Three BUDDIES featured in film festival

Red Rock Film Festival opens with 'Buddies'

The Red Rock Film Festival will present “Colegas” (”Buddies”) as its opening night film on Thursday, Nov. 8 during the 6th annual film festival. Directed by Marcelo Galvão, “Buddies” is a feature drama about three young people who love movies and work at the video library of the institution where they have always lived.

“Colegas,” which is from Brazil and is scheduled for a 2013 release, has won international awards, including the Golden Kikito for Best Art Direction and Best Film as well as a Special Jury Award for its lead actors in the Brazilian Film Competition.

“We have a strong Latina fan base and we were thrilled to find this rare film from South America,” Festival Director Matt Marxteyn said. “The film is subtitled in English and the dialogue will be very familiar, as a lot of it is an homage to classics such as ‘Reservoir Dogs,’ ‘Three Musketeers’ and other films. Anyone you know who quotes one-liners from other films should definitely see this one.”

In “Buddies,” the characters get ideas after watching the film “Thelma & Louise” and decide to run away using the gardener’s old car to experience freedom. In pursuit of their dreams, they travel to uncommon places in search for three wishes: Stalone wants to see the sea to find his mother from Atlantis, Aninha looks for a husband who is a rock star and Marcio wants to fly. Having no money, they decide to steal clothes from a circus and rob stores armed only with a toy gun. They embark on several adventures until the media blows their escapades out of proportion.

What makes these three characters unique from the films they quote is that they all have Down syndrome.

“It raises several questions of our preconceived notions about people with Down syndrome. Can they drive? Do they love movies? Have dreams? Love? Marry? Joke? Run, jump and feel? Of course they do,” Marxteyn said. “The film is also very clear that they are also harmless and just playing a game.”

“Buddies” will play Nov. 8 at Pineview Stadium 10, 2376 East Red Cliffs Drive, St. George, at 6:45 and 8:50 p.m. with a festival opening ceremony at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the film, $20 for the film and after party and $50 for the Opening Night Pass, which includes dinner, opening ceremony, film, after party and VIP access. Tickets and information are available at www.redrockfilmfestival.com or at the St. George Art Museum, 47 E. 200 North, St. George.

Be gentle.