SYNOPSIS
In Chile’s Atacama desert, where climate change continues to leave its mark, twelve-year old Antay and his friends see their town disappearing due to the severe drought and impact of lithium and copper mining. Soccer provides the only escape as they try to hang onto their childhood dreams and the ties that bind them.
24horas.cl (spanish)
Katherina Harder’s short film will be viewed by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be a finalist and go for this award.
ElMostrador.cl (spanish)
“Desert Lights”, by director Katherina Harder, was shot in Pachica town (Tarapacá). It will be viewed by the Academy along with 200 other short films from around the world.
MundoPeliculas.tv (spanish)
The short film leads us to address the water crisis from Pachica’s childhood perspective. With 19″ the filming positions Chile, once again, in the eyes of the Academy.
Director
Film and TV director, graduated from Universidad de Chile and Master degree in Film Directing at Bande á Part Escuela de Cine in Barcelona, Spain. Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Iquique International Film Festival – FICIQQ (14 years) and Barcelona International Film Festival of the Older Adults (4 years).
Some of her works as director are the TV series “4th grade” (TVN) and the short films “Autumn” (2010), “Memorias del Viento” (2011), winner as Best Short Film at FICValdivia and selected in more than 35 international film festivals including FICGuadalajara, DocumentaMadrid, Huesca, FIC Monterrey, Camerimage, among others, “Shedding Skin” (2020), winner as Best International Short Film and Audience Award in Festival Cine Las Américas, Austin-Texas, Best International Short Film in AMOR Film Festival, Best in Show in Wicked Queer: Boston’s LGBTQ+ Film and the award winner “Desert Lights” (2022), which has been Premiered in Tribeca Film Festival, winner as Best International Short Film in New York Latino Film Festival and winner of more than 21 international awards.
She is currently developing projects in Chile and Spain. In Chile, she is developing the script for her feature film and working as showrunner of a fiction TV series. At the same time, she co-founded the producer company Volcánica Films, whose objective is to strengthen the cinema production in the northern region of Chile.
FESTIVALS
- Tribeca Film Festival (USA)
- Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival LALIFF (USA)
- New York Latino Internacional Film Festival (USA)
- Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (USA)
- São Paulo International Short Film Festival – Curta Kinoforum (Brasil)
- Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva (Spain)
- La Habana International Festival of New Latin American Cinema (Cuba)
- Bogoshorts (Colombia)
- FIC Monterrey (Mexico)
- Cine Las Americas CLAIFF (USA)
- Santiago International Film Festival SANFIC (Chile)
- Kaoushing International Short Film Festival (Taiwan)
- Viva Cortos! ShortsTV (USA)
- Athens International Children’s Film Festival (Greece)
- Visioni Corte (Italia)
- Dytiatko International Children’s Media Festival (Ukraine)
- Latino and Iberian Film Fesitval at Yale LIFFY (USA)
- Schlingel International Film Festival (Germany)
- Mira! Latin American Independent Film Festival (Germany)
- Porto Femme International Film Festival (Portugal)
- Barcelona Human Rights Film Festival (Spain)
- Shorts México – International Short Film Festival (Mexico)
- DaVinci International Film Festival DIFF (USA)
- International Environmental Film Festival of Serra da Estrela Seia- CineEco (Portugal)
- Ensenada Film Festival FICE ( Argentina)
- Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film Festival (Finland)
- Cine de América International Film Festival – FICAH (Mexico)
- Festival International du Film de Nancy (France)
- Arica Nativa (Chile)
- SunChild International Environmental Festival (Armenia)
- Santa Cruz International Film Festival Fenavid (Bolivia)
- La Serena International Film Festival FECILS (Chile)
- Almería International Film Festival FICAL (Spain)
- Viña del Mar International Film Festival FICVIÑA (Chile)
- Festigol Cinema + Football Festival (Chile)
- Pechka Film Festival (Russia)
- Cuenca International Film Festival (Ecuador)
- Bajio International Film Festival (Mexico)
- Kolibrí International Film Festival for Children and Teenagers (Bolivia)
- La Rioja Latin American Short Film Festival “Social Images” (Argentina)
- Festival Tous Courts Aix-en-Provence (France)
- Linares International Film Festival FELINA (Chile)
- International Human Rights Film Festival “Tenemos que Ver” (Uruguay)
- Film and Audiovisual Arts Festival – Miradas Medellín (Colombia)
- Hayah Panama International Short Film Festival (Panama)
- Faroe Island Minority Film Festival (Denmark)
- Ekurhuleni International Film Festival (South Africa)
- Baku International Short Film Festival (Azerbaijan)
- Antofagasta International Film Festival ANTOFACINE (Chile)
- Women and diversities Film Festival FESTMYD (Chile)
- Rengo International Film Festival (Chile)
- Rosario Latin American Film Festival (Argentina)
- Greenwich Village Film Festival (USA)
- Amity Short Film Festival (Turkey)
- Under Our Skin – Human Rights International Film Festival (Bolivia)
- Annual Kicking + Screening Soccer FIlm Festival (USA)
- Salerno International Film Festival (Italy)
- Zubroffka International Short Film Festival (Poland)
- Wild & Scenic Film Festival (USA)
- Tapiales International Short Film Festival (Argentina)
- CINEECO International Film and Ecology Festival (Spain)
- Claypole Independent Film Festival (Argentina)
AWARDS
- Best International Short Film – New York Latino Film Festival (USA)
- Best Iberoamerican Short Film – RTVE Award – Almeria International Film Festival (Spain)
- Best Short Film – Latino & Iberian Film Festival at Yale, Liffy (USA)
- Best Chilean Short Film – Santiago International Film Festival SANFIC (Chile)
- Best International Short Film – Bajio International Film Festival (México)
- Best International Short Film – Ensenada Film Festival FICE (Argentina)
- Best Short Film – Rengo International Film Festival (Chile)
- Best Latin American Short Film – Latin American Short Film Festival “Social Images” La Rioja (Argentina)
- Best International Short Film – International Environmental Film Festival of Serra da Estrela Seia-CineEco (Portugal)
- Short of the Year – Winter season – Promofest (Spain)
- Best Short Film for Children – DYTIATKO International Children’s Media Festival (Ukraine)
- Best International Short Film – FICAH (Mexico)
- Best Short Film – Claypole Independent Film Festival (Argentina)
- Best Short Film – Women and diversities Film Festival FESTMYD (Chile)
- Best Script – Hayah International Short Film Festival of Panamá (Panamá)
- Special Jury Mention – Viva Cortos! (USA)
- Special Jury Mention & Best Editing – Visioni Corte (Italia)
- Special Jury Mention – International Film Festival for Children and Teenagers Kolibrí (Bolivia)
- Special Jury Mention – La Serena International Film Festival FECILS (Chile)
- Special Jury Mention – Viña del Mar International Film Festival (Chile)
DIRECTOR
Katherina Harder Sacre
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Selva González, Elliot Morfi, Katherina Harder
LINE PRODUCER
Francisca Urrutia
SCREENWRITER
Rubens Juárez
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Diego Lazo
EDITOR
Roberto Salinas
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Nicolás Oyarce
SOUND
Andrea López, Romina Núñez Cano
MUSIC
Santiago Jara
COLORIST
Eduardo Contreras
CAST
Bastián Bravo, Luciano González, Josefa Águila, Catalina Saavedra, Lucas Marchant
Contact
KATHERINA HARDER
katherina@volcanicafilms.cl
VOLCÁNICA FILMS
contacto@volcanicafilms.cl