Cannes Cinefondation Winner Michael Labarca, Patricia Ramirez Arevalo Talk ‘Kids Swimming in the Lake’ (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comJohn Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentCannes Cinéfondation winner Michael Labarca will hit Locarno’s Open Doors next week with his feature debut project, “Kids Swimming in the Lake,” produced by Venezuela’s Todos Los Ríos, France’s Ticket Shoot Films and Chile’s Oro Films.For Venezuelan movie projects, such international co-productions are not only a virtue but a necessity, “due to the crisis of our public funding for production, our limitation of access to the Ibermedia fund and the complex situation of our country,” said “Kids” producer Patricia Ramírez Arévalo at Todos los Rios.Set in contemporary Venezuela, “Kids Swimming in the Lake” deals with emigration, but from the point of view of those left behind.
During constant blackouts, 11-year-old Dayana and her little siblings dream of leaving Venezuela and reuniting with their father, who migrated fleeing the crisis.
As they anxiously wait for this day, the kids watch as other families and their friends leave first.Venezuelan, Labarca himself now lives in Argentina.
Tat gives a deeply personal passion to the story.“My need to make this film and not another comes from the deep mourning of having lost my country.
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