Julian De La Chica’s PIRET Wins Best International Fiction Short Film at LIFF as International Festival Run Expands
NEW YORK – PIRET, the new Super 16mm film by Colombian composer and visual artist Julian De La Chica, has won Best International Fiction Short Film at the Lebanese Independent Film Festival (LIFF), adding another international distinction to the film’s growing festival run.
The recognition in Lebanon follows PIRET‘s Best Short Film win at New Cinema Amsterdam and two Awards of Recognition at the 17th IndieFEST Film Awards: one for Estonian artist Anni Jurgenson in the Leading Actress category and another for Taiwanese sound designer Kevin Yang for Sound Editing / Sound Mixing.
Watch the official trailer for PIRET
Shot entirely on Kodak Double-X 7222 Super 16mm, PIRET takes place in an imagined 1970s New York. The film follows a young Estonian immigrant and single mother who arrives in the United States after leaving Soviet Estonia. While rebuilding her life within a home for unmarried mothers run by a community of Catholic nuns, she becomes increasingly unsettled by the persistent presence of a mysterious woman.
The film stars Anni Jurgenson as Piret and features a special appearance by Colombian performance artist and activist Chico Raro as Maestra Gertrudis. The film was photographed by Liliet Reyes and Anyelo Troya, with color by Cuban-born, Chile-based colorist Ignacio Cabrera, sound design and re-recording mix by Kevin Yang, and visual effects by Colombian artist Fausto Diaz.
Music plays a central role in the film’s psychological architecture. The score draws from De La Chica’s String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7, Hypnagogia, performed and recorded by the Kahlo Quartet. The complete Op. 7 cycle, which also includes String Quartet No. 2, After Beauty, is scheduled for release this autumn by Irreverence Group Music.
The film’s final sequence features acclaimed Sony Classical artist and harpist Lavinia Meijer performing De La Chica’s Fado. Originally composed for piano in 2014, the work was newly interpreted and recorded for solo harp by Meijer. Her performance brings PIRET to its close.
Released by Irreverence Group Music on September 4, Meijer’s recording of Fado was featured on a Spotify Classical editorial playlist during its release week, extending the collaboration between De La Chica and Meijer from the concert repertoire into the cinematic world of PIRET.
The film continues themes present throughout De La Chica’s previous cinematic work, including immigration, displacement, memory, mental health, solitude, and LGBTQ+ identity. Its black-and-white 4:3 photography, long-duration takes, repetition, and narrative ellipses place atmosphere, silence, and duration at the center of its storytelling.
De La Chica’s films have accumulated more than forty international official selections, nominations, and awards, including recognition at the 37th edition of the Visionary Bogota Film Festival and pre-selection at the Flickers‘ Rhode Island International Film Festival.
With its latest Best International Fiction Short Film win at LIFF, PIRET continues its international festival circulation ahead of its wider release.
About Irreverence Group Music
Irreverence Group Music is an independent New York-based music label and creative platform founded by Julian De La Chica, supporting projects across contemporary classical music, film, and interdisciplinary art.
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Photos courtesy of IGM.