Colombian director Simón Mesa Soto returns to Cannes with his new short MADRE in Official Competition.
After the Palme d’Or winner LEIDI, Simón Mesa Soto returns to Cannes with his new short MADRE in Official Competition
Winner of the first Palme d’Or for Colombia with his short film LEIDI in 2014, Colombian director Simón Mesa Soto returns to Cannes with his new short MADRE in Official Competition. Co-produced by Sweden’s Momento Film and Colombia’s Evidencia Films, MADRE is in the running for the 2016 Short Film Palme d’Or, to be awarded by Naomi Kawase, President of the Jury, at the official award ceremony of the 69th Festival de Cannes on 22nd May.
MADRE is the story of 16 year-old Andrea who leaves her poor neighbourhood in the hills of Medellin to attend a downtown casting call for a porno film.
“Despite the fact I’ve borrowed from the stories of many girls in Medellín, says director Simón Mesa Soto, Madre seeks only to paint a portrait of Andrea – a fictional girl – and, more precisely, the moment when she decides to attend a casting call for a porno film, the moment when her free will is transformed into an abusive act perpetrated by others against her.”
Swedish producer David Herdies: “I saw Simon’s last short film Leidi, in Cannes 2014, and was mesmerized by his ability to tell big stories with a subtle expression and a strong presence. When we started the short film project Break the silence, Simón was an obvious choice for me and the first director I contacted. I am thrilled to work with such an interesting director as Simón and really looking forward to premiere Madre in Cannes together with him and the team”.
Colombian producer Franco Lolli remembers: “Simón and I were the only Colombian film directors to be selected in the Cannes Film Festival two years ago (him with Leidi, I withGente de Bien). We didn’t meet at that time but a few months later, in Colombia. We got along instantly and decided working together, him as director and I as producer. TodayMadre, our first collaboration, is sending us to Cannes again, but this time together.”
“With Madre, explains writer-director Mesa Soto, I want those who consume sexual images involving teenagers, but also the teenagers who are potential victims of the porn film industry, to question the situation from a different point of view; to see what is behind the camera.”
MADRE is part of Break the Silence, an international short film project gathering five award-winning directors in one global challenge.
About the director
Simón Mesa Soto is a director and screenwriter born in Medellín, Colombia, in 1986. He was awarded the Palme d’Or for short film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 for his graduation film from the London Film School Leidi, the story of a teenage mother looking for the father of her child through the streets of Medellin. The film was also selected in many festivals such as BFI London, Melbourne, Vancouver, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Habana, Busan, Hong Kong, Bogotá,… Madre is his second professional short film. He is currently developing his first feature film.