THE OUTSIDER PREMIERES at the Eugene O'Neill Theater.
Roberto Garcia [University TV critic]: “You can make good animated effects without millionaire costs.”
“This kind of narrative breaks with ordinary film structure,” said William Venegas [ Film Critic for LA NACION, the largest daily newspaper ].
DATE: 20/10/2008
BY: Lilliana Gomez Orozco, deleFOCO.com
By 8 pm of October 15, the Eugene O'Neill Theater turned into the perfect place for the screening of the film that won the Best Sci-Fi Film award at the Heart of England International Film Festival: “THE OUTSIDER.”
Happy and proud from sharing this success with his birth land, Joaquin Gil, director and producer of this project explained in detail the most relevant of his recent work: “ It's about a star war, humans against aliens, who is ravaging the Galaxy. For the alien side there is a well-armed scientist [ Note: the producer mentioned rather a cyborg, an organism which is partially mechanic, cybernetic. LA] while on the human side stands a lone pregnant woman.”
Using animated imagery mixed in with performances of real [human] actors and a low budget, Gil launched this proposal he calls “sustainable filmmaking. “The idea is to divorce [film storytelling] from the idea of the Hollywood budget and substitute technology in order to produce films which are more authentic”, explained the Director.
Before starting the tape's playback [ Usage. This was an all-digital screening,LA.] this ingenious Costa Rican shared the news of previous week's invitation and official selection of the film for Thailand's Film Festival.
At the end of the screening, Joaquin Gil and the man in charge of the music soundtrack, Sergio Sasso, hugged while receiving the audience's applause and invited those present to share in a toast.
At the main hall one found Allen Torres, cinema lover from [Capital city] San Jose who took part in this gathering: “The Outsider has a very Costa-Rican message where the personality of the filmmaker, his very Costa Rican feelings are reflected. I agree with him in many issues. I'd rate the film at a “9”, said the film-goer.
At a different group the Film Critic for the La Nacion newspaper, William Venegas, assured: “It is very interesting for me. There is a very original and narrative proposal and to this corresponds a complete formal structure, an innovative film language and this very linking introduces a narrative that breaks with film's normal structure. It also has a very creative formal wrapping. I believe we are before a film that, in brief, we can value very enthusiastically por its daring, its renewal and its film language.”
According to presenter of the Cinematheque Mondays weekly TV show, the film is a major leap in quality compared to what local filmmaking had been until the present day, as much in technology as in animation and music resources. “A major development in technology as pertains to filmmaking expression. Gil makes a great work in Hollywood for other directors, this is also his second solo feature film and had basically [been] dedicated to the creation of documentaries, so it looks very good to me.”
Among the audience, director and screenwriter Ingo Niehaus (left), and (center) film critic William Venegas.
“A plot that demands an intelligent attitude from the viewer and in which the story must be followed carefully. It is polysemic [ of many layered symbols ] and this kind of narrative is [of a kind that ] can be found in literature”, said Venegas.
Garcia agrees and mentions that the producer is telling the story in a completely different way from what he is used to see in Costa Rica. “The plot confuses me a bit because I expect a lineal narrative, but it has, however, a very well structured relationship with photography, animation resources and music.” pointed out Roberto Garcia.
The film critic also made mention how it is something noteworthy, and he was most emphatic in this, that the filmmaker was not afraid to show the special effect as itself, enriching the film language. “Effectively: The animation is very well used and there is a combination of the effects with the marvelous photography and at the same time a perfect combination with the music” pointed out the presenter of Cinematheque Mondays, who would venture a rating of 8 for this groundbreaking film.
Translation and Notes by Luis Alvas, English Editor for Nube 9.