“The Lips”
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Order via check/wire/money order. Order via credit card. Rent for screenings. A film by Iván Fund and Santiago Loza. Argentina, “Los Labios,” 2010, 100 minus, Blu-Ray/DVD. In Spanish with English subtitles.
About the Film
Winner of the Cannes Film Festival Certain Regard Award for Best Actress, a prize shared by the film’s three leads (Adela Sanchez, Eva Bianco, and Victoria Raposo), this subtle, challenging mix of documentary and narrative filmmaking follows a trio of women who deeply inhabit their cinematic roles as social workers interacting with members of an impoverished rural Argentine neighborhood. Facing poverty that threatens to overwhelm even the greatest reserves of calm, humor, and empathy, the three move into makeshift living quarters in a run-down hospital. They then begin the work of recording data on the needs of the community and getting to know each other, while trying to make their living quarters habitable… and still find time for an occasional night out. Written and directed by Iván Fund and Santiago Loza, with cinematography by Maria Laura Collasso, The Lips is minutely observed, naturalistic, and haunting.
About the Filmmakers
Co-director Iván Fund was born in San Cristóbal, Argentina, in 1984 and grew up in Crespo, Entre Ríos. In 2005, he directed his first short film, Vals, which received a Special Jury Mention at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. In 2006, he directed the short films Sirenas and El Baile, and received, among other awards, a Georges Meliés Short Film Prize from the Alliance Française. In 2007, he directed the short films Divergir and Un Punto Fijo, as well as the short feature Cicope, made in collaboration with Patricio Toscano. In 2009, he directed his first feature film, The Laugh (La Risa). The Lips is his second feature film.
Co-director Santiago Loza was born in Córdoba, Argentina, in 1971. In 1998, he directed his first short film, Lara y Los Trenes. In 2003, his first feature film, Strange (Extraño), won the Tiger Award for Best Film at the Rotterdam Film Festival. Loza subsequently directed the feature film Four Barefooted Women (Cuatro Mujeres Descalzas) in 2005; Arctic (Artico) and Pink Motherland (Rosa Patria) in 2008; and The Invention of Flesh (La Invencion de la Carne) in 2009. He is also a playwrite and the co-founder of the Elefante Theater Club. The Lips is his seventh feature film.
Publicity Quotes
“The closely framed shots offer, literally, the face of compassion.” –Steve Dollar, The Wall Street Journal
“Moving [and] remarkably organic.” –Benjamin Mercer, The Village Voice
“Critic’s Pick! A small film with a gigantic heart, The Lips casts a spell far greater than its modest narrative. Shadowing three government social workers (perfectly embodied by Victoria Raposo, Eva Bianco and Adela Sanchez) on a trip deep into the impoverished Argentine countryside, this affecting merger of fact and fiction unfolds so naturally that the line between becomes immaterial. …A minimalist poem to the not-so-simple act of survival.” –Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
Festivals & Awards
Winner, Un Certain Regard Best Actress, 2010 Cannes Film Festival
Nominated, Heterodox Award, 2012 Cinema Eye Honors
Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente (BAFICI)
Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival
Festival de Cine de Lima
Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijon
Hamburg Film Festival
Warsaw Film Festival
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Villeurbanne Festival Reflets du cinéma ibérique et latino-américain
Migrating Forms, 2011
Nominated, Best Feature Film, 2011 Cinema Tropical Award
Watch the Trailer
Press Material
Click to download the “The Lips” Press Kit
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