Buenos Aires and Madrid-based Bikini Films is presenting Carolina Daza’s Canary Islands mystery series, “Non Trubada” at Iberseries’ Co-Production and Financing Forum.
Set in Spain’s Canary Islands in the year 2025, “Non Trubada,” meaning Not Found in Latin, centers on the mythical island of San Borondón, which resurfaces after a period below the water.
After a mysterious woman is found on the island and a civil guard goes missing, investigations reveal a portal to an alternate universe, leading to global intrigue and a Spanish government cover-up. “A thrilling race begins to unravel the island’s mysteries, reshaping history in ways beyond imagination,” goes the synopsis.
“‘Non Trubada’s’ main particularity is that it’s based on an old (and very real) legend. Through the collision of the ordinary and the magical, this science fiction drama uses the “alternative universes” subgenre to shake the lives of its characters and delve into their psychology: their dreams,...
Set in Spain’s Canary Islands in the year 2025, “Non Trubada,” meaning Not Found in Latin, centers on the mythical island of San Borondón, which resurfaces after a period below the water.
After a mysterious woman is found on the island and a civil guard goes missing, investigations reveal a portal to an alternate universe, leading to global intrigue and a Spanish government cover-up. “A thrilling race begins to unravel the island’s mysteries, reshaping history in ways beyond imagination,” goes the synopsis.
“‘Non Trubada’s’ main particularity is that it’s based on an old (and very real) legend. Through the collision of the ordinary and the magical, this science fiction drama uses the “alternative universes” subgenre to shake the lives of its characters and delve into their psychology: their dreams,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Chile’s Francisca Alegria, whose debut feature “The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future” premiered at Sundance 2022, is launching a Latinx production company called Madre, with offices based in Chile, Uruguay and the U.S.
Together with her partners Fernanda Urrejola, Gabriela Rosés and Cristóbal Güell, Alegria said: “We firmly believe that stories have the ability to shape perspectives, challenge norms, and inspire action. With this in mind, we strive to select projects that not only entertain but also provoke thought and spark meaningful conversations.”
Recognizing that “representation matters,” the company intends to showcase Latinx culture “beyond surface-level diversity” stating: “We aim to portray the complexities, nuances, and rich tapestry of our community, shedding light on the multifaceted experiences and identities that often go unseen or are misunderstood.”
The new company is working on a fantasy feature set in Chile with Latinx producers Sergio Lira and Lynette Coll atLuz Films and “The Cow…...
Together with her partners Fernanda Urrejola, Gabriela Rosés and Cristóbal Güell, Alegria said: “We firmly believe that stories have the ability to shape perspectives, challenge norms, and inspire action. With this in mind, we strive to select projects that not only entertain but also provoke thought and spark meaningful conversations.”
Recognizing that “representation matters,” the company intends to showcase Latinx culture “beyond surface-level diversity” stating: “We aim to portray the complexities, nuances, and rich tapestry of our community, shedding light on the multifaceted experiences and identities that often go unseen or are misunderstood.”
The new company is working on a fantasy feature set in Chile with Latinx producers Sergio Lira and Lynette Coll atLuz Films and “The Cow…...
- 8/18/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Chile’s Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic) celebrates its 19th edition with a vibrant lineup packed with works from first-time Chilean filmmakers, with six debut features out of nine contenders in the fully in-person festival running August 20-27.
“It was tough. We had at least 30 submissions to the Chilean film selection, which we narrowed down to these nine,” said artistic director Carlos Nuñez, who added that three of them are world premieres.
The selection touts five documentaries – a reflection of the boom in non-fiction filmmaking in recent years. Among them is the poetic “A Brief Space in Time” (“Breve espacio de un tiempo”), which world premieres at Sanfic and turns on a Mapuche couple living off their ancestral Wallmapu land.
Pepe Rovano’s debut docu feature “Bastard, the Inheritance of a Genocide,” also world premiering in Sanfic, revolves around the son of a genocidal criminal who seeks to make reparations...
“It was tough. We had at least 30 submissions to the Chilean film selection, which we narrowed down to these nine,” said artistic director Carlos Nuñez, who added that three of them are world premieres.
The selection touts five documentaries – a reflection of the boom in non-fiction filmmaking in recent years. Among them is the poetic “A Brief Space in Time” (“Breve espacio de un tiempo”), which world premieres at Sanfic and turns on a Mapuche couple living off their ancestral Wallmapu land.
Pepe Rovano’s debut docu feature “Bastard, the Inheritance of a Genocide,” also world premiering in Sanfic, revolves around the son of a genocidal criminal who seeks to make reparations...
- 7/19/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been a banner year for Chile’s audiovisual industry. According to statistics compiled by promotional org CinemaChile, the country’s cinema amassed 45 international awards during the first half of 2022. Since then, more prizes have been rolling in. Among the latest is actress-director Manuela Martelli’s feature debut “1976” which won best debut film at the Jerusalem Film Festival aside from scooping three main plaudits at the 26th Lima Festival, including Best Film.
One question is how did Chilean cinema reach this point. It could be partly due to a new generation of women cineastes and platform backing, both driving the next stage of growth in Chilean cinema, its creative confidence and sense of artistic urgency.
The country produces an average of 30 films a year, of which at least five receive international acclaim any given year.
“Being a small market of merely 19 million inhabitants obliges us to go beyond...
One question is how did Chilean cinema reach this point. It could be partly due to a new generation of women cineastes and platform backing, both driving the next stage of growth in Chilean cinema, its creative confidence and sense of artistic urgency.
The country produces an average of 30 films a year, of which at least five receive international acclaim any given year.
“Being a small market of merely 19 million inhabitants obliges us to go beyond...
- 8/20/2022
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
It’s a new dawn for Chile’s audiovisual industry. When Gabriel Boric, Chile’s youngest (at 35) and most left-leaning president since Salvador Allende, was elected in December, his pledge to more than double the state’s contribution to the arts was greeted with great fanfare.
After all, Chile’s prodigious film output this past decade has been remarkable despite the scant public support it has received.
“If everything we have achieved in the last 10 years was done with so little money, imagine what we can achieve with an increase in audiovisual funding!” says Constanza Arena, executive director of Chile’s film promotion org, CinemaChile.
In recent years, Chile has triumphed at the Oscars, starting when Pablo Larraín’s “No” was nominated for international feature in 2012, and culminating in an Oscar win for Sebastian Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” in 2017. Last Academy Awards season, Maite Alberdi’s documentary “The Mole Agent...
After all, Chile’s prodigious film output this past decade has been remarkable despite the scant public support it has received.
“If everything we have achieved in the last 10 years was done with so little money, imagine what we can achieve with an increase in audiovisual funding!” says Constanza Arena, executive director of Chile’s film promotion org, CinemaChile.
In recent years, Chile has triumphed at the Oscars, starting when Pablo Larraín’s “No” was nominated for international feature in 2012, and culminating in an Oscar win for Sebastian Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” in 2017. Last Academy Awards season, Maite Alberdi’s documentary “The Mole Agent...
- 2/10/2022
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
The U.K. has submitted Chloë Fairweather’s “Dying to Divorce” as its official entry into the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category.
Filmed over five years, the feature-length documentary examines the issues of femicide and domestic violence in Turkey, where one in three women have experienced domestic violence, the highest proportion amid the world’s economically developed countries.
The feature follows lawyer Ipek Bozkurt and fellow activists whose mission is to put abusive men behind bars against the backdrop of a biased legal system and increasingly oppressive government. Survivors of domestic violence are also included in the film, such as Arzu, whose husband shot her seven times when she asked for a divorce, causing her to lose her legs and the use of her arms, and Kubra, who was attacked by her husband two days after giving birth, causing a brain haemorrhage which has impacted her ability to speak and walk.
Filmed over five years, the feature-length documentary examines the issues of femicide and domestic violence in Turkey, where one in three women have experienced domestic violence, the highest proportion amid the world’s economically developed countries.
The feature follows lawyer Ipek Bozkurt and fellow activists whose mission is to put abusive men behind bars against the backdrop of a biased legal system and increasingly oppressive government. Survivors of domestic violence are also included in the film, such as Arzu, whose husband shot her seven times when she asked for a divorce, causing her to lose her legs and the use of her arms, and Kubra, who was attacked by her husband two days after giving birth, causing a brain haemorrhage which has impacted her ability to speak and walk.
- 11/10/2021
- by Patrick Frater, Rebecca Davis, Naman Ramachandran, Nick Vivarelli, Leo Barraclough, K.J. Yossman, Jazz Tangcay, Martin Dale and Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
In a ceremony marked by laughter, tears, a lot of hugs and a celebration of a return to watching films al vivo, the 36th Guadalajara International Film Festival (Ficg) came to a close with the presentation of a long list of prizes to some of Latin America’s top filmmakers, many whose names are well-known in Mexico and across the region and many whose names will, no doubt, be well-known in the future.
In a contradiction fit for the movies, Rodrigo Guardiola and Gabriel Nuncio’s “The Comedian,” a film all about failure, took top honors as this year’s best Mexican film in competition with cinematographer Mario Secco scooping the best cinematography prize for his work on the film.
“It’s wonderful that this movie exists,” said Nuncio at the ceremony. “The truth is, I got to work with very talented people on this movie and I think that...
In a contradiction fit for the movies, Rodrigo Guardiola and Gabriel Nuncio’s “The Comedian,” a film all about failure, took top honors as this year’s best Mexican film in competition with cinematographer Mario Secco scooping the best cinematography prize for his work on the film.
“It’s wonderful that this movie exists,” said Nuncio at the ceremony. “The truth is, I got to work with very talented people on this movie and I think that...
- 10/10/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers” starring Penélope Cruz will open the the Miami Film Festival Gems on Nov. 4. “King Richard,” produced by and starring Will Smith, is the centerpiece screening. Denmark’s Oscar submission shortlist candidate “Flee” will close the event.
The eighth annual edition of is expanding to seven days from its traditional four-day format. The screenings will be held at Miami Date College’s Tower Theater Miami from Nov. 4 to Nov. 10.
Almodóvar was also recipient of the Miami Film Festival’s highest honor, Precious Gem – Master Award, from the 38th edition of the festival earlier this year. It was played in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where Cruz won for the prize for lead actress. “King Richard,” screening on Nov. 6, tells the true story of the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serna Williams. The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Closing the festival on Nov.
The eighth annual edition of is expanding to seven days from its traditional four-day format. The screenings will be held at Miami Date College’s Tower Theater Miami from Nov. 4 to Nov. 10.
Almodóvar was also recipient of the Miami Film Festival’s highest honor, Precious Gem – Master Award, from the 38th edition of the festival earlier this year. It was played in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where Cruz won for the prize for lead actress. “King Richard,” screening on Nov. 6, tells the true story of the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serna Williams. The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Closing the festival on Nov.
- 10/5/2021
- by Katie Song
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary Exposure from The Babushkas Of Chernobyl director Morris gets its world premiere.
The 57th Chicago International Film Festival has unveiled its international competitions line-up, a roster that includes Venice Silver Lion winner The Power Of The Dog, Tatiana Huezo’s Prayers For The Stolen, and the world premiere of Holly Morris’s documentary Exposure.
The programme includes the international premiere of Franziska Stünkel’s The Last Execution. The festival runs October 13-24 and is the longest running competitive festival in North America.
The International Feature Competition line-up comprises: Péter Kerekes’s 107 Mothers (Slo-Czech-Ukr); Mohammed Diab’s Amira (Egy-Jor-uae-Saud...
The 57th Chicago International Film Festival has unveiled its international competitions line-up, a roster that includes Venice Silver Lion winner The Power Of The Dog, Tatiana Huezo’s Prayers For The Stolen, and the world premiere of Holly Morris’s documentary Exposure.
The programme includes the international premiere of Franziska Stünkel’s The Last Execution. The festival runs October 13-24 and is the longest running competitive festival in North America.
The International Feature Competition line-up comprises: Péter Kerekes’s 107 Mothers (Slo-Czech-Ukr); Mohammed Diab’s Amira (Egy-Jor-uae-Saud...
- 9/16/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Two boys are sitting on a hill at the edge of a forest, under a massive stone wall towering above them. Dreaming, laughing, joking, like any other teenagers. The menacing sound of a doorbell foreshadows their happiness, and we begin to understand: the protagonists of the film are living between the walls of a juvenile detention center. This is “Mis hermanos sueñan despiertos” (My Brothers Dream Awake), the new film of the Mapuche Chilean filmmaker Claudia Huaiquimilla, which premiered in the Cineasti del Presente competition at the 74th Locarno Film Festival.
Huaiquimilla’s second feature follows the boys Ángel and Franco (non-professional actors Iván Cáceres and César Herrera), two brothers who have been locked up for a year in a National Service for Minors (Sename) center, awaiting trial. Despite the hostile conditions of the place, they support each other and create bonds with the other boys and girls, share the routine of confinement,...
Huaiquimilla’s second feature follows the boys Ángel and Franco (non-professional actors Iván Cáceres and César Herrera), two brothers who have been locked up for a year in a National Service for Minors (Sename) center, awaiting trial. Despite the hostile conditions of the place, they support each other and create bonds with the other boys and girls, share the routine of confinement,...
- 8/11/2021
- by Anna Babos and Vanja Munjin
- Variety Film + TV
Fast emerging as a go-to company for high-profile Chilean and women director titles, Buenos Aires boutique agency Meikincine has swooped on “My Brothers Dream Awake,” ahead of its world premiere at Switzerland’s Locarno Festival on Saturday.
Competing in Cineasti del Presente, a section reserved for emerging filmmakers from around the world, “My Brothers Dream Awake” marks the second feature outing for young Chilean Mapuche cineaste Claudia Huaiquimilla, who burst onto the scene with 2016’s “Bad Influence,” establishing herself as a voice of abused minorities.
Written by Huaiquimilla and Pablo Greene, the film shares this sensibility. Dedicated – at least in a rough cut seen at Ventana Sur – to the 1,313 inmates who have died at youth detention centers in Chile, the film earliest stretches turn on Angel and younger brother Franco, incarcerated in a youth penitentiary for a year, pending trial. They now have friends, Angel even a puppy love attachment to a girl inmate,...
Competing in Cineasti del Presente, a section reserved for emerging filmmakers from around the world, “My Brothers Dream Awake” marks the second feature outing for young Chilean Mapuche cineaste Claudia Huaiquimilla, who burst onto the scene with 2016’s “Bad Influence,” establishing herself as a voice of abused minorities.
Written by Huaiquimilla and Pablo Greene, the film shares this sensibility. Dedicated – at least in a rough cut seen at Ventana Sur – to the 1,313 inmates who have died at youth detention centers in Chile, the film earliest stretches turn on Angel and younger brother Franco, incarcerated in a youth penitentiary for a year, pending trial. They now have friends, Angel even a puppy love attachment to a girl inmate,...
- 8/6/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
After Blue (Paradis sale)The lineup for the 2021 festival has been revealed, including new films by Bertrand Mandico, Axelle Ropert, Abel Ferrara and others, alongside retrospectives and tributes, and much more.Piazza GRANDEBeckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino)Free Guy (Shawn Levy)Heat (Michael Mann)Hinterland (Stefan Ruzowitzky)Ida Red (John Swab)Monte Verità (Stefan Jäger)National Lampoon's Animal House (John Landis)Respect (Liesl Tommy)Rose (Aurélie Saada)Sinkhole (Kim Ji-hoon)The Alleys (Bassel Ghandour)The Terminator (James Cameron)Vortex (Gaspar Noé)Yaya e Lennie — The Walking Liberty (Alessandro Rak)Tomorrow My Love (Gitanjali Rao)Lynx (Laurent Geslin)Zeros and OnesCONCORSO INTERNAZIONALEAfter Blue (Paradis sale) (Bertrand Mandico)Al Naher (The River) (Ghassan Salhab)Espíritu sagrado (The Sacred Spirit) (Chema García Ibarra)Gerda (Natalya Kudryashova)I giganti (The Giants) (Bonifacio Angius)Jiao ma teng hui (A New Old Play) (Jiongjiong Qiu)Juju StoriesLa Place d'une autre (Secret Name) (Aurélia Georges)Leynilögga (Cop Secret...
- 7/1/2021
- MUBI
Abel Ferrara’s contemporary thriller ’Zeros And Ones’ stars Ethan Hawke.
Abel Ferrara’s contemporary thriller Zeros And Ones and Srdjan Dragojević’s dark comedy Heavens Above are among 17 films from 12 countries having their world premiere in the international competition at the 74th Locarno Film Festival (August 4-14) under the new artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro.
Scroll down for full line-up
In his first collaboration with Ferrara, Zeros And Ones sees Ethan Hawke plays an American soldier stationed in Rome who pursues an unknown enemy threatening the entire world after the Vatican gets blown up.
Ahead of shooting in Italy...
Abel Ferrara’s contemporary thriller Zeros And Ones and Srdjan Dragojević’s dark comedy Heavens Above are among 17 films from 12 countries having their world premiere in the international competition at the 74th Locarno Film Festival (August 4-14) under the new artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro.
Scroll down for full line-up
In his first collaboration with Ferrara, Zeros And Ones sees Ethan Hawke plays an American soldier stationed in Rome who pursues an unknown enemy threatening the entire world after the Vatican gets blown up.
Ahead of shooting in Italy...
- 7/1/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
A year after featuring as the European Film Market’s focus country, Chile returns with a delegate of more than 20 producers who will participate in a virtual stand, backed by ProChile and the Ministry of Culture.
Bastard. The Inheritance of a Genocide
(Pepe Rovano)
In this Chilean-Italian co-production between Totoral Films and Media Lab, Rovano faces down inherited demons while researching his biological father, a war criminal convicted of crimes against humanity.
Borderline
(Oscar Godoy)
A young prosecutor arrives in the unfamiliar territory of Chile’s highlands when called to investigate crimes committed by two border police officers. Valparaiso’s Suroeste Films produces.
El Cuento del Tío
(Ignacio Guggiari)
Assembled for Christmas, a family fakes the kidnapping of their recently deceased uncle to ensure his estate is paid to them as ransom, rather than going to his wife. Sold by Feel Content.
Feverish
(Elisa Eliash)
Produced by Chile’s La...
Bastard. The Inheritance of a Genocide
(Pepe Rovano)
In this Chilean-Italian co-production between Totoral Films and Media Lab, Rovano faces down inherited demons while researching his biological father, a war criminal convicted of crimes against humanity.
Borderline
(Oscar Godoy)
A young prosecutor arrives in the unfamiliar territory of Chile’s highlands when called to investigate crimes committed by two border police officers. Valparaiso’s Suroeste Films produces.
El Cuento del Tío
(Ignacio Guggiari)
Assembled for Christmas, a family fakes the kidnapping of their recently deceased uncle to ensure his estate is paid to them as ransom, rather than going to his wife. Sold by Feel Content.
Feverish
(Elisa Eliash)
Produced by Chile’s La...
- 3/1/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Spearheaded by Cannes Film Market and Argentina’s Incaa agency, Ventana Sur, Latin America’s biggest movie market, will put through an out-of-the-box reset of market dynamics. Running Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, it will also register the energetic and exciting build up of women on the Latin American film scene, as directors, producers and market playmakers.
Following is a down-to-the-wire appreciation of 2020’s edition:
A Multi-City Movie Market Revolution?
Movie markets traditionally take place in one physical setting. No more. In an unprecedented move, the brainchild of Cannes Film Market head Jerome Paillard, Ventana Sur looks set for a game changing five city on-site roll-out to run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 in Madrid, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile and Colombia’s Bogotá. In some ways, Ventana Sur was unlucky. France’s lockdown lift does not kick in until Dec. 15, nixing planned screenings in Paris, the world’s art film capital.
Following is a down-to-the-wire appreciation of 2020’s edition:
A Multi-City Movie Market Revolution?
Movie markets traditionally take place in one physical setting. No more. In an unprecedented move, the brainchild of Cannes Film Market head Jerome Paillard, Ventana Sur looks set for a game changing five city on-site roll-out to run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 in Madrid, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile and Colombia’s Bogotá. In some ways, Ventana Sur was unlucky. France’s lockdown lift does not kick in until Dec. 15, nixing planned screenings in Paris, the world’s art film capital.
- 11/30/2020
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Event to run online from November 30-December 4.
Ventana Sur 2020 Online has unveiled the selections for the annual post-production showcases Primer Corte and Copia Final sections.
The Latin American market runs from November 30-December 4 and typically takes place in Buenos Aires. This year’s event takes place online.
Argentina remains under lockdown and recently crossed one million reported cases of Covid-19.
The Primer Corte section progress includes:
A felicidade das coisas (Brazil)
Dir: Thais Fujinaga
Pdr: Thiago Macêdo Correia
Álbum para la juventud (Argentina)
Dir: Malena Solarz
Prd: Cecilia Pisano
Fogaréu (Brazil / France)
Dir: Flávia Neves
Pdr: Vania Catani
Trigal (Mexico...
Ventana Sur 2020 Online has unveiled the selections for the annual post-production showcases Primer Corte and Copia Final sections.
The Latin American market runs from November 30-December 4 and typically takes place in Buenos Aires. This year’s event takes place online.
Argentina remains under lockdown and recently crossed one million reported cases of Covid-19.
The Primer Corte section progress includes:
A felicidade das coisas (Brazil)
Dir: Thais Fujinaga
Pdr: Thiago Macêdo Correia
Álbum para la juventud (Argentina)
Dir: Malena Solarz
Prd: Cecilia Pisano
Fogaréu (Brazil / France)
Dir: Flávia Neves
Pdr: Vania Catani
Trigal (Mexico...
- 11/2/2020
- ScreenDaily
Claudia Huaiquimilla’s “My Brothers Dream Awake,” Thais Fujinaga’s “The Joy of Things” and Flavia Neves’ “Fogareu” will screen in Primer Corte or Copia Final, the two art film pix-in-post showcases at this year’s Ventana Sur, the biggest movie market in Latin America.
The Cannes Festival and Film Market’s biggest initiative outside France, Ventana Sur will run from Nov.30 to Dec. 4.
“My Brothers Dream Awake” weighs in as another call to resistance from Mapuche writer-director Huaiquimilla whose debut, “Bad Influence” (“Mala Junta”) won the audience award at the Toulouse Latin American Cinema Festival.
“The Joy of Things” marks the feature debut of Brazil’s Fujinaga, a co-writer on Netflix’s “Omniscient,” from Boutique Filmes, as well as on a new season of HBO Latin America’s “Joint Venture,” co-directed by “City of God’s” Fernando Meirelles.
Neves’ debut, “Fogaréu” forms part of a burgeoning line in new...
The Cannes Festival and Film Market’s biggest initiative outside France, Ventana Sur will run from Nov.30 to Dec. 4.
“My Brothers Dream Awake” weighs in as another call to resistance from Mapuche writer-director Huaiquimilla whose debut, “Bad Influence” (“Mala Junta”) won the audience award at the Toulouse Latin American Cinema Festival.
“The Joy of Things” marks the feature debut of Brazil’s Fujinaga, a co-writer on Netflix’s “Omniscient,” from Boutique Filmes, as well as on a new season of HBO Latin America’s “Joint Venture,” co-directed by “City of God’s” Fernando Meirelles.
Neves’ debut, “Fogaréu” forms part of a burgeoning line in new...
- 10/31/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Luke Lorentzen’s feature documentary premiered at Sundance.
Luke Lorentzen’s feature documentary Midnight Family, about a struggling, family-run ambulance service in Mexico City, won the best Mexican film award, worth $25,000 as the Guadalajara International Film Festival came to a close. The film made its world premiere at Sundance in January.
Jaime Rosales’ Petra won the $12,500 award for best Iberoamerican film, while Ricardo Calil’s Brazilian feature Cinema Morocco won the best Iberomerican documentary prize, worth $7,500. The $5,000 audience award went to Acelo Ruiz’s Mexican feature Oblatos.
The festival’s new competitive international animation section awarded its main prize to...
Luke Lorentzen’s feature documentary Midnight Family, about a struggling, family-run ambulance service in Mexico City, won the best Mexican film award, worth $25,000 as the Guadalajara International Film Festival came to a close. The film made its world premiere at Sundance in January.
Jaime Rosales’ Petra won the $12,500 award for best Iberoamerican film, while Ricardo Calil’s Brazilian feature Cinema Morocco won the best Iberomerican documentary prize, worth $7,500. The $5,000 audience award went to Acelo Ruiz’s Mexican feature Oblatos.
The festival’s new competitive international animation section awarded its main prize to...
- 3/19/2019
- by Alexis Grivas
- ScreenDaily
Luke Lorentzen’s feature documentary premiered at Sundance.
Luke Lorentzen’s feature documentary Midnight Family, about a struggling, family-run ambulance service in Mexico City, won the best Mexican film award, worth $25,000 as the Guadalajara International Film Festival came to a close. The film made its world premiere at Sundance in January.
Jaime Rosales’ Petra won the $12,500 award for best Iberoamerican film, while Ricardo Calil’s Brazilian feature Cinema Morocco won the best Iberomerican documentary prize, worth $7,500. The $5,000 audience award went to Acelo Ruiz’s Mexican feature Oblatos.
The festival’s new competitive international animation section awarded its main prize to...
Luke Lorentzen’s feature documentary Midnight Family, about a struggling, family-run ambulance service in Mexico City, won the best Mexican film award, worth $25,000 as the Guadalajara International Film Festival came to a close. The film made its world premiere at Sundance in January.
Jaime Rosales’ Petra won the $12,500 award for best Iberoamerican film, while Ricardo Calil’s Brazilian feature Cinema Morocco won the best Iberomerican documentary prize, worth $7,500. The $5,000 audience award went to Acelo Ruiz’s Mexican feature Oblatos.
The festival’s new competitive international animation section awarded its main prize to...
- 3/19/2019
- by Alexis Grivas
- ScreenDaily
Guadalajara, Mexico — The 15th Guadalajara Festival co-production Meeting for feature film projects are taking place this week in the Jalisco capital, running March 8-14.
The 2019 Meeting sees the biggest presence in terms of gender diversity in the competition’s history. Among directors and producers participating this year, more than 45% are women.
“That wasn’t an intentional decision in filling out the slate,” according to Encuentro representative Samantha Burciaga. However, it is a noteworthy feature of this year’s edition.”
Burciaga also described another trend among the selected projects: “It’s amazing how the filmmakers convey the pain of their people, and the concerns of their communities. The recurring themes of this selection show us nomadic families, the search for the truth in a journey and the breaking of the taboos and comfort zones.”
To qualify for participation, fiction and documentary projects in development from Ibero-American territories must have a minimum...
The 2019 Meeting sees the biggest presence in terms of gender diversity in the competition’s history. Among directors and producers participating this year, more than 45% are women.
“That wasn’t an intentional decision in filling out the slate,” according to Encuentro representative Samantha Burciaga. However, it is a noteworthy feature of this year’s edition.”
Burciaga also described another trend among the selected projects: “It’s amazing how the filmmakers convey the pain of their people, and the concerns of their communities. The recurring themes of this selection show us nomadic families, the search for the truth in a journey and the breaking of the taboos and comfort zones.”
To qualify for participation, fiction and documentary projects in development from Ibero-American territories must have a minimum...
- 3/10/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Santiago De Chile – When Dominga Sotomayor won an unprecedented best director prize at Switzerland’s Locarno Festival for her coming-of-age drama “Too Late to Die Young,” a big cheer resounded throughout the Chilean film industry.
As the first female director to receive Locarno’s Leopard for Best Direction, Sotomayor represents a growing surge of female talent – both creative and executive – behind the camera in Chile.
Constanza Arena, executive director of Chilean audiovisual promotion org CinemaChile, noted: “I remember that eight years ago, as the head of CinemaChile, the only producers I’d meet with were male.” “Nowadays, I’ve seen a greater parity, especially among the younger professionals aged between 20 and 35 years,” she added.
In CinemaChile’s film catalogue, Arena noted that 20 titles were directed by women, of which eight were fiction and 12 documentary, listing other female directors like Marcela Said, Claudia Huaiquimilla, Marialy Rivas and Maite Alberdi “who have...
As the first female director to receive Locarno’s Leopard for Best Direction, Sotomayor represents a growing surge of female talent – both creative and executive – behind the camera in Chile.
Constanza Arena, executive director of Chilean audiovisual promotion org CinemaChile, noted: “I remember that eight years ago, as the head of CinemaChile, the only producers I’d meet with were male.” “Nowadays, I’ve seen a greater parity, especially among the younger professionals aged between 20 and 35 years,” she added.
In CinemaChile’s film catalogue, Arena noted that 20 titles were directed by women, of which eight were fiction and 12 documentary, listing other female directors like Marcela Said, Claudia Huaiquimilla, Marialy Rivas and Maite Alberdi “who have...
- 8/22/2018
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Santiago International Film Festival (August 20–27, 2017), announced its awards at last night’s closing ceremony.“La familia” by Gustavo Rondón Córdova (Venezuela),
Among the awarded films were: La familia by Gustavo Rondón Córdova (Venezuela), as the Best Film in the International Competition; Sapo by Juan Pablo Ternicier (Chile) in the Chilean Cinema Competition and Hombre eléctrico by Álvaro Muñoz (Chile) in the Local Talent Short Film Competition, which were chosen as the best productions in their categories by a jury composed of representatives of the Chilean and international film industry.
The Audience Award was presented to a Belgian filmmaker Andrés Lübbert for his documentary The Color of the Chameleon/ El Color Del Camaleon a psychological portrait of his father’s unfinished past during the Pinochet regime, that participated in the Chilean Cinema Competition.
2017 Sanfic Industry
Sanfic Industry section, which took place between August 21 and 25, generated an important space for development and...
Among the awarded films were: La familia by Gustavo Rondón Córdova (Venezuela), as the Best Film in the International Competition; Sapo by Juan Pablo Ternicier (Chile) in the Chilean Cinema Competition and Hombre eléctrico by Álvaro Muñoz (Chile) in the Local Talent Short Film Competition, which were chosen as the best productions in their categories by a jury composed of representatives of the Chilean and international film industry.
The Audience Award was presented to a Belgian filmmaker Andrés Lübbert for his documentary The Color of the Chameleon/ El Color Del Camaleon a psychological portrait of his father’s unfinished past during the Pinochet regime, that participated in the Chilean Cinema Competition.
2017 Sanfic Industry
Sanfic Industry section, which took place between August 21 and 25, generated an important space for development and...
- 8/27/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
World premieres include Fanny Ardant’s Stalin’s Couch [pictured], Elisabeth E. Schuch’s The Book Of Birdie, Erlingur Ottar Thoroddsen’s Rift, and Manuel Concha’s Blind Alley.
Goteborg Film Festival has announced its programme of nearly 450 films from 84 countries to screen during the festival’s 40th anniversary edition (Jan 27-Feb 6).
As reported earlier, the festival will kick off with Dome Karukoski’s Tom Of Finland.
The eight films (all world premieres) competing for the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film – with a prize of $110,500 (Sek 1m) — are as follows:
Tom Of Finland by Dome Karukoski (Finland/Sweden/Denmark/Germany/Us)Beyond Dreams by Rojda Sekersöz (Sweden)The Ex-wife by Katja Wik (Sweden)Heartstone by Gudmundur A. Gudmundsson (Iceland/Denmark)Sámi Blood by Amanda Kernell (Sweden/Denmark/Norway)Little Wing bySelma Vilhunen (Finland)The Man by Charlotte Sieling (Denmark)Handle With Care by Arild Andresen (Norway)
The Nordic documentary competition includes:
Citizen Schein by Maud Nycander, [link...
Goteborg Film Festival has announced its programme of nearly 450 films from 84 countries to screen during the festival’s 40th anniversary edition (Jan 27-Feb 6).
As reported earlier, the festival will kick off with Dome Karukoski’s Tom Of Finland.
The eight films (all world premieres) competing for the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film – with a prize of $110,500 (Sek 1m) — are as follows:
Tom Of Finland by Dome Karukoski (Finland/Sweden/Denmark/Germany/Us)Beyond Dreams by Rojda Sekersöz (Sweden)The Ex-wife by Katja Wik (Sweden)Heartstone by Gudmundur A. Gudmundsson (Iceland/Denmark)Sámi Blood by Amanda Kernell (Sweden/Denmark/Norway)Little Wing bySelma Vilhunen (Finland)The Man by Charlotte Sieling (Denmark)Handle With Care by Arild Andresen (Norway)
The Nordic documentary competition includes:
Citizen Schein by Maud Nycander, [link...
- 1/11/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
The world premiere of Ritesh Batra’s adaptation of the Julian Barnes novel starring Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling will kick off proceedings at the 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 5.
The Sense Of An Ending (pictured) is Batra’s second film after The Lunchbox and will open through CBS films on March 10.
Taylor Hackford’s The Comedian starring Robert De Niro will close the event (Spc opens the film on January 13) as festival brass unveiled the full roster of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions, Modern Masters, True Stories and After Dark.
World premieres include Colin Hanks’s Eagles Of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) (Us-France); Andrew Wagner’s Breakable You (Us) starring Holly Hunter, Tony Shalhoub and Alfred Molina; Catalina Aguilar Mastretta’s Everybody Loves Somebody (Mexico); and Simon Aboud’s The Beautiful Fantastic (UK-us).
Rounding out the world premieres are: The Concessionaires Must Die! (Us) by [link...
The Sense Of An Ending (pictured) is Batra’s second film after The Lunchbox and will open through CBS films on March 10.
Taylor Hackford’s The Comedian starring Robert De Niro will close the event (Spc opens the film on January 13) as festival brass unveiled the full roster of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions, Modern Masters, True Stories and After Dark.
World premieres include Colin Hanks’s Eagles Of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) (Us-France); Andrew Wagner’s Breakable You (Us) starring Holly Hunter, Tony Shalhoub and Alfred Molina; Catalina Aguilar Mastretta’s Everybody Loves Somebody (Mexico); and Simon Aboud’s The Beautiful Fantastic (UK-us).
Rounding out the world premieres are: The Concessionaires Must Die! (Us) by [link...
- 12/15/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The summertime, downtown set, glitzy yet ‘cashz’ La Film Festival, presented by Film Independent has announced their film lineup today. The verdict on the Latino rep? Compared to the last three festivals I’ve examined this year, Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca, La Film Festival comes through with arguably the most valuable representation; there are three films representing American Latino in the narrative competition and one in documentary competition.
The lineup consists of a handful of new American indies mixed in with many favorited international films from last year’s Toronto, Venice, London and Berlin film festivals, and seven Sundance films screening out of competition including Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, which won both the Audience and Jury Awards in Park City. Starring Boricua Melonie Diaz as Oakland police murder victim Oscar Grant’s girlfriend, Fruitvale will be given the gala treatment (like last year’s Sundance awarded, Black film, Middle of Nowhere), alongside the direct-from-Cannes, Only God Forgives, the reteaming of director Nicolas Winding Refyn and GQ sensitive alpha hero Ryan Gosling (Drive).
But I’m not here to comb and recycle through the ‘high profile’ films that come armed with buzz. As always I’m spotlighting U.S. films in which the writer/director/cast are native born whose ethnic/cultural roots originates from Mexico, Central or South America. In addition, films by filmmakers who may not be Latino, but whose narratives explore and relate to the relevant bi-cultural experience/subjects. And finally I also like to mention the Latin films (international).
While I’m happy to acknowledge and give it up for La, it’s still painful for this blogger/programmer to know there are so many more fresh American Latino films out there ready to be discovered. Game-changing films offering such fresh and original perspectives, which have by and large been dismissed by most of the major Us Film Festivals. With the futures of the two highest profile Latino niche festivals in limbo, The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and HBO’s NY International Latino Film Festival, it’s especially crushing to know that these films might also be robbed of their only community platform. It’s cause for alarm and high time to address this void. But wait, lets save that for another post. For now, lets get back to the Latino stories coming at you at this year’s La Film Festival. For official synopsis and pics check the Film Guide here.
Narrative Competition – Notably 9 of the 12 are Us, hopefully giving the scrappy indies a better chance to compete and win the cash prize against the healthy subsidized production value of foreign movies. Five are first features and only one female narrative director.
40 Years From Yesterday written and directed by Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian
This is the first feature from the writing/directing team who got a lot of attention with their 2010 short Charlie and The Rabbit. Ojeda-Beck (whose parents are from Peru) and Machoian who is from the heavily Mexican populated King City, met at Cal State, Monterey Bay where they forged a tight artistic collaboration. Forty Years from Yesterday is described as Machoian’s imagination of how his mother’s death would unfold for his own family, capturing the loss his siblings would feel in losing a parent and his father’s pain in facing the death of his partner.
The duo have their way with documentary, fiction and experimental form, instilling an aura of temporality in an anchored realism. This unique evocative alchemy is found in Machoian’s doc short, Movies Made from Home #16, a 4 minute existential moment which screened at Sundance this year. The cosmic life themes they tend to broach are treated in such a down to earth and sensitive way, which is further made relatable by the natural non-pro performances they employ. Robert’s father, Bill Graham has starred in a few of his films and in Forty Years from Yesterday, both Robert’s parents and siblings play themselves. See this endearing behind the scenes clip of the making of the film:
The House That Jack Built written by Joseph B. Vasquez and directed by Henry Barrial
Written by the late Joseph B. Vasquez (d 1995) whose 1991 movie, Hanging with the Homeboys, was a groundbreaking urban comedy when it came out, now very much a classic albeit sadly forgotten gem. The only one of Vasquez’s five movies that was distributed (by New Line), Hanging with the Homeboys was shot in the South Bronx where he was born and raised. About four homeys, two Puerto Rican (one of them played by a baby-faced Johnny Leguizamo) and two Black, the movie, available on dvd from Amazon (or, I found it in 6 parts on Youtube) screened at the Sundance Film Festival at its indie darling peak. Its good-natured humor is derived from neighborhood beefs, trying to rap to ladies, and the racial tensions of the day delivered with unapologetic commentary. An overall glimpse into a day in the barrio slice life, the film is clearly an early influence for the Ice Cube Friday series.
The House that Jack Built similarly has that raw and authentic Nuyorican energy but pushed into a rollercoaster of a dysfunctional family drama with warmth, affection and intensity. The director, born from Cuban parents and raised in Washington Heights, Henry Barrial, is also an alumni of Sundance (Somebody 2001). The film stars E.J. Bonilla as the hot-blooded self-imposed king of his family who buys an apartment building to keep his family close, only to start dictating everybody’s life since he’s letting them live rent free. Bonilla is a fiercely charismatic up and coming actor who was last at the festival with the film Mamitas in 2011 and was also in Don’t Let Me Drown (Sundance 2010). An uproarious and high-edged Harlem set chamber piece, the heavy conflict of gravity that besets Jack is from being pulled in opposite directions by his street values on one side and deeply rooted family values on the other. See the trailer on their Kickstarter page.
My Sister’S Quinceanera written and directed by Aaron Douglas Johnston
This was reportedly one of the most talked about American films in the experimental leaning Rotterdam Film Festival this year. The filmmaker who was born and raised in Iowa, Aaron Douglas Johnston, has an impressive academic pedigree having attended world prestigious universities, Oxford and Yale. His first feature, the small town, gay life set, Bumblefuck, USA screened at Outfest 2011. In My Sister’s Quinceanera, he uses the local Mexican-American Iowa residents as his non-pro actors with whom he collaborated with on the story. It’s a gentle and earnest portrayal of a young man named Silas who is convinced he has to leave town to become independent and start his life but must first see his sister’s Quinceanera take place.
Workers written and directed by Jose Luis Valle (Mexico/Germany) - A quietly simmering artful drama about a retiring factory worker and housemaid in Tijuana circumstantially reunited and trying to compensate for their spent lives. An accomplished and arresting feature debut, the film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section and won Best Mexican Film at the Guadalajara film Festival. A full investment into the contemplative tone and rhythm yields an appreciation for the film’s visceral and dry humor undertones. Born in El Salvador, Jose Luis Valle previously made a documentary short called Milagro del Papa.
Documentary Competition: 7 out 10 are Us, 4 first features, six female directors (incl. 2 co-directors)
Tapia directed by Eddie Alcazar
The 5 time world boxing champion and emotionally damaged blue-eyed Chicano from the 505, Johnny Lee Tapia, survived a series of near deaths before his turbulent life ended at the young age of 45 last year. The sheer volume of tragedy and coping afflictions Johnny endured in his Vida Loca, as he openly shares in his autobiography, includes the scarring experience of seeing his mother’s kidnapping and violent murder at the tender age of eight. Tapia funneled his heartbreaking life to fuel a successful professional boxing career. Tapia’s confrontation to such tumult is so impressive, it’s no wonder that former EA video game designer Eddie Alcazar decided to both dramatize and document his harrowing real life story. Originally announced as a biopic, subsequently the documentary was born of it, in which Eddie captures final interviews and archival footage with the haunted boxer. Remarkably, watching the clip below, a slight zeal and spirit, however low key and worn, emanates from the towering rumble of his battered lifetime – unquestionably his refusal to be knocked out. This is actually the first feature out of the gate for filmmaker Eddie Alcazar whose radical sci-fi film 0000 has been curiously tracked as in production for a couple years now. The ambitious looking trailer only piqued mad interest when it was released last year.
Purgatorio directed by Rodrigo Reyes (Mexico) - An elegiac and cinematically shot poem filled with emotional narration and iconography, this border film is told by way of a tapestry of stories that culminates into a strong cry for human compassion. Imagining the border as if purgatory, where migrants must suffer in order to get through to the other side, the dangerous plight in crossing the Us/Mexico border is viewed outside political context but rather a metaphysical prism. This is the fourth film from Reyes, a talented young documentarian from Mexico.
International Showcase
Europa Report directed by Sebastian Cordero and written by Philip Gelatt - From award winning Ecuador born filmmaker Sebastian Cordero (Rabia, Cronicas, Pescador) Europa Report marks his first film in English. Somewhat shrouded in mystery, the story is written by Philip Gelatt, an adult comic book author, and is set aboard the first manned mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa. The genre bending sounding sci-fi thriller was recently picked up by Magnolia’s Magnet division and will go straight to VOD on June 27 after its La Film Festival premiere. Cordero, who is a UCLA grad, has a well-controlled gritty realism to his aesthetic, which might inhabit and distinguish this deep space thriller among the genre’s canon.
Crystal Fairy written and directed by Sebastian Silva (Chile) - From the crafty young Chilean filmmaker whose first first film, The Maid put him on the international map, this is one of two films he screened at Sundance this year. A road trip of self-discovery featuring the charming free spirited Gaby Hoffman pitted against a smarmy American tourist Michael Cera in the long and vast Chilean coast side, the film explores their unusual and fluid character dynamic and opposing auras.
The Women And The Passenger directed by Valentina Mac-Pherson, Patricia Correra (Chile) - A 45 minute version of this screened at the prestigious documentary film festival in Amsterdam Idfa. An unobtrusive camera follows four maids as they clean the rooms of one of those clandestine by-the-hour motels. Amid the moans behind doors and bed aftermaths of torrid love affairs, the women reveal their own perspectives about life, love and sex in some kind of visual love letter to the special place. I don’t believe the title is translated to interpret its full meaning, its more like, “The Transients’ women”.
Shorts
I Was Born In Mexico But…. written and directed by Corey OHama - 12min (Us) - Per the IMDb description, “using found footage to tell the story of an undocumented young woman who grew up thinking she was American, only to find out as a teenager that she didn’t have papers because she was brought to the U.S. as a young child. “ Sounds like the thousands of Dreamers plights whose stories are being suppressed.
Misterio written and directed by Chema Garcia Ibarra (Spain) 12min - So even though this is from Spain (not the Americas), I mention it if because I’m a huge fan of Chema’s shorts, Protoparticles and The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5. I have no doubt this will share that similar strange, whimsical vibe.
Al Lado De Norma written and directed by Camila Luna, Gabriela Maturana 14min (Chile) - 49 year-old Jorge is a silent, tired man, whose life seems to revolve around Norma, his elderly mother who has Alzheimer’s. But Antonio, who rents a small room in their home, will provide him with the chance to examine himself and question his monotonous life, which might just make for a radical change.
Papel Picado – written and directed by Javier Barboza - From a 2007 Cal Arts Alumnus, and independent animation teacher and filmmaker, this looks wild! Check out his vimeo works here.
Saint John, The Longest Night, written and directed by Claudia Huaiquimilla (Chile) 18 min - The filmmaker is of the indigenous Mapuche tribe of Southern Chile. Set amid the happy Saints celebration of June 24, a young boy must wrestle with the reappearance of his violent father.
Too Much Water (Demasiada Agua) written and directed by Nicolas Botana, Gonzalo Torrens (Uruguay) 14 min - A young woman fills her backyard pool every night and finds it empty in the morning. Strange neighbors and even stranger circumstances stir her paranoia.
Lastly, I have to mention dance beat rapper Kid Cudi’s feature film acting debut in Goodbye World directed by Denis Hennelly (Rock the Bells doc about Wu Tang Clan) and written by Sarah Adina Smith. Essentially, the film is about a group of friends hanging out when some kind of apocalypse hits. Hijinks ensue. (There’s a trend here after It’s A Disaster and the upcoming “look-we’re-so-cool-celebs partying of This is The End). Although it’s a small role, it is the first of a number of films Kid Cudi is in that are coming through the pipelines. Born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi in Cleveland Ohio, he is a beautiful brown blend of African American on his mother’s side and Native/Mexican mix on his father’s side.
The La Film Festival kicks off with Pedro Almodovar’s, I’m So Excited on June 13 and runs until the 23. Tickets and info here.
The lineup consists of a handful of new American indies mixed in with many favorited international films from last year’s Toronto, Venice, London and Berlin film festivals, and seven Sundance films screening out of competition including Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, which won both the Audience and Jury Awards in Park City. Starring Boricua Melonie Diaz as Oakland police murder victim Oscar Grant’s girlfriend, Fruitvale will be given the gala treatment (like last year’s Sundance awarded, Black film, Middle of Nowhere), alongside the direct-from-Cannes, Only God Forgives, the reteaming of director Nicolas Winding Refyn and GQ sensitive alpha hero Ryan Gosling (Drive).
But I’m not here to comb and recycle through the ‘high profile’ films that come armed with buzz. As always I’m spotlighting U.S. films in which the writer/director/cast are native born whose ethnic/cultural roots originates from Mexico, Central or South America. In addition, films by filmmakers who may not be Latino, but whose narratives explore and relate to the relevant bi-cultural experience/subjects. And finally I also like to mention the Latin films (international).
While I’m happy to acknowledge and give it up for La, it’s still painful for this blogger/programmer to know there are so many more fresh American Latino films out there ready to be discovered. Game-changing films offering such fresh and original perspectives, which have by and large been dismissed by most of the major Us Film Festivals. With the futures of the two highest profile Latino niche festivals in limbo, The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and HBO’s NY International Latino Film Festival, it’s especially crushing to know that these films might also be robbed of their only community platform. It’s cause for alarm and high time to address this void. But wait, lets save that for another post. For now, lets get back to the Latino stories coming at you at this year’s La Film Festival. For official synopsis and pics check the Film Guide here.
Narrative Competition – Notably 9 of the 12 are Us, hopefully giving the scrappy indies a better chance to compete and win the cash prize against the healthy subsidized production value of foreign movies. Five are first features and only one female narrative director.
40 Years From Yesterday written and directed by Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian
This is the first feature from the writing/directing team who got a lot of attention with their 2010 short Charlie and The Rabbit. Ojeda-Beck (whose parents are from Peru) and Machoian who is from the heavily Mexican populated King City, met at Cal State, Monterey Bay where they forged a tight artistic collaboration. Forty Years from Yesterday is described as Machoian’s imagination of how his mother’s death would unfold for his own family, capturing the loss his siblings would feel in losing a parent and his father’s pain in facing the death of his partner.
The duo have their way with documentary, fiction and experimental form, instilling an aura of temporality in an anchored realism. This unique evocative alchemy is found in Machoian’s doc short, Movies Made from Home #16, a 4 minute existential moment which screened at Sundance this year. The cosmic life themes they tend to broach are treated in such a down to earth and sensitive way, which is further made relatable by the natural non-pro performances they employ. Robert’s father, Bill Graham has starred in a few of his films and in Forty Years from Yesterday, both Robert’s parents and siblings play themselves. See this endearing behind the scenes clip of the making of the film:
The House That Jack Built written by Joseph B. Vasquez and directed by Henry Barrial
Written by the late Joseph B. Vasquez (d 1995) whose 1991 movie, Hanging with the Homeboys, was a groundbreaking urban comedy when it came out, now very much a classic albeit sadly forgotten gem. The only one of Vasquez’s five movies that was distributed (by New Line), Hanging with the Homeboys was shot in the South Bronx where he was born and raised. About four homeys, two Puerto Rican (one of them played by a baby-faced Johnny Leguizamo) and two Black, the movie, available on dvd from Amazon (or, I found it in 6 parts on Youtube) screened at the Sundance Film Festival at its indie darling peak. Its good-natured humor is derived from neighborhood beefs, trying to rap to ladies, and the racial tensions of the day delivered with unapologetic commentary. An overall glimpse into a day in the barrio slice life, the film is clearly an early influence for the Ice Cube Friday series.
The House that Jack Built similarly has that raw and authentic Nuyorican energy but pushed into a rollercoaster of a dysfunctional family drama with warmth, affection and intensity. The director, born from Cuban parents and raised in Washington Heights, Henry Barrial, is also an alumni of Sundance (Somebody 2001). The film stars E.J. Bonilla as the hot-blooded self-imposed king of his family who buys an apartment building to keep his family close, only to start dictating everybody’s life since he’s letting them live rent free. Bonilla is a fiercely charismatic up and coming actor who was last at the festival with the film Mamitas in 2011 and was also in Don’t Let Me Drown (Sundance 2010). An uproarious and high-edged Harlem set chamber piece, the heavy conflict of gravity that besets Jack is from being pulled in opposite directions by his street values on one side and deeply rooted family values on the other. See the trailer on their Kickstarter page.
My Sister’S Quinceanera written and directed by Aaron Douglas Johnston
This was reportedly one of the most talked about American films in the experimental leaning Rotterdam Film Festival this year. The filmmaker who was born and raised in Iowa, Aaron Douglas Johnston, has an impressive academic pedigree having attended world prestigious universities, Oxford and Yale. His first feature, the small town, gay life set, Bumblefuck, USA screened at Outfest 2011. In My Sister’s Quinceanera, he uses the local Mexican-American Iowa residents as his non-pro actors with whom he collaborated with on the story. It’s a gentle and earnest portrayal of a young man named Silas who is convinced he has to leave town to become independent and start his life but must first see his sister’s Quinceanera take place.
Workers written and directed by Jose Luis Valle (Mexico/Germany) - A quietly simmering artful drama about a retiring factory worker and housemaid in Tijuana circumstantially reunited and trying to compensate for their spent lives. An accomplished and arresting feature debut, the film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section and won Best Mexican Film at the Guadalajara film Festival. A full investment into the contemplative tone and rhythm yields an appreciation for the film’s visceral and dry humor undertones. Born in El Salvador, Jose Luis Valle previously made a documentary short called Milagro del Papa.
Documentary Competition: 7 out 10 are Us, 4 first features, six female directors (incl. 2 co-directors)
Tapia directed by Eddie Alcazar
The 5 time world boxing champion and emotionally damaged blue-eyed Chicano from the 505, Johnny Lee Tapia, survived a series of near deaths before his turbulent life ended at the young age of 45 last year. The sheer volume of tragedy and coping afflictions Johnny endured in his Vida Loca, as he openly shares in his autobiography, includes the scarring experience of seeing his mother’s kidnapping and violent murder at the tender age of eight. Tapia funneled his heartbreaking life to fuel a successful professional boxing career. Tapia’s confrontation to such tumult is so impressive, it’s no wonder that former EA video game designer Eddie Alcazar decided to both dramatize and document his harrowing real life story. Originally announced as a biopic, subsequently the documentary was born of it, in which Eddie captures final interviews and archival footage with the haunted boxer. Remarkably, watching the clip below, a slight zeal and spirit, however low key and worn, emanates from the towering rumble of his battered lifetime – unquestionably his refusal to be knocked out. This is actually the first feature out of the gate for filmmaker Eddie Alcazar whose radical sci-fi film 0000 has been curiously tracked as in production for a couple years now. The ambitious looking trailer only piqued mad interest when it was released last year.
Purgatorio directed by Rodrigo Reyes (Mexico) - An elegiac and cinematically shot poem filled with emotional narration and iconography, this border film is told by way of a tapestry of stories that culminates into a strong cry for human compassion. Imagining the border as if purgatory, where migrants must suffer in order to get through to the other side, the dangerous plight in crossing the Us/Mexico border is viewed outside political context but rather a metaphysical prism. This is the fourth film from Reyes, a talented young documentarian from Mexico.
International Showcase
Europa Report directed by Sebastian Cordero and written by Philip Gelatt - From award winning Ecuador born filmmaker Sebastian Cordero (Rabia, Cronicas, Pescador) Europa Report marks his first film in English. Somewhat shrouded in mystery, the story is written by Philip Gelatt, an adult comic book author, and is set aboard the first manned mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa. The genre bending sounding sci-fi thriller was recently picked up by Magnolia’s Magnet division and will go straight to VOD on June 27 after its La Film Festival premiere. Cordero, who is a UCLA grad, has a well-controlled gritty realism to his aesthetic, which might inhabit and distinguish this deep space thriller among the genre’s canon.
Crystal Fairy written and directed by Sebastian Silva (Chile) - From the crafty young Chilean filmmaker whose first first film, The Maid put him on the international map, this is one of two films he screened at Sundance this year. A road trip of self-discovery featuring the charming free spirited Gaby Hoffman pitted against a smarmy American tourist Michael Cera in the long and vast Chilean coast side, the film explores their unusual and fluid character dynamic and opposing auras.
The Women And The Passenger directed by Valentina Mac-Pherson, Patricia Correra (Chile) - A 45 minute version of this screened at the prestigious documentary film festival in Amsterdam Idfa. An unobtrusive camera follows four maids as they clean the rooms of one of those clandestine by-the-hour motels. Amid the moans behind doors and bed aftermaths of torrid love affairs, the women reveal their own perspectives about life, love and sex in some kind of visual love letter to the special place. I don’t believe the title is translated to interpret its full meaning, its more like, “The Transients’ women”.
Shorts
I Was Born In Mexico But…. written and directed by Corey OHama - 12min (Us) - Per the IMDb description, “using found footage to tell the story of an undocumented young woman who grew up thinking she was American, only to find out as a teenager that she didn’t have papers because she was brought to the U.S. as a young child. “ Sounds like the thousands of Dreamers plights whose stories are being suppressed.
Misterio written and directed by Chema Garcia Ibarra (Spain) 12min - So even though this is from Spain (not the Americas), I mention it if because I’m a huge fan of Chema’s shorts, Protoparticles and The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5. I have no doubt this will share that similar strange, whimsical vibe.
Al Lado De Norma written and directed by Camila Luna, Gabriela Maturana 14min (Chile) - 49 year-old Jorge is a silent, tired man, whose life seems to revolve around Norma, his elderly mother who has Alzheimer’s. But Antonio, who rents a small room in their home, will provide him with the chance to examine himself and question his monotonous life, which might just make for a radical change.
Papel Picado – written and directed by Javier Barboza - From a 2007 Cal Arts Alumnus, and independent animation teacher and filmmaker, this looks wild! Check out his vimeo works here.
Saint John, The Longest Night, written and directed by Claudia Huaiquimilla (Chile) 18 min - The filmmaker is of the indigenous Mapuche tribe of Southern Chile. Set amid the happy Saints celebration of June 24, a young boy must wrestle with the reappearance of his violent father.
Too Much Water (Demasiada Agua) written and directed by Nicolas Botana, Gonzalo Torrens (Uruguay) 14 min - A young woman fills her backyard pool every night and finds it empty in the morning. Strange neighbors and even stranger circumstances stir her paranoia.
Lastly, I have to mention dance beat rapper Kid Cudi’s feature film acting debut in Goodbye World directed by Denis Hennelly (Rock the Bells doc about Wu Tang Clan) and written by Sarah Adina Smith. Essentially, the film is about a group of friends hanging out when some kind of apocalypse hits. Hijinks ensue. (There’s a trend here after It’s A Disaster and the upcoming “look-we’re-so-cool-celebs partying of This is The End). Although it’s a small role, it is the first of a number of films Kid Cudi is in that are coming through the pipelines. Born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi in Cleveland Ohio, he is a beautiful brown blend of African American on his mother’s side and Native/Mexican mix on his father’s side.
The La Film Festival kicks off with Pedro Almodovar’s, I’m So Excited on June 13 and runs until the 23. Tickets and info here.
- 5/1/2013
- by Christine Davila
- Sydney's Buzz
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