Discussion meeting between visiting directors and Acapulco students 1.00 p.m., Thursday 29 November, the second discussion meeting between directors and students kicked off at the Juan Ruiz de Alarcon Theater. Open to everyone, the meeting provides the opportunity for directors and their public to exchange points of view and discuss film-related questions. Today Daniel Toscan du Plantier, Claude Miller, Laurent Cantet, Gabriel Aghion, Jorge Prior (producer of "Corazones Rotos") and Armando Casas (director of "Un Mundo Raro") responded to students' questions. French and Mexican short film screening A program of short films from France and Mexico were screened at the Juan Ruiz de Alarcon Theater at 1.00 p.m today. Martin Valente (director of "Ta Sœur"), Eric Lacroix (director of "Des Fleurs pour Irma") and Olivier Berlemont (producer of "Il est difficile de tuer quelqu’un même un lundi") along with the director of "Hasta los Huesos" came to present their films and answer spectators' questions. The French delegation was delighted to meet the Mexican public, finding people particularly receptive and enthusiastic, easily slipping into the universe of each film. Here is what they had to say: Eric Lacroix : "It was really interesting to see how the Mexican public is curious about French short films. They turned out in droves and reacted a lot during the screenings. It's quite startling to realize that, although thousands of miles seperate us, people can react in similar ways!" Martin Valente : "It's strange to find yourself thousands of miles from home presenting a film to people that you imagine must be very different from local audiences... How will they react? Will the Spanish subtitles capture all the dialog's nuances? People started pouring into the theater. It was full, what a great surprise! Then the laughs started coming while images flowed on one from the other. Surprises continued: the public laughed, breathed, lived the rhythm of each film. There's something universal to all this. A closeness was established and language and cultural barriers disappeared. What a thrill!" Olivier Berlemont : "The way the Acapulco audience responded to Eric Valette's film made me really happy for him. Even more so given that the film's subject wasn't an "easy sell" in terms of getting financial backing in France, but here on foreign terrain it got a huge welcome. Good for him."
