Not all of us can make the yearly rounds through the international festival circuit. Berlin, Cartagena, Guadalajara, San Sebastian… it’s a lot of ground to cover when nobody’s paying your expenses. Hell, some of us don’t have anything even remotely resembling an international film festival less than a day’s drive away. While services like Netflix – and even the upcoming, as-of-yet-unnamed digital platform for Latin American cinema – have made it easier than ever to access little-known festival gems, there’s still a whole boatload of films that never make it to big or small screens after running the requisite laps through the festivalverse.
But what can we do but maintain hope that one day some international festival will take the groundbreaking initiative of making years worth of official selections available for your average Joe in Middle America to watch on his iPad, from the comfort of his own home. Well, Joe, you don’t have to suffer anymore, because that day has come and that festival is the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI). The festival has made over 100 titles that have graced its ephemeral halls over the last 16 years available online via Cinemargentino, a free streaming site.
Here’s the catch: the films won’t be available forever. In fact, it’s not entirely clear how long they will be online, so clear your schedules. In fact, get up from your desk right now and go home, because you’ve got about 150 hours worth of binge-watching to get out of the way and there may not be much time do it.
Check out the initiative’s website for a selection of films from all of BAFICI’s world-class competitions and sidebars, including the cutting-edge visions of Cine del Futuro and the youth-oriented programming of BAFICITO. And don’t worry about your boss, just tell her Remezcla said it was OK.
