Exclusive: Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda has signed on as an executive producer of Norita ahead of the film’s world premiere June 25 at the Dances With Films festival in Hollywood.
The documentary tells the extraordinary story of Nora “Norita” Cortiñas who helped found a movement of Argentinian mothers in the 1970s whose children had been “disappeared” by the country’s right-wing military regime. Cortiñas and other women began protesting against the government in a square in Buenos Aires in April 1977, only a couple of weeks after Cortiñas’s son Carlos Gustavo was abducted and disappeared. They became known as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
Norita Cortiñas (middle with glasses) leads the December 16, 1982 Marcha del Pueblo por la Democracia y la Reconstrucción Nacional.
What happened to Gustavo was never determined; he, like thousands of others snatched by Argentina’s dictatorship, would forever remain “desaparecidos.” Despite her grief, Cortiñas...
The documentary tells the extraordinary story of Nora “Norita” Cortiñas who helped found a movement of Argentinian mothers in the 1970s whose children had been “disappeared” by the country’s right-wing military regime. Cortiñas and other women began protesting against the government in a square in Buenos Aires in April 1977, only a couple of weeks after Cortiñas’s son Carlos Gustavo was abducted and disappeared. They became known as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
Norita Cortiñas (middle with glasses) leads the December 16, 1982 Marcha del Pueblo por la Democracia y la Reconstrucción Nacional.
What happened to Gustavo was never determined; he, like thousands of others snatched by Argentina’s dictatorship, would forever remain “desaparecidos.” Despite her grief, Cortiñas...
- 6/5/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSAn Inconvenient Truth.Participant, the socially conscious production company, has closed, which filmmaker Julie Cohen called “devastating news to anyone who cares about documentaries.” Their twenty-year track record includes many nonfiction films, such as An Inconvenient Truth (2006), but also narrative features like Spotlight (2015) and Roma (2018).New data suggests that Hollywood production has gradually rebounded after last year’s WGA and SAG strikes, though not to the levels of the “peak TV” streaming bubble.The Archival Producers Alliance has drafted best practices for the use of generative AI in documentary, cautioning against the “danger of forever muddying the historical record.”In PRODUCTIONMartin Scorsese is reportedly developing a Frank Sinatra biopic, to star Leonardo DiCaprio as the crooner and Jennifer Lawrence as Ava Gardner.
- 4/25/2024
- MUBI
The following interview with filmmaker Lourdes Portillo by Bérénice Reynaud was originally published in our Spring, 1995 print issue, and it is being reposted today alongside the sad news that Portillo has passed away at the age of 80. — Editor “We’ve been told forever that films should be objective, but we knew that was not going to get us anywhere, because if you don’t have a point of view, you don’t have anything,” comments Lourdes Portillo on her approach to Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, the 1986 film she co-directed with Susana Munoz. Nearly ten years […]
The post “It’s Not about the Days of the Dead, It’s About the Dead in my Family”: Lourdes Portillo on The Devil Never Sleeps first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “It’s Not about the Days of the Dead, It’s About the Dead in my Family”: Lourdes Portillo on The Devil Never Sleeps first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/22/2024
- by Berenice Reynaud
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The following interview with filmmaker Lourdes Portillo by Bérénice Reynaud was originally published in our Spring, 1995 print issue, and it is being reposted today alongside the sad news that Portillo has passed away at the age of 80. — Editor “We’ve been told forever that films should be objective, but we knew that was not going to get us anywhere, because if you don’t have a point of view, you don’t have anything,” comments Lourdes Portillo on her approach to Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, the 1986 film she co-directed with Susana Munoz. Nearly ten years […]
The post “It’s Not about the Days of the Dead, It’s About the Dead in my Family”: Lourdes Portillo on The Devil Never Sleeps first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “It’s Not about the Days of the Dead, It’s About the Dead in my Family”: Lourdes Portillo on The Devil Never Sleeps first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/22/2024
- by Berenice Reynaud
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Lourdes Portillo, the prominent Mexican filmmaker and social activist behind The Devil Never Sleeps and the Oscar-nominated Las Madres – The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, has died. She was 80.
Portillo died Saturday at her home in San Francisco, her friend Soco Aguilar told The Hollywood Reporter. She was surrounded by her three sons and a sister. A cause was not given.
Portillo worked as a writer, director, producer, activist and journalist to create work that centered Latin American and Mexican stories. Las Madres — The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (1985), highlighted the mothers of Argentinian desaparecidos holding weekly protests in Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo during Argentina’s military dictatorship. The documentary was nominated for an Oscar in 1986.
The Devil Never Sleeps (1994) follows Portillo’s own investigation of her uncle’s death in Mexico. It was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2020.
In May, the Academy...
Portillo died Saturday at her home in San Francisco, her friend Soco Aguilar told The Hollywood Reporter. She was surrounded by her three sons and a sister. A cause was not given.
Portillo worked as a writer, director, producer, activist and journalist to create work that centered Latin American and Mexican stories. Las Madres — The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (1985), highlighted the mothers of Argentinian desaparecidos holding weekly protests in Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo during Argentina’s military dictatorship. The documentary was nominated for an Oscar in 1986.
The Devil Never Sleeps (1994) follows Portillo’s own investigation of her uncle’s death in Mexico. It was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2020.
In May, the Academy...
- 4/21/2024
- by Zoe G Phillips
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lourdes Portillo, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker and activist whose films such as “The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo” and “The Devil Never Sleeps” helped elevate Mexican and LGBTQ stories in the global cinema ecosystem, has died at the age of 80, IndieWire has confirmed.
Born in Mexico in 1943, Portillo moved to America with her family as a teenager and began making films at 21 years old. She made her directorial debut with 1979’s “After the Earthquake,” a short film that focused on the experiences of a Nicaraguan refugee building a new life in San Francisco. Over the next four decades, she went on to establish herself as one of global cinema’s most prominent advocates for the Chicano movement and LGBTQ rights, using her documentary and narrative films to highlight the perspectives of marginalized people.
Her 1986 film “The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo,” a documentary about the eponymous Argentine human rights group that...
Born in Mexico in 1943, Portillo moved to America with her family as a teenager and began making films at 21 years old. She made her directorial debut with 1979’s “After the Earthquake,” a short film that focused on the experiences of a Nicaraguan refugee building a new life in San Francisco. Over the next four decades, she went on to establish herself as one of global cinema’s most prominent advocates for the Chicano movement and LGBTQ rights, using her documentary and narrative films to highlight the perspectives of marginalized people.
Her 1986 film “The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo,” a documentary about the eponymous Argentine human rights group that...
- 4/21/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Lourdes Portillo, filmmaker of the 1994 documentary “The Devil Never Sleeps” and a visual artist, investigative journalist and social activist, died Saturday in her San Francisco home. She was 80.
Portillo focused her work on writing, directing and producing film and videos that centered the emotions and circumstances of Latin American, Mexican and Chicano experiences. Portillo’s documentaries blended modes of storytelling to focus on themes of identity and social justice in the U.S. and Latin America.
Portillo was 21 when she first helped a friend out on a documentary, after which she began formal film training. She produced her first film in 1979 called “After the Earthquake” or “Despues del Terremoto.” Although the majority of her work was documentary films, she also created different video installations and screen writings.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures currently has a gallery experience devoted to Portillo, highlighting her life and career, as a part of its Limited Series and Spotlights.
Portillo focused her work on writing, directing and producing film and videos that centered the emotions and circumstances of Latin American, Mexican and Chicano experiences. Portillo’s documentaries blended modes of storytelling to focus on themes of identity and social justice in the U.S. and Latin America.
Portillo was 21 when she first helped a friend out on a documentary, after which she began formal film training. She produced her first film in 1979 called “After the Earthquake” or “Despues del Terremoto.” Although the majority of her work was documentary films, she also created different video installations and screen writings.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures currently has a gallery experience devoted to Portillo, highlighting her life and career, as a part of its Limited Series and Spotlights.
- 4/21/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov
- Variety Film + TV
Lourdes Portillo, the Mexican-born, Chicana-identified filmmaker who crafted nuanced film and video works that center the emotions and circumstances of diverse Latinx experiences, died on Saturday, April 20 at her home in San Francisco. She died peacefully, surrounded by her three sons and a younger sister, according to a friend.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures presented a 10-day major retrospective of Portillo’s work in 2023, highlighted by a screening of her 2001 documentary Missing Young Woman (Señorita Extraviada).
Portillo was an unconventional, artful talent who combined filmmaking and activism. Oscar-nominated for her documentary feature Las Madres – The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, “Portillo’s works defy categorization, slipping easily between docu-fiction, experimental video, and the melodrama of telenovelas,” as described by the Academy Museum’s interim director, film program, K.J. Relth-Miller.
Born on November 11, 1943, in Chihuahua, Mexico, she immigrated with her parents and four siblings to Los Angeles.
In a 2023 Deadline interview,...
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures presented a 10-day major retrospective of Portillo’s work in 2023, highlighted by a screening of her 2001 documentary Missing Young Woman (Señorita Extraviada).
Portillo was an unconventional, artful talent who combined filmmaking and activism. Oscar-nominated for her documentary feature Las Madres – The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, “Portillo’s works defy categorization, slipping easily between docu-fiction, experimental video, and the melodrama of telenovelas,” as described by the Academy Museum’s interim director, film program, K.J. Relth-Miller.
Born on November 11, 1943, in Chihuahua, Mexico, she immigrated with her parents and four siblings to Los Angeles.
In a 2023 Deadline interview,...
- 4/21/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: New York-based Women Make Movies has acquired U.S. rights for Palestinian Oscar entry Bye Bye Tiberias by Lina Soualem.
The intimate work sees Soualem accompany her Palestinian-French actress mother Hiam Abbass back to the Arab village within Israeli borders, which she left in the 1980s to pursue her acting career in Europe.
There, they reflect on her past as well as the lives of Abbass’ mother and grandmother in a powerful work exploring themes of displacement, identity and survival across four generations of women.
Wmm executive director Debra Zimmerman said the film was a “perfect fit” for the label, which aims to put spotlight on the work of female filmmakers.
“It is a beautiful film about four generations of Palestinian women,” she said. “I am thrilled that we have the opportunity to have this film seen widely right now by the diverse audiences that need and deserve to see it.
The intimate work sees Soualem accompany her Palestinian-French actress mother Hiam Abbass back to the Arab village within Israeli borders, which she left in the 1980s to pursue her acting career in Europe.
There, they reflect on her past as well as the lives of Abbass’ mother and grandmother in a powerful work exploring themes of displacement, identity and survival across four generations of women.
Wmm executive director Debra Zimmerman said the film was a “perfect fit” for the label, which aims to put spotlight on the work of female filmmakers.
“It is a beautiful film about four generations of Palestinian women,” she said. “I am thrilled that we have the opportunity to have this film seen widely right now by the diverse audiences that need and deserve to see it.
- 12/8/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Hollywood actor and producer Michael B. Jordan is doing well after crashing his car in Hollywood on Saturday evening, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The Creed 3 star reportedly crashed his blue Ferrari into another vehicle parked at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and North Beachwood Drive. A source close to Jordan says the actor is okay and uninjured after the car accident, and skipped Sunday night’s Academy Museum Gala out of an abundance of caution.
Jordan had been set to appear at the gala — the third annual, star-studded benefit for the movie museum, where current exhibits spotlight the works of director John Waters and Lourdes Portillo as well as the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood. Jordan was presented with this year’s Vantage Award by Christopher Nolan, which his sister Jamila accepted on his behalf. He had been set to walk the red carpet alongside fellow Hollywood celebrities Meryl Streep,...
The Creed 3 star reportedly crashed his blue Ferrari into another vehicle parked at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and North Beachwood Drive. A source close to Jordan says the actor is okay and uninjured after the car accident, and skipped Sunday night’s Academy Museum Gala out of an abundance of caution.
Jordan had been set to appear at the gala — the third annual, star-studded benefit for the movie museum, where current exhibits spotlight the works of director John Waters and Lourdes Portillo as well as the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood. Jordan was presented with this year’s Vantage Award by Christopher Nolan, which his sister Jamila accepted on his behalf. He had been set to walk the red carpet alongside fellow Hollywood celebrities Meryl Streep,...
- 12/4/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After being rescheduled from its original September date — postponed due to the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War — the 2023 Academy Museum Gala took place Dec. 3 in Los Angeles. Stars including Natalie Portman, Simu Liu, Dua Lipa, Lupita Nyong’o and Selena Gomez walked the red and pink carpet that ran from the entrance and led underneath the museum’s Sphere building. Many of the stars making an appearance have films that are looking to be top contenders in the Oscar race; the benefit has become, for many, a must-do pit stop along the awards circuit.
The evening — the third annual benefit for the movie museum, where current exhibits spotlight the works of director John Waters and Lourdes Portillo as well as the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood — honored four luminaries of the entertainment industry: Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola.
Streep received the Icon Award, given to an...
The evening — the third annual benefit for the movie museum, where current exhibits spotlight the works of director John Waters and Lourdes Portillo as well as the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood — honored four luminaries of the entertainment industry: Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola.
Streep received the Icon Award, given to an...
- 12/4/2023
- by Degen Pener and Peter Tomka
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Institute has announced the 23 projects selected as grantees for this year’s Sundance Institute Documentary Fund and will provide unrestricted grant funding amounting to a little over $1m.
Projects from this cycle are in various stages: six are in development, 14 in production, and three in post-production.
The Fund prioritises supporting and empowering historically marginalised voices, often helping artists living and working in regions that lack a robust infrastructure of support for independent film, regions of conflict, and countries where freedom of expression is under threat.
Projects and filmmakers includr Looking At Ourselves directed by Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Lourdes Portillo,...
Projects from this cycle are in various stages: six are in development, 14 in production, and three in post-production.
The Fund prioritises supporting and empowering historically marginalised voices, often helping artists living and working in regions that lack a robust infrastructure of support for independent film, regions of conflict, and countries where freedom of expression is under threat.
Projects and filmmakers includr Looking At Ourselves directed by Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Lourdes Portillo,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute announces today 23 projects that have been selected for the 2023 Documentary Fund, which provides unrestricted grant funding totaling just over $1,000,000 for filmmakers from around the globe. Among this year’s recipients, six projects are in development, 14 are in production and three are in post-production. Grants are made possible by the Open Society Foundations, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Gucci and the Kendeda Fund. Highlights among 2023 grantees are Looking at Ourselves directed by Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Lourdes Portillo, Adam’s Apple directed by artist and filmmaker Amy Jenkins, Untitled Uvalde Documentary by Anayansi […]
The post Sundance Institute Announces 2023 Documentary Fund Grantees first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Sundance Institute Announces 2023 Documentary Fund Grantees first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/21/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The Sundance Institute announces today 23 projects that have been selected for the 2023 Documentary Fund, which provides unrestricted grant funding totaling just over $1,000,000 for filmmakers from around the globe. Among this year’s recipients, six projects are in development, 14 are in production and three are in post-production. Grants are made possible by the Open Society Foundations, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Gucci and the Kendeda Fund. Highlights among 2023 grantees are Looking at Ourselves directed by Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Lourdes Portillo, Adam’s Apple directed by artist and filmmaker Amy Jenkins, Untitled Uvalde Documentary by Anayansi […]
The post Sundance Institute Announces 2023 Documentary Fund Grantees first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Sundance Institute Announces 2023 Documentary Fund Grantees first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/21/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund will be supporting 23 selected independent documentary film projects this year through grants totaling over $1 million. This initiative has previously funded notable films including Oscar-nominated features “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” “Minding the Gap” and “The Edge of Democracy.”
In addition to shrinking budgets for commissioned docuseries and one-offs, there has been a dramatic decline in distribution deals for indie docs, making the Sundance Institute grant vital to the nonfiction community. Especially to those filmmakers in the docu space working on social issue documentaries.
This year, the documentaries awarded grants explore a large breadth subject matters from around the world, telling stories about Indigenous People and Native Americans, transgender youth, secrets of a family’s lineage, people with disabilities and an untitled feature about Uvalde, Texas. Of the 23 films, six are in development, 14 are in production and three are in post-production.
“The stories and themes explored...
In addition to shrinking budgets for commissioned docuseries and one-offs, there has been a dramatic decline in distribution deals for indie docs, making the Sundance Institute grant vital to the nonfiction community. Especially to those filmmakers in the docu space working on social issue documentaries.
This year, the documentaries awarded grants explore a large breadth subject matters from around the world, telling stories about Indigenous People and Native Americans, transgender youth, secrets of a family’s lineage, people with disabilities and an untitled feature about Uvalde, Texas. Of the 23 films, six are in development, 14 are in production and three are in post-production.
“The stories and themes explored...
- 8/21/2023
- by Sophia Scorziello
- Variety Film + TV
The Sundance Institute has named the 2023 grantees of its Documentary Fund, supporting the work of nonfiction filmmakers from around the globe, with 23 projects being selected for unrestricted grant funding totaling just over $1M.
Six of the selected projects are in development, with 14 in production and three currently in post. Notable filmmakers recognized as part of the group include Oscar and Emmy nominee Lourdes Portillo (with Looking at Ourselves), artist and filmmaker Amy Jenkins (with Adam’s Apple), and Anayansi Prado (with Untitled Uvalde Documentary). Also represented are such sophomore filmmakers coming off strong debuts as Reid Davenport (I Didn’t See You There) with Life After, Sky Hopinka with Powwow People, and Tali Yankelevich (My Darling Supermarket) with Girl-Tubers.
Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund prioritizes supporting and empowering historically marginalized voices and providing a platform for integral stories to be amplified. Many of the...
Six of the selected projects are in development, with 14 in production and three currently in post. Notable filmmakers recognized as part of the group include Oscar and Emmy nominee Lourdes Portillo (with Looking at Ourselves), artist and filmmaker Amy Jenkins (with Adam’s Apple), and Anayansi Prado (with Untitled Uvalde Documentary). Also represented are such sophomore filmmakers coming off strong debuts as Reid Davenport (I Didn’t See You There) with Life After, Sky Hopinka with Powwow People, and Tali Yankelevich (My Darling Supermarket) with Girl-Tubers.
Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund prioritizes supporting and empowering historically marginalized voices and providing a platform for integral stories to be amplified. Many of the...
- 8/21/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2023 Sundance Institute Documentary Fund has officially unveiled its grantees. The non-profit announced the 2023 recipients of over $1 million in unrestricted grant support for 23 projects from non-fiction filmmakers across the world. Six winning projects are in development, 14 in production, and three in post-production.
Per the announcement, the Documentary Fund prioritizes supporting and empowering historically marginalized voices and providing a platform for integral stories to be amplified. It is committed to elevating global voices and celebrating the rich diversity of filmmaking traditions around the world. Many of the international projects supported with this round of funding reflect a priority of supporting artists living and working in regions that lack a robust infrastructure of support for independent film, regions of conflict, and countries where freedom of expression is under threat.
Grants are made possible by the Open Society Foundations, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Gucci, and the Kendeda Fund.
Oscar-...
Per the announcement, the Documentary Fund prioritizes supporting and empowering historically marginalized voices and providing a platform for integral stories to be amplified. It is committed to elevating global voices and celebrating the rich diversity of filmmaking traditions around the world. Many of the international projects supported with this round of funding reflect a priority of supporting artists living and working in regions that lack a robust infrastructure of support for independent film, regions of conflict, and countries where freedom of expression is under threat.
Grants are made possible by the Open Society Foundations, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Gucci, and the Kendeda Fund.
Oscar-...
- 8/21/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced the first round of exhibition rotations scheduled for the 2022–2023 season, which further its mission to advance the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema.
This summer, the Museum will open the exhibition Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971, which will explore the history of Black cinema from its earliest days to just after the civil rights movement. In the fall, the museum will open galleries devoted to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and the influences of French filmmaker Agnès Varda.
In early 2023, new exhibitions will open, with spaces spotlighting Boyz n the Hood, Casablanca, documentarian Lourdes Portillo, and the collaboration between production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer. Then, in late spring, the Museum will open its first permanent exhibition, Hollywoodland, chronicling the founding and the founders of the Hollywood studio system in Los Angeles.
Over time, new objects, images, and interviews will be added to various galleries,...
This summer, the Museum will open the exhibition Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971, which will explore the history of Black cinema from its earliest days to just after the civil rights movement. In the fall, the museum will open galleries devoted to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and the influences of French filmmaker Agnès Varda.
In early 2023, new exhibitions will open, with spaces spotlighting Boyz n the Hood, Casablanca, documentarian Lourdes Portillo, and the collaboration between production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer. Then, in late spring, the Museum will open its first permanent exhibition, Hollywoodland, chronicling the founding and the founders of the Hollywood studio system in Los Angeles.
Over time, new objects, images, and interviews will be added to various galleries,...
- 3/21/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Hollywoodland’ will open in late spring 2023; announced as part of exhibition schedule.
The Academy Museum will focus its first permanent exhibition on the mostly Jewish founders of Hollywood after coming under fire for overlooking their contribution when the venue opened last autumn.
‘Hollywoodland’ will open in late spring 2023 and comes after critics called out the omission, which includes the lack of any detailed attention to Hollywood founding fathers such as Louis B. Mayer, Harry and Jack Warner and Samuel Goldwyn.
The Los Angeles-based museum, which has allocated considerable space to the role played by people of colour, women and other...
The Academy Museum will focus its first permanent exhibition on the mostly Jewish founders of Hollywood after coming under fire for overlooking their contribution when the venue opened last autumn.
‘Hollywoodland’ will open in late spring 2023 and comes after critics called out the omission, which includes the lack of any detailed attention to Hollywood founding fathers such as Louis B. Mayer, Harry and Jack Warner and Samuel Goldwyn.
The Los Angeles-based museum, which has allocated considerable space to the role played by people of colour, women and other...
- 3/21/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“The Dark Knight,” “Shrek,” “Grease,” “The Blues Brothers,” “Lillies of the Field,” “The Hurt Locker,” “A Clockwork Orange,” “The Joy Luck Club” and “The Man With the Golden Arm” are among this year’s additions to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
“This is not only a great honor for all of us who worked on ‘The Dark Knight,’ this is also a tribute to all of the amazing artists and writers who have worked on the great mythology of Batman over the decades,” said Christopher Nolan, director of “The Dark Knight.”
“Lillies of the Field” star Sidney Poitier, who became the first Black person to win the Oscar for best actor, said, “‘Lilies of the Field’ stirs up such great remembrances in our family, from the littlest Poitiers watching a young and agile ‘Papa’ to the oldest – Papa Sidney himself!”
Janet Yang, producer of “The Joy Luck Club,...
“This is not only a great honor for all of us who worked on ‘The Dark Knight,’ this is also a tribute to all of the amazing artists and writers who have worked on the great mythology of Batman over the decades,” said Christopher Nolan, director of “The Dark Knight.”
“Lillies of the Field” star Sidney Poitier, who became the first Black person to win the Oscar for best actor, said, “‘Lilies of the Field’ stirs up such great remembrances in our family, from the littlest Poitiers watching a young and agile ‘Papa’ to the oldest – Papa Sidney himself!”
Janet Yang, producer of “The Joy Luck Club,...
- 12/14/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The Library of Congress has unveiled its annual list of 25 movies to make the cut for the National Film Registry. The selection this year, considered among America’s most influential motion pictures, includes such titles as Christopher Nolan’s 2008 The Dark Knight; DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek, 1978 summer musical smash Grease and 1980 John Belushi/Dan Aykroyd comedy The Blues Brothers.
The list also notably shines a spotlight this year on diverse stories and filmmakers including Wayne Wang’s 1993 The Joy Luck Club; 1963’s Lilies Of The Field, for which Sidney Poitier became the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor; Melvin Van Peebles’ 1971 Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song; 2010 documentary Freedom Riders; and 1982’s Losing Ground from Kathleen Collins.
Out of the 25 movies selected, there is a record number of films directed by women including Losing Ground, as well as Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar winner The Hurt Locker, 1913 silent film Suspense,...
The list also notably shines a spotlight this year on diverse stories and filmmakers including Wayne Wang’s 1993 The Joy Luck Club; 1963’s Lilies Of The Field, for which Sidney Poitier became the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor; Melvin Van Peebles’ 1971 Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song; 2010 documentary Freedom Riders; and 1982’s Losing Ground from Kathleen Collins.
Out of the 25 movies selected, there is a record number of films directed by women including Losing Ground, as well as Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar winner The Hurt Locker, 1913 silent film Suspense,...
- 12/14/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Early one Sunday morning in July 1993, artist filmmaker Lourdes Portillo received a phone call to say her beloved multimillionaire uncle had been found dead. His widow declared it suicide yet most of his family refused to believe this. Instead they cried murder, suspecting his business partner, his ranch-hand, and even the widow herself.Returning to Mexico after living in Los Angeles since the age of thirteen, Portillo set out to investigate the circumstances of her uncle’s death. Statements are chaotic and contradictory and no two testimonies cohere. Old tales of betrayal, passion, lust, and the supernatural emerge. The unresolved mysteries and melodramatic myth-making reveal more about Chicano culture than they do his cause of death. With Chihuahua occupying a central role in the Mexican Revolution, Portillo’s film evokes the area’s heroic past and its martyrs, past and present.. Arriving at no solid conclusion, the documentary interrogates the...
- 3/3/2020
- MUBI
Ela Bittencourt's column explores South America’s key festivals and notable screenings of Latin films in North America and Europe.El Norte“We need to see our experiences validated, otherwise we don’t exist. And if we don’t exist, we become diminished,” says Lourdes Portillo, the filmmaker behind Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena (1999), a documentary short that screens in the current Brooklyn Academy of Music (Bam) retrospective, "¡Sí Se Puede! Pioneers of Chicano Cinema", spanning Mexican-American films from the 1970s to the 90s, and focusing primarily on the Chicano community’s rising socio-political awareness.Urgent issues of representation ripple through the entire program. From Selena (1997), a biopic about a music star, Selena Quintanilla, directed by Gregory Nava and starring Jennifer Lopez, in which we watch Selena’s budding talent consistently protected and bolstered by her father’s loving yet adamant admonishing her to always “be who you are deep down,...
- 3/15/2018
- MUBI
The documentary film and television community came together to honor their own at the festive 33rd Annual Ida Documentary Awards celebration Saturday night at the Paramount Studio Theatre. The evening’s top prizes went to Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini’s Sundance-jury-winning love story “Dina” for Best Feature, and Laura Checkoway’s Oscar-shortlisted “Edith+Eddie” for Best Short.
Other winners included Dan Lindsay and Tj Martin’s Oscar-shortlisted “La 92” for the ABC News VideoSource Award, PBS’ Independent Lens for Best Curated Series, HBO’s “The Defiant Ones” for Best Limited Series, BBC’s “Planet Earth II” for Best Episodic Series, The New York Times Op-Docs for Best Short Form Series (which boasts three Oscar-shortlisted shorts), and Joel Fendelman’s “Man on Fire” for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award.
Charles Burnett presented the Emerging Filmmaker Award to Yance Ford, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award for Storytelling,...
Other winners included Dan Lindsay and Tj Martin’s Oscar-shortlisted “La 92” for the ABC News VideoSource Award, PBS’ Independent Lens for Best Curated Series, HBO’s “The Defiant Ones” for Best Limited Series, BBC’s “Planet Earth II” for Best Episodic Series, The New York Times Op-Docs for Best Short Form Series (which boasts three Oscar-shortlisted shorts), and Joel Fendelman’s “Man on Fire” for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award.
Charles Burnett presented the Emerging Filmmaker Award to Yance Ford, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award for Storytelling,...
- 12/10/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The documentary film and television community came together to honor their own at the festive 33rd Annual Ida Documentary Awards celebration Saturday night at the Paramount Studio Theatre. The evening’s top prizes went to Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini’s Sundance-jury-winning love story “Dina” for Best Feature, and Laura Checkoway’s Oscar-shortlisted “Edith+Eddie” for Best Short.
Other winners included Dan Lindsay and Tj Martin’s Oscar-shortlisted “La 92” for the ABC News VideoSource Award, PBS’ Independent Lens for Best Curated Series, HBO’s “The Defiant Ones” for Best Limited Series, BBC’s “Planet Earth II” for Best Episodic Series, The New York Times Op-Docs for Best Short Form Series (which boasts three Oscar-shortlisted shorts), and Joel Fendelman’s “Man on Fire” for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award.
Charles Burnett presented the Emerging Filmmaker Award to Yance Ford, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award for Storytelling,...
Other winners included Dan Lindsay and Tj Martin’s Oscar-shortlisted “La 92” for the ABC News VideoSource Award, PBS’ Independent Lens for Best Curated Series, HBO’s “The Defiant Ones” for Best Limited Series, BBC’s “Planet Earth II” for Best Episodic Series, The New York Times Op-Docs for Best Short Form Series (which boasts three Oscar-shortlisted shorts), and Joel Fendelman’s “Man on Fire” for the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award.
Charles Burnett presented the Emerging Filmmaker Award to Yance Ford, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award for Storytelling,...
- 12/10/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The Academy celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Academy Film Archive with the screening series “Archival Revival – 25 years of the Academy Film Archive,” curated from the extensive, diverse collection of motion pictures that the archive has restored and preserved. The series, which runs fromJuly 18 through September 12, will showcase a broad range of titles – musicals, documentaries, silent films, Pre-Code comedies, experimental films and horror classics.
In 1991 the Academy’s Board of Governors made a commitment to create a world-class archive for the preservation, restoration, documentation and study of motion pictures. The Academy Film Archive currently holds more than 190,000 elements, including trailers, feature films, and the film collections of such artists as Alfred Hitchcock, Penelope Spheeris, James Wong Howe, Albert Maysles and Su Friedrich. It also holds the collections of such institutions and programs as the Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and the Student Academy Awards.
Take...
In 1991 the Academy’s Board of Governors made a commitment to create a world-class archive for the preservation, restoration, documentation and study of motion pictures. The Academy Film Archive currently holds more than 190,000 elements, including trailers, feature films, and the film collections of such artists as Alfred Hitchcock, Penelope Spheeris, James Wong Howe, Albert Maysles and Su Friedrich. It also holds the collections of such institutions and programs as the Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and the Student Academy Awards.
Take...
- 7/6/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
'Las Marthas' follows two young women as they prepare to 'debut' at a Colonial Ball hosted by the elite Society of Martha Washington. The Ball is held each year in a month long celebration of George Washington's birthday. And these Mexican-Americans do not mess around when it comes to celebrating ol' Georgie's birthday. They go in. Elaborate one-of--a-kind gowns and all. Yes, Mexican-Americans celebrating the birth of a man who pretty much stretched the border a little further south to claim territories that once belonged to Mexico. This is not 'Bizarro World'. It's Laredo, Texas. What makes 'Las Marthas' unique is Chicana filmmaker Cristina Ibarra's skillful and mindful exploration of the complexities to find a fascinating coming of age story culturally steeped in history.
LatinoBuzz: If one is to judge by what's been show on film and television, it seems the border stories all have a recurring theme and there was little originality left. How did you stay away from the “other” Laredo, Texas border stories as much as possible?
Cristina Ibarra: Growing up along the Us/Mx border in El Paso, Texas I felt somewhat alienated by what I saw on television in both Mexico and the United States. Especially when it was news reports about the border region. But I didn’t really have the tools to express this discontent until I left home. Now that I am a filmmaker, I enjoy telling stories that break down some of the more common stereotypes. My producing partner, Erin Ploss-Campoamor, likes to quote novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who has this great Ted talk about the danger of perpetuating a “single story” about a culture. We feel like our film breaks down that “single story” about the border, and Latinos in particular. Which is not to say that we are dismissing the importance of films about immigration, the drug war or violence. We are simply adding a new voice to the mix. Deepening our perceptions about not just the border region and Latinos, but also reminding ourselves that as Americans, we live with multiple identities within us. My goal is to make films that embrace the nuances and contradictions of these many different stories.
LatinoBuzz: You've explored Documentaries and Narratives now, what's the biggest difference in your approach or even what are the similarities?
Cristina Ibarra: I feel like I use many of the same building blocks when it comes to story. For example, in both documentary and fiction films, we need to set up the world, connect with the protagonists, and understand their conflict. That is useful in both kinds of films, even if the production approach varies. Of course, the most striking difference is that in fiction, you have more control of the story before you go into production. You can build all of the necessary creative relationships before going into “battle,” so to speak. My documentary productions have evolved much more slowly, as I have gradually built relationships with my subjects. This kind of production is much more intimate. The relationship is a collaboration, as it develops, the story deepens. So the production process can be quite long. Documentaries work when you are able to capture and connect with a real person who is letting you into their world. But I feel like those skills translate well into narrative fiction films as well, where I often try to achieve a similar level of authenticity.
LatinoBuzz: What type of Stories do you want to keep creating?
Cristina Ibarra: Complex, nuanced stories…hybrids. I love exploring the borderland contradictions of my childhood. I enjoy working in both fiction and documentary. I want to continue to do both. But I’m also eager to experiment some day with combining the two and building a hybrid film. My childhood playgrounds were my father’s junkyards, or yonkes, one in Juarez, Mexico, the other in El Paso, Texas. I want to use his yonke as a metaphorical inspiration to mix and match used parts from my documentary and fiction work and recycle these elements into a new kind of storytelling approach. Erin and I have been talking about how we might do that in our next film 'Love & Monster Trucks'.
LatinoBuzz: How did you settle on these protagonists? Did you become close or keep a distance to allow them to be themselves?
Cristina Ibarra: As soon as I saw the colonial ball gowns that Linda Leyendecker Gutierrez designs, I was captivated. Then I was lucky, because I was able to meet many of the debutantes in Linda’s studio, when they came to get their gowns fitted. It was an incredible opportunity, because I was able to talk to these girls as they were undergoing this amazing transformation into young women. They were being taught how to present a very polished exterior. They were getting lessons in etiquette, how they speak to their elders, how to talk to the media. And here they are, meeting this strange filmmaker who is asking them to open up, and basically do the exact opposite of what they have just been taught. It was not easy. So I ended up following the two girls who opened up to me the most: Laura Garza Hovel, a legacy daughter, and Rosario Reyes, a guest representing Nuevo Laredo. And they naturally became the protagonists of the film. We just got lucky that they happened to come from two different positions in Society, because it helped create a richer and more complex coming-of-age portrait.
LatinoBuzz: Do you think perhaps, that maybe another filmmaker with a different sensibility or a different ideology might look on this Colonial Pageant and Ball in a much more negative light and shape the film in such a manner of how it may look to an outsider who is merely taking it at face value.
Cristina Ibarra: There have already been those kinds of news stories about the celebration, in which journalists portrayed the debutantes as frivolous, and questioned why their event was so expensive, considering all of the social and economic ills along the border. So the Society was very nervous about opening themselves up to criticism again. But I saw many other dimensions to the story that might not be so obvious to someone who just quickly parachutes in to cover the controversy and then leaves. My intention was always to examine this coming-of-age story in a much more intimate, complex and nuanced way. I absolutely agree that another filmmaker would bring another sensibility to the story. But it was important for me to stay true to my original intentions, even if it meant making a different kind of film than people expected.
LatinoBuzz: What type of Stories do you want to keep creating?
Cristina Ibarra: Complex, nuanced stories…hybrids. I love exploring the borderland contradictions of my childhood. I enjoy working in both fiction and documentary. I want to continue to do both. But I’m also eager to experiment some day with combining the two and building a hybrid film. My childhood playgrounds were my father’s junkyards, or 'yonkes', one in Juarez, Mexico, the other in El Paso, Texas. I want to use his yonke as a metaphorical inspiration to mix and match used parts from my documentary and fiction work and recycle these elements into a new kind of storytelling approach. Erin and I have been talking about how we might do that in our next film 'Love & Monster Trucks'.
LatinoBuzz: You have an impressive crew of notable filmmakers in their own right. How did you manage to get them to take this ride with you?
Cristina Ibarra: Sometimes the timing works out just right so that some of my best and most loved friends have been able to join me in between working on their own films. Natalia Almada, Eddie Martinez, Ray Santisteban, Craig Mardsen, Prashant Bhargava and, of course, Erin Ploss-Campoamor, all have their own stellar track records as filmmakers in their own right. Each relationship is different, but there is always love there. We each have to trust that we will bring our specific skills to the same vision. Filmmaking is a team effort for me. I love collaborating and working with friends who know what I am trying to do and love me for it.
LatinoBuzz: What is truth to you when it comes to writing?
Cristina Ibarra: Wow, this is a good question. Truth is an ideal and a principle to follow when writing. It doesn’t always look the same to every one person, but you know you have achieved it when your work connects with an audience. That spark of recognition and connection can be transformative.
LatinoBuzz: Who influences you aesthetically in both documentary and narrative?
Cristina Ibarra: All of my filmmaking friends influence my work in both forms. But there is one visionary artist, Lourdes Portillo, who has always been a beacon of light for me. She has such a wicked and brilliant sense of humor in all of her work. I also love that she is undeniably hybrid in her approach.
LatinoBuzz: I know you personally: As a Selena fan, did you hate Jennifer Lopez being cast in the movie? Did you hold that Selena lunch box of yours close to you and rock back and forth at night like a crumbling mess?
Cristina Ibarra: You are right, it is hard to please a Selena fan! I think I am in the minority here among my Chicana friends, but I actually really enjoy Jennifer Lopez as an actress, especially as Selena. She owned that role. I have some friends who worked on that film and we all love Jennifer Lopez from way back before she became J-Lo.
Watch Las Marthas for a limited time online and for local listings visit: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/las-marthas/film.html & dig: https://www.facebook.com/lasmarthasmovie for further updates!
Written by Juan Caceres . LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook .
LatinoBuzz: If one is to judge by what's been show on film and television, it seems the border stories all have a recurring theme and there was little originality left. How did you stay away from the “other” Laredo, Texas border stories as much as possible?
Cristina Ibarra: Growing up along the Us/Mx border in El Paso, Texas I felt somewhat alienated by what I saw on television in both Mexico and the United States. Especially when it was news reports about the border region. But I didn’t really have the tools to express this discontent until I left home. Now that I am a filmmaker, I enjoy telling stories that break down some of the more common stereotypes. My producing partner, Erin Ploss-Campoamor, likes to quote novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who has this great Ted talk about the danger of perpetuating a “single story” about a culture. We feel like our film breaks down that “single story” about the border, and Latinos in particular. Which is not to say that we are dismissing the importance of films about immigration, the drug war or violence. We are simply adding a new voice to the mix. Deepening our perceptions about not just the border region and Latinos, but also reminding ourselves that as Americans, we live with multiple identities within us. My goal is to make films that embrace the nuances and contradictions of these many different stories.
LatinoBuzz: You've explored Documentaries and Narratives now, what's the biggest difference in your approach or even what are the similarities?
Cristina Ibarra: I feel like I use many of the same building blocks when it comes to story. For example, in both documentary and fiction films, we need to set up the world, connect with the protagonists, and understand their conflict. That is useful in both kinds of films, even if the production approach varies. Of course, the most striking difference is that in fiction, you have more control of the story before you go into production. You can build all of the necessary creative relationships before going into “battle,” so to speak. My documentary productions have evolved much more slowly, as I have gradually built relationships with my subjects. This kind of production is much more intimate. The relationship is a collaboration, as it develops, the story deepens. So the production process can be quite long. Documentaries work when you are able to capture and connect with a real person who is letting you into their world. But I feel like those skills translate well into narrative fiction films as well, where I often try to achieve a similar level of authenticity.
LatinoBuzz: What type of Stories do you want to keep creating?
Cristina Ibarra: Complex, nuanced stories…hybrids. I love exploring the borderland contradictions of my childhood. I enjoy working in both fiction and documentary. I want to continue to do both. But I’m also eager to experiment some day with combining the two and building a hybrid film. My childhood playgrounds were my father’s junkyards, or yonkes, one in Juarez, Mexico, the other in El Paso, Texas. I want to use his yonke as a metaphorical inspiration to mix and match used parts from my documentary and fiction work and recycle these elements into a new kind of storytelling approach. Erin and I have been talking about how we might do that in our next film 'Love & Monster Trucks'.
LatinoBuzz: How did you settle on these protagonists? Did you become close or keep a distance to allow them to be themselves?
Cristina Ibarra: As soon as I saw the colonial ball gowns that Linda Leyendecker Gutierrez designs, I was captivated. Then I was lucky, because I was able to meet many of the debutantes in Linda’s studio, when they came to get their gowns fitted. It was an incredible opportunity, because I was able to talk to these girls as they were undergoing this amazing transformation into young women. They were being taught how to present a very polished exterior. They were getting lessons in etiquette, how they speak to their elders, how to talk to the media. And here they are, meeting this strange filmmaker who is asking them to open up, and basically do the exact opposite of what they have just been taught. It was not easy. So I ended up following the two girls who opened up to me the most: Laura Garza Hovel, a legacy daughter, and Rosario Reyes, a guest representing Nuevo Laredo. And they naturally became the protagonists of the film. We just got lucky that they happened to come from two different positions in Society, because it helped create a richer and more complex coming-of-age portrait.
LatinoBuzz: Do you think perhaps, that maybe another filmmaker with a different sensibility or a different ideology might look on this Colonial Pageant and Ball in a much more negative light and shape the film in such a manner of how it may look to an outsider who is merely taking it at face value.
Cristina Ibarra: There have already been those kinds of news stories about the celebration, in which journalists portrayed the debutantes as frivolous, and questioned why their event was so expensive, considering all of the social and economic ills along the border. So the Society was very nervous about opening themselves up to criticism again. But I saw many other dimensions to the story that might not be so obvious to someone who just quickly parachutes in to cover the controversy and then leaves. My intention was always to examine this coming-of-age story in a much more intimate, complex and nuanced way. I absolutely agree that another filmmaker would bring another sensibility to the story. But it was important for me to stay true to my original intentions, even if it meant making a different kind of film than people expected.
LatinoBuzz: What type of Stories do you want to keep creating?
Cristina Ibarra: Complex, nuanced stories…hybrids. I love exploring the borderland contradictions of my childhood. I enjoy working in both fiction and documentary. I want to continue to do both. But I’m also eager to experiment some day with combining the two and building a hybrid film. My childhood playgrounds were my father’s junkyards, or 'yonkes', one in Juarez, Mexico, the other in El Paso, Texas. I want to use his yonke as a metaphorical inspiration to mix and match used parts from my documentary and fiction work and recycle these elements into a new kind of storytelling approach. Erin and I have been talking about how we might do that in our next film 'Love & Monster Trucks'.
LatinoBuzz: You have an impressive crew of notable filmmakers in their own right. How did you manage to get them to take this ride with you?
Cristina Ibarra: Sometimes the timing works out just right so that some of my best and most loved friends have been able to join me in between working on their own films. Natalia Almada, Eddie Martinez, Ray Santisteban, Craig Mardsen, Prashant Bhargava and, of course, Erin Ploss-Campoamor, all have their own stellar track records as filmmakers in their own right. Each relationship is different, but there is always love there. We each have to trust that we will bring our specific skills to the same vision. Filmmaking is a team effort for me. I love collaborating and working with friends who know what I am trying to do and love me for it.
LatinoBuzz: What is truth to you when it comes to writing?
Cristina Ibarra: Wow, this is a good question. Truth is an ideal and a principle to follow when writing. It doesn’t always look the same to every one person, but you know you have achieved it when your work connects with an audience. That spark of recognition and connection can be transformative.
LatinoBuzz: Who influences you aesthetically in both documentary and narrative?
Cristina Ibarra: All of my filmmaking friends influence my work in both forms. But there is one visionary artist, Lourdes Portillo, who has always been a beacon of light for me. She has such a wicked and brilliant sense of humor in all of her work. I also love that she is undeniably hybrid in her approach.
LatinoBuzz: I know you personally: As a Selena fan, did you hate Jennifer Lopez being cast in the movie? Did you hold that Selena lunch box of yours close to you and rock back and forth at night like a crumbling mess?
Cristina Ibarra: You are right, it is hard to please a Selena fan! I think I am in the minority here among my Chicana friends, but I actually really enjoy Jennifer Lopez as an actress, especially as Selena. She owned that role. I have some friends who worked on that film and we all love Jennifer Lopez from way back before she became J-Lo.
Watch Las Marthas for a limited time online and for local listings visit: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/las-marthas/film.html & dig: https://www.facebook.com/lasmarthasmovie for further updates!
Written by Juan Caceres . LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook .
- 2/19/2014
- by Juan Caceres
- Sydney's Buzz
This is a special edition of Short Starts, where we look at the Sundance shorts program class of 1993. 1992 and 1994 are very notable years in the history of the Sundance Film Festival. Mostly for features. In between, the 1993 event should be recognized for its short film program. It was only the second year of this section — though shorts were an increasingly significant part of the fest since 1988 — and it remains, two decades later, probably the most important (if not best) batch of short films to ever come together in Park City. Among the filmmakers receiving their first real notice in this program were Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, David Wain, Eugene Jarecki, Tamara Jenkins, Ted Demme, Stanley Tucci (as writer/producer), Gary Fleder, Alex Sichel, Mike Mitchell and animators Eric Darnell and Matt O’Callaghan. Their early works played alongside shorts by Michael Almereyda, Lourdes Portillo and two eventual Oscar nominees, Christian Taylor...
- 1/18/2014
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Early Entry Deadline: September 13, 2013
Entry Fees: Short Film ($15), Feature Film ($25)
Normal Entry Deadline: October 11, 2013
Entry Fees: Short Film ($25), Feature Film ($35)
Late Entry Deadline: November 8, 2013
Entry Fees: Short Film ($40), Feature Film ($60)
For entry form, click here.
or
Withoutabox logos are trademarks of Withoutabox, a Dba of IMDb.com Inc. or its affiliates.
Media Arts Center San Diego is now seeking films and videos for 20th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival (March 13-23, 2014)! Come celebrate our landmark 20th year with an even broader program of exhilarating new activities, special events, and initiatives.
The 21st Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival (Sdlff) is now accepting entries for the 2014 festival. Sdlff will take place March 13-23, 2014 at the Ultrastar Cinemas Mission Valley at Hazard Center located in beautiful San Diego, California.Submit early for discounted entry fees!
Last year's festival was attended by an audience of 20,500 actively-engaged film lovers, filmmakers, actors, programmers, distributors, industry representatives and journalists from around the world. The San Diego Latino Film Festival has used the unique geographical and cultural position of the San Diego Border Region to make the festival a premiere venue for the exhibition of international and U.S. Latino features, shorts and documentaries.
Never participated in Sdlff before? Become apart of San Diego's proud celebration of the best in Latino film.
The 2014 San Diego Latino Film Festival will include expanded opportunities for participating filmmakers and their films/videos to take the spotlight. The following is just a taste of what filmmakers and attendees can experience by participating at the upcoming San Diego Latino Film Festival:
* 155 feature and short films to be screened
* over 100 guest filmmakers and actors
* Sdlff Awards Competition
* "Country of Focus" showcase
* Workshops/Seminars with industry representatives and filmmakers (i.e. "Financing", "Distribution")
* Special 20th Anniversary Spotlight
* Celebrity Guest Curator
* "Tributes" to acclaimed filmmakers/actors
* Concerts @ the Fest
* Pre-Fest Launch Parties
* Opening, Centerpiece, and Closing Night Gala Celebrations
* Sdlff Awards Ceremony
* Free Student Outreach Screenings
* "Meet the Filmmaker" Dialogues
* Sdlff's Annual "Border Visions" Sidebar
For entry form, click here.
Stars!
Twenty-one years ago, the San Diego Latino Film Festival was originally established as a student film festival focusing on works by Latinos and/or about the Latino Experience. Since that time, the San Diego Latino Film Festival has developed into one of the biggest and most well respected Latino film festivals in the country.
Over 240,000 people have attended during the past seventeen years, and2,100 films/videos from across Latin America and the United States have been screened. Past festival guests have included such renowned individuals asLou Diamond Phillips, Gina Rodriguez, Jorge Salinas, Dulce Maria, Rafael Amaya, Ana Serradilla, Eduardo Verastegui, Barbara Mori, Alfonso Arau, Robert Young, Miguel Littin,Angelica Maria, Dayanara Torres, Demian Bichir, Kate del Castillo, America Ferrera, John Leguizamo, Bruno Baretto, Barbara Mori, Roselyn Sanchez, Alfonso Cuaron, Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Carlos Carrera, Rodrigo Prieto, Alex Lora, Lupe Ontiveros, Bruno Bichir, Carmen Salinas, Luis Mandoki, Danny Trejo, Adal Ramones, Tony Plana, Elpidia Carrillo, Humberto Solas, Dennis Leoni, Arturo Ripstein, Paul Rodriguez, Patssi Valdez, Luis Valdez, Gregory Nava, Edward James Olmos, Lourdes Portillo, Moctesuma Esparza, Ray Bradbury, Jacob Vargas, Patricia Velasquez, Fernando Sarinana, Lucia Murat, Nancy de los Santos, Vanessa Bauche, and hundreds of other emerging and established Latino filmmakers.
Selection Process (Important Information)
Sdlff 2014 is seeking innovative works that are 'by', 'about' or 'for' the Latino community, that have been completed between 2013-2014. Work previously exhibited in the San Diego / Tijuana Border Region - whether theatrically at another local festival or broadcast on television, - is not eligible to apply. A panel of distinguished curators from the San Diego and Tijuana community will select the films and videos to be screened during the "Official Selection" of the festival. All entries will be pre-screened for eligibility by curators, however, not all entries will be programmed.
Films must be submitted with English subtitles if the dialogue is in a language other than English. Films must have been completed after January 2013. Because we use entry fees to make grants to filmmakers, fee waivers will not be granted. Exceptions will only be made for non-profit organizations and international governmental organizations.
*DVD screeners and press kits will not be returned.
Upon acceptance to the festival, a press kit is required, to include the following:
Features: 100 word synopsis in English, 2 hi-res film stills (300dpi, Cmyk color), digital trailer
Shorts: 50 word synopsis in English, 1 hi-res film still (300dpi, Cmyk color)
Optional: digital trailer
For exhibition the following formats will be accepted:
Features: 35mm, HDCam, Blu-ray, Dcp. Features must be received by March 1, 2014
Shorts: must be received by February 1, 2014 in Digital format via Usb or email using a file sharing service like DropBox or HighTail (Previously YouSendIt). USBs will not be returned.
*Submitters will be notified by January 4, 2014. Judges’ decisions are final. Due to the large number of films we receive, feedback on individual films will not be provided. Films entered after the November 8 deadline will not be reviewed or returned.
An additional panel of distinguished filmmakers, film critics, and actors will sit on this year's Awards Jury. Awards are given for excellence in form and content. Films to be considered for competition will be determined by the Festival Curator.
For entry form, click here.
Entry Categories:
Narrative Feature (40 or more minutes)
Documentary Feature (40 or more minutes)
Short (under 40 mins)
Local Film
Youth Short (no entry fee)
Awards Categories:
Best Narrative Feature
Best Documentary Feature
Audience Award Narrative Feature
Audience Award Documentary Feature
Best Short Film
Best Local Film
Best Youth Film...
Entry Fees: Short Film ($15), Feature Film ($25)
Normal Entry Deadline: October 11, 2013
Entry Fees: Short Film ($25), Feature Film ($35)
Late Entry Deadline: November 8, 2013
Entry Fees: Short Film ($40), Feature Film ($60)
For entry form, click here.
or
Withoutabox logos are trademarks of Withoutabox, a Dba of IMDb.com Inc. or its affiliates.
Media Arts Center San Diego is now seeking films and videos for 20th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival (March 13-23, 2014)! Come celebrate our landmark 20th year with an even broader program of exhilarating new activities, special events, and initiatives.
The 21st Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival (Sdlff) is now accepting entries for the 2014 festival. Sdlff will take place March 13-23, 2014 at the Ultrastar Cinemas Mission Valley at Hazard Center located in beautiful San Diego, California.Submit early for discounted entry fees!
Last year's festival was attended by an audience of 20,500 actively-engaged film lovers, filmmakers, actors, programmers, distributors, industry representatives and journalists from around the world. The San Diego Latino Film Festival has used the unique geographical and cultural position of the San Diego Border Region to make the festival a premiere venue for the exhibition of international and U.S. Latino features, shorts and documentaries.
Never participated in Sdlff before? Become apart of San Diego's proud celebration of the best in Latino film.
The 2014 San Diego Latino Film Festival will include expanded opportunities for participating filmmakers and their films/videos to take the spotlight. The following is just a taste of what filmmakers and attendees can experience by participating at the upcoming San Diego Latino Film Festival:
* 155 feature and short films to be screened
* over 100 guest filmmakers and actors
* Sdlff Awards Competition
* "Country of Focus" showcase
* Workshops/Seminars with industry representatives and filmmakers (i.e. "Financing", "Distribution")
* Special 20th Anniversary Spotlight
* Celebrity Guest Curator
* "Tributes" to acclaimed filmmakers/actors
* Concerts @ the Fest
* Pre-Fest Launch Parties
* Opening, Centerpiece, and Closing Night Gala Celebrations
* Sdlff Awards Ceremony
* Free Student Outreach Screenings
* "Meet the Filmmaker" Dialogues
* Sdlff's Annual "Border Visions" Sidebar
For entry form, click here.
Stars!
Twenty-one years ago, the San Diego Latino Film Festival was originally established as a student film festival focusing on works by Latinos and/or about the Latino Experience. Since that time, the San Diego Latino Film Festival has developed into one of the biggest and most well respected Latino film festivals in the country.
Over 240,000 people have attended during the past seventeen years, and2,100 films/videos from across Latin America and the United States have been screened. Past festival guests have included such renowned individuals asLou Diamond Phillips, Gina Rodriguez, Jorge Salinas, Dulce Maria, Rafael Amaya, Ana Serradilla, Eduardo Verastegui, Barbara Mori, Alfonso Arau, Robert Young, Miguel Littin,Angelica Maria, Dayanara Torres, Demian Bichir, Kate del Castillo, America Ferrera, John Leguizamo, Bruno Baretto, Barbara Mori, Roselyn Sanchez, Alfonso Cuaron, Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Carlos Carrera, Rodrigo Prieto, Alex Lora, Lupe Ontiveros, Bruno Bichir, Carmen Salinas, Luis Mandoki, Danny Trejo, Adal Ramones, Tony Plana, Elpidia Carrillo, Humberto Solas, Dennis Leoni, Arturo Ripstein, Paul Rodriguez, Patssi Valdez, Luis Valdez, Gregory Nava, Edward James Olmos, Lourdes Portillo, Moctesuma Esparza, Ray Bradbury, Jacob Vargas, Patricia Velasquez, Fernando Sarinana, Lucia Murat, Nancy de los Santos, Vanessa Bauche, and hundreds of other emerging and established Latino filmmakers.
Selection Process (Important Information)
Sdlff 2014 is seeking innovative works that are 'by', 'about' or 'for' the Latino community, that have been completed between 2013-2014. Work previously exhibited in the San Diego / Tijuana Border Region - whether theatrically at another local festival or broadcast on television, - is not eligible to apply. A panel of distinguished curators from the San Diego and Tijuana community will select the films and videos to be screened during the "Official Selection" of the festival. All entries will be pre-screened for eligibility by curators, however, not all entries will be programmed.
Films must be submitted with English subtitles if the dialogue is in a language other than English. Films must have been completed after January 2013. Because we use entry fees to make grants to filmmakers, fee waivers will not be granted. Exceptions will only be made for non-profit organizations and international governmental organizations.
*DVD screeners and press kits will not be returned.
Upon acceptance to the festival, a press kit is required, to include the following:
Features: 100 word synopsis in English, 2 hi-res film stills (300dpi, Cmyk color), digital trailer
Shorts: 50 word synopsis in English, 1 hi-res film still (300dpi, Cmyk color)
Optional: digital trailer
For exhibition the following formats will be accepted:
Features: 35mm, HDCam, Blu-ray, Dcp. Features must be received by March 1, 2014
Shorts: must be received by February 1, 2014 in Digital format via Usb or email using a file sharing service like DropBox or HighTail (Previously YouSendIt). USBs will not be returned.
*Submitters will be notified by January 4, 2014. Judges’ decisions are final. Due to the large number of films we receive, feedback on individual films will not be provided. Films entered after the November 8 deadline will not be reviewed or returned.
An additional panel of distinguished filmmakers, film critics, and actors will sit on this year's Awards Jury. Awards are given for excellence in form and content. Films to be considered for competition will be determined by the Festival Curator.
For entry form, click here.
Entry Categories:
Narrative Feature (40 or more minutes)
Documentary Feature (40 or more minutes)
Short (under 40 mins)
Local Film
Youth Short (no entry fee)
Awards Categories:
Best Narrative Feature
Best Documentary Feature
Audience Award Narrative Feature
Audience Award Documentary Feature
Best Short Film
Best Local Film
Best Youth Film...
- 7/31/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
In June of 2012, Women Make Movies, The Robert Flaherty Film Seminar and the Museum of Modern Art collaborated on a film exhibition profiling the work of Lourdes Portillo. The exhibition, titled Lourdes Portillo: La Cineasta Inquisitiva, was very well received. In 2013 and 2014, the program is moving outside of NYC to venues throughout the country so that others have the opportunity to celebrate her work!
For over 30 years, Academy Award® nominee Lourdes Portillo’s award-winning films have explored Latin American, Mexican, and Chicano experiences and social justice issues. She has produced and directed over a dozen works in her signature hybrid style as a visual artist, investigative journalist, and activist. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico and raised in Los Angeles, Portillo studied at the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1970s and 1980s, where she was immersed in Chicano and avant-garde cinema, social issue documentary film, and feminist and Latin American politics.
The program showcases Portillo's work, including Senorita Extraviada and the Academy Award®-nominated Las Madres: The Mothers Ofplaza De Mayo, that range from the Latin American immigrant experience to examinations of tradition, history and memory, and the valiant struggles fought by many Latin American women today.
For over 30 years, Academy Award® nominee Lourdes Portillo’s award-winning films have explored Latin American, Mexican, and Chicano experiences and social justice issues. She has produced and directed over a dozen works in her signature hybrid style as a visual artist, investigative journalist, and activist. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico and raised in Los Angeles, Portillo studied at the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1970s and 1980s, where she was immersed in Chicano and avant-garde cinema, social issue documentary film, and feminist and Latin American politics.
The program showcases Portillo's work, including Senorita Extraviada and the Academy Award®-nominated Las Madres: The Mothers Ofplaza De Mayo, that range from the Latin American immigrant experience to examinations of tradition, history and memory, and the valiant struggles fought by many Latin American women today.
- 4/3/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Non-profit Chicken & Egg Pictures, which supports women doc filmmakers, announces $220,000 in grants going to 25 filmmakers, both emerging and established. To date, Chicken & Egg has given over $2.7 million to women filmmakers since its inception in 2005. Three of the films receiving support will premiere at Sundance. They are: Martha Shane and Lana Wilson's "After Tiller," Jehane Noujaim's "The Square" and Marta Cunningham's "Valentine Road." Chicken & Egg's Celebration grant honors trailblazing veterans who push creative boundaries. This year the grant goes to Lourdes Portillo, who also recently has a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. The grant recipients are detailed below: Grant categories include: I Believe In You grants, early development funding for production that enables filmmakers to “greenlight” their project; Liberty grants allow filmmakers to focus on the creative side of...
- 12/13/2012
- by Sophia Savage
- Thompson on Hollywood
Academy's Rise of Non-Fiction Film: Documentary's Golden Age, Embracing Distractions, Oprah Is Wrong
The "Rise of Non-Fiction Movies" panel of six documentary filmmakers at the Academy's Goldwyn Theater Wednesday recall the Golden Age of documentary film, embrace distractions, and explain what Oprah got wrong. Beth Hanna reports:Six Oscar short-listed documentary filmmakers assessed the current state of non-fiction filmmaking: R.J. Cutler (The September Issue) moderated the panel including Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story, My Kid Could Paint That), Davis Guggenheim (2006 Oscar-winner An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman), Ricki Stern (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, The Devil Came on Horseback), Molly Thompson (executive producer of Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer and Cave of Forgotten Dreams) and Lourdes Portillo (Señorita Extraviada, Las Madres - The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo). Oprah Winfrey was wrong. Cutler ...
- 10/27/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
"The Rise of Nonfiction Movies," the latest in the Academy's John Huston Lecture series, will take place on October 26 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Panelists will discuss how feature documentaries have discovered a newfound popularity and cutting edge ways to brings stories to life, amid rapidly evolving modes of media consumption and distribution. R.J. Cutler (The September Issue, The War Room) will moderate a panel with Amir Bar-Lev (director, The Tillman Story, My Kid Could Paint That), Davis Guggenheim (director, Waiting for 'Superman,' An Inconvenient Truth), Lourdes Portillo (producer, Las Madres–The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo; producer-director, Señorita Extraviada, ) (1985), Ricki Stern (director, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, The Devil Came on Horseback), Molly Thompson (exec producer, Client 9: The Rise and ...
- 10/11/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
Beverly Hills, CA . Contemporary documentarians will explore the rapidly-changing landscape and increasing profile of documentary filmmaking in “The Rise of Nonfiction Movies,” the latest installment of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. John Huston Lecture series, on Wednesday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening will be moderated by R.J. Cutler, producer-director of “The September Issue” (2009) and producer of “The War Room” (1993).
While information may be spreading faster and distribution choices are evolving at a dizzying pace, non-fiction filmmakers continue to find cutting-edge solutions and storytelling forms to prove that truth is often better than fiction. Despite the significant hurdles their producers and distributors often face, theatrical documentaries have gained a newfound popularity, in many cases because of their willingness to challenge the status quo and delve into the drama, humor and fascination of real life.
Panelists for the evening include Amir Bar-Lev,...
While information may be spreading faster and distribution choices are evolving at a dizzying pace, non-fiction filmmakers continue to find cutting-edge solutions and storytelling forms to prove that truth is often better than fiction. Despite the significant hurdles their producers and distributors often face, theatrical documentaries have gained a newfound popularity, in many cases because of their willingness to challenge the status quo and delve into the drama, humor and fascination of real life.
Panelists for the evening include Amir Bar-Lev,...
- 10/11/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Terry Zwigoff’s Crumb was our cover story in Spring, 1995. Consensus was that our cover, which was an illustration by the film’s subject, R. Crumb, didn’t really work. Newsstand distributors mistook the issue for a comics magazine, leading to retail confusion. Also in the book: Swimming with Sharks, Basketball Diaries, My Family, and Berenice Reynaud interviewing filmmaker Lourdes Portillo about her The Devil Never Sleeps. Liza Bear interviewed Atom Egoyan about his Exotica, who spoke of the film and his impending fatherhood: Filmmaker: You were becoming a father while Exotica was in production. What effect did being an expectant parent have on the orientation of the whole project? Egoyan: Everyone talks about the joy...
- 8/12/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Linda Blackaby, Programmer for the San Francisco Film Society, had the honor of bestowing upon Lourdes Portillo SFIFF52’s Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award, which honors the achievements of a filmmaker whose work is crafting documentaries, short films, animation or work for television. In as many years as I have been attending the San Francisco International, the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award has been given to such luminaries as Jan Svankmajer, Robert Frank, Johan van der Keuken, Faith Hubley, Kenneth Anger, Fernando Birri, Pat O’Neill, Jon Else, Adam Curtis, Guy Maddin, Heddy Honigmann and Errol Morris. Portillo—the “elegant insurgent” (as scribed by filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña in her commendable program essay)—rightfully joins that esteemed company.
- 4/29/2009
- by Michael Guillen
- Screen Anarchy
NEW YORK -- IFP/New York announced Tuesday the next round of feature documentaries it plans to fund through its Anthony Radziwill Documentary Fund. The films, which will receive $10,000 each, are: How Sweet the Sound: The Blind Boys of Alabama, directed by Leslie McCleave; Manhattan, Kansas, directed by Tara Wray; Suicide, directed by Jay Rosenblatt; The Universal Language, directed by Sam Green; and When the Tide Comes In, directed by Lourdes Portillo.
- 2/16/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The International Documentary Assn. has announced the winners of its 2002 Distinguished Documentary Achievement honors. The top prize is shared by Mai's America and Senorita Extraviada. Mai's America was produced and directed by Marlo Poras, presented by ITVS and P.O.V. and distributed by Women Make Movies. It follows a Vietnamese student who comes to America for her senior year in high school. Senorita Extraviada was produced and directed by Lourdes Portillo, distributed by Women Make Movies and presented by ITVS in association with Latino Public Broadcasting. It looks at the rape and murder of about 270 young women in Juarez, Mexico, since 1993.
- 10/30/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival
In her chilling new documentary, "Senorita Extraviada", filmmaker Lourdes Portillo (the Oscar-nominated "Las Madres: The Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo") investigates the disappearance and deaths of hundreds of women living or working in the burgeoning border city of Juarez, Mexico.
More disturbing than the statistics -- since 1993 more than 270 young women have been raped and killed with their bodies often dumped in the Juarez desert -- is the general shrug of indifference from local authorities regarding the killings.
As presented by Portillo, behind booming Juarez -- with its infusion of huge assembly plants or "maquiladoras," which provide their big-name corporate owners with cheap, plentiful labor -- lurks a cesspool of deep-seated corruption and complicity.
While Portillo raises several disturbing questions, especially about the response of the city's politicians and law enforcers, she's also unafraid to mix in some eloquent filmmaking techniques with the traditional reportage, which underscore the tragic depth of the situation.
A Special Jury Prize winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the documentary, scheduled to air later this month on PBS' "P.O.V.", is a haunting shocker.
In her chilling new documentary, "Senorita Extraviada", filmmaker Lourdes Portillo (the Oscar-nominated "Las Madres: The Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo") investigates the disappearance and deaths of hundreds of women living or working in the burgeoning border city of Juarez, Mexico.
More disturbing than the statistics -- since 1993 more than 270 young women have been raped and killed with their bodies often dumped in the Juarez desert -- is the general shrug of indifference from local authorities regarding the killings.
As presented by Portillo, behind booming Juarez -- with its infusion of huge assembly plants or "maquiladoras," which provide their big-name corporate owners with cheap, plentiful labor -- lurks a cesspool of deep-seated corruption and complicity.
While Portillo raises several disturbing questions, especially about the response of the city's politicians and law enforcers, she's also unafraid to mix in some eloquent filmmaking techniques with the traditional reportage, which underscore the tragic depth of the situation.
A Special Jury Prize winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the documentary, scheduled to air later this month on PBS' "P.O.V.", is a haunting shocker.
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