Andrea Franco
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Cuentame de Bia
Andrea Franco's Tell me about Bia, a documentary dedicated to the life and work of her late grandfather, Bernardo Batievsky, recognizes the Peruvian filmmaker in the 1970s. Batievsky is known for the films Espejismo (Mirage), and Cholo, starring the popular footballer Hugo “Cholo” Sotil.
Through conversations with her grandmother, her mother and domestic workers, the filmmaker explores the life and work of his grandfather, also trying to rescue the few remaining copies of the films produced by him, due to the poor conservation of the cinematography of the country. Tell me about Bia presents these intimate moments where the life of the deceased filmmaker is been discovered, interrupted by scenes from movies and home videos of Batievsky.
"With a tight grip on it's always awake and frontal instinct-driven camera, and a big bag full of archive footage, Andrea Franco roams her childhood's country using as her only compass the figure of her grandfather, Bernardo Batievsky, a local pioneer of film and TV production. But although the life and work of BB (his family called him “Bía”) is remembered, reconstructed, and explored all throughout the film, as minutes go by its gravitational center moves subtly towards Caletty, Batievsky’s widow, a grandmother with a great memory whose testimonies shed light on a documentary that at times seems determined not to give up its home-movie nature. With a title that also works as a thorough description of the film, Tell Me About Bía is one of those films that pretend to be small and hide their complexity in every shot, but –luckily for those who face them eyes with wide open– will soon reveal all its greatness."
— Pablo Marín, BAFICI
Festivals/Screenings
2013 - BAFICI Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente
2013 - Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine, Chile
2013 - Cine Las Americas, Austin TX
2012 - Festival de Cine de Lima, Peru
2012 - Festival Iberoamericano de Cine Digital, Peru
2012 - REDCAT Theater. Los Angeles, CA, 2012
Watch Cuentame de Bia on Prime Video