1st. FIXION

Death Knows Your Name
Argentina. 2006. Horror. 90 min. Spoken in English.
Direction & edition: Daniel de la Vega.

The story of a man who is about to learn the origin of his own death… Bruce, a psychiatrist in an old asylum, will change the course of his life when he discovers a human skeleton buried in one of the tunnels in an old abandoned wing of the hospital. Obsessed, Bruce convinces his father Anthony, a forensic anthropologist, to reconstruct the mysterious body, only to discover that it has the same face.

An intense and exciting story that is always in constant motion, a careful photography, a precise camera, FXs that reach the pinnacle in the chilling scene of childbirth. De la Vega knows terror very well and best of all, she knows how to use it!

Red Cockroaches
Cuba-USA. 2004. Science Fiction. 82 min.
Direction, script, photography: Miguel Coyula.

This movie is the first part of a developing trilogy. In a New York whipped by acid rain, a man meets a mysterious but very familiar young woman. She will break the banality of their day-to-day existence, and together they will embark on a surreal journey that will culminate in a devastating climax.

It took Cuban filmmaker Miguel Coyula two years and less than $2,000 dollars to make Red Cockroaches. With its controversial plot, the film has won severals awards at various festivals around the world.

Sa Ilalim Ng Cogon (Beneath The Cogon)
Philippines. 2005. Horror. 83 min.
Direction: Rico Maria Ilarde.

Sam Hizon takes refuge in an old abandoned mansion. He is amazed to find a beautiful and mysterious young woman, with whom he discovers the bizarre experiments of the previous owner of the house.

Although little known in our country, the Philippines has an interesting independent horror film industry. But beyond the geographical question, Rico Maria Ilarde offers us -in his fourth opus- a kind of cinema far removed from what we know as Asian fantasy cinema.

Lockout
USA. 2006. Horror. 91 min.
Direction, script, edition: Ricardo Islas.

An American family must move into an isolated house in a rural area, after the husband loses his job. Once in their new home, strange events begin to happen, progressing to transform their lives into a nightmare of violence and death.

The prolific U.S. based Uruguayan director presents Lockout, a distressing horror film with a scathing commentary on the average American’s vision of immigration.

36 Pasos (36 Steps)
Argentine. 2006. Horror. 97 min.
Direction: Adrián García Bogliano.

Five blondes, six rules to follow and 36 steps to get out of hell. Russ Meyer meets Royal Battle.

Habitaciones Para Turistas (Audience Award BARS 2004), Grité una Noche (Best Argentine Film BARS 2005). The people of Paura Flicks don’t stop filming for a second, and here they present a perfect combination: girls and gore.

Song Of The Dead
USA. 2006. Musical comedy, Horror. 86 min.
Script, direction and music: Chip Gubera.

A virus (JRV) wakes up the dead of America. News networks and government officials make only vague statements about the circumstances surrounding the biological release of the Resurrection virus and the subsequent zombie infection. The president appeals to Americans to unite and resist. A family from the deep America faces conflict and fight against the “terrorist zombie”.

A zombie film. A musical comedy. A political satire with the living dead. The first – and probably the last – zombie musical feature film in the history of cinema.

TL-1 Mi Reino Por un Platillo Volador (TL-1 My Kingdom For a Flying Saucer)
Argentine. 2004. Science Fiction, comedy. 115 min.
Direction, script and production: Tetsuo Lumiere.

An ultra independent director who produces his films with filth found in the street, dreams of filming a super production of flying saucers similar to “The War of the Worlds”. Without a coin in his pockets, he makes the fierce decision to seek support to fulfill his longing. In his wandering, he meets a cameraman who lends him his old VHS to make his film, his deaf-and-dumb girlfriend helps him in the adventure, but not before becoming entangled in the most hilarious and delirious situations.

Screened at the MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) for 3 months at midnight and a full house, this mix of fake biopic and an underdeveloped Ed Wood surprises because scarcity of media does not mean scarcity of talent.

Demons|Among|Us
Australia. 2006. Horror. 82 min.
Direction, script, production: Stuart Simpson.

Joe arrives in a remote Australian town to get some money to survive. But the demons are among us. As he fights against the beings that lurk in the city, the devil comes out of his prison under the earth. Only he and his talking axe can save us from the forces of evil.

A feat of transoceanic low budget, with much of Evil Dead’s Sam Raimi and the first George A. Romero. First feature film of this boy born in Melbourne 30 years ago.

Kraftverk 3714 (Power Plant)
Sweden. 2005. Science Fiction. 136 min.
Direction and script: Markus Widegren.

Surrounded by an infinite forest, near a river, there is a small community where everyone seems to have idyllic lives. After a few years of being away, Johanna returns to the village, and realizes that things have changed.

A small village in the middle of a forest. A power plant. And a strange access to a parallel world. A rare example of Nordic low-budget cinema and the only film close to science fiction to compete in BARS 2006.