{"id":747246,"date":"2026-06-19T12:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/747246\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T12:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:52:09","slug":"annecy-title-winnipeg-seeds-of-hope-unpacked-by-its-co-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/747246\/","title":{"rendered":"Annecy Title ‘Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope’ Unpacked by Its Co-Director"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cWinnipeg, Seeds of Hope,\u201d a co-production between Spain, Chile and Argentina, will be one of 11 titles competing in the Contrechamp Feature Films section of this year\u2019s Annecy<\/a> Animation Film Festival. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe animated feature film is directed by Be\u00f1at Beitia Urresti (\u201cMummy, I\u2019m a Zombie\u201d) and Elio Quiroga (\u201cFotos,\u201d \u201cThe Mystery of the King of Kinema\u201d) and is based on Laura Marte\u2019s graphic novel.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe story follows V\u00edctor and his young daughter Julia, who flee Spain after the fall of Barcelona to General Franco\u2019s forces in January, 1939. They manage to escape to France, only to end up in a concentration camp. Their only hope for a better life is to get on the Winnipeg, a cargo ship chartered by Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and artist Delia del Carril to offer survivors a new life in Valpara\u00edso, Chile.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis extraordinary animated feature brings to light a true story that remained largely forgotten for decades. It is a story that intertwines the life of the great poet Pablo Neruda with those of countless men and women who were forced to flee war and dictatorship, leaving their homeland behind forever and carrying with them only the hope of building a new life in an unfamiliar world,\u201d says Marco Urizzi of MMM, who is handling international sales for the film.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film features the voices of powerhouse Chilean actors Alfredo Castro<\/a> (\u201cTony Manero,\u201d \u201cFrom Afar\u201d), Paulina Garcia<\/a> (\u201cGloria,\u201d \u201cLittle Men\u201d) and Luis Gnecco<\/a> (\u201cNeruda,\u201d \u201cNo\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe were impressed by the commitment and deep respect of these three immense talents, as well as that of every Chilean artist who participated in the production. In Spain, this story has been silenced by fear and pain, but when I was in Chile, I saw that the story of the Winnipeg is very popular, a heroic feat they\u2019re proud of, and one that brought social and cultural enrichment, co-director Be\u00f1at Beitia Urresti told Variety.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film is produced by Ricardo Ramon and Jone Landaluze of Dibulitoon Studio and co-produced by Marianne Mayer-Beckh (El Otro Film), Toni Marin Vila (La Ballesta), Nicolas Couvin (Malabar Producciones) and Dolores Monta\u00f1o (Malabar Producciones).<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWinnipeg, Winds of Hope<\/p>\n

\n\tVariety had the opportunity to talk further with the film\u2019s co-director, Be\u00f1at Beitia Urresti:<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Winnipeg\u2019s voyage was made possible by Pablo Neruda and artist Delia del Carril and the ship was received by a young Salvador Allende, who later became the president of Chile. <\/p>\n

\n\tBe\u00f1at Beitia Urresti: One of the most fascinating aspects of this story is that it brings together very different people around a common goal: saving lives. Pablo Neruda played a key role when he was appointed Chile\u2019s special consul for Spanish immigration. And alongside him emerged his wife at the time, Delia del Carril, who actively led the effort to fulfill this humanitarian commitment. A figure whom history has not always treated with the same generosity, and whom we have sought to vindicate in the film through the sensitivity, commitment, and conviction of this decisive figure. Nor could we omit our tribute to Salvador Allende, who supported the reception of refugees as Minister of Health and on behalf of Pedro Aguirre Cerda, President of Chile.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat inspired you to bring this historical project to the screen?<\/p>\n

\n\tBeitia Urresti: I\u2019m interested in human stories \u2013 stories of commitment. Obviously, there is also a personal connection to that period, and it is an exercise in remembrance. We are the grandchildren of those who fought against Franco\u2019s rebel troops in the Spanish Civil War. And like so many other families, we are the grandchildren of those who suffered repression during the postwar period and those who had to emigrate to seek opportunities far from their homeland. We grew up hearing fragments of those stories, silences included. That emotional closeness was one of the driving forces that impelled me to bring this project to the screen in an exercise of deep respect for a complex memory that does not lend itself to simplification.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe story is very relevant today in terms of current events. Can you talk about some of the parallels between 1939 and now?<\/p>\n

\n\tBeitia Urresti: Although the film is set in 1939, it addresses issues that continue to resonate painfully today in every news story about this reality of national priorities that they are trying to impose on us. We are spectators of humanitarian crises: the deportation centers approved by Europe, the persecution of immigrants, ICE, and what can be said about the genocide of the Palestinian people\u2026 Times, geographies, and political contexts change, but fear, uncertainty, and the quest for survival and dignity remain the same\u2014or even lead to more nightmarish outcomes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film does not seek to draw simplistic parallels between different eras, but rather to remind us that behind any migration phenomenon there are fundamental problems that we must confront and address. And the Winnipeg represents one of the great examples of solidarity in the 20th century. Perhaps memory only makes sense if it helps us avoid repeating the darkness. And because, in the face of fear and barbarism, solidarity remains one of the most beautiful and dignified forms of human resistance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWinnipeg, Seeds of Hope,\u201d a co-production between Spain, Chile and Argentina, will be one of 11 titles competing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":747247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[267501,248284,263475,49,48,267502,267503,22073],"class_list":["post-747246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-alfredo-castro","tag-annecy","tag-annecy-animation-festival","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-luis-gnecco","tag-paulina-garcia","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/747247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}