News | “PANORAMA” IS THE FESTIVAL’S STAR

The ticket presale already confirms it, as many of the films in this section are now sold out. And this is due to its highly attractive programming, with major names of the international film scene (Kiarostami, Assayas, Oliveira, Von Trotta, Kitano and many others) and their latest films, in addition to small spotlights featuring films produced in Brazil, Israel and Argentina. Two gems stand out amid a rich and generous menu of films. One of them is Mekong Hotel (screenings with tickets currently available: Thursday 11 at 2.05 p.m. and Monday 15 at 4.25 p.m.), by Thai director and 2010 Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who has become a BAFICI classic. Mekong Hotel is a visually stunning portrait of a movie shooting on the terraces and rooms of a hotel near the famous river that separates Thailand from Laos (the same Martin Sheen sailed up in Apocalypse Now). The other is Centro histórico (screenings: Thursday 11 at 3.15 p.m. and Tuesday 16 at 3.40 p.m.), dedicated to the Portuguese city of Guimaraes, designated European Capital of Culture 2012, with four episodes directed by big filmmakers: Aki Kaurismaki, Pedro Costa, Víctor Erica and Manoel de Oliveira.