Documentary About Antonio Caro

Sebastián Mejía, creative director of Enlalucha Films, is the director of a documentary about Colombian conceptual artist Antonio Caro. Currently in post-production, the film will be titled Caro, su otra cara (Caro, His Other Face). The idea for the documentary was conceived when Sebastián Mejía was a child. Antonio Caro has always been close in his life, "as a friend of Mejía's father and as a public figure that was an example to follow. Caro was in part the inspiration for Mejía's decision to study arts and then delve into documentary cinema." The film represents the filmmaker's way to pay tribute to Caro and mark the 50th anniversary (in 2020) of his animated career. With this 90-minute long "observational" documentary, Mejía invites the public to share the everyday moments and singularities in Antonio Caro's life. "Understanding a man who lives in a continious present, without a permanent place in the world, and who applies the seriality of his work to his life, or vice versa, represents a quixotic challenge. Antonio Caro is an unpredictable character. He owns no phone and decides as he goes where, when, and with whom we wants to spend his time. Any attempt at planning is subjected to his good will. Nonetheless, we did it! Because of the friendship between Mejía and Caro, the patience and tenacity of the production team, and Mejía's efforts… everybody put their best foot forward to achieve an intimate, insightful, and funny film about Antonio Caro." The storyline of this documentary, filmed for over fifty days, unfolds in the singular everyday life of Antoni Caro, his wanderings and the multifaceted conversations and situations that stem from them. Caro is shown in conferences, cocktails, in events of the cultural scene in Bogota, in international art fairs, in his "small" country house, in rural areas of Colombia, at the Paris International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC), in art workshops taught by Caro in Switzerland, in the gardens of the Louvre, at the Pompidou, at the Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK) in Frankfurt; cutting his hair in his bathroom, eating avocado for lunch at the square market, with his backpacks and torn t-shirts, or having a consultation with the herbalist doctor. This group of producers has seen the world through Antonio Caro's nearsighted eyes, following every aspect of the thousands of facets in the life of an artist who for some is a creator of symbols. But the one undeniable fact is that Caro is in a continuous performance, which in a way is his greatest work. "In this journey we got to meet his tailor, his doctor, and the curator of his work at the MMK- Frankfurt. We also met art critic Hans-Ulrich Obrist, with whom we had a 3 hour conversation until the early hours of the morning in the empty restaurant of a five star hotel in Paris. There, we discussed the importance of Antonio Caro for recent and future generations of artists. Our fondness for the man and Obrist's knowledge about the artist share a deep fascination for an extraordinary character." The documentary has been self-produced and has also received the support of the Ministry of Culture of Colombia through the Fund for Cinematographic Development. The total cost of the film is US$ 100,000.00, of which US$ 80,000.00 have already been secured. Enlalucha Films still has some way to go to finish the film before its world premiere in 2020. For this reason, a crowdfunding campaign has been created to finance the post-production and promotion of the documentary. Members of the artistic community, and anybody else wishing to participate, are invited to contribute to this funding campaign. Donors will receive incentives that range from appearing in the credits to receiving an original work by Antonio Caro.