In a Whisper
Dir. Heidi Hassan, Patricia Pérez Fernández / Spain, France, Switzerland, Cuba / 2019 / 80’ / Polish premiere
Section:
Unsettled
Directors, screenplay, cinematography: Heidi Hassan, Patricia Pérez Fernández
Editing: Heidi Hassan, Patricia Pérez Fernández, Diana Toucedo
Sound: Sergio Fernández Borrás, Heidi Hassan, Patricia Pérez Fernández
Music: Olivier Militon, Patricia Cadaveira
Producers: Daniel Froiz, Delphine Schmit
Production: Matriuska Producciones, Perspective Films in co-production with: Producciones de la 5ta Avenida, PCT cinéma télévision
World sales: Habanero Film Sales
Language: Spanish, French
Website: https://www.habanerofilmsales.com/portfolio/a-media-voz
OPIS
OPIS
Childhood friends Patricia and Heidi grew up in Cuba, where they both went to the film academy. As children of the 1970s, they were brought up with the communist ideals of Che Guevara, but the promised bright future failed to materialize. Independently of each other, they fled the malaise and censorship of their homeland. Heidi ended up in Switzerland, Patricia in Spain. They had no contact for years. Now both 40, they seek a way to approach each other again, choosing the medium that suits them best: video letters. Both have continued to film their lives, even though it seemed unlikely that they would ever work in film again. In their frank audiovisual communication, the two migrants recount all the roundabout routes they have taken in their lives: Patricia’s years selling mojitos, Heidi’s search for work and connection with society in Geneva, and the struggle with alienation and nostalgia for a country that no longer exists. The result of the letters, ingeniously edited into a chronological yet freewheeling whole, is a sensitive, two sided account of uprootedness, motherhood, love of film, friendship and freedom. (source: IDFA’s catalogue)
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
IDFA - International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Best Feature-Length Documentary), DocAviv, Zagrebdox, Havana Film Festival (Best Feature-Length Documentary Award), Malaga Film Festival (Best Directing Award: Documentary Competition), Athens International Film Festival (Special Jury Mention), CinéMartinique Festival (Grand Prix Jury), Festival Internacional de Cine de Cali (Best Feature), CineCeará. Festival Ibero-americano de Cinema (Best Ibero-American Feature), CineCeará - Festival Ibero-americano de Cinema (Best Editing), Festival Online de Mujeres (People’s Choice Award), Miami Film Festival, Human Rights Film Festival, BIFF - Bergen International Film Festival, Doclisboa, trinidad+tobago film festival
DIRECTOR
Heidi Hassan
Born in 1978 in Cuba. After getting a degree in Cinematography from the International Film School of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba in 2002, she emigrated to Switzerland where she continued her professional training at the Haute Ecole d’Art et Design in Geneva (HEAD). She got her diploma in Film Directing in 2008. Nowadays, she reconciles her personal work as a filmmaker and visual artist with numerous collaborations as a director of photography. Her work has been presented in prestigious international film festivals where they received several awards and critical acclaim. “A media voz” (“In a Whisper”) is her second feature-length documentary, made in collaboration with Patricia Pérez Fernández.
Patricia Pérez Fernández
Born in 1978 in Cuba. After getting a degree in Drama from Havana’s Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), she continued her training at the International Film School of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, where she got her diploma in Film Directing in 2002. In 2003 she received a scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies at the Film and Audiovisual School of Catalonia (ESCAC) and migrated to Spain. Since then, she has made several fiction short films and documentaries. Currently, she is a staff member of DOCMA (Spain’s Documentary Producers Association). “A media voz” (“In a Whisper”) is her debut as a feature-length documentary director, made in collaboration with Heidi Hassan.
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