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One great innovation in this 2012 edition is the addition, to the venue circuit, of two modern movie theaters located at the Centro Cultural San Martín. That is, two screening rooms, with capacity to accommodate 100 viewers each, complying with the requirements for THX certified theaters (what technically implies high internal absorption to greatly reduce reverberation times). These new bright and spacious venues were especially designed, with a non-conventional approach, for experimental screenings and stagings. In this context, BAFICI’s arrival seems a logical consequence.

The Anfiteatro Eva Perón at Parque Centenario, located in the geographical heart of the City, will be the venue for the already traditional outdoor film series that started back in 2008 and has come to be one of BAFICI’s program classics. Since its launch in 2009, this wonderful public space has served as a stage for different theater, music and film events making up the City’s cultural calendar for winter and summer, for children and grownups. And this will not be the exception, with a rich and varied program.

The remarkable lineup of films and venues that the Festival offers every year will be enhanced in 2012 with the addition of a new program section in a city’s classic spot as is the Planetarium, in the full heart of Palermo Woods. At such special environment, festival-goers will be able to watch films enjoying the state-of-the-art full-dome technology which allows for a 360-degree field of vision. Screenings will include films from different sections, for adults and for kids (from Little BAFICI), such as Jeepers Creepers, the famous and currently in vogue The Wall (photo), a show by U2 as well as Topos - ¿Qué hay ahí fuera and Supernovas company – Víctor y Garu for children.

The programming and sections having been announced on Wednesday 21, expectations are high as we get close to the beginning of the Festival. In this sense, it is important to announce that the full day-by-day schedule, with detailed information on the screening of each film and its corresponding exhibition venue, will be published on this website on Tuesday 27. Starting that day and until the beginning of ticket presale, scheduled for Tuesday, April 3, all those interested will be able to plan their own road map and choose the programming of their choice.

With the presence and words of Minister of Culture Hernán Lombardi and Festival Artistic Director Sergio Wolf, the new edition of the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival was publicly launched at the “Galileo Galilei” Planetarium this past Wednesday noon. With a large crowd of journalists and prominent local film industry professionals in attendance, they announced the festival program’s overarching themes, gave detailed information about traditional and new sections for this year, and of course, highlighted the major role and significance of BAFICI in the City’s cultural life today and its increasing international prestige.

Every year, expectations are high due to the hundreds of must-see films offered by the Festival, and excitement increases as we come closer to the start. For this reason, presale will begin this coming Tuesday, April 3 and extend through Wednesday, April 11 inclusive. Tickets will be available for on-site purchase at the Hoyts movie theaters of the Shopping Abasto (Av. Corrientes 3247), everyday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and at Casa de la Cultura (Av. de Mayo 575), Monday to Friday, same hours. This ticket outlet will have a special schedule for the Easter Holidays: on Thursday, April 5, the box office will be open as usual, and on Friday 6, it will remain closed. The general admission price will be 15 pesos, and discount tickets will be 13 pesos (for students and seniors who can prove their status). Also, tickets will be available for online purchase at this site.

The Argentine film El último Elvis, the directorial debut by Armando Bo (grandson of the homonymous legendary actor and director, with a career in the national film industry spanning over three decades) will be the opening screening of the Festival, on Wednesday, April 11. Directed and co-written by the young filmmaker (with Nicolás Giacobone), the film relives the legend of Elvis Presley through the life of an impersonator, who really believes that he is the reincarnation of the “King of Rock and Roll” and worries about his future as he is about to turn the same age the artist was when he died.

Like in previous editions of the Festival, the free publication Sin Aliento will serve both as a barometer and road map of everything going on during the 12 film-packed days coming up in April. Available at every meeting point, the eight-page newspaper offers reviews, interviews, articles, columns, recommendations and the full day-by-day schedule, featuring several of today’s major film critics and prestigious guest columnists.

The Buenos Aires Lab has been revamped for 2012 to explore, reflect on and experiment with the possibilities of making an independent film in Latin America nowadays. In this year's edition, to be held from April 13 to 15, the BAL will focus on the early stages of a project, even when the production of the film has not yet been defined, in order to encourage young filmmakers to find their own way. For this purpose, a new section will be included this year, Production Lab, dedicated to film projects or ideas for a film project (with or without a producer). And the section Work in Progress (WIP) will continue this year, for films currently in the shooting or post-production stage. The selection of the projects was performed by a committee and announced in a few next days.