CUTUN 2021: Chilean Short Film Genre Festival Heads Into Second Year This August

I am always keeping an eye out for anything related to the genre that happens in Latin America, be it a movie or a festival. I came across a new short-form genre film festival called Cutun in La Serena, Chile, this week when they announced that my friend Paulette Lecaros, a director and part of the team behind Final Girls Chile, would be on the jury. 

 

Cutun Horror and Fantasy Film Festival of La Serena-Chile takes place in the community of the Chilean coastal town La Serena, the second oldest city in the country after Santiago. The city is located in the place where the pre-Hispanic town called Diaguitas used to be. Cutun comes from a legend of a haunted house located in a town called Las Rojas a few kilometers from La Serena. 

 

During its first year Cutun was a free film festival that featured a short film program. There are three categories in the festival, the adult category, another exclusive category for women filmmakers and another for schoolchildren. There will be a small selection of feature films that will be screened at this year's festival, for dissemination and critical analysis purposes. The following films have been invited to this year's edition. 

 

Bella (2021) by Laura Dariomerlo (Argentina) 

Arralhue (2018) by Pablo Villagra (Chile) 

Hidden in the forest (2012) dir Patricio Valladares (Chile) 

El Psicopata, chronicle of an unsolved case (documentary) dir Estefani Céspedes (Costa Rica) 

The death of the dead man (2015) dir Eva Castro (Chile) 

 

As I said earlier, the jury has already been chosen. My friend Paulette will be joined by actress and producer Carol Campos (La Casa) and filmmaker Mijael Milies (Don't Talk, Road to the Cemetery). 

 

The second edition of Cutun will take place on August 21 and 22. Due to the current global health crisis, this year's edition will be held online. Too bad, I've heard there's nothing like having a film festival near the beach surrounded by beautiful neocolonial architecture.