OLA LATINO FILM FESTIVAL AND SAG HARBOR CINEMA PRESENT VIRUS TROPICAL
Saturday November 14th at 7pm
The Sag Harbor Cinema is pleased to host both virtual and in person screenings of Santiago Caicedo’s lush, animated feature Virus Tropical. Based on the partially autobiographical work of renowned graphic novelist PowerPaola, the film tells the story of Paola, a teen-ager born into a not-so-conventional family, growing up between Ecuador and Colombia.
“We are delighted to partner with the 17th OLA Latino Film Festival of Long Island and very excited about this particular film, a highly original coming of age story, designed by a beloved Colombian/Ecuadorian artist and beautifully animated by Santiago Caicedo”, says SHC’s Artistic Director Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan; adding: “We see this as the first of many collaborations with OLA Latino Film Festival and the beginning of a rich vein of programs inspired by the wealth of Latin American cinema.”
“OLA is thrilled with the Sag Harbor Cinema collaboration. Experiencing films in this state-of the-art Cinema is a dream. We are looking forward to this event and all future events where we can help to bridge Latino community members to great programming.”
The screening will be preceded by two short films, Solo and Rocco, both made by Riverhead high school students participating in the OLA Media Lab filmmaking and story-telling workshop series earlier this year. OLA offers this free workshop, led by filmmaker and educator Maria Maciak, yearly to area school districts.
The screening will be followed by a conversation between the director of the 17th Ola Film Festival of Long Island, Minerva Perez and SHC’s Artistic Director Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan.
ABOUT THE FEATURE
VIRUS TROPICAL
Colombia, 2018 (96 Minutes) in Spanish with English subtitles
Directed by Santiago Caicedo
Born in a not-so-conventional family, Paola grows up between Ecuador and Colombia and finds herself unable to fit in any mold. With a unique feminine vision of the world, she will have to fight against prejudice and struggle for her independence while her universe is struck by a series of crises.Based on the graphic novel Virus Tropical by Powerpaola
Director’s statement: I am a big fan of PowerPaola’s work. The innocent, simple and direct language of her graphic work has always moved me, the humor of her drawings is punctual and hides a deep awareness under a blanket of sweetness. Virus Tropical tells a transcendent and honest story in an insightful and fun way, and it tackles universal topics that let us relate to the characters in a powerful way. Like every family, Paola’s one had its crises and nuances that shaped her personality and influenced the person she became. Virus Tropical took me back to my intense adolescent years, when I needed to understand and find a meaning to life, and that also shaped me in a way to become who I am.
This is why I felt immediately connected to the graphic novel and wanted to try and make a film out of it. Finding an audiovisual language that respects and pays tribute to PowerPaola’s original drawings represented an interesting challenge for the art of animation, while making a film with such a unique feminine vision was thrilling.
Virus Tropical is suggested for those age 13 and up.
For tickets: www.sagharborcinema.org
