Cielo (film)

2017 Canadian documentary film

Cielo

Film poster

Directed by| Alison McAlpine
Written by| Alison McAlpine
Produced by| Alison McAlpine
Carmen Garcia
Sean Farnel
Paola Castillo
Cinematography| Benjamin Echazarreta
Edited by| Andrea Chignoli
Music by| Philippe Lauzier

Production
companies

Second Sight Pictures
Argus Films
Errante Producciones

Distributed by| Seafar North

Release date

* October 6, 2017 (2017-10-06) (NYFF)

Running time

| 78 minutes
Country| Canada
Languages| Spanish
English
French

Cielo is a Canadian-Chilean documentary film, directed by Alison McAlpine and released in 2017.[1][2][3] Filmed in the Atacama Desert in Chile, Cielo investigates the many ways we are connected to the stars, planets and everything that extends beyond.[4] In this desert famous for stargazing, we encounter disparate Chileans who live in this area and astronomers who operate giant telescopes, each of whom offers a unique perspective on our relationship to the night sky.[5]

The film premiered at the New York Film Festival in October 2017[1] and was released in its final version, and commercially, in 2018.[6] Cielo has been presented at well over 300 international festivals and cinemas including Karlovy Vary IFF in Official Competition; Hot Docs in Official Competition; Film Forum, New York City; TIFF Bell Lightbox Toronto; Ahrya Fine Arts by Laemle, LA; Filmhouse Edinburgh; and Cinema du Parc Montreal.[7]

## Reception[edit]

Cielo was named as "one of the 10 best documentaries of 2018" by Esquire, while The Guardian included it on its list of "the best films of 2018... that you didn't see." Cielo has received critical acclaim by publications such as Variety, The Village Voice, The Globe and Mail, American Cinematographer, RogerEbert.com, Le Devoir, and Now, among others.[5][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

Filmmaker Walter Murch described it as "a beautiful film!! Photography, sound, structure, subject matter-enough to lift the spirits out of any earthly trough. A moving film in all senses of the word."[17]

## Awards and nominations[edit]

* 2018: American Cinematographer Award, Salem Film Fest, US[18]
* 2018: Premio Kinêma, SANFIC, Chile[19]
* 2019: Best Cinematography, Byron Bay International Film Festival, Australia[20]
* 2018: Creative Excellence Award, Banff Mountain Film Festival, Canada
* 2019: Audience Award, Best Full-Length Film, Trento Film Festival, Italy[21]
* 2019: Best Director, Patagonia Eco Film Fest, Argentina
* 2019: Best Cinematography, BBK Mendi Film Bilbao, Spain
* 2019: Four Prix Iris nominations at the 21st Quebec Cinema Awards in 2019, for Best Documentary Film, Best Cinematography in a Documentary (Benjamin Echazarreta), Best Sound in a Documentary (McAlpine, Andrés Carrasco, Miguel Hormazábal, Mauricio López, Rodrigo Salvatierra, Carlo Sanchez Farías and Claudio Vargas) and Most Successful Film Outside Quebec.[22]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Kate Erbland, "‘Cielo’ Trailer: Awe-Inspiring NYFF Documentary Premiere Reaches for the Heavens — Watch". IndieWire, September 21, 2017.
2. ^ Couture, Sandrine (2018-06-22). "Making Waves in Karlovy Vary - RDV Canada". RDVCanada.ca. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
3. ^ "Spotlight on Documentary | New York Film Festival". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
4. ^ Schager, Nick (2018-08-09). "Film Review: 'Cielo'". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
5. ^ a b Schager, Nick (2018-12-19). "The Best Documentaries of 2018". Esquire. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
6. ^ "Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Alison McAlpine — "Cielo"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
7. ^ "Screenings |CIELO-the-film". CIELO. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
8. ^ "The best films of 2018 … that you didn't see". the Guardian. 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
9. ^ "Reviews | CIELO-the-film". CIELO. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
10. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (2018-08-15). "The Eye-Popping "Cielo" Invites You to a Party in the Sky". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
11. ^ Wheeler, Brad (2018-08-08). "Review: Cielo offers a serene, existential escape to the Atacama Desert". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
12. ^ "Astronomy Doc Wins AC Magazine Award at Salem Film Fest 2018 - The American Society of Cinematographers (en-US)". theasc.com. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
13. ^ "Cielo will leave you starstruck with its gorgeous imagery". nationalpost. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
14. ^ Roberts, James (2018-08-31). "'Cielo' Offers A Stunning Vision of the Night Sky (FILM REVIEW)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
15. ^ Lavoie, André (2018-08-10). ""Cielo": le murmure des étoiles". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-22.
16. ^ "Reviews | CIELO-the-film". CIELO. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
17. ^ "Cielo | BAMPFA". bampfa.org. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
18. ^ "Cielo: Consider the Stars - The American Society of Cinematographers (en-US)". theasc.com. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
19. ^ "Documental "Cielo" gana premio Kinema 2018". www.cultura.gob.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-22.
20. ^ "AWARDS". CIELO. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
21. ^ "Trento Film Festival". Trento Film Festival (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-01-22.
22. ^ "Gala Québec Cinéma : 1991 de Ricardo Trogi mène la course avec 16 nominations". Ici Radio-Canada, April 11, 2019.

## External links[edit]

* Cielo at IMDb
* Official Website