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marco bechis

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director’s notes - filmography

MARCO BECHIS was born in Santiago del Cile from a Chilean mother and an Italian father. He grew up in San Paolo and in Buenos Aires, in 1977 he was expelled from Argentina for political reasons and he landed in Milan. Since then he’s been living and working in the self-managed house of Morigi 8. He later spent long periods in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. Before the cinema, he studied Economics at the Bocconi University of Milan, he an was elementary school teacher in Argentina, Polaroid-Photographer in Paris and video-artist in New York. In 1981 he attended the film school Albedo, in Milan.

In 1982, Marco Bechis created, in collaboration with Amnesty International, a video-installation, “Desaparecidos, dove sono?”, in Milan, on a concentration camp. The film “Garage Olimpo“ was later based on it.

In 1985 he wrote “Chip”, based on the short stories by J.L.Borges (1899-1986). He discussed the script with the author and began to work on the film but the author died the next year and the film was interrupted.

Form 1983 to 1986 he worked with the Studio Pontaccio in Milan directing and producing experimental shorts for RAI. In 1984 he shot “Absent” an experimental video which won the Festival of Salsomaggiore (Italy) that year.

In 1985 he was video consultant for the film “Ginger e Fred” by F.Fellini.

In 1987 he directed “Storie Metropolitane” for RAI, a series of short films in seven cities in the world.

In 1991 he made his debut in feature films with “Alambrado” (Locarno Film Festival 1991).

From 1994 to 1996 he shot in India the documentary film “Luca’s film” dedicated to his friend Luca Pizzorno, sculptor, artist, fotographer, who died the same year. (Locarno Film Festival 1996).

In 1995 he wrotes (but didn‘t direct) “Il Carniere”, a film about Bosnia which won the Premio Amidei ’97 for the best italian script of that year.

His second feature film was “Garage Olimpo” (1999), the story of a concentration camp in Argentina during the military dictatorship (52° Festival di Cannes).

In “Figli/Hijos”, his third feature film, he told the drama of the children of missing Argentinians, who were adopted illegaly from ex-military families (Mostra del Cinema di Venezia del 2001).

His films received 14 international awards.

In 2004 Marco Bechis founded KARTA FILM and started the preparation of “Birdwatchers”, his first film as a producer, in collaboration with Amedeo Pagani’s Classic.

ufficio stampa_22 July, 2008