The documentary "Las Manos" (The Hands), which captures the process of transforming César Manrique's idea into the reality that the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers of the Cabildo de Lanzarote are today, through the words of its protagonists, has been selected to participate in the 4th edition of the ACAMPADOC International Documentary Film Festival. After its premiere at the Jameos del Agua Auditorium on March 27, and its commercial release in the Azcona hall of Matadero Madrid, a temple of documentary filmmaking in Spain, the film has now been selected by the organization to be screened at this festival, which will be held in Panama between October 8 and 17.
The film has been selected because it aligns with the vision of promoting documentary film in favor of rescuing heritage and is in line with the theme of this upcoming edition of the event: peasant agriculture, tradition, and challenges. "In these films," the organization points out, "there are stories of life, identity, and memory; struggles for territory, the advance of globalization and capitalism over natural resources, social dilemmas, and other issues that constitute important values to be disseminated." For the Tourism Councilor of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Echedey Eugenio, "the presence of Las Manos at this festival is an excellent opportunity to showcase our ethnographic, cultural, historical, and tourist heritage, while also serving as an invitation to reflect on the ability of communities to shape and give life to their dreams."
The ACAMPADOC International Documentary Film Festival recognizes Natural and Cultural Heritage (tangible and intangible) as key pieces in safeguarding the culture and identity of peoples. During these dates, documentaries are screened "that allow the viewer to encounter the traces of memory, with individual or collective stories, with voices and silences, with atypical characters, social or natural conflicts arising from that drive to preserve what has been bequeathed to us, with current ideas and reflections that look back and allow, perhaps, to project the future."
ACAMPADOC is an annual project that promotes the training of young Panamanians and Latin Americans through field research experience. Thus, the festival creates new audiences for documentary film linked to the rescue of local and international heritage. In addition, the festival, which will take place in the Villa de los Santos, in the central region of Panama, is complemented by two training activities: a camp for new filmmakers and a residency for Latin American projects in development. There will also be free and open screenings promoting avenues for reflection in communities lacking movie theaters.
The story of the Centers told by its protagonists
Las Manos, 60 minutes long, is a production of the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers of the Cabildo de Lanzarote directed by the filmmaker from Tenerife, Miguel G. Morales, which narrates, in the words of its protagonists, the experiences of those who participated side by side in the construction of the most international and recognized work of the Lanzarote artist César Manrique. "It is the story of the CACT, its origin through the artisans, the masters of stone, wood, iron and gardening," explains Morales himself.
The work transports the viewer to a past time when hands, and not machines, shaped ideas. Funny anecdotes, others not so much, personal situations and the daily dealings with the artist give content to an endearing and emotional documentary, which also shows images and photographs, some of them unpublished, of the island half a century ago.
With the ever-present memory of the already deceased César Manrique, José Ramírez, Jesús Soto and Antonio Álvarez, the film alludes to the direct work of the artisans of the work team, "although the central theme is how the interventions in the Cueva de los Verdes, the Jameos del Agua or Timanfaya helped to change the entire mentality of a population, sensitizing it to a landscape that previously did not have the value it acquired when the CACT were created," explain from the Centers.
The original soundtrack is composed and performed by the Lanzarote musician Alejandro Acosta, based on an original idea by Marcial Martín and the historian Mario Ferrer, who has also collaborated in the documentation and research. The photography and editing are by Jorge Rojas and the sound is by Fabián Yanes. There is also the assignment and management of documentation by Memoria Digital de Lanzarote, Filmoteca Canaria and Fundación César Manrique.