CYRANO FERNANDEZ

Spain, Venezuela, 2007, 100 min, 35 MM
In Spanish with English subtitles

DIR: Alberto Arvelo
SCR: Alberto Arvelo
PROD: Maria Eugenia Jacome
EXEC PROD: Pedro Mezquita, Carlos Lizarralde, Miguel Perello, Emilio Oviedo, Edgar Ramirez
DP: Cezary Jaworski
PROD DES: Matias Tikas
MUS: Mario De Benito, Nascuy Linares
CAST: Edgar Ramirez, Pastor Oviedo, Jessika Grau, Ximo Solano, Rafael Uribe

Once honor was the sole possession of those few rich enough to cultivate it, nowadays it is a fossil, a self-imposed handicap for moral Luddites. Certainly that's the case for Cyrano Fernandez (Edgar Ramirez), a true idealist whose devotion to the notion of romantic, courtly love is both his reason for being and his Achilles' heel. In the sure hands of director Alberto Arvelo, Edmond Rostand's swashbuckling tale of misplaced love has been transported to the crowded slums of Caracas. There, amid poverty, corruption and murder, Cyrano pines for the impossibly beautiful Roxana (Jessika Grau), crafting unsent declarations of love in between stints ghostwriting for a local rapper. Everything changes with the arrival of young Cristian (Pastor Oviedo), who, while challenging Cyrano for Roxana's affection, inadvertently sparks a gang war. Arvelo's camera swirls throughout the ensuing chaos, capturing the small joys of a destitute community, without neglecting the accompanying hardships. Powered by hypnotic music and a remarkable lead performance, CYRANO suggests that honor isn't dead yet — you just need to look harder, and in unexpected places, to find it.

Biography
At the age of 17, Alberto Arvelo wrote and directed his first feature film, SONG OF THE MOUNTAIN, with a professional crew. He went on to become one of the most celebrated directors of the emerging Venezuelan film industry. His A HOUSE WITH A VIEW OF THE SEA won more than 15 international awards, including Best Director at the New York Latino Film Festival and the Miami International Film Festival. His 1997 feature ONE LIFE AND TWO TRAILS won him the New York Film Festival's Best Director award. ArveloÕs previous features also include FLAMES ON THE SNOW (1986), LA HOZ Y EL FORASTERO (1998), HABANA, HABANA (2004), and AFI PROJECT: 20/20 documentary TO PLAY AND TO FIGHT (2005). His television work includes creating, writing and directing the successful Latin American series LOS ULTIMOS. Arvelo heads the Film Director workshop at the Venezuelan National Film School.

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