KF뉴스레터-‘We Will Soon View Each Other’s Films in Our Own Countries’

‘We Will Soon View Each Other’s Films in Our Own Countries’

Maria L. Cortés is a prominent figure of Central America’s cinema sector who serves as the Director of CINERGIA, as well as a Professor of the University of Costa Rica, and Dean of the School of Cinema and TV of Veritas University. During her seven-day visit to Korea, which she described as a magical experience, she sought to lay a groundwork for the promotion of Korea-Costa Rica exchange and cooperation in the film industry.

1. Since few people in Korea are familiar with Costa Rican films, what did you do to introduce Korean audiences to your country’s film industry
I gave a lecture at the School of Film, TV and Multimedia, of Korean National University of Arts in Seoul. But in fact, I spoke about the cinema of Central and South America, or Latin America, rather than that of only Costa Rica. Whenever I talk about film, I describe the developments of Central and South America, as a whole, rather than any single country’s cinema. As for the current status of Central American cinema, I can say that only a few countries, like Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, are able to make films, since the foundation of cinema in the region is still very weak. In Costa Rica, we are just at a beginning stage. You will not see any of our films being distributed in the United States at this time.Therefore, most of the films currently shown in Costa Rica are from Hollywood.

2. Then, what is the role of CINERGIA (Fund for the Promotion of Audiovisual in Central America and the Caribbean)?
For the filmmakers of Central America, CINERGIA represents a source of encouragement and assistance for the making of films. As I indicated, most Central American countries suffer from a lack of resources to support filmmaking. CINERGIA is thus the only fund available for regional filmmakers. It implements a variety of activities, such as extending assistance for production activities related to scriptwriting, post-production works, and distribution, along with providing subsidy, offering professional advice, and organizing international workshops that include the participation of world-renowned film figures. In particular, we consider workshops to be especially important. Since many people in the region are not very experienced in the overall filmmaking process, we organize workshops to provide specialized education. Despite the efforts of this regional support institution, few noticeable results can be seen thus far, because so many aspects are still in the initial stages. But there have been some positive developments recently. For example, only one feature-length film was made before 2000, but about 30 films have been produced since then. We are now making films, featuring stories we really want to tell to viewers, based on our heartfelt sentiments. These days, people seem to be more open-minded in their thinking as well. Rather than the theater alone, more people view movies on the Internet and TV. And there are also increased opportunities to see foreign-made films these days.

Recently, a short film made by a student was uploaded onto YouTube, which attracted about 200,000 viewers. This number of viewers is similar to our audiences for “Shrek,” so we were greatly encouraged about the potential for Central/ South American cinema, along with boosting the confidence of our film industry in its capability. By the way, we are very much interested in animation works, for which we have high expectations in the future.

3. What were your impressions about Korea’s film industry?
Prior to my visit to Korea, I had no idea there would be so many great places to visit and cinema-related people to meet with here. Especially, I was highly impressed by the Korean Film Art Center (BaekDuDaeGan). Based on their keen interest in Latin American films, I think we will be able to implement various exchanges in the future. The International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul was also worthy of note. If you have a chance, I would like to show people in Korea small-scale panorama films that feature girls from Central America. I hope to discuss this with the festival organizers to see if we can initiate exchange efforts of this kind. I now have contact information of about ten Korean organizations, thanks to this visit.

4. It seems that film can be an effective medium for the promotion of cross-cultural understanding, even for countries from different regions.
I believe cinema is a very good way for learning about another country’s people and culture. Korean films that have impressed me include “The Way Home” and various works of Director Kim Ki-deok. I found two Koreas – the traditional and the modern – come alive in these movies. When I return to Costa Rica, I will share my experiences in Korea with my colleagues and friends. I also hope to establish a course on Asian cinema at the University of Costa Rica in the future. I hope to send our producers to the Pusan International Film Festival and also the International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul. And as I mentioned earlier, I would like to screen the panorama films about Central American girls for Korean audiences. Korea’s film sector produces a number of large-scale and great movies, but that is not the case in our country. However, I hope to work closely with Korea. If the Korean film industry plans to make an entry into the Central and South American film market, I will be pleased to offer my assistance.

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‘We Will Soon View Each Other’s Films in Our Own Countries’

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