Satellites: Andrés Duque

At last year’s l’Alternativa we launched our first _Satellites: celestial sessions with acclaimed Spanish filmmakers whose paths have often crossed with l’Alternativa and who splashed down at the festival to give a masterclass and curate a programme of films linked to their creative universe.

This year, Andrés Duque (Caracas, 1972) will use his masterclass and programme of films to explore a series of issues and ideas that have bubbled up throughout his career. Born in Venezuela but now based in Spain, Duque often uses his work to question what it means to be a migrant and explore the cultural frameworks, identities, prejudices and aesthetics entailed by this worldwide phenomenon. To tie in with his masterclass _{Immigrant Aesthetics}, he has selected his latest film, Monte Tropic (2022), in conversation with Место на земле (Artur Aristakisian, 2001).

Many of Andrés Duque’s fifteen nonfiction film essays have been exhibited at cultural centres, and he has won plaudits and prizes at festivals across the world (Punto de Vista, Cinéma du Réel, Dokufest, FIDMarseille, Goya Award, Ciutat de Barcelona Award). Several of his films have been screened at l’Alternativa, including his debut, Ivan Z (2004), and Color perro que huye (2011), and he sat on the festival jury in 2016.

In addition to raising the profile of Spanish filmmakers crafting alternative visions to mainstream cinema through their own original ways of working, the _Satellites section also provides unique opportunities for direct, creative exchange between filmgoers and filmmakers.