_{A Male by Fabian Hernández}

Alongside her colleague Violeta Bava, renowned Dutch producer Ilse Hughan of Fortuna Films was among the mentors at that workshop. She remembers being very struck by a poignant observation made by the director during his presentation. Hernández explained that he had learned how to fight, even to kill when necessary, but that there was one thing he was never allowed to do - and that was to cry or show weakness.

“Then he started crying during the presentation,” Hughan remembers. “Everyone was moved - and I was very moved.” Hughan told the young filmmaker that if he ever needed help or advice, she would be ready to give it to him.

Five years later, Hernández has completed his first feature film, Un Varón (A Male), a story of a young man growing up in a youth shelter in Bogotá in a brutal part of town. Hughan, through Fortuna Films, is one of the producers on the project (screening in Quinzaine at the Cannes Festival, with Cercamon handling world sales).

After that Mexican workshop, Hernández and his producer Manuel Ruiz Montealegre had approached Hughan to ask her to collaborate. “We became a team and I read the script,” Hughan recalls. “I was not happy with the script so I told them ‘I am not a script doctor but maybe you should go to the Torino Film lab and there they can help you…”

That was how the project passed through Torino. It was also part of the Cinéfondation Atelier at the Cannes Festival.

Un Varón is directly autobiographical. In the film, the young hero Carlos must prove himself within an ultra macho culture, even when he is required to behave against his own nature.

Hernández himself, “this wonderful young man” as Hughan describes him, had escaped his background and built himself a new life.

“He told me many times that it was very difficult and complicated [to do so] but he managed. He changed his life completely and became a filmmaker. His biggest wish was to make a film about it [his background] and to show other people you can change your life.” The beginning of the film is set in a shelter very like the one Hernández himself stayed in when living rough on the streets.

“Fabián, after he managed to change his life, he still goes to the shelters to talk to the kids, to help them out,” Hughan notes. It was in the shelter that he first encountered Felipe Ramirez, the youngster he eventually cast as Carlos, the film’s hero.

This is one of many auteur-driven Latin American films which Hughan has produced over the last two decades. The Amsterdam-based producer first ventured to Argentina in 2000 on behalf of IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund. “I was invited to give a workshop… I fell in love with the country, I fell in love with the people.” She began to meet filmmakers like Lisandro Alonso and Paz Encina whose work she has gone on to produce. Her credits include such notable titles as Hamaca Paraguaya by Encina and Los Muertos and Jauja by Alonso.

Hughan points out that it is tough to find funding for these films in the Netherlands. Although there are organisations like the Film Fund and International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund which will support Latin American projects, the amounts of money available is relatively small and will generally come with an obligation to spend money in the Netherlands and use Dutch crew. That makes it difficult to put together Dutch minority co-productions.

Not all of her productions, therefore, are backed directly with money from the Netherlands but Hughan still sees herself very much as a Dutch producer.

“It is of course not only the money that counts, producing films also has to do a lot with experience, contacts, knowledge, social capacities etc as well, and I am the only Dutch producer with - up until now - six films in Cannes,” she states with justifiable pride.

A Male is co-produced by Fortuna Films and sales are handled by Cercamon. For the full screening schedule of all the Dutch (co-)productions present at Cannes Film Festival, click here.
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