Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre comes to Atlas Caballito, Nov 19 to 29.

The Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre festival moves to Caballito

The Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre Festival, known as BARS, holds its 27th edition from Thursday, November 19, to Sunday, November 29, at the Atlas Caballito complex, on Avenida Rivadavia 5071. According to Clarín, it is the first time the horror, fantasy and bizarre film festival runs at this venue. The organizers presented the official lineup in one of the halls of the complex.

The presentation was hosted by cultural journalist Elián Aguilar. With him were Gabriel Schipiani, festival director, Pablo Sapere, programmer, Sergio Vera, in production, and Hernán Findling, head of the Argentine film academy. Schipiani spoke of a new home and new directions, and said they hope to stay there for many years. He described BARS as a festival built on sheer effort that keeps growing and is consolidating itself as the oldest horror and bizarre film festival in the region.

After the presentation, a special screening marked 30 years of Scream, the 1996 film directed by Wes Craven. The complex will also host 14 stands from film-related small businesses, something that happens for the first time at the festival.

International and Ibero-American competitions

The festival will open with El vampiro negro, by Román Viñoly Barreto, released in 1953. The International Competition brings together 14 titles from different countries and genres, and among the most notable are Meat Kills, a slasher that its director, Martijn Smits, presents as vegan, and Bonded, by John Mathis, with Argentine actress Clara Kovacic taking part.

The lineup also includes Moviedreams, by Horacio and Axel Maldonado, and Los Vampires, by Craig Mitchell. Director Cristian Ponce, an award winner at Sitges, appears among the competing titles. There is also a tribute to Bruce Lee: Yumemonogatari: The living Dragon, a film divided into three stories that remembers a key figure of martial arts in Hong Kong.

From Spain, Gummy, by Javi Prada, and Los que vienen, by Víctor Català, compete. The Ibero-American Competition is completed by Pacífico, an Argentine-Colombian co-production directed by Gonzalo Gutiérrez.

Argentine cinema and screenings on film

The Argentine Competition has 9 films. One of them is Olivera & Corman, a much awaited documentary about the joint work of Argentine director Héctor Olivera with Roger Corman, a producer of low-budget films, during the 1980s. Also included are La noche que nunca termina, a work by Fran Sanaz, and Dos locos en la mansión del terror, signed by Pablo Marini and Matías Lojo.

During the presentation, Sapere said Argentine cinema is in good health. A special section revives Isabel Sarli with Embrujada and Carne, two classics by Armando Bo that will be shown in 16 mm and 35 mm prints.

Schipiani said the decision came from the discovery of a 35 mm projector, left unused for almost ten years in one of the halls of the complex. Another novelty is two classics from Argentina Sono Film restored in 4K: the already mentioned El vampiro negro and a 1951 work directed by Mario Soffici.

Traditional sections and contests

Regular sections return, such as Invasión Japón, Panorama Bizarro, the new releases and the Cineclub La Cripta, which this time presents Vampires, by John Carpenter. The closing film will be Victorian Psyco, by Zachary Wigon.

The Short Film Competition remains open with a nationwide call, and Sapere described it as one of the most challenging sections, because thousands of shorts arrive every year from around the world. During the festival the Fin de Semana Sangriento contest will run again, where teams of filmmakers shoot a short against the clock. This year 110 groups signed up.

If you go

The festival runs from Thursday, November 19, to Sunday, November 29, at Atlas Caballito, on Avenida Rivadavia 5071, in the Caballito neighborhood. Tickets cost $8,500 plus a service fee and are sold on the complex's official website, according to Clarín.

The opening screening is El vampiro negro and the closing one is Victorian Psyco. The festival also offers free activities, according to what the newspaper reported.