Grand Victoria Hotel was the animated short that was the protagonist of a meeting promoted by the Entre Ríos Culture Secretariat and the Equal Civil Association that was held this Thursday. With the Manuel Antequeda Hall in Paraná as the setting, an agreement was signed that inaugurates a series of joint activities.
The Secretary of Culture of Entre Ríos, Fabián Reato, and the president of Equal, Exequiel Salvador, signed an agreement through which they formally agreed to articulate actions aimed at promoting and promoting social responsibility actions in matters of diversity and respect. The activity chosen to begin the cooperation was the presentation of the animated short film Grand Victoria Hotel by Ricardo Jaimovich that featured the production of Equal.
The agreement establishes a commitment to work for the respect and promotion of human rights, social inclusion, respect for individual freedoms, equal treatment, non-discrimination against people under the pretext of their sexual orientation, identity and/or gender expression, or coexistence with STDs; and the inclusion of diversity in general.
In front of a large number of people who gathered at the Manuel Antequeda Hall in Paraná, those responsible for the activity led the meeting with words of welcome.
The Secretary of Culture emphasized the possibility of meeting to celebrate diversity, and the permanent search for a pluralistic and inclusive society as a fundamental value. “I want to be optimistic (about progress as a society in this matter), yet I also warn of threats to that idea. Since traces of intolerance always appear, vestiges of other times and voices saying things that we thought we were not going to hear again,” said the Culture reference of the Province, and added: “We also have to be alert and consider that although They have conquered many rights, we must not let go of issues (of hate) that we thought were banished. We have to be attentive and at the same time allow ourselves to celebrate life, freedom and the possibility of having these meeting spaces.”
In his speech Reato also celebrated and congratulated Equal for promoting initiatives where art meets values of respect. “The work horizon is this: every person in this society deserves their place and the dignity of it. No one has to tell us how to live, what to feel and how to love,” concluded Reato.
In turn, Exequiel Salvador thanked the Equal team, friends and all the people present in the room. “Today we screen this film for the first time after the Entre Ríos International Film Festival (Ficer), in which we won an award of which we are proud. “When we came across the possibility of the film we suddenly became producers and it was a pleasure.”
Greetings from the president of the Honorable Chamber of Deputies, Gustavo Heim, were read to all those present, and the presence of different representatives was also appreciated, such as in the case of Facundo Suárez, director of Youth and Children of the Province; Cristina Ripari, director of Integration and Disability Policies of the Municipality of Paraná; and Marina Crespo, president of the EntreAfros organization.
The animated short film was then screened, reflecting the transformation of the idea of diversity in each era, through the stories of hotel guests. In each era, stories of gender, stigmatization, empathy, solidarity, disappointments and microaggressions travel through space/time. The production was carried out in July 2023, by Ricardo Jaimo Jaimovich, graphic comedian, illustrator and cartoonist from Parana, with production by Equal. In September 2023, Cine.ar awarded a special prize for the Entre Ríos Short Films section to Hotel Gran Victorian the framework of the Entre Ríos International Film Festival (Ficer). The award consists of participation in National Festival competitions.
A short film by Ricardo Jaimovich with Equal
With the behind-the-scenes images of the audiovisual production, the words began to comment on the short film. In a relaxed manner, the cartoonist Jaimo recounted the process of collective production. “This could be an interesting milestone, a starting point for other productions in the area to be built,” he said. In relation to the realization, he described the project as a challenge and highlighted that “we are a group of several people making up the artistic team. The artistic vision that I had changed in terms of how to approach the subject. I discovered that it is done, by doing; and the best way to do it is to generate spaces and you have to open them.”
Regarding the theme, Jaimo said: “The idea was to show the diversity and relationship between the eras and the characters, and we had to unite all of that. The elements began to come together through time and the optics of a camera.” In the plot, the decades pass and the conflicts of the characters that have the hotel as their articulator. The beginning of the 20th century appears in the narrative, the 30s and 40s, the 70s, the 90s. “All that journey and aesthetic expression is seen in the film.”
During his presentation, Jaimo was accompanied by Ariel Villanueva, a member of Equal. At another point in the talk, special mention and gratitude was also made to the musical director of the production: Pablo Zubizarreta. The fragment of the Ficer awards gala where the short film received the award was also projected.
Before finishing, Villanueva and Jaimo invited those present to see the models and scripts of the production. It was announced that the short film will be available on the Equal website.
The activity closed with applause and celebrations.
About Equal
The organization projects its work without geographical limits. Among their objectives, they seek to promote full equality and inclusion in childhood and adolescence, prioritizing the LGBTIQ+ population, through actions with social impact, community strengthening, defense and protection of rights. Its objectives also include contributing to the deconstruction of gender stereotypes, the promotion of the comprehensive right to health; and promoting events and programs that increase the visibility of family diversity.
Contact Equal
[email protected] /(343) 156 235145 / Paraná – Entre Ríos
