Karen Vázquez Guadarrama
Flor de mil colores | Flower of a Thousand Colours, 2015
A sensorial experience. A poetic portrait. Wonderful words used by filmmaker Karen Vázquez Guadarrama to briefly describe her work, the film Flower of a Thousand Colours, with which she was selected at the 2016 edition of Future Frames, the European Film Promotion’s platform dedicated to up and coming talented directors from the European territory. There is more, as she says that she is currently entertaining the thought of re-examining the place in which the film is set, a remote Bolivian mining camp, for a feature length film this time. The subject of the film and its meditative contemplation begs the question of whether or not such studies receive different reactions from people, especially in terms of perspective from a Western viewpoint looking upon a setting that may seem impoverished. As Vazquez Guadarrama insists, the woman who is the central subject in the film may appear to live a sad life, but it is in fact not so, as that woman herself is quite happy and used to her routine. Besides talking about her film and the reaction the film received in Karlovy Vary, we talk about her experience as a participant in Future Frames.
FLOWER OF A THOUSAND COLOURS is an intimate portrait of Emiliana, a single mother who tries to survive in a remote Bolivian mining camp at 4897 meters above sea level. Emiliana lives with her children in the middle of the paradise like mountains of Mina Argentina. But appearances are deceptive: the life in the camp is fierce. Those who find tin eat, does who don’t, don’t eat. And because the excessive alcohol consumption in the camp, Emiliana has to be constantly aware of the dangers surrounding her family.
Awards:
– Audience Award, Short Waves Festival, Poland
– Best Documentary, International Student Film Festival CineMAiubit, Romania
– Best Belgian Student Short Film, Film Fest Gent, Belgium
– Laureat Horlait-Dapsens Foundations, Belgium
– VAF Wild Card, Belgium
– Jury Choice Award at Black Maria Film Festival, USA.
– Future Frames: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic 2016
– Best Documentary Public Award, Mecal Barcelona, Spain
Official Selections:
– Film Fest Gent, Belgium
– Sundance Film Festival, USA
– Black Maria Film Festival, USA
– Lanzarote International Film Festival, Spain
– Glasgow Short Film Festival, UK
– Mecal Pro, Barcelona, Spain
– Kortgeschoten, Belgium
– Ciné Privé, Belgium
– LA Film Festival, USA 2016
– Rooftop NY Film Festival, USA 2016
– Brussels short film Festival, Belgium 2016
– Future Frames: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic 2016
– Festival Internacional de Cine Ambulante, Colombia 2016
– Valletta Film Festival, Malta 2016
– International Short Film Festival of Torrelavega, Spain 2016
– Uppsala Film Festival, Sweden 2016
– Loft Film Festival, USA 2016
– International Student Film Festival CineMAiubit, Romania 2016
– Short Waves International short film festival, Poland 2017