'Porfirio', A Colombian True Story, Is Officialy Selected For the Toronto Film Festival

By Larry Yepez Jr.

Porfirio, a co-production of Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay and France, was selected for the 36th Annual Toronto Film Festival, one of the main festivals to keep an eye on for films for the upcoming Academy Awards.

The film tells the dramatic story of a handicapped man who hijacked a plane in order to get the attention of the Colombian government. The film is based on a real-life story, which took place on September 12, 2005 in Florencia, capital of the state of Caquetá in Colombia.

Porfirio was directed by Alejandro Landes, who convinced the actual protagonist of the story -Porfirio Ramírez Aldana-to play himself in the cinematic version.

Landes became interested in a movie project when he heard the story of a 56 years-old man who became paraplegic after being shot in the Colombian internal war with the guerrilla and not getting any compensation from the government, which led him to take a plane hostage so his voice could be heard. The man at first didn't trust the filmmaker's intentions, but when no one else came to him showing interest in his story, he accepted to work with the director.

Pre-production for Porfirio took place at The Sundance Labs. The movie then went on to play at Cannes and has been winning some important awards including the Cinédécouvertes Award in Belgium, and the coveted the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film in the Amsterdam World Cinema Festival. 'Porfirio' was also selected to play at this year's San Sebastián Film Festival.  Do I smell the first Foreign Film Academy Award Nomination for Colombia?

The 2011 Toronto Film Festival will take place from September 8th through the 18th, and will show a  total of over 300 films. Lets hope Porfirio gets some recognition and Latin American films get represented the way they should be!

Does Porfirio have a chance to be recognized at the Oscars?

Tags Academy Awards, Alejandro Landes, Blogger: Larry Yepez Jr, Cannes Film Festival, Colombia, Porfirio, San Sebastián Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival