héctor Silva Núñez / Venezuela 2018 / 18'20" / DCP / colour / Spanish / Fic
Jairo is a young native man from Venezuela who was born without nipples. Distanced from the customs of his people, he explores a male ideal to belong to in the city.
In the Colombian coffee region, Aribada, the resurrected monster, meets Las Traviesas, a group of indigenous transwomen from the Emberá tribes. In their unique world, magic, dream, and performance coexist, creating a universe in which documentary and fiction merge.
The Andes mountain range stretches from Argentina, where it serves as a natural border with Chile, up north through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, where it splits into three branches, one of which extends into Venezuela. The eight curated programmes presented here are the result of a comprehensive audiovisual enquiry into this vast territory. Los Estados Andinos seeks to offer a panorama of the political, social, cultural, and artistic scene of these seven nations, exploring the idiosyncrasies and traditions of each as well as their collective identity and common grounds.
The Latin American film industry, and specifically the film scene in the Andes nations, expanded according to each country’s economic capacity and willingness to invest. It has also been directly connected to social and political turmoil, both within the region and under the influence of external events. While cinema arrived around 1896 and slowly started to disseminate, it was only in the 1940s and 50s that some local productions started to bloom after each nation implemented laws promoting the film industry. Some countries stood out in this respect, Argentina chief amongst them. After World War II, and with the impact of the Cuban Revolution, a new cinematic culture awakened and quickly became politicized. During this period, filmmakers found inspiration in eclectic sources, mainly from abroad, which triggered a phase of exploration.
The 1960s and early 70s were pivotal: the new Latin American cinema movement, forged in a postcolonial environment and ignited by popular movements seeking cultural, political, and economic autonomy, brought a break with established filmmaking practice. The movement intended to reveal Latin American realities with their multiple contrasts and insisted on searching for the overlooked, placing entirely new themes centre stage, such as the collective memory of the excluded. It was a highly critical anti-establishment and anti-mainstream movement aimed at creating a cinema that ignites sociopolitical transformation. Beginning with a fruitful production of films in Argentina and Chile, the movement spread widely through the region to Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and beyond. At the same time, several national movements emerged, striving to develop an autochthonous cinema of auteur films.
The second half of the 1970s brought a decline in cinematic production in the region, along with the rise of dictatorships and a decrease in funds. Many filmmakers went into exile and continued to work from abroad. The 1980s were characterized by struggle, dependency on state support, and precarious channels of distribution. Since the 1990s, industries in the region have once again experienced significant growth and an undeniable creative wave, above all in Argentina, which is rightly seen as a powerhouse of film production, but also in Chile and Colombia. Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, in turn, are often overlooked, yet they are developing relevant bodies of work that shine a light on indigenous lives in contemporary times.
We are aware of the immense diversity that characterizes the region and of the individuality and particularity of each country. We don’t seek to homogenize or equalize their experiences by any means. Instead, with our selection, we want to feature the multiculturalism of these nations while at the same time portraying their shared experiences in recent and contemporary times. The programmes are not organized by nation; instead, they are thematically structured.
Three programmes explore the socio-political realities in the Andean nations. While two of them, Working the Land and Critical Contrasts, take a historical perspective, Andean Paradox focuses on the present and on a growing tendency to regain agency through action. The programme Tierra vital features a journey through landscapes that shape and condition cultural and identity practices and imaginaries. The sense of belonging is intertwined with the sense of place. Family Comes First, as the title suggests, addresses the importance of family relationships, the struggles and affection between family members. The queer experience and the exploration of bodily autonomy in the region is given a window in the programme Free Your Mind, Free Your Body. Finally, Stories of the Uncanny and Blurred Lines echo each other. The former uses animation as a medium to address difficult, strange, and seemingly dissimilar topics that attract and repel at the same time; the latter is inspired by magic realism, capturing the spirit of the supernatural encapsulated within the mundane. It is an evocative programme, an amalgamation of the real and the magical.
The Andes are a region of many facets. They come with a halo of mystery and mysticism. As a Colombian curator who lived in Europe for several years, I have a sense of the manifold associations of the term «Latin America». Many see us with the eyes of desire and yearning, others with great fear. There are those who observe us with interest and genuine curiosity, while others want to exploit our territories. We are also said to be incredibly open and warm, happy and loving people who welcome everyone with open arms and hearts. Our nations are usually associated with political and social instability, an assessment that is then contrasted with the beauty of our inhabitants and the majestic and varied landscapes of our countries. Despite the stereotypes and what we evoke in the world’s imagery, we surely are a pluricultural and multi-ethnic region that shares the same territory and colonial past and yet encompasses diverse countries with different political and socioeconomic realities and complexities.
Text: Mariana Bonilla Rojas Curated by Mariana Bonilla Rojas, John Canciani, Laura Walde, Federico Windhausen
Free Your Mind, Free Your Body
LGBTQI+ people live dangerously in Latin America. A patriarchal culture shaped by Catholicism has very rigid ideas of gender roles based on biological sex. Or does it? Some countries have passed progressive legislation, such as a law that allows trans people to easily change their first name. Colombia is one of the most progressive Latin American countries when it comes to the rights of LGBTQI+ people. In 2011, it passed a law banning sex-based discrimination, and same-sex marriage was legalized in 2016. By comparison, the latter only happened in Switzerland in 2022. Everyday reality, however, shows a very different picture. Together with Mexico and Honduras, Colombia is responsible for 90% of fatal violence against LGBTQI+ people in Latin America. Across the continent, an average of four people die for their sexual identity every day.
The programme Free Your Mind, Free Your Body tackles the issue of self-determination – over one’s own body as well as one’s gender identity. In a culture where the reality of many people’s lives is different from the rights they theoretically have, their freedom lies not in protection by the state but in the life choice to break social norms. Rarely do we act out norms and ideals as publicly and directly as in relation to our bodies. Social media serve as channels to manifest these norms, but at the same time, they offer an opportunity for performative self-expression and empowerment.
Free Your Mind, Free Your Body shows four films with protagonists who resist the ideas of a patriarchal society sometimes more, sometimes less actively, thus freeing not only their bodies but also their identities from repressive norms. In the first film we – posthumously – meet Camilo Naja, who was known as «Son of Sodom» in the queer scene of the Colombian city of Medellín and on social media. Openly, he talks about his life, his sexuality, his drug use, and about not being afraid of dying. He is, however, very much afraid of a life and an identity without a future. «SNAP» explores the potential of social media (specifically Snapchat) to ponder the connections between gender, sex, body, identity, and performativity. The protagonist of «The Foreign Body» does not correspond to the physical ideal of a macho society. His striving for normalization collides with his self-image. And «Aribada» blurs dream and reality, fiction and documentary, the magical and the mythical, exploring a futuristic world where «trans» is the adjective of the hour.
A short film is not just a shorter film. Shorts are a distinct art form, which we showcase at our annual festival.
Short films come in all shapes and genres, and how long – or short – they are, varies quite a bit. Simpler production processes allow filmmakers to capture the zeitgeist and quickly respond to trends. Shorts can be entertaining or surprising, they can analyse society, take a political stance, or offer glimpses of worlds unknown to us.
We compile our short films into thematic programmes or specific sections, such as our competitions, paying close attention to the selection and sequence of films in each programme. All you need to enjoy short films is an open mind for new discoveries and surprises.
The Festival
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur is Switzerland’s major short film festival. For six days every November, we transform the city into a dynamic short film hub.
Kurzfilmtage offers discoveries for everyone: our thoughtfully compiled thematic programmes address current events or topics that our curators are passionate about. The competition programmes showcase the latest filmmaking from around the globe, while installations, performances, and other specials highlight the diversity of audiovisual forms. And a programme of special events including concerts, readings, and more enhance the festival experience.
