Focus Paraguay closes with 'El apartamento', a horror film chosen to represent Paraguay at the Oscars
The film by Michael Kovich Jr. is a horror genre feature film released in 2023
Friday the 8th of March was the last day of the Focus Paraguay section. This section of the Festival de Málaga chooses a Latin American country as a guest for each edition and presents the most recognised films from that country.
First, the thriller directed by Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schémborie '7 cajas' was screened, the record for the highest-grossing film in the history of Paraguayan cinema. On Thursday the 7th in the afternoon, the second session offered something a bit more intimate in the form of the documentary, 'El tiempo nublado'. Finally, the film 'El apartamento' was presented, released in 2023 and selected to represent Paraguay at the Oscars.
'El apartamento’ is a horror film in which a man wakes up disoriented, with little memory of his last days in his own apartment. Soon he finds his door covered in chains and padlocks. After several attempts to get out, he realises that he is trapped with no way out. As the man tries to escape, he mysteriously encounters traces of a dark past that he does not want to face up to.
The director, Michael Kovich Jr., is a Paraguayan-American filmmaker who studied film at FAMU and American University. Among his released and award-winning works are the feature film 'El supremo manuscrito', the virtual reality series 'Opus VR' and the prime-time programme 'El regreso de las sombras'.
On Friday afternoon in room 2 of the Albéniz cinema, the film was screened with a subsequent discussion in which the director, Michael Kovich Jr., and the film's producer and actor, Bruno Sosa, participated.
The film was shot during phase 3 of the 2020 isolation in just 8 days, according to Sosa. He and Kovich Jr. worked together from the beginning to shape the project and that is why the actor also became a producer. The film is proof that horror cinema in Paraguay is becoming more prevalent, and stronger than ever.
With 'El apartamento', the Focus Paraguay section of the 27th edition of the Malaga Festival draws to a close, which every year showcases the most recognised films from a guest Latin American country and which this year has brought us closer to Paraguayan cinema and has given us the opportunity to chat with some of their representatives.
Share
