Award-Winning Short Film at Latin American Film Festival The Novice Gardener

December 16, 2022

The short film The Novice Gardener, by Cuban filmmaker Arturo Sotto, won the El Mégano Prize at the 43rd edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana. The award is one of the festival's collateral honors, presented by the National Federation of Film Clubs of Cuba.

The short film, which was co-produced by Canal Cubavisión and Vedado Films, constitutes a dialogue with viewers through love and the act of creating.

For Arturo Sotto, the 29-minute piece speaks of romantic love in times of pandemic, how that bond is lived in extreme situations for human beings, and their need to communicate said feeling.

Data from the awarded work:
The Novice Gardener (2022)
Short Film
ICAIC
Country: Cuba
Genre: Fiction
Format: Digital
Duration: 29'
Color: Color
Production Company: Cubavisión, Audiovisuales ICAIC Producción
Production: Arturo Sotto, Odalys García
Direction: Arturo Sotto
Screenplay: Arturo Sotto
Cinematography: Alexander González
Editing: Alan García
Direct Sound: Gustavo Caraballoso
Soundtrack Design: Osmany Olivares
Art Direction: Maykel González
Music: Beatriz Corona
Costume Design: Vladimir Cuenca
Costume Assistant: Kirenia Reguera
Assistant Director: Elisa Ravelo
Makeup: Magaly Pompa
Hair: Elio Durán
Casting: Libia Batista
Cast: Andrea Doimeadiós, Daniel Romero, Verónica Lynn, Oneida Hernández, Fernando Hechavarría, Argelio Sosa

For Arturo Sotto, the 29-minute piece speaks of romantic love in times of pandemic, how that bond is lived in extreme situations for human beings, and their need to communicate said feeling:

"ICAIC decided to launch a short film contest to make a choral film, whose general director was Fernando Pérez. Tales of One More Day is that film that will also be able to be seen at this Festival, and was conceived from those six stories, in which the premise was the pandemic and love.

"I submitted the project to the contest, it was selected and work began; but along the way we realized that it did not fit the budgets, the filming times, and other requirements necessary to carry it out together with the others, so it ended up being excluded. However, ICAIC maintained its interest in contributing part of the financing for its realization, and I set out to find the rest.

"I am grateful to Vedado Films, which provided the technical equipment, and to its general producer, Odalys García, who became the production director and shared with me the executive production of the film. I am infinitely grateful as well to Cubavisión channel, for having been interested in the project and providing the largest amount of financing to make it happen."