21/03/2013 - After his participation in "Cinéma en développement" in 2010 and the "Cinéma en construction" prize won in 2012, William Vega presented his first feature film last night at the 25th Cinélatino Festival in Toulouse

After his participation in Cinéma en développement in 2010 and the Cinéma en construction Prize won in 2012, Colombian director William Vega is back in Toulouse. He presented his first film, La Sirga [+see also:
trailer
film profile], last night as part of the Panorama section of the 25th Cinélatino Festival.

In order to escape the horror of Colombian armed conflicts, the young Alicia arrives near the Cocha lagoon in the south-western part of the country. There, she lives with her uncle Oscar, who agrees to accommodate her for a while and give her a job, because he wants to rebuild a ruined hotel named La Sirga. Alicia becomes friends with her colleague, Flora, and a messenger from the lagoon, Mirichis. The apparent harmony that exists in the community will, however, be shattered by the unexpected arrival of Oscar’s son, Freddy. 

William Vega, who has gotten to know several indigenous communities while directing programmes for Juan Mochilas, has decided to isolate his film from a spacial and temporal point of view. La Sirga is a little piece of reality that serves as an allegory for the armed conflicts in Colombia. The evident problems of the fishermen, such as poverty, a difficult climate and limited resources, are joined by a latent violence, always perceptible in the background. Thanks to measured editing, photgraphy that perfectly renders the misty atmosphere of La Cocha, and meticulous work on sound, Vega manages to turn this personal portayal of the Colombian situation into a film that sheds light on the shadows and contradictions of a plague which has been destroying his country for nearly half a century.

La Sirga was produced by Oscar Ruiz Navia for the Colombian company Contrafia Films, in coproduction with Mexico and France (Ciné-Sud). The film was shown in a preview at the last Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, after which it was presented in San Sebastian and Toronto. It is also on the programme of the Festival Reflets du cinéma ibérique et latino-américain de Villeurbanne (March 13th to 27th). Zootrope Films will release the film on French screens on April 24th. 

(Translated from Spanish)