The Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival, the international festival dedicated to the legacy of the great cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, is hosting in competition this year two works photographed by cinematographers associated with Collettivo Chiaroscuro: the feature film Broken Land by Joseph Todd Walker, photographed by Sara Purgatorio, and the short film Primo sangue by Antonio La Camera, photographed by Andrea Benjamin Manenti.
Organised in the Hungarian city of Szeged, the Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival is dedicated to the exploration of visual language and the craft of cinematography, and honours works in which light, composition and image construction play an essential role in cinematic storytelling.
Set along the border between Texas and Mexico, Broken Land unfolds as a story suspended between the contemporary western and human drama. The film follows a solitary rancher haunted by the death of his wife, played by David Morse, who accidentally wounds a young undocumented migrant who has entered his property. Faced with the possibility of an investigation and the pressure exerted by his son, a Border Patrol agent played by Bill Heck, the man is forced to choose between handing the girl over to the authorities or attempting to help her reach her family in the United States. Alongside Morse stars Jaklyn Bejarano. The film is produced by George Sledge, Sharri Hefner and JT Walker, while US distribution is handled by WellGo USA.
Also competing is Primo sangue, a short film set in a harsh and suspended Calabria landscape shaped by silences, rituals and family memories. Through the account of a young Arbëreshë woman, memories resurface of a childhood spent silently observing her mother’s depression. Within this human and archaic landscape, the protagonist gradually discovers that the adult world around her, seemingly hostile, in fact conceals a profound need for intimacy and connection. The film is directed by Antonio La Camera and stars Roberta Mattei, Elisa Grillo and Teresa Vigilante, who serves as the film’s narrator. The production is signed by Francesco Inglese, Ferdinando Musto, Gianmaria Fiorillo, Andrea Garofalo, Luca Arseni and Caroline D’Andrea, while distribution is handled by Gargantua Film Distribution.
The presence of the two films at the Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival once again confirms the festival’s commitment to independent and auteur cinema.
