In an attempt to support zero-budget filmmakers around the world, and help marginalised voices in countries where they are silenced communicate with the viewers beyond their borders, Indy Film Library launched its Saturday Matinees screening series.
Each week a new film from artists facing sanctions, economic crises and censorship has been shown exclusively on a private screening platform. At the same time, viewers were invited to rate each film out of five stars, with the film receiving the highest vote being declared the audience’s choice.
After using those votes to produce an average score for each film, Héctor Almeida’s intergenerational family documentary Para Esteban was found to be the best reviewed movie of the season.
The full results of the vote can be seen below:
IFL Chief Editor Jack Benjamin said, “I’d like to congratulate all our participating filmmakers. Honestly, this has been our best selection of Matinees so far. Not only were the films each from a different country, taking on different forms and subjects, but they were each very good examples of work in their individual fields.
“Amid that, Para Esteban still managed to stand out as a worthy winner – touching on aspects of social and political history of Cuba, while delivering a heartfelt message between three great-grandparents and the newest addition to their family during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, Dirty Water couldn’t have been more different – an abstract comment on class-inequality from Iran – but it still managed to win a hard-earned runner-up nod from our audience. It gives me great joy to have showcased such a diverse clutch of remarkable films – and I look forward to doing this again when our next Saturday Matinees series returns in the summer.”