Colombian film 'La jauría' was selected to compete in the Critics' Week at Cannes

Three Spanish-speaking countries will compete in the Critics' Week in Cannes, which will take place from 18 to 26 May: Chile, Spain and Colombia, which in 2021 left good impressions at this event belonging to the most important film festival in the world.

And it is that the screening of the film 'Amparo', which tells the drama of a Colombian mother who fights against the compulsory recruitment of her son into the army in a context dominated by violence, was one of the most applauded ones, also resulting in the award to Sandra Melissa Torres - the protagonist of the story - for his performance in the film directed by Simón Mesa Soto.

Now, for 2022 another Colombian film will compete in Critics' Week: it's 'La Jauría', directed by Andrés Ramírez Pulido. The choice, made by the festival, which is chaired by France's Ava Cahen, represents not only recognition of the national industry but also Ibero-American, as the Spaniards' Cuerdas', by Estíbaliz Urresola, and 'Nisam je stigao voljeti', directed by Anna Fernández de Paco, will also participate.

In Chile, 'The creatures that melt under the sun' will be screened by Diego Céspedes.

With regard to the Colombian film, “it leads to an isolated place in the heart of the Colombian jungle, an experimental center for the re-education of young offenders,” according to a statement announcing the good news. In addition, he points out that 'La Jauría' is a title that brings together several components that were taken into account when making his selection.

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As visceral as it is captivating and scary, the Colombian director's feature debut is one of 11 that will compete for an award at the Cannes independent competition, and it was chosen from a list of 1,700 feature films and 1,100 short films.

Likewise, Proimágenes, the entity responsible for promoting and consolidating Colombian cinema, highlights the synopsis of the film, noting that, “The blinded desire to murder his father led ELIÚ, a peasant teenager, to kill another man by mistake. He now pays a sentence in a remote and enigmatic detention center in the middle of the jungle.”

Other selected films and the juries that will choose the winning film

The panel will be chaired by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, creator of titles such as 'Le Challat de Tunis' and L'homme qui a vendu sa peau' -The Man Who Sold His Skin-, nominated for an Oscar in 2021 for the 'Best International Film' category. Also, American actor Jesse Eisenberg will make his directing debut with his comedy 'When you finish saving the world'.

On the other hand, Iranian director Ali Behrad's' Tasavor 'will compete alongside 'La Jauría', as will Belgian filmmaker Emmanuelle Nicot with 'Dalva'. The local presence will be felt with director Simon Rieth and 'Nos cérémonies'.

Finally, Critics' Week will culminate with the screening of 'Next Sohee' by Korean director Jung July, and in a special session, film lovers and experts will be able to see 'Toute le monde aime Jeanne', by Parisian Céline Devaux, and 'Goutte d'Or', by Colmar -France- born Clément Cogitore.

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