Carancho: the Argentinian New Wave returns to Un Certain Regard

Pablo Trapero

Carancho and Los Labios, presented this year in Un Certain Regard, are the latest films to represent the New Wave in Argentinean film. Carancho is screened today in the Salle Debussy at 14:00 and 22:00.
 
A “carancho” is a lawyer who specialises in traffic accidents. This is Sosa’s profession in Buenos Aires but his encounter with Lujan, a young doctor, turns his life upside down. The director of the film, Pablo Trapero, is a spearhead of the New Wave of film makers who have been able to revive Argentinean cinema and bring it international acclaim.
 
Many Argentinean directors have been invited to the Festival de Cannes over the last decade. In 2002, director Diego Lerman was noticed by the Cinéfondation, which helped fund Mientras tanto, released in 2006. As for director Lucrecia Martel, she has been in Competition twice: for La Nina santa in 2004 and for La mujer sin cabeza in 2008.
 
This year marks Pablo Trapero’s third participation in the Festival. He presented El Bonaerense in 2002 at Un Certain Regard before joining the Official Selection six years later for Leonora. With Carancho, he bears witness to a paralysing reality in Argentina: more than twenty people die every day in traffic accidents.
 
GF