Almost immediately after moving in, everything begins to fall apart. The staircase collapses, the electrical system shorts out, doors fall off their hinges, and entire sections of the house crumble. Determined to restore it, Walter and Anna bring in a chaotic mix of contractors and workers who seem to make things even worse rather than better.

One of the film’s most memorable moments comes during their attempt to renovate the bathroom. Walter tries to take a relaxing bath in what he thinks is one of the few finished rooms. But the moment he settles in, the bathtub crashes straight through the floor, destroying the bathroom and leaving him in shock. The scene ends with him standing in the ruins, laughing uncontrollably — a perfect example of how absurdly everything keeps going wrong.

As their home continues to fall apart, so does their relationship, tested by endless delays, lies from contractors, and the sheer chaos of renovation. But by the end, after months of struggle and frustration, the house is finally restored — and so is their relationship.

The Money Pit is both a hilarious and painfully relatable story about home ownership, renovation disasters, and the perseverance (and humor) needed to survive them.

The Symbolism of Props in Film Narratives

In film, the symbolism of props brings an added dimension to the story through visual elements. For instance, the presence of a simple white ceramic vase can suggest purity, peace, or simplicity in a character’s life, while a black ceramic geometric round vase may suggest darker undertones in the story, such as sadness, mystery, or inner conflict. In this way, the symbolism of props enriches the story and creates emotional associations in the viewer, often subconsciously conveying deeper meaning.
Props often shape how the audience perceives certain characters or situations. In horror films, for example, specific items like vintage dolls or dusty mirrors carry an unsettling, eerie feeling, hinting at an impending danger. On the other hand, romantic films frequently use props like flowers, books, or vintage items reminiscent of the past to create feelings of nostalgia and intimacy.

The Role of Style in Creating Atmosphere

The style of props is essential in setting the tone of the film and defining its visual aesthetic. In historical dramas, props are often carefully chosen to reflect the authenticity of the era and evoke the sense of time in which the action unfolds. Authentic details such as period-appropriate dishware, furniture, or clothing allow viewers to “travel” into the past, while modern, stylized objects often contribute to futuristic or sci-fi atmospheres in films.
When characters are shown in minimalist spaces with modern, restrained props, this often suggests a sense of control, coldness, or distance in their lives. In contrast, a space filled with vibrant props and abundant details can suggest warmth, chaos, or a free spirit. This stylization of space allows characters’ emotions to be reflected in their surroundings, achieving a richer and more emotionally complex atmosphere.

Props as Extensions of Characterization

Props are not just decorative elements—they often serve as extensions of the characters’ personalities. A character who possesses simple items in light, natural colors may be perceived as calm, rational, or introverted, while characters whose spaces are filled with dark, sophisticated objects often exude mystery, complex emotions, or even suppressed aggression. Thus, film props become visual representations of the characters’ internal states and psychology, helping viewers connect with them and understand their motives.

Connecting with the Audience through Subtle Visual Elements

The ability of film props to convey subtle emotional tones plays a vital role in connecting with the audience. White, simple objects often evoke a sense of calm and purity, while darker elements or intricate geometric shapes can evoke a sense of mystery, anxiety, or even fear. These subtle visual cues shape the audience’s emotional response to situations in the film, helping them connect more deeply with the story and characters.

The Power of Details in Shaping Film Atmosphere

Props are much more than decorative elements—they are powerful tools for conveying symbolism, creating atmosphere, and shaping character psychology. The style and selection of props in a film are not random but are carefully planned elements that enrich the story and enable deeper emotional interaction between the audience and the characters. Through simple yet thoughtfully chosen items, filmmakers create a rich, layered world in which each scene carries additional meaning, enhancing the overall film experience.

“We are living in unprecedented times and we must find unprecedented solutions to continue to support our Latino filmmakers and provide them with a platform to showcase their work,” says Edward James Olmos, founder of LALIFF. “Working together with our filmmakers, musicians, partners and sponsors we will be able to celebrate our festival virtually to continue to showcase some of the most inspiring and thought-provoking Latino films of 2020 and share with cinephiles everywhere, from the safety of their homes.” 

The program will include the feature film The Last Rafter from award-winning directing duo Carlos Rafael Betancourt and Oscar Ernesto Ortega. The critically acclaimed film follows the journey of a Cuban man who risks his life in the Florida Straits on a raft to search for his long-absent father in Miami, but a political shift makes him America’s first undocumented Cuban immigrant. Now he must battle the new and bigger fear of deportation, while trying to find where he really belongs. 

Paper Children directed by Alexandra Codina will also be part of the festival with a special virtual event followed by a Q&A session on Tuesday, May 12. The film, available on YouTube this summer, explores America’s invisible refugee crisis through the eyes of one Miami family who navigate a broken system with unwavering resilience. 

The Chilean film This Is Cristina, directed by Gonzalo Maza, distributed by Figa Films and executive produced by Salma Hayek, will also be part of the Festival’s Official Selection. The film tells the story of Cristina and Susana, who have been best friends since high school but now, when they are already over 30 years-old, are receiving a wake-up call. 

In addition, the program will include six short films “1,2,3 All Eyes on Me” directed by Emil Gallardo, ”Baby” directed by Thais Drassinower, “Flowers Within” directed by Catalina Loret, “Maria” directed by Zoe Salicrup Junco, “Rizo” directed by Jeanette Dilone, “Say You Will” directed by Mariel Sosa and the animated shorts “Ailin On the Moon” directed by Claudia Ruiz, “Borrachero” directed by Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea, and “Miguel” directed by Armando Sepulveda Mendoza. 

“LALIFF Connect is our new online initiative to address the world’s current reality. LALIFF Connect is completely free to the public in order to support our community during the stay-at-home emergency order,” says Executive Director of LALIFF, Rafael Agustín. 

The LALIFF Connect 2020 Music program will include performances by top Latinx artists Def Sound, Chrisol, Lupita Infante, Tatiana Hazel and Weapons of Mass Creation.

LALIFF Connect 2020 will also present a series of masterclasses including Nightlife Curation in the LatinX World with Cumbiaton’s DJ Sizzle of Cumbiatón and Funky Caramelo; LatinX in Animation: A Masterclasswith Head of Story of Connected at Sony Pictures Animation Guillermo Martinez, Co-Producer at Walt Disney Animation Studios Yvett Merino, and Creative Producer of The Casagrandes at Nickelodeon Animations Studio Miguel Puga; Music Composition: Masterclass with composer Elik Álvarez, composer Tony Morales and composers/producers Carl Thiel and Maria Vertiz; and a Sound Design Masterclass with the Sound Designer of the film The Last Rafter, Paola Magrans.  

“We are proud to advocate for Latinx artists and musicians, especially at a time where they have been hit the most and share their beautiful sounds. Be sure to dance in your living rooms and don’t worry about the door fee—LALIFF has you covered,” says Managing Director of LALIFF, Alexis de la Rocha. 

The 2019 retrospective, which starts today, will include three features, nine shorts and three episodics as well as musical performances. The features will include Councilwoman directed by Margo Guernsey and I’ll See You Around directed by Daniel Fermin Pfeffer which will be available online during the entire month of the retrospective (April 14th – May 4th). The program will also host a special virtual event of the film Divine Love directed by Gabriel Mascaro followed by a special presentation with music from DJ José Galvan on April 29th. 

The shorts section will include “And the Brave Shall Rise” directed by Adam Schlachte, “Chicle” (“Gum”) directed by Lizette Barrera, “Figueroa” directed by Victor Hugo Duran, “Pozole” directed by Jessica Mendez Siqueiros, “Simon Cries” directed by Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento, “Skaya” directed by Gabriel Noguez, “Suicidrag” directed by Andrea Perez Su, “Unlucky’s Luck” directed by Felipe Holguin Caro, and “Water Warrior” directed by Monica Medellín. The episodic section includes South of Sunset, Stoned Breakups and Unimundo 45.  

The LALIFF 2019 Retrospective, that brings some of the best acts of last year’s edition including ‘La Mera’ Candelaria, DJ José Galván, DJ Vick Jagger and Linda Nuves of Chulita Vinyl Club who will join us again to perform on the following dates: 

• Wednesday, April 22nd | 6:00PM PST / 9:00PM EST – Linda Nuves, Chulita Vinyl Club
• Thursday, April 23rd | 6:00PM PST / 9:00PM EST – “La Mera” Candelaria
• Friday, April 24th | 6:00PM PST / 9:00PM EST – DJ Vick Jagger & Femme C Mel 
• Wednesday, April 29th | 6:00PM PST / 9:00PM EST – DJ Jose Galvan 

Additionally, the Youth Cinema Project (YCP)—another initiative of the Latino Film Institute—in an effort to help its teachers and students while schools remain closed, has also started a program called YCPLiveReads. YCP will host live script readings of its students by talent from TV series and films including Gentefied, Vida, Devious Maids, Napoleon Dynamite, among others every Wednesday and Friday at 1pm PDT throughout the month of April. This week’s YCPLiveReads will include participation from the cast of Spanish Aquí Presents and Devious Maids. People can join the live reads by visiting YCP website or by searching the hashtag #YCPLiveReads on social media. 

Due to the generosity and cooperation of many filmmakers, production teams, and sponsors, the International Wildlife Film Festival is excited to offer more than 60 films from the 2020 IWFF festival slate digitally! A majority of the film selections will be free to stream the week of the festival, and a virtual pass can be purchased to access featured events including seven special online events – one for every day of the fest. Featured events will be accompanied by live Q&A events, extra video resources, discussions, and more. Digital passes are available on a sliding scale starting at $5 and all sales support the IWFF and its home, The Roxy Theater.

As an online festival, all IWFF selections and passholder content will be available to students and classrooms. Educators are encouraged to visit the website and research films to use in their lesson plans. Many films are paired with educational activities, resources, articles and extras that will be available on the IWFF website beginning April 18. Specific recommendations for films appropriate for younger learners will be included. Educators with curriculum or accessibility questions may contact IWFF Education Coordinator Brit Garner at education@wildlifefilms.org.

IWFF’s featured events for passholders offer greater depth into the featured films and subject matter as well as opportunities for collective viewing. On April 20th, take a look into all things mushrooms with viewings of Mushroom Hunters and The Kingdom and a visit from the Untamed Science team. There will be a selection of shorts celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd, as well as a live Q&A with director Tom Mustill whose film #NatureNow focuses on Greta Thunberg and her powerful vision for our future. The co-creator of Takaya: Lone Wolf, Cheryl Alexander will give updates and extras after the film about a lone wolf living on an island near Vancouver on April 23. On April 24th, the festival closes with a look into the national fascination with tiger conservation with a screening of Sundance selection Tigerland and a talk from PhD candidate and Wild Tiger Executive Director Sarika Khanwilkar on the state of captive tigers in the world today.

The free-to-everyone streaming shorts and films include a wide variety of topics that explore great heights: climb into a golden eagle nest with ecologist Caitlin Davis, learn how the Quinault Nation is protecting blueback salmon, and play matchmaker for two skywalker gibbons! Watch The Smithsonian’s America’s Prairie Reserve shorts tracking restoration efforts or National Geographic’s series of shorts depicting researchers demonstrating the scientific method in action. Max Lowe’s Bare Existence encourages viewers to track the fate of polar bears in the Arctic, and The Oregon Zoo’s Gajah Borneo follows the challenges of Borneo pygmy elephants in stop-motion. For the entire festival week, virtual filmgoers can enjoy films on wildfire’s impact on wildlife, the realities of pangolin trafficking, the endangered helmeted hornbill, wolverines and much, much more.

Founded in 1977 at the University of Montana, IWFF is the first and longest-running event of its kind. In these fast-changing times, the IWFF staff is thrilled to be able to offer the festival to audiences all over the world and hopes to spark joy and engagement with our natural world. The vision of the IWFF will always be to champion wildlife filmmakers, challenge conventional expectations about conserving wildlife and habitat, and to foster an engaged, enlightened community that finds itself through cinema, and helps the planet to heal. For full event listings and times visit wildlifefilms.org.

The grants will be intended for artistic and/or technical workers who are in a precarious economic situation and are unable to work due to the shut down of audiovisual productions. Netflix will donate 1 million euro to this emergency line.

“From the Ministry of Culture and Sports we are pleased that in a short time it has been possible to articulate a collaboration between public and private organizations, in order to seek solutions to support the film and audiovisual sector, as required by this situation. One of the objectives of this initiative was the agility of its implementation, guaranteeing rigour and transparency, something that is only possible thanks to the consensus between the parties involved, each contributing with knowledge, time and technical resources and, in the case of Netflix, also financial  resources. We would like to thank the service for its generosity, commitment and solidarity with the audiovisual industry in Spain”, stressed José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, Minister of Culture and Sport of the Spanish Government. 

“From the Spanish Film Academy we welcome initiatives like this one, aimed at alleviating the damage the pandemic is causing to film workers. We encourage other private and public initiatives for the reactivation of the cultural industries. We are convinced that exceptional measures are needed at this exceptional time. We trust that the public authorities will promote and channel whatever measures are necessary to guarantee the survival of our industry,” said Mariano Barroso, president of the Spanish Film Academy. 

“The exceptional circumstances (and the pandemic produced by COVID-19 is one) demand exceptional responses. Now is the time to join forces to alleviate the damage the virus is causing in people’s lives, in the economy and in society. Netflix wanted to provide solidarity to the audiovisual sector, which from AC/E thank, support and accompany, with the hope that more companies, organizations and institutions will join”, added José Andrés Torres Mora, president of Acción Cultural Española.

“We’re grateful to be able to work with ICAA, Acción Cultural Española y Academia de Cine  to support the hardest hit workers in TV and film production. We want to do our part to help those who most need our support in these unprecedented times”, Diego Avalos, Vice President of Original Series at Netflix, has explained.

The details of the emergency line, including the eligibility criteria and the level of individual funding, will be further determined  with the relevant social partners in the sector. This initiative is open to receiving contributions from any entity that wishes to help workers in artistic and/or technical fields most affected by COVID-19 in Spain.

The creation of this emergency assistance line in Spain is part of a global Netflix initiative(announced on March 20th) that allocates $100 million to support film and television workers. A large part of this amount is aimed at helping Netflix productions in Spain and around the world. The rest ($15 million) goes to emergency funds for audiovisual professionals in different countries such as the United Kingdom, Italy and France, among others.

In these trying times for the whole world, and in view of the fragile prospects for the world of cinema, the Festival has announced that it does not wish to abandon the field.

“No one knows what the second half of the year may bring and whether it will be possible to organize major film events again in 2020, including the Festival de Cannes” said Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate of the Festival. “Cannes has therefore decided to adapt its format for this peculiar year. Here’s a first initiative: a Marché du Film Online, launched by Jérôme Paillard, Executive Director of the Marché. This brand new kind of market is organized in consultation and with the participation of many professionals from all over the world.”

The Festival de Cannes is therefore announcing the launch of the Marché du Film Online, a standalone online market created to support the international film industry and help professionals. It will be held from Monday 22 to Friday 26 June.

The online market is intended to mimic the market experience in Cannes, with live and real-time meetings. It will offer creative alternatives to facilitate business and networking for film industry professionals from all over the world. The Marché du Film Online will take the shape of a closed industry space including:

◊ Virtual booths for Sales agents : sales companies will be able to connect with buyers and to display their new films and projects-in-progress in an online dedicated space serving as a digital equivalent to their booths in Cannes.

◊ Virtual pavilions for Institutions : Institutions from all over the world will present their national cinematography, film commissions and film locations, support their producers and organize meetings in a virtual space as they are used to doing in their pavilion in the Village International.

◊ Video Meetings : participants can request and organize meetings via the Marché du Film networking app Match and Meet, which now integrates video calls.

◊ Online Screenings : films completed or in post-production and project presentations will be programmed according to set schedules in about fifteen virtual cinemas, to maintain the market momentum and allow time for viewing and negotiation. Reruns will be organized for buyers in different time zones. The platform will be based on Cinando’s technology and on strict security measures  – incl. DRM, individual watermark and real-time management and monitoring of admissions to screenings (Cinando is the platform launched by the Marché du Film in 2003, which has become the first network to navigate the film industry: contacts, films, projects in development, screeners…).

◊ Programs & Conferences : programs and conferences will for the most part be transported to the digital space: Cannes Docs, Cannes Next, Producers Network, Goes to Cannes, Frontières or Fantastic 7 will be reshaped to offer these communities – creators, producers, sales agents – the same opportunities to network and present their projects. The Marché du Film Online will also offer Speed meetings around composers, book publishers or producers. Cannes XR, our program fully dedicated to immersive entertainment, will present its projects in an environment where films can be viewed with a VR headset.
 

Jérôme Paillard said: “In this challenging situation, the film industry is expressing a need for a spring rendez-vous before the summer. A survey we conducted last week among distributors around the world reveals that 80% of them are interested in an online market and 66% have the capacity to make acquisitions (mainly of completed films but also of films in post-production and writing). We won’t replace the Cannes experience with the Marché du Film Online, but we are recreating part of its essence online by offering professionals an efficient and cutting-edge platform to screen films, buy them, finance projects and meet partners. We’re also experimenting a new market model that will allow professionals who didn’t have the means or the time to come to Cannes to participate”.

Accreditations for the Marché du Film Online will soon be available for industry professionals at an early bird rate of €95 until May 29 and €195 normal rate after that – incl. a one-year subscription to Cinando.