Miami International Film Festival

Miami International Film Festival Awards 'Dheepan' Its Highest Honor

Kate Erbland — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 19:04:45 GMT

After picking up the Palme d'Or at last May's Cannes Film Festival, Jacques Audiard's "Dheepan" has again added to its festival haul, winning the Knight Competition Grand Jury Prize at last week's Miami International Film Festival. The festival also recognized other fest favorites like Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Lobster" (Grand Jury Award Best Director) and Zhao Tao's "Mountains May Depart" (Grand Jury Award Best Performance). Other winners included "Queen of Thursdays" and "Paulina."

Of his win, Audiard commented via a virtual acceptance statement, "There are two things I love in life: wearing a smoking (tuxedo) and drinking a dry, fresh martini. When I can do both at the same time, needless to say I am thrilled! Tonight, unfortunately I am not in my royal blue tuxedo with you, but I'll make myself a dry, dry, fresh martini and I drink to your health!"

READ MORE: 'Eye in the Sky' Director Gavin Hood Talks About the Mistakes of 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'

Check out the full list of winners below.

Knight Competition, presented by The John S. & James L. Knight Foundation
Jury members Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Selton Mello and Trey Edward Shults selected the winners.

Knight Grand Jury Prize: "Dheepan" (France), produced by Pascal Caucheteux and Jacques Audiard
Grand Jury Award Best Performance: Zhao Tao in "Mountains May Depart" (China)
Grand Jury Award Best Director: Yorgos Lanthimos for "The Lobster"(Ireland/Greece)

Knight Documentary Achievement Award, presented by The John S. & James L. Knight Foundation
The Award winner was selected by the Festival audience.

"Queen of Thursdays" (USA), produced by Jorge Alvarez, Orlando Rojas and Dennis Scholl

Lexus Ibero-American Feature Film Competition
Jury members Carlos Lechuga, Leticia Tonos Paniagua and Kenny Riches selected the winning film.

"Paulina (La patota)" (Argentina), directed by Santiago Mitre

Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award
Jury members Rosa Bosch, Jorge Guerricaechevarria and Diego Lerman selected the winner. This special award recognizes and supports first-time produced screenwriters. Screenwriters from all feature films in the Festival that have a first-produced feature screenwriter credited, compete for a jury-selected cash prize of $5,000, courtesy of the family of the late Jordan Alexander Ressler.

Lorenzo Vigas for "From Afar" (Venezuela/Mexico)

Earlier in the week, four other major Festival awards were presented:

Shorts Competition
The latest in films 30 minutes or less from around the globe, the jury-selected winner received a $2,500 cash prize.

"The Man of My Life" (France) directed by Melanie Delloye

Miami Encuentros, presented by Knight Foundation
The winning project in post-production received the Achievement Award, which includes a $10,000 cash prize.

"The Candidate" (Uruguay), produced by Micaela Sole and Daniel Hendler

Miami Film 2016, presented by The Related Group
Three prizes were awarded to Argentine films in development.

Diego Lerman for "A Sort of Family"
Gonzalo Tobal for "Dolores"
Camilla Toker for "The Death of Marga Maier"

Cinemaslam
Jury members Carla Forte, Giancarlo Loffredo and Alouishous San Gomma selected the winner in the Miami student film competition.

"I Want To Beat Up Clark Peters" by Joseph Picozzi (University of Miami's School of Communications)

READ MORE: Why Monica Bellucci Thinks Hollywood is Finally Coming Around on Great Female Roles

Why Monica Bellucci Thinks Hollywood is Finally Coming Around on Great Female Roles

Hans Morgenstern — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 20:26:35 GMT

Usually at Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival, directors are the star attraction for films premiering in the middle of the week, but earlier this week, Quebecois writer/director Guy Édoin had no problem resigning himself to standing in the shadow of World Cinema royalty: Monica Bellucci. She was the third subject in the festival’s new "marquee series," featuring big names from the world of cinema in conversation before the start of their film. Bellucci and Édoin were at the festival for his second feature film, "Ville-Marie," in which Bellucci plays an actress struggling with an estranged son while playing a role directed by her lover that’s a sort of heightened reality of her own life.

The festival’s marquee events unfolded at various venues across Miami, but Bellucci was granted the its grandest theater, The Olympia in downtown Miami, the city’s first silent movie house, built 90 years ago. It features two tiers of baroque balcony seating that accommodates over 1,500 attendees. Though the event did not sell out, the audience was large and adoring enough to drown out Bellucci’s conversation with Édoin, especially during her lingering commentary embracing her age (a glorious 51) and her status as a working mother of two children.

READ MORE: 'Eye in the Sky' Director Gavin Hood Talks About the Mistakes of 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'

The night began with a quick introduction by the festival’s director of programing, Jaie Laplante, who invited Édoin to the stage. Just in front of the audience, Bellucci gracefully sat upright and regal in a semi-sheer black, curve-hugging Dolce & Gabbana evening gown. Édoin went through a brief history of her career, reminding attendees of her time in the ‘80s as a model and mentioned a few of her subsequent films, including "Irreversible" and "Passion of the Christ."

During his introduction, Édoin said there was no one else he wanted for the role of his character Sophie. "Three years ago, when I was writing my script for 'Ville-Marie,' in my heart, no one else could play the role," he said. "I present to you Monica Bellucci." The actress then stood up from her seat and was escorted to the stage. The director and actress met at a coffee table on stage, with Bellucci’s face projected behind them on the big screen in a still from the film that features her character singing at a microphone as a single tear is captured streaming down her right cheek.

It was on to a short conversation before the Florida premiere of "Ville-Marie." Bellucci started the conversation by speaking to the crowd. "I’m so glad to be here in Miami because we have sun, sea, beautiful people, and I’m very flattered, so thank you," she said to a round of applause.

Édoin asked her about the role in his film, and she offered, "When we are in a good moment in life, the right roles come along...The character I play, she’s actually three roles in one. This woman, she’s an actress, but she’s also a simple woman looking for herself, and she’s a mother and she wants love, too. Actually, if I had to play this role 15 years ago, that would have not been in possible, which is to say I’m getting older and also given the fact that I’m not a young woman anymore, my body gives some strength and some reality to express the pain that this woman has inside herself."

The audience interrupted with applause, before she summed up, "I think to be a good mother is more difficult to be an actress, to be anything else."

Then the applause returned. The adoring crowd was on her side throughout. When Édoin referred to the actress as a young mother, she stopped to correct him to laughs and more clapping from the audience.
She said, in fact, motherhood (she has two children with French actor Vincent Cassel) was important in inspiring and informing her performance in this film. "For this character, the inspiration was my experience as a mother, of course, but also love for my children. As a mother in real life of two girls, their ages are 11 and a half and five and a half, and in the movie I play a different type of mother. I am the mother of a young boy, 20 years old. In France they say, sometimes it’s so painful when this kind of relationship is not good. For me in real life, it’s not. It’s all hugs and kisses."

READ MORE: Monica Bellucci, 'My Big Night' and More Headline 33rd Miami International Film Festival

The evening happened to fall on International Women’s Day, and Édoin mentioned the fact. Bellucci, in turn, struck a positive and hopeful note for the film business and actresses. She dropped the names of Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Charlotte Rampling, Judi Dench, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore,and Cate Blanchett. "So you can see actresses are getting a chance to play beautiful strong roles," she said, "so you can see the industry is changing, and there’s much more respect for women and actresses."

Toward the end of the conversation, Édoin mentioned her role in "Spectre" and how it might be different to play such a big role compared to that of the roles she has played in smaller films. "For me," she said, "there aren’t small films or big films. For me, there are just interesting roles. When I’m in front of the camera, it doesn’t change anything for me. If I’m acting, I’m acting for the role, it doesn’t matter."

And once again the audience punctuated her sentence with adulation.

'Krisha' and 'Stanford Prison Experiment' Directors to Headline Miami International Film Festival Juries

Zack Sharf — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 19:00:00 GMT

The 33rd edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival has announced the jury members for its four competition categories, which include the Knight Competition, Lexus Ibero-American Feature Film Competition, Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award and Cinemaslam.

Two high profile indie filmmakers will headline the Knight Competition jury this year. Kyle Patrick Alvarez, the writer-director behind last year's acclaimed "The Stanford Prison Experiment," and Trey Edward Shults will join actor and filmmaker Selton Mello on the jury. Shults won the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award at last year's SXSW Film Festival for his debut feature "Krisha," which opens in theaters next month via A24.

The full list of jury members can be found below.

Knight Competition

Kyle Patrick Alvarez

Selton Mello

Trey Edward Shults

Lexus Ibero-American Feature Film Competition

Carlos Lechuga

Leticia Tonos Paniagua

Kenny Riches

Jordan Alexander Ressler Foundation Screenwriting Prize

Rosa Bosch

Jorge Guerricaechevarria

Diego Lerman

Cinemaslam

Carla Forte

Giancarlo Loffredo

Alouishous San Gomma

The 2016 Miami International Film Festival takes place March 4-13.

Monica Bellucci, 'My Big Night' and More Headline 33rd Miami International Film Festival

Zack Sharf — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 17:05:23 GMT

The 33rd Miami International Film Festival has announced the full lineup for its 2016 edition, running March 4-13, and includes more than 100 features from over 40 countries, plus special tributes to Monica Bellucci, Gavin Hood and more.

"This year's lineup is like a prism that invites Miami to see the world with an illumination that only the cinema, and the artists that create the work, can provide," said the Festival’s Executive Director and Director of Programming Jaie Laplante in an official statement. "The programmers have populated the program with films and events that are essential to the complex, dynamic, ever-changing Miami of the now."

This year’s Festival will showcase 129 films in total, including 100 feature films and documentaries and 29 short films. New to the festival this year will be the Marquee Series category, which is dedicated to on-stage conversations with major film personalities. Guests of the inaugural program include Monica Bellucci, Gavin Hood, Iciar Bollaín and Deepa Mehta. All four guests will have projects screening in the festival as well.

Some of the highlights from the 33rd Miami International Film Festival lineup can be found below.

Opening Night Film: "My Big Night," Álex de la Iglesia

Closing Premiere Film: "The Steps," Andrew Currie

Knight Competition

"The Apostate" (Spain, Uruguay, France, directed by Federico Veiroj)

"Argentina" (Argentina, directed by Carlos Saura)

"Chronic" (Mexico, France, directed by Michel Franco)

"The Companion" (Cuba, Colombia, France, Panama, Venezuela, directed by Pavel Giroud)

"Dheepan" (France, directed by Jacques Audiard)

"Eye in The Sky" (UK, directed by Gavin Hood)

"Happy 140" (Spain, directed by Gracia Querejeta)

"Hearts of Palm" (USA, directed by Monica Peña) *World Premiere

"I Promise You Anarchy" (Mexico, Germany, directed by Julio Hernández Cordón)

"Incident Light" (Argentina, France, Uruguay, directed by Ariel Rotter)

"An Italian Name" (Italy, directed by Francesca Archibugi)

"The Lobster" (Ireland, UK, Greece, France, Netherlands, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos)

"The Memory of Water" (Chile, Spain, Argentina, Germany, directed by Matias Bize)

"A Monster with A Thousand Heads" (Mexico, directed by Rodrigo Plá)

"Mountains May Depart" (China, France, Japan, directed by Zhang-ke Jia)

"Much Ado About Nothing" (Chile, directed by Alejandro Fernandez-Almendras)

"The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble" (USA, directed by Morgan Neville)

"My Big Night" (Spain, directed by Álex de la Iglesia)

"Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper" (USA, directed by Liz Garbus)

"The Olive Tree" (Spain, Germany, directed by Iciar Bollaín) *World Premiere

"One Breath" (Germany, Greece, directed by Christian Zübert)

"Paulina" (Argentina, Brazil, France, directed by Santiago Mitre)

"Spanish Affair 2" (Spain, directed by Emilio Martinez Lazaro)

"Spy Time" (Spain, directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera)

"Sunset Song" (UK, Luxembourg, directed by Terence Davies)

"Tale of Tales" (Italy, France, UK, directed by Mateo Garrone)

"Trapped" (USA, directed by Dawn Porter)

"Truman" (Spain, Argentina, directed by Cesc Gay)

For the full Festival lineup, head over to the Miami Film Festival website.

Google Joins the Miami International Film Festival to Spotlight Gender and Race Inequality in Film

Kristen Santer — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 17:27:45 GMT

READ MORE: Gender Inequality in Film: In Infographic Form

Miami Dade College's Miami International Film Festival has announced a partnership with Google to present a new seminar series that addresses gender and racial gaps in the film industry, particularly those in technical cinematographic positions.

"Google has changed the world of technology and information in swift and radical ways," said the festival's Executive Director and Director of Programming Jaie Laplante. "Who better to lead a new charge at changing long-standing gender and racial inequalities in opportunities in the world of film and technology? We are incredibly honored that Google has chosen Miami International Film Festival as a forum to discuss solutions and inspire new filmmakers wanting to scale the heights of their chosen profession."

"The Google Seminar Series on Gender and Racial Gaps in Film and Tech" will take place in the Idea Center at Miami Date College and several other locations over the course of four days, from March 5-8.

Highlights of the seminar series includes veteran cinematographer Kirsten Johnson's ("Citizenfour," "The Invisible War") screening and discussion of her memoir, entitled "Cameraperson," which is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival later this month.

The 33rd Miami International Film Festival will take place from March 4 -13, 2016. For a complete list of the films being presented, click here.

READ MORE: Why Miami Is Celebrating a Cinematic Revolution

Google Initiative on Gender & Race Leads New Highlights at 33rd Miami International Film Festival

Carlos Aguilar — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 20:36:45 GMT

A unique partnership with Google on a new seminar series addressing gender and racial gaps in the film industry, particularly in technical cinematographic roles, is among new highlights unveiled today by Miami Dade College's Miami International Film Festival, as Festival organizers count down to the 33^rd edition of the acclaimed annual event March 4 - 13, 2016. The Festival is the only major film festival produced and presented worldwide by a college or university.

"Google has changed the world of technology and information in swift and radical ways," noted the Festival’s Executive Director & Director of Programming Jaie Laplante. "Who better to lead a new charge at changing long-standing gender and racial inequalities in opportunities in the world of film and technology? We are incredibly honored that Google has chosen Miami International Film Festival as a forum to discuss solutions and inspire new filmmakers wanting to scale the heights of their chosen profession."

The Google Seminar Series on Gender & Racial Gaps In Film & Tech will take place in The Idea Center at Miami Dade College and other locations over four days, March 5 - 8, within the overall Festival program. Among the highlights of the series will be veteran cinematographer Kirsten Johnson's screening and discussion of her feature memoir, "Cameraperson," set to world premiere at Sundance Film Festival later this month. Johnson's film covers her extensive career working on such filmmakers as Laura Poitras and Michael Moore.

“Our research shows that when it comes to encouraging women and underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in computer science and other technical fields, positive role models matter, which makes the work of the film industry so powerful,” said Julie Ann Crommett, Google CS Education in Media Program Manager. “We’re thrilled to support the Seminar Series on Gender & Racial Gaps In Film & Tech at The Idea Center at Miami Dade College to shed light on this important issue and inspire more creators to showcase positive portrayals of women and underrepresented minorities in tech.”

The Festival also unveiled 21 additional new feature films for the 2016 program, highlighting some of the year's most superb accomplishments. All films in today's announcement have the special distinction of having been directed by women. The films include:

John S. & James L. Knight Competition

Francesca Archibugi's "An Italian Name" (Il nome del figlio), starring Alessandro Gassman and Valeria Golino. Archibugi returns to Miami after having closed the Festival in 1989 with her film Mignon Has Left.

Liz Garbus' "Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper" (also eligible for Knight Documentary Achievement Award). The celebrated CNN journalist interviews his famous mother, now 91, about her eventful life, romances and tragedies.

Dawn Porter's "Trapped" (also eligible for Knight Documentary Achievement Award), a look at legislative moves at the state level attempting to turn back hard-fought women's rights from only 40 years ago.

Knight Documentary Achievement Award

World Premiere: Shaina Koren's "The Rebound," a Miami-made film about the Miami Heat Wheels basketball team.

American filmmakers and Oscar nominees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You," a candid look at the legendary barrier-breaking TV producer of the 1970s.

Jennifer Redfearn’s "Tocando La Luz" (Touch the Light) (USA), which follows three interwoven stories of blind residents in Havana, Cuba.

"Weiner," by American filmmaker Elyse Steinberg (directed with Josh Kreigman), a look at the entertainment spectacle of American politics through the media frenzy surrounding Anthony Weiner's 2013 comeback campaign.

Marcia Tambutti "Allende's Beyond My Grandfather Allende" (Allende, mi abuelo Allende) , a Chilean/Mexican co-production that won the first-ever Documentary Award presented at 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

Lexus Ibero-American Feature Film Competition

World Premiere: Brazilian screenwriter Vera Egito's "Restless Love" (Amores Urbanos), her feature film directorial debut, set in São Paulo.

North American Premiere: Cuban filmmaker Jessica Rodriguez's "Dark Glasses" (Espejuelos oscuros), partially presented as a work-in-progress at the 2015 Festival in the Emerging Cuban Independent Film/Video Artist program presented by The Related Group.

North American Premiere: Colombian filmmaker Angela Maria Osorio Rojas (directed with her partner Santiago Lozano Alvarez)'s "Siembra" (also competing for the Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award), a tale of an uprooted coastal fisherman learning to build a new life in the urban center of Cali.

Daniela Goggi's "Abzurdah," a drama about a young high school student driven to anorexia over her affair with an older man, a box office smash hit in its native Argentina.

Ana Katz’s "Mi amiga del parque," also from Argentina, a psychological drama workshopped in the Festival’s Encuentros program in 2015, and making its international debut at Sundance Film Festival 2016.

Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award

Israel filmmaker Yaelle Kayam's debut film "Mountain," about the wife of an Orthodox scholar living next to Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, who discovers her own mountain of unexpressed sexual desire deep within.

Cinema 360

U.S Premiere: German filmmaker Theresa von Eltz's "4 Kings" (4 Könige), a touching drama of four emotionally troubled youths learning to trust each other at a recovery facility.

French filmmaker Catherine Corsini's "Summertime" (La belle saison), starringCécile de France as a Parisian at the forefront of the women's liberation movement in the early 1970s.

French filmmaker Maïwann’s "My King" (Mon roi), which won a Best Actress award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for Emmanuelle Bercot.

Indian filmmaker Leena Yadav's "Parched," a luminous drama about three women from rural India liberating themselves from demeaning patriarchal traditions.

Visions

World Premiere: Miami filmmaker Monica Peña's experimental sophomore feature film, "Hearts of Palm" (also competing in Knight Competition), featuring music by lead actor Brad Lovett.

Lee Brian Schrager's Culinary Cinema

Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase's "Sweet Bean" (An), a beautiful story of an elderly dorayaki maker passing on the wisdom of her culinary craft.

Megan Riakos' " Crushed," a murder-mystery thriller set on a vineyard in rural Australia.

These titles join the previously announced women directors from Spain in the 2016 Official Selection:Paula Ortiz’s "The Bride" (La novia); Gracia Querejeta’s "Happy 140" (Felices 140), "We Are Pregnant" (Embarazados); and Veronica Escuer & Cristina Jolonch's "Snacks, Bites of a Revolution" (Snacks: Bocados de una revolución).

More announcements will follow as the Festival prepares to unveil its complete program. In addition to the sponsors acknowledged above, the Festival also thanks Telefilm Canada, Frederick Wildman & Sons, German Films, the Consulate General of Canada in Miamiand the Consulate General of Germany in Miami for program-specific support.

'The Clan Wins' Audience Award At Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival’s GEMS

Carlos Aguilar — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 20:25:18 GMT

"The Clan" (El Clan), the Argentina-Spain co-production about the notorious well-to-do Puccio family who kidnapped and murdered several of their neighbors in 1980s-era Buenos Aires, continued its march to next year's Academy Awards with a victory yesterday in the coveted Audience Award category at Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival's new GEMS Festival, which has the distinction of being the only major film festival produced worldwide by a college or university.

Already breaking box office records in its domestic release in Argentina, "The Clan" received its U.S. Premiere at GEMS and was one of many sell-outs throughout the Festival's new fall event. Director Pablo Trapero and the film's star, Guillermo Francella, received a prolonged ovation from the Miami audience for their ferocious take on the real-life Arquímedes Puccio, as they took questions from the audience after the screening.

Earlier in the evening, recently retired "Sábado Gigante" media icon and global celebrity Don Francisco accepted the Festival's Precious Gem Award prior to the closing night screening of Patricia Riggen’s Warner Bros/Alcon release, "The 33," in which Don Francisco appears as himself. The award was presented by Miami Dade College president Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón in recognition of Don Francisco’s significant contributions to the story and progress in 2010 of the fate of the trapped Copiapó miners.

"The 33" cast members Rodrigo Santoro, Juan Pablo Raba and Kate del Castillo, along with director Riggen, celebrated the honor on stage with Don Francisco in an emotional pre-screening ceremony. Festival Director & Director of Programing, Jaie Laplante, noted "The 33's" synergy with Miami International Film Festival's current celebrations of its 33rd season, which will culminate in the annual beloved event this coming March 4 - 13, 2016. "The heroic undercurrent of the absolute value for human life in 'The 33' make this the 'now' film for Miami, Chile and the world," he said. "The 33" was declared the runner-up in a close race for the Audience Award, named this year in honor of the late Miami arts patron, Gigi Guermont.

"The 33" capped a four-day weekend of dazzling cinematic jewels in the GEMS Festival. Also captivating GEMS patrons were actress Antonia Zegers, on hand to discuss her work and the issues in Pablo Larraín's devastating Chilean Oscar submission, "The Club" (El club), and American filmmakers Trey Edward Shults, presenting his SXSW-award winning film "Krisha," and Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, who brought with him several of the subjects of his documentary "Havana Motor Club."

Spanish director María Ripoll presented the U.S. premiere of her delightful box office sensation in Spain, "It's Now or Never" (Ahora o nunca). Pop star Melody, who appears in the film and sings the comedy's theme song, surprised audiences with a live performance of the catchy number prior to the GEMS screening.

Music was a major theme and highlight throughout the GEMS weekend. Miami-based composer Carlos Rafael Rivera paid tribute to the late Oscar-winning composer James Horner, whose riveting score for "The 33" was one of his last major works, completed shortly before the tragic aviation accident that claimed his life last June.

The Cannes-winning film from Hou Hsiao-Hsien, "The Assassin," and two films from Italian masters, Paolo Sorrentino's "Youth" and Nanni Moretti's "Mia Madre," were among the films received the biggest buzz over the GEMS weekend. Colombia’s Oscar submission "Embrace of the Serpent," was rapturously received and praised for its outstanding cinematography and powerful ethnographic tale of aboriginal genocide in the Amazon jungle. "A Perfect Day", the new film by a favorite director of Miami International Film Festival for many years, Spain's Fernando de Leon Aranoa, received its first US screening, and the wonderful performances in that film by Benicio del Toro and Tim Robbins were also among the weekend's major talking points.

The 33rd annual Miami International Film Festival will take place March 4-13, 2016

Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival Announces GEMS 2015 Film Lineup

Carlos Aguilar — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 14:00:00 GMT

Back in March I had the great pleasure of attending the Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival, a world-class event with an incredible program, enriching industry events, and outstanding parties as they could only happen in Miami. But the festival doesn't only shine in the spring, its permanent fall event is yet another film lovers haven and was created to whet Festivalgoers' appetites for next year’s 33^rd edition running March 4-13, 2016.The lineup for this event, appropriately titled GEMS 2015, was announced this morning

Taking place over four days (October 22 – 25, 2015), GEMS will premiere highly acclaimed films from Cannes, Berlin & Sundance; Oscar hopefuls; and international box office sensations from the U.S., Spain, Chile, Italy, France, Colombia, and many others. MDC's Tower Theater Miami will serve as the exclusive venue for all screenings and seminars. Note that this is the only major film festival worldwide produced by a college or university.

GEMS will open with director John Crowley’s "Brooklyn," which premiered at Sundance back in January and stars Oscar-nominates actress Saoirse Ronan. The festival will close with Warner Bros' anticipated "The 33" starring Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche, Rodrigo Santoro, Cate Del Castillo, Mario Casas and Lou Diamond Phillips.

The Festival’s Executive Director & Director of Programming Jaie Laplante states, “Film festivals are dazzling times, when the shiniest lights of the current cinema are collected in one place for a concentrated moment. So it is with this year's GEMS selection, and I invite film lovers of all types to experience las joyas de la corona of the season."

The GEMS film slate includes:

1. "Brooklyn" (USA / Ireland), directed by John Crowley *Opening Night Film

Adapted by Nick Hornby ("An Education") from the Colm Toibin bestselling novel, this 1950s story follows the life of a young Irish woman caught between tradition and passion, between two countries and two futures. Starring Oscar nominee for Atonement, Saoirse Ronan, the cast also includes Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Emory Cohen, and Domhnall Gleason.

2. "The 33" (USA / Chile), directed by Patricia Riggen *Closing Night Film

An international rescue effort to save 33 Chilean miners trapped 2,300 foot underground for 69 days in the Copiapó mine riveted over a billion people in 2010, and now a superb international film adaptation recreates the details of that unprecedented event. The epic list of cast names includes Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche and Rodrigo Santoro.

3. "The Assassin" (Taiwan), directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien *Winner of the Best Director Award at Cannes 2015

In 9^th century China, 10-year-old Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who transforms her into an impressive warrior. One day, she is sent back to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man whom she was promised, and Nie Yinniang must choose: assassinate the man she loves or break forever from the scared honor of her training.

4. "The Club" (El club) (Chile), directed by Pablo Larraín

Director Pablo Larraín's follow-up to his global success and Oscar-nominated "No," (starring Gael Garcia Bernal), is a tough, scathing and psychologically sobering indictment on the Catholic Church's handling of moral failings within the institution.

5. "Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente) (Colombia), directed by Ciro Guerra *Winner of the Top Directors' Fortnight Award at Cannes 2015

Guerra’s previous film, "The Wind Journeys" (2009), was an international hit and one of the 2010 Festival's most popular films in Miami. For his new film, Guerra travels deep into the wilds of the Amazon jungle, and into the dangerous territory of the historical past. This is an epic and thrilling journey, capped with velvety, rich black & white cinematography, confirming Guerra's status as one of Latin America's most confident talents.

6. "Havana Motor Club" (USA / Cuba), directed by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt

One of the most fascinating events of Miami International Film Festival in 2014 was filmmaker Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt's special presentation on his creative process in constructing his portrait of Cuba's top underground drag racers of classic American cars. A year later, the film is now complete, and GEMS is delighted to bring Perlmutt back to Miami to share the finished work.

7. "It’s Now or Never" (Ahora o nunca) (Spain), directed by Maria Ripoll

This summer's biggest homegrown box office hit in Spain, It's Now or Never pairs Spain's newest film star, Dani Rovira, whose charms help propel "Spanish Affair" (Ocho apellidos vascos) to become Spain's all-time box office champion, with the luminous Goya winner María Valverde, who gets a rare opportunity to demonstrate her comedic gifts. The result is a frothy, frisky comedy of first-class creative power, expertly timed and filled with joyous performances, from the leads to the delightful character actors found in even the smallest roles. Clara Largo and Alicia Rubio co-star in this comedy that once again proves no one does inspired silliness quite like the Spanish.

8. "Krisha" (USA), directed by Trey Edward Shults

Winner of both the Grand Jury Price and the Audience Award at SXSW earlier this year, Trey Edward Shults’ highly personal and compelling hypnotic drama was also selected at this year’s Critics Week in Cannes. Shults has already drawn comparisons to the work of legendary American independent director John Cassavetes for their use of family members in the cast and also their maverick avant-garde style of shooting favoring characters and scenes that envelop the viewer in both observation and emotion.

9. "Mia Madre" (Italy), directed by Nanni Moretti

Nanni Moretti’s "Mia Madre" is possibly his most personal film, and a master class on autobiographical cinema. It displays without question why Moretti is considered one of the most skilled living filmmakers to create powerful universal drama out of our smallest little big tragedies. John Turturro co-stars.

10. "My Golden Days" (France), directed by Arnaud Desplechin *Winner of Directors Fortnight Award at Cannes 2015

After years working abroad, anthropologist Paul Dedalus (Mathieu Amalric) returns to France to find an explosive emotional time bomb awaits him. This epic coming of age tale portrays first love as a candid, sensual and unique experience that his alter-ego discovers could leave a mark that will last as long as life itself.

11. "A Perfect Day" (Spain), directed by Fernando León de Aranoa.

Spanish director Fernando León de Aranoa makes his first English language film with this Cannes-debuting tale of 24 hours in the lives of two veteran humanitarian aid workers in the waning days of the 1995 Balkan War. Veteran Hollywood stars Benicio del Toro and Tim Robbins are in fine form as the leads, who hold on to their boyish charms even as they age with graceful wisdom.

12. "Trash" (U.K. / Brazil), directed by Stephen Daldry. *Special GEMS Preview Night on October 5, 2015.

Three-time Best Director Oscar nominee Stephen Daldry ("Billy Elliott," "The Hours," "The Reader") delivers the soaring triumphs of his earlier successes, while shining a spotlight on the sobering challenges facing one of the world's most closely-watched cities, Rio de Janeiro. The high-powered cast includes Brazilian superstars Wagner Moura ("Elite Squad") and Selton Mello ("Jean Charles," "The Clown"), as well as Martin Sheen and Rooney Mara.

13. "Yona" (Israel), directed by Nir Bergman

Like a "living thunderbolt", the bold and nonconformist Yona Wallach stormed through Tel-Aviv's male-dominated political and poetry circles in the 1960s. Yona’s work eventually became recognized in the most prominent literary books and magazines of her time, and she was honored with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Literary Award in 1978. Director Nir Bergman’s biopic vividly captures Yona’s highs, lows and her brave rebellion against a chauvinistic society with her unique voice.

14. "Youth" (Italy), directed by Paolo Sorrentino

The space (and communion) between the generations is the subject of Paolo Sorrentino's newest Fellini-tinged masterpiece. Coming off his 2014 Oscar win for Best Foreign Language Film for "The Great Beauty," the Italian auteur is on a roll, orchestrating grand themes around life's wisdom with a phenomenal cast of actors including Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, and Jane Fonda.

In addition to GEMS slate of premieres, the festival will be hosting a heartfelt special Master Class Tribute to the late James Horner. Known as Hollywood’s ultimate movie composer, he passed away in an aircraft accident this past June, not long after completing what would turn out to be one of his final great scores – the music for Patricia Riggen’s "The 33." On the eve of the premiere of the film Miami-based feature film composer Carlos Rafael Rivera ( "A Walk Among The Tombstones," 2014) will take an in-depth look at Horner’s work and career, using cues to demonstrate the powerful, yet often subtle, creative influence Horner brought to specific scenes and entire films.

Tickets will go on sale to Miami Film Society members exclusively on Friday, September 25, 2015 and to the general public on Thursday, October 1, 2015. Tickets: 1-844-565-6433(MIFF) or www.miamifilmfestival.com/GEMS.

LatinoBuzz: Mexican Film Wins Top Prizes at the Miami International Film Festival

Sydney Levine — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 13:00:00 GMT

At the Awards Night at Olympia Theater at Gusman Center Miami-born writer, producer, director Phil Lord summed up the atmosphere by quoting the following food for thought found on the Knight Foundation’s website: “We seek to bestir the people into an awareness of their own condition, provide inspiration for their thoughts, and rouse them to pursue their true interests,” as Jack Knight once described as the bedrock purpose of his newspaper.

The elegant Awards Ceremony was followed by the International Premiere of Álvaro Fernández Armero’s contemporary Spanish comedy "Sidetracked" (Las ovejas no pierden el tren), starring Inma Cuesta, Raúl Arévalo , and Candela Peña - ISA: Film Factory Entertainment.

Miami Dade College's Miami International Film Festival Winners

Knight Competition

Knight Grand Jury Prize: "The Obscure Spring" (Las oscuras primaveras) (Mexico), produced by Luis Albores, Erika Avila, Carlos Mesa and Armon O’Farrill - Production Company: Agencia Sha. The prize includes $30,000 USD that will be split between the lead production company and the U.S. distributor of the film. If no U.S. distributor is secured before 30 days after the close of the Festival, then the full award will be made to the lead production company. Clock is ticking for a U.S. distributor to buy "The Obscure Spring" and receive $15K from the Festival.

Grand Jury Award Best Performance: Cecilia Suarez, Jose Maria Yazpik and the entire cast of "The Obscure Spring" (Las oscuras primaveras) (Mexico)

Grand Jury Award Best Director: Abner Benaim for "Invasion" (Invasión) (Panama / Argentina) - Panama's First Official Submission for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Category -ISA: Cinephil.

Knight Documentary Achievement Award: (selected by the Festival audience)

"Tea Time" (La once) (Chile / USA), directed by Maite Alberdi - ISA: Cat & Docs

Lexus Ibero-American Opera Prima Competition

"In the Grayscale" (En las gamas de gris) (Chile), directed by Claudio Marcone - ISA: Outplay

Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award

"Theeb" (Jordan / Qatar / United Arab Emirates / United Kingdom), written by Naji Abu Nowar and Bassel Ghandour - ISA: Fortissimo Films - UK: New Wave Films - Switzerland: Trigon-Film

Park Grove Shorts Competition

Best Short Film: “Young Lions of Gypsy” (“A Ciambra”) (Italy/France), directed by Jonas Carpignano

Honorable Mentions: “A Tree In The Sea” (United Arab Emirates), directed by Shahir Zag; and Alba Baptista for her performance in Simão Cayatte's “Miami” (Portugal)

Miami Encuentros presented by Knight Foundation

"The Apostate" (El apóstata) (Spain / France / Uruguay), produced by Guadalupe Balaguer Trelles, Fernando Franco, and Federico Veiroj; directed by Federico Veir - ISA: FIGa Films

Lexus Audience Award

Favorite Feature Film: "Kamikaze" (Spain), directed by Álex Pina - Production Company: Cangrejo Films

Favorite Short Film: “Young Lions of Gypsy” (“A ciambra”) (Italy), directed by Jonas Carpignano

The announcements were made by the Festival's executive director Jaie Laplante and Lexus' vehicle operations manager, Marcus Williams, at the Patrón XO Café Igloo Awards Night Party, presented at the Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building, courtesy of Tilia Companies.

MiamiFF Review: Susanne Bier’s 'A Second Chance' Follows a Father Battling Despair with Drastic Measures

Carlos Aguilar — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 16:00:00 GMT

"A Second Chance" had its U.S. Premiere at the Miami Dade College's Miami International Film Festival last week - ISA: TrustNordisk, U.S. Distribution: None Yet.

Tugging at the audience’s heartstrings is one of Danish director Susanne Bier’s most pronounced talents. By constructing intricate stories that place her characters in extreme moral dilemmas, the director often makes it difficult for the viewer to decide if their actions are rational, justifiable, or a consequence of an uncontrollable emotional outburst. Such fervent ambivalence is rather conspicuous in her latest homegrown drama “A Second Chance,” in which all parties involved seek the vindication the title hints at. But as the plot advances through a series of startling revelations, the shifting nature of the truth shows that the one person who will learn the most from this ordeal is, of course, whom we least expect.

Enjoying a seemingly idyllic life in a gorgeous house by the sea, Andreas (Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a police officer, couldn’t ask for much else. His loving wife Anna (Maria Bonnevie) and their baby boy Alexander fill his existence with purpose. This apparent stability at home helps him maintain balance given the stress associated with his career. Ethereal landscapes, sunsets, and sunrises, adorn the visual aesthetic crafted by cinematographer Michael Snyman, which provides a certain melancholic beauty. It enhances the idea of a picture perfect setting, whilst also suggesting there might be bleakness forthcoming.

During a routine raid to a shabby apartment alongside his partner Simon (played by a convincingly distressed Ulrich Thomsen), Andreas recognizes fauxhawk-wearing brute Tristan (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a physically imposing and ruthlessly violent junkie he had dealt with back in Copenhagen. Sanne (May Andersen), Tristan’s girlfriend in turn, also lives in the filthy place and is often forcefully drugged by him to prevent her from leaving. As the officers subdue the delinquents, a baby’s faint cries can be heard coming from a nearby closet. Andreas finds the couple's child, Sofus, covered in his own feces, a sign of the horrendous neglect he’s experienced. Juxtaposed with the exemplary household mentioned above, this image bluntly questions the qualities attached to someone fit to be a parent.

Profoundly affected by such gut-wrenching sight, and evidently thinking of his own son, Andreas urges his superiors to get Sofus away from his revolting parents before things take an even worse turn. Unexpectedly, notwithstanding the child’s appearance, the authorities reveal Sofus is not malnourished or hurt, thus he can’t be removed from Tristan’s grip. Unable to do much more Andreas returns to his family. He shares with Anna the sleepless nights that come with raising a child and the joy of witnessing its development. It’s all mostly ordinary till now, but when tragedy strikes, unthinkably drastic decisions will emerge.

Bouncing between his role as a father and as cop, Coster-Waldau plays Andreas with the utmost internal strength. It’s not unfounded bravado, but well-rounded confidence. He is ready to drag his friend Simon out of the dirt as the latter struggles with personal troubles related to his own son and his ex-wife. He turns to alcohol and women to appease his demons. Obviously Andreas is the more grounded of the two, and this leads one to believe that won’t crumble when confronted with pain. This is an erroneous assumption.

Slowly, Bier and her writing partner, Anders Thomas Jensen (Oscar-winning “In a Better World”), expose the fractured reality that wasn’t visible through the initial curtain of false perfection. Irritable and drained, Anna starts showing signs of an unstable emotional state, to which Andreas responds with patience and compassion. Subtly but effectively Bonnevie conveys Anna's anguish and unpredictable behavior, which eventually scalates aggressively. One morning, an unspeakable nightmare materializes when Anna wakes up and finds their son, Alexander, dead. Impulsively and afraid that Anna will hurt herself facing such terrible truth, Andreas decides to walk into Tristan and Sanne’s apartment to switch Sofus for lifeless Alexander.

The idea is asinine by anyone’s measures. Only a filmmaker like Bier - one who has proven to have a notable ability to explore major themes within ornate premises - would dare to push human drama to such shamelessly unfeasible territory. But as contrived as it all might sound, “A Second Chance” successfully convinces us to suppress our disbelief and to be touched by the protagonist’s Calvary. Once Andreas presents Anna with their new "adopted" baby, a series of rattling plot twist unravel. Meanwhile, Tristan designs an elaborate scheme to dispose of the body and defend his innocence, while Sanne maintains that the deceased boy is not her son.

Gasping at each increasingly more perplexing occurrence is inevitable. Andreas shattered world unfolds before us and his reactions are charged with heartbreaking desperation. Sorrow impairs his judgment. Fortunately, the circumstantial and often far-fetched realizations become palatable because the writers, via their characters, admit that what is taking place is beyond out of the ordinary, even surreal. If there were ever a film that could claim the idea that reality is often stranger than fiction as an inspiration, this would be it. Although somehow predictable, the resolution feels a bit more contrived than the rest of film probably due to its simplicity, but it could be the director’s way to imbue the film with some much needed reassurance.

Offering an array of incredibly riveting performances, Bier delivers a fascinating, if flawed, study on redemption. We as an audience are subconsciously interrogated about our expectations and preconceived notions of what being a “noble citizen” or a “wrongdoer” entail: How do we measure evil? What crimes are more despicable? What are we willing to forgive? Bier’s characters here range from the one-dimensional Tristan, to the marvelously layered Andreas - played superbly by nuanced Coster-Waldau– but they all play a compelling part in the cause-and-effect mechanic that reigns the film. Be prepared to accept that second chances or a personal transformation can come in a mysterious shape. An officer doesn’t have to become a sergeant to become a better person.

“A Second Chance” is an utterly powerful and deeply touching experience. It hits you like a shockwave to the heart with such intensity that is impossible to be indifferent to its stirring questions. Could it be accused of being manipulative? Sure. Does it succeed at being a stimulating and memorable cinematic work despite its shortcomings? Absolutely.

Follow SydneysBuzz on Twitter @sydneysbuzz and on Facebook

Follow Carlos Aguilar on Twitter @Carlos_Film and on Instagram @carlosfilm

MiamiFF Review: 'Marshland' is a Provocative Thriller with Unique Political Undertones

Carlos Aguilar — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:28:28 GMT

"Marshland" (La Isla Minima) had its U.S. Premier at the Miami Dade College's Miami International Film Festival on March 12, 2015 - ISA: Film Factory Entertainment, U.S. Distribution: Outsider Pictures

Tight-sealed secrets begin to come undone in a ramshackle Spanish small town when a gruesome discovery brings a pair of outsiders to investigate in Alberto Rodríguez’ enigmatic thriller “Marshland” (La Isla Minima). Set in the 1980s post-Franco era, the mysterious events carry deep-rooted fears and an ever-present sense of mistrust associated with the fact that the "democratic state" is still something new.

Brutal repression and corruption were the norm for many decades here, and to think it all has changed so fast is more an illusion than anything anyone really believes. This murky divide between the new Spain that exists in theory and the darkness that lies underneath corroding society is encompassed in a film that deliberately opens many cans of worms but doesn't focus on tying all the lose ends, is in that vagueness that Rodriguez achieves brilliance.

Removed from their original posts in the city due to undisclosed circumstances, two homicide detectives are entrusted with the mission of finding two missing teenage girls in the wetlands of Rio Guadalquivir in southern Spain. For Pedro (Raúl Arévalo), the youngest and more idealistic of the two, this assignment feels like a punishment. He plays by the rules and does his job with an unflinching sense of duty. Pedro has definitely more at stake than his partner, Juan (Javier Gutiérrez), who is outspoken about not wishing to become a hero. While both may have unflattering baggage, Juan's past quickly reveals itself to be one helmed by ruthless violence. Polarizing ideologies an all, the odd duo must reach a middle ground in order to successfully find the girls, or those who might have hurt them.

The well-known good cop/bad cop dynamic comes into play when Juan and Pedro try to get information from the frightened locals. On the surface Juan’s approach is much more relaxed and goes along with the idiosyncrasies of this remote place. He speaks calmly and even appears sympathetic to everyone’s concerns. This is a man with experience, even if it was forged by questionable practices during the military dictatorship. Gutierrez marvelously imbues his character with unnerving ambiguity as if every decision he makes is somewhere in between a genuine intention to solve the case and a self-serving tactic to take advantage of the situation. Honest Pedro abides by opposite principles and comes off as an insensitive snub at first in the eyes of the townspeople. His family back home is a constant reminder that he needs to remain focused and get this done fast. Contrasting with Gutierrez’ seemingly nonchalant performance, Arevalo exudes trustworthiness still untainted by cynicism. Both thespians give “Marshland” a set of balanced perspectives needed to take on what will be thrown at them.

Guiding us through a tapestry of deceit with every twist, Rodriguez reveals small glimpses of what could be the truth in every scene. Insignificant pieces of new information that slowly build a puzzle far more complex than expected. Following several visits to the missing girls' parents, their classmates, and other people who might have seen something, the two detectives are pointed to Quini (Jesús Castro), the town’s Casanova. The blue-eyed young man is known as “El Guapo” or “The Handsome One,” and has an arrogant attitude that makes him a prime suspect in the investigation. But when the girl’s bodies are found raped, tortured, and mutilated, Juan and Pedro realize that these murders are just the tip of the iceberg in an intricate criminal network fueled by hopelessness.

Supporting the director's piercing vision of his homeland at a crucial and transformative time is Alex Catalán's exquisite cinematography, which matches the caliber of any American studio production. Especially stunning is the opening credit sequence that highlights the otherworldly landscapes of the region adding to the story’s allure. By focusing on the vastness and isolation that mark this rice-producing part of the country, the film allows for the horrendous to hide in plain sight and become all the more intriguing.

Once the lifeless victims appear, the protagonists’ quest turns into a manhunt to track down whoever is behind it before he or she kills again, but the motivations are as difficult to pinpoint as the perpetrators. Poverty is at the center of most vices that afflict this community. People here - particularly young girls - want to escape the lack of opportunities and see any job prospects in the city as a magical chance for a new life. Those who abducted and murdered the sisters preyed on that desire and their naïve hopes. Underscoring the central conflict are other subtle indicators that the reason behind these events is dubious. There are farm workers on strike asking for better wages from the local tycoon who indiscriminately profits from the land, and an overall atmosphere of desperation permeates most households.

Under such strenuous financial pressures it’s not surprising that people are willing to venture into illegal activities, but with every new uncovered clue the detectives have to shift their attention from drug trafficking, to what could be some sort of snuff photography, to the possibility of the girls’ families being involved. It’s a tricky plot to wrap one’s head around. Eventually - and elevating the tension to even greater heights - Juan’s turbulent history is presented to Pedro by an avid journalist, but by now a supportive relationship has developed between the two partners. Instinctively Pedro refuses to believe the Juan he knows and the one from his past are the same person, but caution is his best ally.

Even with the countless subplots and red herrings that construct it, “Marshland” never loses sight of its core subject that resides within Pedro and Juan’s shaky bond. One represents the romanticized idea of justice that should reign over a nation reborn, while the other works as a reminder that the malevolent practices that savagely oppressed them never perished. Arevalo and Goya Award-winner Gutierrez are superb in every turn of this maze-like mystery. They manage to encapsulate the complexities of two opposing visions of Spain in their performances. Their rapport is so effective on screen that at times Arevalo‘s Pedro takes on the violent qualities of his fellow detective, and the lines between the two dramatically blur.

Certainty and unquestionable answers aren’t included in “Marshland,” and that could be problematic for the spectator that looks for closure, but by forfeiting the notion that everything must be resolved, Rodriguez crafts a much more enthralling film. He distills the troubles of modern Spain into a classically arranged thriller, and through that familiar premise the filmmaker manages to create so much more. One small town and a handful of characters express more about the country’s societal division than a larger scale story could. “Marshland” is also a technically immaculate production on all fronts from the costume design to its chilling musical score. It feels like a major motion picture while retaining its art house appeal. With a film like this, it would seem like Alberto Rodriguez is ready for Hollywood, but let’s hope he continues to make works as thought provoking as this, because “Marshland” is definitely an extraordinary, career-defining achievement.

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Follow Carlos Aguilar on Twitter @Carlos_Film and on Instagram @carlosfilm

Outsider Pictures Pockets $15K with Miami Grand Prize Win

Sydney Levine — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 21:00:00 GMT

During the 31st edition of the Miami International Film Festival, Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Coimbra's debut feature film, A Wolf at the Door (O Lobo atrás da porta), was the big winner, nabbing the prestigious Knight Grand Jury Prize and Best Director awards in the Knight Competition, which features first-time feature filmmakers from Latin America, Spain and Portugal.

Recently receiving awards for Best Brazilian Film at Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, and the Horizons Award for Best Film at San Sebastián Film Festival, A Wolf at the Door deals with a complicated love triangle, police intrigue, shocking drama, and edge-of-your-seat suspense, intermingled in this fact-based story of the disappearance of a young girl in suburban Rio.

By securing the deal, Outsider Pictures will receive the $15,000 half of the Knight Grand Jury Prize of $30,000. The first $15,000 half of the prize had already been award to the film’s primary production company, Gullane Filmes based in São Paolo, Brazil. The film is set to open in its native Brazil on May 29th, with a US release to follow later this summer.

Why Miami Is Celebrating a Cinematic Revolution

Emma Myers — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:15:21 GMT

While the rest of the world bemoans the decay of cinema, in Miami, where everything is barefoot and fancy-free, the city is celebrating its re-birth.

"Miami is undergoing a cinematic revolution," the trailer for 31st Miami International Film Festival boasts. It's a ringing endorsement for a festival who’s location is more readily associated with artificially enhanced bodies riding around on roller blades than it is with art house cinema, but the ethos can be genuinely felt amongst programmers and festival goers alike.

With 141 films representing 39 countries, MIFF is a sizeable festival that nevertheless feels contained, navigable, and remarkably relaxed. For anyone accustomed to the frenzied festival routine of sprinting to 9 a.m. screenings, squeezing five movies into one day, and standing in serpentine queues in less than desirable weather, Miami may come as a bit of a shock to the system. Screenings don’t begin until late in the afternoon or early evening and audiences are notorious for showing up late. "We don’t want to be in competition with the sun," said festival director Jaie Laplante.

A Canadian transplant from Alberta, Laplante came on board the film festival in 2010 after serving as the associate director of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (his partnership with Lee Brian Schrager has carried over in the form of MIFF’s Culinary Cinema sidebar). "I've never held a job for more than four years," Laplante says. "But I’m very happy here. If I can use that restless spirit to keep the festival alive and satisfying, then that’s a good thing."

Indeed, MIFF does not want for variety, its eclectic programming reflecting the diversity of the city's ever-changing population. From the crowd-pleasing opener "Elsa and Fred," starring Christopher Plummer and Shirley MacLaine to the rich offerings of the Knight Documentary Competition programmed by veteran Thom Powers (who also programs for the Toronto International Film Festival and runs both DOC NYC and the Montclair Film Festival), the distinctly community-minded festival offers something for everyone — but it's the Latin American and Spanish language selection that distinguishes MIFF from other film festivals in the United States.

"Part of what attracts people to this place is that it’s between two worlds — it’s not really America, it’s not really Latin America," Laplante said. "People really thrive on that electricity." MIFF’s core mission is to support Latin American cinema entering the United States, and that support extends far beyond the hundred-odd minutes of screening time filmmakers get at the festival. "We’re not just here to put the films up on screen for the 200 people that are going to see them that day," said Laplante. "It's a long range vision."

The Enquentros program provides the backbone for that vision, facilitating post-production for Latin American features that could use a financial boost to make inroads into the marketplace. Each year MIFF screens five films near completion to industry professionals with the chance of winning a $35,000 prize. "That can have a huge impact for films of this budget range," Laplante explained.

Although the program has been in place for 12 years, it was Laplante who smartly implemented the strategy of holding half of the prize money in trust for 30 days with the goal of leveraging those dollars to land U.S. distribution contract. It’s a win-win scenario: if a film secures a deal that money goes to the distributor for promotional purposes; if it doesn’t, the remainder of the prize simply lands in the hands of the producer.

Last year’s winner, "All About the Feathers" (“Por Las Plumas”), the feature debut from Costa Rican director Neto Villalobos, is just one Enquentros success story. After picking up both a sales agent (Urban Distribution) and distributor (Outsider Pictures), the minimalist yet poignantly deadpan comedy about a man's bond with his pet rooster enjoyed its world premiere at TIFF and stood out as a clear highlight of this year’s competition.

Though Spain consistently represents the largest national contingent at the festival, MIFF showcases films from countries that rarely see screen time elsewhere in the U.S. Particularly noteworthy this year were René Sampaio’s viscerally engaging “Brazilian Western,” Fernando Eimbcke’s endearingly awkward coming of age tale “Club Sandwich” from Mexico, and Leticia Tonos Paniagua’s politically eye opening “Cristo Rey,” a co-production between the Dominican Republic, France, and Haiti.

"We’re not at a level where we’re influencing national exhibition strategy," Laplante said, "but we’re making a difference for these films."

Overlapping with Austin’s SXSW, Miami certainly doesn’t draw the same kind of attention from press and industry as some of the country’s major festivals, but it serves its own community in ways most other festivals do not.

"This festival serves a very different purpose," explained Powers. "There are festivals where the majority of the people you run into are people who have flown in from somewhere else, where in Miami the majority of the people are from Miami." Indeed, the absence of the habitual circle of critics and industry personalities is as disorienting as it is liberating. “It’s nice to be in an environment where some of the pressure is off,” Powers said. “In last four years, we’ve been trying to cultivate an audience here and have watched it grow.”

The cultivation of said audience is due in large part to Miami’s recent transformation from a city with just one independent cinema to a city with six. The festival and its repertory film houses work together as a kind of positive feedback loop; both Powers and Laplante credited Miami’s bourgeoning O Cinema with fostering a filmic appetite in the city that the festival is able to increasingly draw upon year after year.

Co-founded by Kareem Tabsch and Vivan Marthell with the help of a $400,000 grant from the city’s Knight Foundation, O Cinema has been able to fill a niche for challenging year-round programming that was hitherto absent in Miami. Reinventing (and renovating) a sculptor’s studio in the up and coming hipster haven of Wynwood — a neighborhood that recalls Brooklyn for it’s street art, Portland-imported coffee, and overpriced organic smoothies — O Cinema can attribute much of its success to the city’s growing population of young people. "This isn't the retiree heaven of 'The Golden Girls' anymore,” Tabsch observed. "It's a younger city with many young professionals and a lot of transplants from Latin American, Europe, Russia and the Caribbean. In that sense, it's never been more cosmopolitan before and it's never been as young."

Demographics alone suggest that there’s room for significant development in Miami’s cinematic future. "Look at the statistics of how the nation is growing," Tabsch said. "Latinos are poised to be the largest ethnic group in the nation." In Miami, of course, this is already the case, with well over 50% of the city’s population identifying as Latin American.

"We are well positioned to play a significant role in shaping the cinematic identity of Latinos in the United States," Tabsch said, "if we step up to the challenge. We have the enthusiasm of the pioneer town here — a sense distinctly absent from New York or L.A. that there is space for something new to be accomplished rather than being bogged down by the feeling that everything’s already been done."

30th Miami International Film Festival Reveals Full Lineup

Erin Whitney — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:33:17 GMT

The 30th anniversary edition of the Miami International Film Festival (March 1-10) has announced its full slate, which this year includes 45 films that will be making their world, international, North American and U.S. premieres.

World premieres include "The Boy Who Smells Like Fish" starring Zoe Kravitz and Douglass Smith about a lonely boy with a weird condition, "Eenie Meenie Miney Moe," a crime drama about a two truck driver from the team behind MIFF11's "Magic City Memoirs," "Sanitarium" starring Robert Englund, Malcom McDowell, and Loud Diamond Phillips in three separate stories set in a mental asylum, and "Marriage (Matrimonio)" loosely based on James Joyce's "Ulysses" starring Cecilia Roth and Dario Grandinetti.

The festival will open with Morgan Neville's "Twenty Feet From Stardom," which turns the spotlight on the many unknown backup singers behind famed musicans like Stevie Wonder and Mick Jagger. Maiken Baird and Michelle Major's "Venus and Serena," a revealing look at the tennis champion sisters will close the festival on March 10.

Full lineup can be found on page two with synopses courtesy of Miami.

10 World Premiere Features

"The Boy Who Smells Like Fish" (Canada/Mexico, directed by Analeine Cal y Mayor)
A lonely young boy with an odd medical condition is befriended by a new girl (Zoe Kravitz) who is the only one not put off by his strange circumstances.
"Calloused Hands" (USA, directed by Jesse Quiñones)
A Miami boy’s journey into manhood over the most important summer of his life as he must learn to escape the influence of his mother’s alcoholic boyfriend (Andre Royo of “The Wire”).
"Cinco De Mayo: The Battle" (Mexico, directed by Rafa Lara)
An epic and emotional history of the Battle of Puebla, immortalized 150 years ago on May 5, 1862, when the small, poorly equipped Mexican army stunned its French occupiers with a decisive victory.
"Eenie Meenie Miney Moe" (USA, directed by Jokes Yanes)
From the creative team of MIFF11's massive hit "Magic City Memoirs," a visionary new look at Miami’s mean streets.
"The Go Doc Project" (USA, directed by Cory James Krueckeberg)
Too shy to make a proper introduction, a recent college grad devises to shoot a documentary about the NYC nightlife scene in order to meet the go-go guy he’s cyber-obsessed with.
"Marriage (Matrimonio)" (Argentina, directed by Carlos Jaureguialzo)
Cecilia Roth and Dario Grandinetti star in this drama about a married couple struggling to keep their union afloat; based loosely on James Joyce's “Ulysses.”
"The Midnight Game" (USA, directed by Alejandro Calvo)
A group of teenagers get together at an old house to enact a ritual called “The Midnight Game;” will they live to tell about it?
"Sanitarium" (USA, directed Bryan Ramirez)
Malcom McDowell, Lou Diamond Phillips and Robert Englund star in three separate stories set in an eerie mental asylum.
"Solo" (Uruguay/Argentina/Netherlands/France, directed by Guillermo Rocamora)
A trumpeter for the Uruguayan Air Force Band finds an opportunity to make his dreams come true after enrolling in a music contest.
"Viva Cuba Libre: Rap Is War" (USA, directed by Jesse Acevedo)
Risking his freedom, director Jesse Acevedo documents the extraordinary underground rap music that is helping brew a new counterrevolution within Cuba.

3 World Premiere Short Films

"Eleven: Twelve" (USA/Portugal, directed by JC Barros)
"Red Wine" (Vino Tinto) (USA, directed by Carlos Gutierrez)
"Yasuni" (Ecuador, directed by Nicolas Entel)

5 International Premiere Features

"Miguel, San Miguel" (Chile, directed by Matías Cruz)
Music bio-pic tracing the beginnings of rebel Chilean band Los Prisioneros, in the midst of that country's dictatorship.
"The Moving Creatures" (O Que Se Move) (Brazil, directed by Caetano Gotardo)
Three mothers cope with their worst nightmare, the loss of a child, in separate tales that astonish with narrative innovation and stylistic surprises.
"Rio 2096: A Story Of Love And Fury" (Uma História De Amor E Fúria) (Brazil, directed by Luiz Bolognesi)
A futuristic animated fantasy that charts 600 years of Brazilian culture's evolution to present day, and beyond.
"The Trip 2 (El Paseo 2)" (Colombia, directed by Harold Trompetero)
John Leguizamo and Karen Martinez star as a married couple who embark on an increasingly disastrous vacation in this Colombian box office mega-hit.
"Vinyl Days" (Días De Vinilo) (Argentina/Colombia, directed by Gabriel Nesci)
Childhood friends who have grown up together sharing a fascination for classic rock on vinyl run aground in various ways when adulthood strikes.

1 International Premiere Short Film

"Of Other Carnivals (De Outros Carnavais)" (Brazil, directed by Paulo Miranda)

9 North American Premiere Features

"Dark Blood" (Netherlands, directed by George Sluizer, music by Florencia di Concilio)
River Phoenix's final movie has its US premiere, 20 years after his tragic death.
"My German Friend (El Amigo Alemán)" (Germany/Argentina, directed by Jeanine Meerapfel)
A young Jewish woman falls in love with the son of German Nazis hiding in Buenos Aires after the war.
"A Gun In Each Hand (Una Pistola En Cada Mano)" (Spain, directed by Cesc Gay)
An all-star mostly male cast (including Ricardo Darín and Luis Tosar) field the melancholic, comedic, erotic and dramatic mysteries of women.
"Measuring The World (Die Vermessung Der Welt)" (Germany, directed by Detlev Buck
Mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss and geographer/explorer Alexander von Humboldt's achievements and adventures come to life in amazing 3D.
"Molasses (Melaza)" (Cuba/France/Panama, directed by Carlos Días Lechuga)
Monica and Aldo cling to hope after the sugar mill is shut down and the social order begins to disintegrate in Melaza, Cuba.
"No Autumn, No Spring (Sin Otoño Sin Primavera)" (Ecuador/France, directed by Iván Mora)
Punk ballad that portrays the life of good-student-turned-rebel Lucas living in Guayaquil, while Martin returns from wandering abroad to visit ex-girlfriend Antonia, who has a wild proposal.
"A Perfect Plan (Un Plan Parfait)" (France, directed by Pascal Chaumeil)
From the producers of the French hit "The Intouchables," Diane Kruger stars in this uproarious farce about a woman who goes to the ends of the earth to avoid her family's ages-old marriage curse.
"So Much Water (Tanta Agua)" (Uruguay/Mexico/Netherlands, directed by Ana Guevara & Leticia Jorge)
A family vacation is bogged down by unrelenting rain, as a teenage girl and her divorced father try to find common ground.
"Why Did You Leave? (Por Que Vocȇ Partiu?)" (Brazil, directed by Eric Belhassem)
Five exceptional French gastronomic chefs decide to leave their homes and rebuild their lives in Brazil and mesh their continental sensibilities, in different ways, with the rhythms of their new home.

16 U.S Premiere Features

"The Artist and the Model (El Artista y la Modelo)" (Spain, directed by Fernando Trueba)
Fernando Trueba marks a record 10th appearance at MIFF with his latest masterpiece, an elegiac drama of the passions of an elderly sculptor (the legendary Jean Rochefort) and his young muse. Claudia Cardinale also stars.
"Blondie" (Sweden, directed by Jesper Ganslandt)
Three sisters bring secrets and addictions home to their mother for her 70th birthday.
"Dust (Polvo)" (Guatemala, directed by Julio Hernández Cordón)
Juan is desperate to find the person responsible for his father’s disappearance, and his obsession will lead to fatal consequences.
"Capadocia 3" (Mexico/USA, directed by Pedro Pablo Ibarra, Javier Patrón, Moises Urquidi & Carlos Carrera)
The powerful Capadocia dramatizes the lives of various women imprisoned in a Mexico City jail.
"Comrade Kim Goes Flying" (Belgium/United Kingdom/D.P.R of Korea, directed by Anja Daelemans, Nicholas Bonner & Kim Gwang-hun)
Comrade Kim works as a coal miner in a small town but has big dreams of becoming an acrobat and performing at a circus in this unexpectedly wacky film from North Korea.
"Day Of The Flowers" (United Kingdom, directed by John Roberts)
Ballet superstar Carlos Acosta stars in this side-splitting tale of two Scottish sisters’ misadventures on a trip to Cuba.
"Dead Europe" (Australia/United Kingdom, directed by Tony Krawitz)
An Australian photographer finds shocking truths about his ancestry after he travels to Greece to reconnect with his family’s native land.
"Edificio Royale" (Colombia/Venezuela/Germany, directed by Iván Wild)
The tenants of a Colombian high-rise apartment crisscross with darkly comic misunderstandings, involving tarot cards, embalmed bodies, TV psychics, and Tom Cruise.
"Gone Fishing (Días De Pesca)" (Argentina, directed by Carlos Sorín)
Marco looks for redemption and reconciliation on a fishing trip in the beautiful countryside of Patagonia.
"Good Luck Sweetheart (Boa Sorte, Meu Amor)" (Brazil, directed by Daniel Aragão)
Upper-class playboy Dirceu falls in love with Maria, a beautiful music student from a blue-collar background, but when she disappears Dirceu falls into a downward spiral.
"Hand In Hand" (France, directed by Valérie Donzelli)
Hélène share a deep passion for contemporary dance, but Véro will soon realize she may lose Hélène … to Joakim, Véro’s husband.
"It Was the Son (É Stato il giglio)" (Italy, directed by Daniele Cipri)
The accidental killing of a young girl results in her family applying for compensation from the state for those affected by the Mafia, and the money begins to change family dynamics.
"L’Affaire Dumont" (Canada, directed by Daniel Grou)
Riveting true story about a convenience store clerk falsely accused and sentenced for rape, and his struggle to set himself free.
"Sagrada: The Mystery Of Creation (Sagrada: El Misteri De La Creasio)" (Switzerland, directed by Stefan Haupt)
In Barcelona, a crew of modern artisans reach deep within themselves to complete Gaudi’s vision for his masterwork Sagrada Familia cathedral
"Three Kids (Twa Timoun)" (Belgium/Haiti, directed by Jonas D’Adesky)
After Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake destroys their orphanage home, three boys wander the streets of Port-au-Prince, lost in the confusion and chaos that grips their nation.
"Villegas" (Argentina/Netherlands/France, directed by Gonzalo Tobal)
Two Argentine cousins are thrown together when they are forced to leave Buenos Aires for an unexpected, touching road trip to their childhood home.

1 U.S Premiere Short Film

"Ebb & Flow (A Onda Traz, O Vento Leva)" (Brazil/Spain, directed by Gabriel Mascaro)

Final River Phoenix Film 'Dark Blood' To Make U.S. Premiere At Miami International Film Festival

Kevin Jagernauth — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:40:06 GMT

Okay, so here's the background: A little over a year ago, director George Sluizer announced that he was going to finish River Phoenix's final film "Dark Blood," by re-cutting the footage and using voiceover to patch up narrative gaps. The Phoenix family washed their hands of the effort, releasing a statement that they would not be participating in the venture, but Sluzier pushed on. Overcoming some legal hurdles, and finding a way to finish the movie that only had 11 days left to shoot when Phoenix died, he crossed the finish line and at the Dutch Film Festival last fall, premiered the completed work. And now, it's coming to the United States.

The Miami International Film Festival announced they will be hosting the North American premiere of the movie. The film tells the story of a young, widowed man who lives on a remote nuclear testing site, who takes in a jet-set couple (Judy Davis and Jonathan Pryce) when their car breaks down, and begins a troubled relationship with the former. Here's the full synopsis:

Jet-set Hollywood couple Harry (Jonathan Pryce) and Buffy (Judy Davis) travel through the desert on a second honeymoon, trying to save their marriage. Their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere leaving them to find shelter in Boy’s (River Phoenix) beaten down shack, unaware they will become his prisoners. Boy’s wife died of leukemia after nuclear tests occurred in the desert leaving him alone and far away from society. Buffy is seduced by Boy’s honesty and vulnerabilities, while Harry represents everything Boy hates about the civilized world and its culture. Buffy decides to sleep with Boy to buy the couple’s freedom, but these circumstances will push Harry to the edge, leading to a terrible tragedy.

No matter what you might think about Sluzier finishing the movie, it certainly wasn't something that was decided on a whim. Sluzier saved the footage from being burned in 1999, and it was only a decade later when he decided to try and complete it, spurred by his health issues. “[The] fact is, I suddenly became ill about 4 years ago -- an aneurysm -- and was told my years could be limited,” Sluizer said in video posted to a crowfunding campaign for the project. “So I wanted to finish the movie now. It came as an urgency to me, but I also knew there was still good film material.”

So, we'll soon see the results. No word yet on if there will be theatrical release of some kind, but perhaps keep your eyes peeled on festival circuit for now. The Miami International Film Festival runs from March 1-10.

River Phoenix's Final Film 'Dark Blood' to Premiere at Miami Film Festival

Jay A. Fernandez — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:01:00 GMT

The final film made by River Phoenix, “Dark Blood,” will receive its North American debut at the 30^th annual Miami International Film Festival 20 years after it was made. The festival runs March 1-10.

Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis co-star in the film directed by George Sluizer, which follows a couple trying to save their marriage when their car breaks down in the desert. Taking shelter with a secluded young man who has lost his wife to leukemia, they quickly become his prisoners, leading to a tragic series of consequences.

When Phoenix died of a drug overdose in 1993 at age 23, he had completed 80% of filming on “Dark Blood.” Sluizer saved the footage and finally finished production on it, then world premiered it at the Dutch Film Festival last fall.

"‘Dark Blood’ is a film of legend, one of Hollywood’s great mysteries,” said MIFF executive director Jaie Laplante. “The tragic loss of River Phoenix’s outstanding talent is still profoundly felt 20 years later. We are proud that George Sluizer has honored Miami as the place to finally share his remarkable collaboration with Phoenix and the other great artists involved with ‘Dark Blood.’”

Phoenix, the brother of Oscar-nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master”), was nominated himself for a supporting role in “Running on Empty” in 1989 and won an Independent Spirit Award for his lead role in “My Own Private Idaho” in 1991. His work in “Stand By Me,” “The Mosquito Coast” and “Sneakers” also showed him to be an emotionally mature actor with great promise. That he played the young Indiana Jones in “The Last Crusade” with Harrison Ford’s particular comic swagger points to more of what was lost when he passed.

Miami International Film Festival to Honor Lasse Hallström and Fernando Trueba; Directors Will Premiere New Films

Eric Mattina — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:30:46 GMT

As the Miami International Film Festival approaches its milestone 30th anniversary, MIFF will for the first time honor two directors with a Career Achievement Tribute: Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallström and Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba, with screenings of new works from both directors. Previous honorees include Luc Besson, Wim Wenders and Susanne Bier.

Hallström, who has found success with both highly acclaimed films in his native Sweden ("My Life As A Dog") as well as in the United States ("What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" "The Cider House Rules"), brings the festival "The Hypnotist," which marks the first film he has made in Sweden in twenty-five years. Revolving around a "disgraced hypnotist whose son disappears after he secretly aids a police detective trying to solve a brutal and horrifying murder," the film stars Lena Olin and Mikael Persbrandt. It is also Sweden's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at next year's Academy Awards. Hallström hosted the U.S. premiere of "My Life As A Dog" at MIFF nearly 30 years ago.

Fernando, fresh off his animated Oscar-nominated "Chico & Rita" earlier this year, will showcase his new World War II-set film "The Artist and the Model," which was on Spain's shortlist for their Oscar submission (the prize going to the silent take on Snow White, "Blancanieves"). The director has appeared at the Festival ten times, with three of his films acting as Opening Night events.

The Festival runs March 1-March 10. More information can be found on the Festival's official website.

David Frankel, Bruce Weber to Attend Miami Film Festival Retrospective

Justin Krajeski — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:10:30 GMT

The 30th edition of the Miami International Film Festival, produced and presented by Miami Dade College, will commemorate its anniversary with a 29-day "Countdown Retrospective" film series. The retrospective will consist of screenings at MDC's Tower Theater of one film each consecutive night that represents each festival year, and it will feature special guests such as director David Frankel ("The Devil Wears Prada," "Hope Springs") and filmmaker Bruce Weber ("Let's Get Lost").

MIFF executive director Jaie Laplante said, "What a treat it has been to look through our back catalogues, reliving the excitement of MIFF's great moments, and recharting the growth from the early triumphs of our founding fathers to the new era of our modern festival."

Beginning with a rare 35mm screening of Pedro Almodóvar's "Dark Habits (Entre tinieblas)," the retrospective will kick off Jan. 26. Frankel's "Miami Rhapsody" will screen Feb. 8, one week after Weber's "Let's Get Lost" shows Feb. 1 -- both directors will be in attendance for the screenings of their movies and to answer audience questions. On Feb. 24, Uberto Pasolini's Venice Film Festival winner "Machan" will screen, and there will be a screening of Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando's Goya award winner "Chico & Rita" Feb. 26.

The full line-up of films to be shown in the "Countdown Retrospective" can be found here.

Outsider Pictures Picks Up 'Las Acacias'

Aaron Bogert — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:18:28 GMT

Outsider Pictures, which specializes in Spanish-language releases, has secured the US distribution rights to Pablo Giorgelli's "Las Acacias."

The film was screening at the Miami International Film Festival, where it was competing in the Lexus Ibero-American Opera-Prima Competition, when Outsider made the deal. Prior to that the film had already had success at other festivals, including Cannes, where it won the Camera d’Or prize for Best First Film.

Full press release below:

Outsider Pictures today announced the acquisition of Pablo Giorgelli’s Las Acacias from French-based international film sales and distribution company Urban Distribution International,for US theatrical distribution in the United States.

The deal was announced via the Industry Office of the 29^th annual Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), produced and presented by Miami Dade College (MDC). Las Acacias was screened as part of MIFF’s new category, the Lexus Ibero-American Opera-Prima Competition.

“We’re excited to add this award winning story from this promising director to our catalogue of films,”said Paul Hudson, co-founder of Outsider Pictures. “This beautiful cinematic cross-country tour of Argentina is touching and we are sure it will resonate with audiences.”

“Outsider Pictures has superb instincts in acquiring intriguing, high-quality Latin American films for the U.S. market ,”said MIFF executive director Jaie Laplante. “I am certain that Pablo Giorgelli's beautifully realized labor of love will be a success for Outsider. ”

Already a winner of major prizes at last year’s Cannes Film Festival (Camera d’Or for Best First Film) and the Latin Horizons prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Giorgelli’s film unfolds along the highway linking Asunción to Buenos Aires, which trucker Rubén is accustomed to traveling solo. This time, however, he’s got a passenger, Jacinta, and a road full of revelations on the horizon. Giorgelli’s film was co-produced by Buenos Aires-based companies AIRECINE and Utópica Cine, along with Armonika Entertainment from Spain.

The deal was negotiated by Hudson and Urban Distribution's Eric Schnedecker.

Las Acacias is the second film acquired by Outsider Pictures in the MIFF line-up. As previously announced, Outsider picked up MIFF's Lexus Audience Award winner Juan of The Dead, just prior to the Festival.

Miami International Film Festival Announces Lineup, Will Open With "Mariachi Gringo"

Steve Greene — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:52:22 GMT

The Miami International Film Festival announced the lineup for 29th annual event with Tom Gustafson’s “Mariachi Gringo” starring Shawn Ashmore opening the festival March 2.

“Chinese Take-Away,” directed by Sebastián Borensztein and starring Ricardo Darín (“The Secret in Their Eyes”) will round out Awards Night on the 10th.

Amont the slate of 100 features are seven world premieres, five international premieres, 10 North American premieres and 10 US premieres. Selected films will represent categories including World Directors, Québec Cinema and modern Cuban life.

Ten documentaries will compete for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Award, which carries with it a $10,000 grand prize. A recognition of the career of screen veteran Robert Loggia is also scheduled to take place.

The 29th Annual Miami International Film Festival, presented by Miami Dade College, will take place March 2-11, 2012.

The full announcement of the festival lineup is below:

The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), produced and presented by Miami Dade College (MDC), announced today its official lineup of red carpet Olympia Theater galas, parties, education seminars and international film premieres that will make up the Festival’s showcase of more than 100 films from 35 countries during the 10-day event, which runs March 2-11, 2012.

On Friday, March 2^nd, the Festival commences with its Opening Night Film, the World Premiere of Tom Gustafson’s musical tour-de-force Mariachi Gringo. The drama stars Shawn Ashmore (“Iceman” in X-Men) as a young man from Kansas who falls in love with the mariachi lifestyle, and travels to Guadalajara to prove that anything is possible. Ashmore and co-stars Academy Award nominee (Babel) Adriana Barraza and Mexican starlet Martha Higareda are expected to attend the premiere.   A gala party will be held following the screening at the historic Alfred I. Dupont Building, which will be transformed into a gigantic speakeasy with jazz musicians and dancers.  Patron will serve refreshing XO café cocktails and many of Miami’s best restaurants, including Altamare, 5 Napkin Burger and Meat Market, will offer delicious samplings.

The Festival’s Awards Night takes place on Saturday, March 10^th before the screening of the U.S. Premiere of Chinese Take-Away. Winner of three Argentinean Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, director Sebastián Borensztein’s touching fish out of water comedy stars Argentine superstar Ricardo Darín as a shopkeeper who takes in an illegal immigrant desperate to find his extended family. Darín, who starred in the 2010 Academy Award-winning film The Secret in Their Eyes, and Borensztein are expected to attend the premiere. The Festival will celebrate the award winners in all categories with an awards night wrap party at MDC’s historic Freedom Tower. The fete will include Ultimat Vodka “therapists” on hand to provide partygoers with a personal social audit via a social media application. Food stations will be catered by Hard Rock Café and desserts courtesy of First & First.

“It’s exciting to introduce audiences to films filled with provocative and dynamic educational topics,” notes Miami Dade College President Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón. “As a whole, the program makes bold statements about the world we live in and challenges audiences to think about our changing world.”

“Now in our 29^th year, it’s exciting to see MIFF’s reputation, as an influential and unique player among U.S. and international film festivals, become stronger and stronger,” said MIFF Executive Director Jaie Laplante. “The Festival has emerged as key indicator of the health and creativity of the film industry. The significant quality of the films in and out of competition proves it will be an exciting year for film lovers.”

7 WORLD PREMIERE FEATURES

Born & Raised (USA); La Casa Del Ritmo, A Film About Los Amigos Invisibles (USA/Ecuador); The Diary of Preston Plummer (USA); Hombre y Tierra (USA); Mariachi Gringo (Mexico/USA); The Porcelain Horse (Mejor no hablar (de ciertas cosas)) (Ecuador); Underground Hip-Hop in China (China/USA)

4 WORLD PREMIERE SHORTS

The Beach Chronicles AGX (USA); Beyond Assignment (USA); Cell Phone Zombies (Cel zombies) (Ecuador); Shift (USA)

5 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERES

180 Seconds (180 segundos)(Colombia); Baracoa: Where Cuba Began (Baracoa: 500 Años Despues) (Spain); Ben Lee: Catch My Disease (Australia);  Speechless (Sin palabras) (Colombia); Zoo (Zoológico) (Chile)

10 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERES

Annalisa (Il Paese Delle Spose Infelici) (Italy);Choked (South Korea); Code Blue (The Netherlands); A Cube of Sugar (Ye Habeh Gand) (Iran);  I’d Receive the Worst News From Your Beautiful Lips (Eu Receberia As Piores Notícias De Seus Lindos Lábios) (Brazil); In The Name of The Girl (En el nombre de la hija) (Ecuador); Motherland or Death (Patria o Muerte) (Russia); Pescador (Ecuador/ Colombia); Promising The Moon (Das Blaue Vom Himmel) (Germany); Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You (Un Giorno Questo Dolore Ti  Sará Utile)  (Italy/USA)

10 U.S. PREMIERES

Chinese Take-Away (Un cuento chino) (Argentina/Spain); The Cat Vanishes (El gato desaparece) (Argentina); Distance (Distancia) (Guatemala); The Fifth Commandment (El quinto mandamiento) (Mexico); Heleno (Brazil); The Sleeping Voice (La voz dorminda) (Spain); Porfirio (Colombia/Spain/ Uruguay/Argentina/France); The Strawberry Tree (El arbol de las fresas) (Canada); UFO In Her Eyes (Germany/China); Vaquero (Argentina)

This year’s Festival will include films directed by:

Sean Ackerman, Dominic Allan, Javier Andrade, Urzula Antoniak, Andrea Arnold, Anthony Baxter, Joe Berlinger, Sebastián Borensztein, Beto Brant,   Laura Brownson, Alejandro Brugués, João Canijo, Simone Rapisarda Casanova, Renato Ciasca,  Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Terence Davies, Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Roberto Faenza, Tim Fehlbaum, Joel Fendelman, José Henrique Fonseca, Pablo Giorgelli, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Xiaolu Guo, Tom Gustafson, Cristián Jiménez, Bess Kargman, Lawrence Kasdan, Yorgos Lanthimos, Bart Layton, Beth Levison,  Rodrigo Marín, Albert Maysles, Matias Meyer,  Riza Mirkarimi, Ben Murray, Alysa Nahimas, Pawel Pawlikowski, Anne  Renton, Carlos Sorín, Ken Scott, Santiago Segura, Susan Seidelman, Hans Steinbichler, Joachim Trier, David Trueba, Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Andrés Wood, and Benito Zambrano, among many others.

This year’s Festival will include films featuring:

María Abadi, Shawn Ashmore, Adriana Barraza, Harry Belafonte, Marisa Berenson,  Blanca Rosa Blanco, The Beastie Boys, Ellen Burstyn, David Byrne, Jean-Marc Calvet, Angie Cepeda, Richard Chamberlin, Rae Dawn Chong, Andrés Crespo, Claire Daines, Ricardo Darín, Germán de Silva, Emily Deschanel, Hebe Duarte, Jerry Hall, Peter Gallagher, Francisca Gavilán, Marcia Gay Harden, Whoopi Goldberg, Ethan Hawke, Hannah Herzsprung, Tom Hiddleston,  Patrick Huard, Richard Jenkins, Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Stephen Lang, Lucy Liu, Ben Lee, John Leguizamo, Paul McCartney, Robert Loggia, Trevor Morgan, Elizabeth Peña, Paulina Porizkova, Jason Ritter, Isabella Rossellini, Simon Russell Beale, Winona Ryder, José Sacristán, Muriel Santa Ana, Rodrigo Santoro, Susan Sarandon, Jason Schwartzman, Jason Segal, Santiago Segura, Sam Shepard, Paul Simon, Kristin Scott Thomas,  Donald Trump, Christy Turlington, Kathleen Turner, María Valverde, Diana Vreeland, Rachel Weisz, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams, Rumer Willis and Oprah Winfrey, among many others.

OLYMPIA THEATER GALAS

This year’s nine Olympia Theater Galas, sponsored by Downtown Development Authority, screen at Miami’s historic 1,567-seat Gusman Center for the Performing Arts.  In addition to the Opening and Awards Night presentations, the Gala series includes:

·       Darling Companion (USA, directed by Lawrence Kasden)

·       The Deep Blue Sea (UK, directed by Terence Davies)

·       The Diary of Preston Plummer (USA, directed by Sean Ackerman) – stars Robert Loggia and Rumer Willis are expected to attend

·       Heleno (Brazil, directed by José Henrique Fonseca) – star Roberto Santoro is expected to attend

·       Juan of The Dead (Juan de los muertos) (Cuba/Spain, directed by Alejandro Brugués) – star Alexis Diaz de Villegas is expected to attend

·       Musical Chairs (USA, directed by Susan Seidelman)

·       Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You (Un Giorno Questo Dolore Ti Sará Utile)  (Italy/USA, directed by Roberto Faenza) – star Marcia Gay Harden is expected to attend

All directors of the Olympia Theater Galas are expected to be in attendance.

TRIBUTE TO ROBERT LOGGIA

On Monday, March 5^th, the Festival will celebrate the dynamic career of award-winning American actor Robert Loggia, prior to the World Premiere of Sean Ackerman’s made-in-Florida romance, The Diary of Preston Plummer.  Loggia, a veteran Hollywood character actor and 1985 Academy Award nominee for Jagged Edge, is well-loved by Miami audiences for his role as Frank Lopez in Brian de Palma’s classic Scarface, and has made many more memorable appearances in films such as Big, Independence Day, Prizzi’s Honor, Lost Highway, An Officer and a Gentleman and HBO’s “The Sopranos”.

NEW FILM CATEGORIES

4 World Directors to Watch: a showcase of films by up-and-coming filmmakers hailing from the four corners of the globe. The category introduces Miami audiences to significant young talents working in Asia, South America, Europe and the Middle East. The lineup includes:

·       Choked (Ga-si) (South Korea, directed by Kim Joong-hyun)

·       Porfirio (Colombia/Spain/Uruguay/Argentina/France, directed by Alejandro Landes)

·       Annalisa (Il Paese Delle Spose Infelici) (Italy, directed by Pippo Mezzapesa)

·       Habibi (Palestine/USA/The Netherlands/United Arab Emirates, directed by Susan Youssef)

Spotlight on Québec Cinema: On the heels of MIFF’s 2011 hit screening of Incendies, the Festival is proud to debut four new masterpieces from the Canadian region.

·       Café de Flore (Canada, directed by Jean-Marc Vallé)

·       Monsieur Lazhar (Canada, directed by Philippe Farlardeau)

·       The Salesman (Le Vendeur) (Canada, directed by Sebastién Pilote)

·       Starbuck (Canada, directed by Ken Scott)

America, The Beautiful: Celebrating the American independent voice, the Festival has programmed three must-watch films.

·       Jeff Who Lives At Home (USA, directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass)

·       Sawdust City (USA, directed by David Nordstrom)

·       Without (USA, directed by Mark Jackson)

Films for Youth: Created to broaden the horizons of young moviegoers and families, the Festival confirms two international films.

·       First Position (USA, directed by Bess Kargman)

·       In The Name of The Girl (En el nombre de la hija) (Ecuador, directed by Tania Hermida)

Cuba ³:  Three dynamic visions of contemporary Cuban life are depicted in this category about the controversial island regime.

·       Baracoa: Where Cuba Began (Baracoa: 500 Años Despues) (Spain, directed by Mauricio Vincent Mulet)

·       Motherland or Death (Patria o Muerte) (Russia, directed by Vitaliy Manski)

·       The Strawberry Tree (El arbol de las fresas) (Canada, directed by Simone Rapisarda Casanova)

Mayhem: Suspenseful genre thrillers intended to keep you on the edge of your seat. The three titles in this category include:

·       The Fifth Commandment (El quinto mandamiento) (Mexico, directed by Rafa Lara)

·       Hell (Germany/ Switzerland, directed by Tim Fehlbaum and executive produced by Roland Emmerich)

·       Hombre y Tierra (USA, directed by Christian Cisneros)

Miami Mavericks: Prolific in-depth conversations with filmmakers about their bourgeoning careers, film and industry.  This section will Feature an extended in-person session with Timothy Greenfield-Sanders about his film About Face.

·       About Face (USA, directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders)

KNIGHT DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Featuring a fascinating and provocative collection of new works from world renowned filmmakers, this year’s documentary films cover the world of photography, fashion, sports, entertainment, arts, music and world affairs. Ten titles will compete for a $10,000 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Award to be selected by a Grand Jury.

"Doc makers never cease to amaze us with the incredible stories and characters they capture,” said MIFF Senior Documentary Programmer Thom Powers. “These 10 films cover the gamut of emotions and expand our sense of wonder."

The ten films in the Knight Documentary Competition:

·       Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (USA, directed by Alison Klayman)

·       Ben Lee: Catch My Disease (Australia, directed by Amiel Courtin-Wilson)

·       Calvet (UK/Spain, directed by Dominic Allan):

·       First Position (USA, directed by Bess Kargman)

·       The Imposter (UK, directed by Bart Layton)

·       Lemon (USA, directed by Beth Levison and Laura Brownson)

·       The Strawberry Tree (El arbol de las fresas) (Canada, directed by Simone Rapisarda Casanova)

·       Under African Skies (USA, directed by Joe Berlinger)

·       Unfinished Spaces (USA, directed by Alysa Nahimas and Benjamin Murray)

·       You’ve Been Trumped (UK, directed by Anthony Baxter)

Additionally, MDC's Art Gallery System has scheduled an exhibit of Jean Marc-Calvet's work to coincide with the premiere of the film Calvet at MDC’s historic Freedom Tower, and Calvet is scheduled to attend in person. As well, Italian architect Roberto Gottardi, one of three architects to have created Cuba’s National Art Schools, is expected to attend the screenings of Unfinished Spaces.  More details will be released at a later date.

CINEMA 360 & DOC-YOU-UP

With a long-standing tradition of introducing some of the finest films from up-and-coming and established filmmakers from around the globe, the Festival will present more than a dozen international titles, in the popular non-competition categories of Cinema 360 and Doc-You-Up.  With films hailing from Iran, France, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Denmark, China, to name a few, highlights from the category include:

·       Baracoa: Where Cuba Began (Baracoa: 500 Años Despues)  (Spain, directed by Mauricio Vincent Mulet)

·       Beyond Assignment (USA, directed by Jim Virga) and Poetry of Resilience (USA, directed by Katja Esson)

·       Corpo Celeste (Italy, directed by Alice Rohrwacher)

·       A Cube of Sugar (Ye Habeh Gand) (Iran, directed by Reza Mirkarimi)

·       Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (USA, directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland)

·       Free Men (Les Hommes Libres) (France, directed by Ismael Ferroukhi)

·       The Kid with a Bike (Le Gamin au Velo) (Belgium/France/Italy, directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)

·       The Last Christeros (Los Ultimos Cristeros) (Mexico, directed by Matias Meyer)

·       The Opposite of Love (Lo Contrario Al Amor) (Spain, directed by Vicente Villaneuva)

·       Oslo, August 31^st (Norway, directed by Joachim Trier)

·       Pelotero (USA, directed by Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jonathan Paley)

·       Promising The Moon (Das Blaue Vom Himmel) (Germany, directed by Hans Steinbichler)

·       Superclasico (Denmark, directed by Ole Christian Madsen)

·       Torrente 4: Lethal Crisis (in 3D) (Spain, directed by Santiago Segura)

·       UFO in Her Eyes (Germany/China, directed by Xiaolu Guo)

·       The Woman in The Fifth (UK/France/Poland, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski)

·       Wuthering Heights (UK, directed by Andrea Arnold)

MIFF FESTIVAL VILLAGE

The Festival Village is a new high-profile integration of its program into the fabric of daily life in South Beach, offering the public free screenings of short films on Lincoln Road, interactive activities, chances to meet Festival guests and a Festival stage for photo opportunities.   The Village was made possible in part by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, in celebration of their declaration of March as the first-ever Miami Film Month, and the City of Miami Beach.

“These screenings and events will help propel Miami’s growing film scene to the next level,” said Laplante. “South Floridians and visitors will experience the art of film in a new environment and we’re excited to introduce a new way of showcasing the diverse work of our talented 2012 filmmakers.”

“We are truly excited with the launch of our first-ever Miami Film Month this March.” said William D. Talbert III, CDME, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It will be a celebration of all the amazing Film Festivals and Art Cinemas that call Miami home and will be modeled after our other highly successful programs such as Miami Spice and Miami Spa months.”

FLORIDA FOCUS, FROM THE VAULT and CINEMASLAM

An annual celebration of made -in-Florida films and Florida filmmakers, the program’s overall objective is to provide local producers and filmmakers an important and essential opportunity to exhibit their talents to a proud local audience. This year’s lineup includes The Diary of Preston Plummer, filmed in Florida’s Amelia Island, as part of the Olympia Theater Gala series, and the world premiere of Joshua Dragge’s Born & Raised, filmed in Panama City, FL.

Also featured as part of the Florida Focus program are Miami born-and-raised filmmakers, director Joel Fendelman, with his Arab/Jewish culture clash drama David, and producer Jen Dubin, with her new film, the Anne Renton-directed The Perfect Family, starring Kathleen Turner, Richard Chamberlin, Elizabeth Peña, Jason Ritter and Emily Deschanel.

MIFF’s traditional From The Vault returns with an iconic Florida documentary first released in 1986, the Maysles Brothers’ Islands. A fascinating look into Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s 1983 project, Surrounded Islands, which wrapped 11 islands of Biscayne Bay in pink fabric for 2 weeks with the help of 430 workers.  The last surviving director of the documentary, Albert Maysles, will travel to Miami to discuss the making of the film and his memory of the project from nearly 30 years ago.

Miami short filmmakers Kevin Sharpley (The Beach Chronicles), Jim Virga (Beyond Assignment) and Juan Carlos Zaldivar (Shift) will all world premiere new works in the Cinema 360 and Doc-You-Up sections.

As previously announced, showcasing the works of college-level auteurs in south Florida, the premiere student-film competition CinemaSlam returns and will crown the best made-in-south Florida short film created by undergraduate and graduate-film students attending five of the region’s collegiate institutions.  Voting commenced on January 3^rd and will run through January 27^th, the public will be able to help select the three finalists from each school by visiting www.miff.openfilm.com and rating/voting for their favorite films. Three films from each school will be selected as “CinemaSlam” finalists in an American Idol-style voting contest, with 50 percent of the score determined by online public voting and 50 percent determined by a select group of faculty member judges. The awards will be presented during the Festival at a special ceremony.

REEL MUSIC & CUTTING THE EDGE

Once again, music meets film at the Festival, this year in an entertaining trio.  The three film program consists of:

·       La Casa Del Ritmo, A Film About Los Amigos Invisibles (USA/Ecuador, directed by Javier Andrade)

·       One Night Stand (USA, directed by Elisabeth Sperling)

·       Underground Hip-Hop in China (China/USA, directed by Jimmy Wang)

The provocative Cutting The Edge program, featuring international films that push the boundaries of cinematic expectations, will include the Greek title Alps from Academy Award-nominated director Giorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth), and from Code Blue from The Netherlands, by director Urszula Antoniak, known to MIFF audiences from her 2010 MIFF appearance with her film Nothing Personal.

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED:  KNIGHT IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION, LEXUS IBERO-AMERICAN OPERA PRIMA COMPETITION & UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI GRAND JURY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM

Note: Since the official announcement, the Festival has confirmed the International Premiere of 180 Seconds (180 segundos) to its Lexus Ibero-American Opera Prima Competition

In December, the Festival announced its a powerhouse line-up of ten Ibero-American premieres  that will compete for $45,000  in jury prizes. The Festival’s signature Knight Ibero-American Competition boasts its strongest lineup in years, including new films from acclaimed veteran directors Carlos Sorin, David Trueba and Andrés Wood. The films competing include:  The Porcelain Horse (Mejor no hablar (de ciertas cosas)) (Ecuador); I’d Receive the Worst News From Your Beautiful Lips (Eu Receberia As Piores Notícias De Seus Lindos Lábios) (Brazil); Blood of My Blood (Sangue do Meu Sangue) (Portugal); Pescador (Ecuador/Colombia); Bonsái (Chile, Argentina, Portugal and France); Zoo (Zoológico) (Chile); The Cat Vanishes (El gato desaparece) (Argentina); Madrid, 1987 (Spain); Violeta Went to Heaven (Violeta se fue a los cielos) (Chile) and The Sleeping Voice (La voz dormida) (Spain).

Also in December, the Festival announced a new category for 2012: Lexus Ibero-American Opera Prima Competition. Seven films from first-time feature filmmakers from Spain, Portugal and/or Latin America will compete for a $5,000 USD cash prize sponsored by Lexus, official automotive sponsor of MIFF. The films competing in this category include: 180 Seconds (180 segundos) (Colombia); Las Acacias (Argentina/Spain); Expiration Date (Fecha de caducidad) (Mexico); Vaquero (Argentina); The Student (El estudiante) (Argentina); Speechless (Sin palabras) (Colombia) and Distance (Distancia) (Guatemala).

"The new vision for this year's Ibero-American competition signals the increasing quality and diversity in films from the region, as well as the consolidation of the careers of many of Ibero-America's most talented filmmakers and the emergence of new, distinctive voices,” added MIFF’s Senior Ibero-American Program Consultant Diana Sanchez. “It also signals MIFF's continuing dedication to films from Latin America, Portugal and Spain, by creating a vibrant competitive section where the films will have a chance to be appreciated and lauded by Miami audiences."

Additionally, the Festival confirms the return of the University of Miami Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film. The established category showcases short films from developing international directors competing for a $2,500 cash prize. Some of the short films already confirmed to compete in MIFF 2012 include: The Beach Chronicles (USA); Catharis (France); Cell Phone Zombies (Cel Zombies) (Ecuador); The Dancer (USA); Grandmothers (Abuelas) (UK); Immune (USA); Shift (USA) and The Trip (A Viagem) (Portugal/USA).

INDUSTRY PROGRAM & MASTER CLASS SEMINARS/SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

The Festival’s Industry Program will offer a new service at the 2012 Festival, the MIFF Ibero-American Digital Marketplace (IADM), featuring a curated selection of new films and works-in-progress only available to buyers, sales agents, exhibitors, programmers and other industry professionals officially registered with the Festival.   For more information, visit http://www.miamifilmfestival.com/industry/default.aspx

The Festival will additionally offer industry professions, students and the community at-large access to the latest news about film industry production, business development trends and networking opportunities. Included in the 2012 program will be Janet Lyons and Mike Campbell’s presentation “How To Turn Small Movies Into Big Box Office Success”, featuring a case study of their recent success consulting for FilmDistrict on the release of 2011’s box office hit Insidious.  More information on seminars and classes will be listed on MIFF’s website as they are confirmed.

For more information about films, screenings and tickets, visit www.miamifilmfestival.com.

Miami International Film Festival Announces New Competition Section

Austin Dale — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:48:58 GMT

The 29th Miami International Film Festival will run March 2-11 and will include a new competitive category, the Lexus Ibero-American Opera Prima Competition, featuring six Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American films by first-time feature filmmakers.

The films included are (descriptions courtesy of the festival):

Las Acacias (Argentina/Spain, directed by Pablo Giorgelli): Already a winner of major prizes at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (Camera d’Or for Best First Film) and the Latin Horizons prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Giorgelli’s road movie unfolds along the highway linking Asunción to Buenos Aires, which trucker Rubén is accustomed to traveling solo. This time, however, he’s got a passenger, Jacinta, and a road full of revelations on the horizon. East Coast Premiere

Expiration Date (Fecha de caducidad) (Mexico, directed by Kenya Márquez): After the tragic loss of her son, Ramona (Ana Ofelia Murguía) becomes convinced local handyman Genaro (Damián Alcázar) is responsible for the death. Becoming increasingly obsessed and paranoid, she enlists the help of neighbor to avenge his death. East Coast Premiere

Vaquero (Argentina, directed by Juan Minujín): Actor-turned-filmmaker Minujín’s profoundly revealing film follows mid-level Buenos Aires actor Julian Lamaz on a darkly comic quest for a leading role in a Hollywood movie. Through an amusing voice-over, the actor endures endless patronizing advice from fellow actors, casting agents and even his family. Minujín’s experience in the Buenos Aires film and theatre community gives the narrative multiple layers of self-referential resonance. U.S. Premiere

The Student (El estudiante) (Argentina, directed by Santiago Mitre): College student Roque (Esteban Lamothe) navigates the murky world of university politics, while seducing assistant professor and activist (Romina Paula), in Santiago Mitre’s briskly paced debut. A microcosm for the world at large, the film brilliantly exposes the backroom dealings and negotiations of student politics. Florida Premiere

Speechless (Sin palabras) (Colombia, directed by Ana Sofía Osorio Ruiz and Diego Bustamante): After helping a disoriented Chinese immigrant find her way, Raul (Javier Ortíz) can’t help but fall slowly in love with the exotic beauty. Osorio Ruiz and Bustamante prove the language of the heart is the most universal of all in this touching romance. International Premiere

Distancia (Guatemala, directed by Sergio Ramírez): Tomás Choc travels 150 kilometers to be reunited with his only daughter, kidnapped 20 years ago during the Guatemalan civil war. In order to keep his memories of her alive, Tomas has kept a journal of his daily struggles, which he plans to give her when they meet in Ramirez’s heart wrenching drama. U.S. Premiere

The Festival also announced the return of its University of Miami Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film, which will feature the following films:

The Beach Chronicles (USA, directed by Kevin Sharpley) – World premiere

Catharis (France, directed by Cédric Prévost) – US premiere

Cell Phone Zombies (Cel Zombies) (Ecuador, directed by Jorge Luis Miranda) – World premiere

The Dancer (USA, directed by Seth Stark) – Florida premiere

Grandmothers (Abuelas) (United Kingdom, directed by Afarin Eghbal) – Florida premiere

Immune (USA, directed by Andrew Lathorp) – Florida premiere

Shift (USA, directed by Juan Carlos Zaldívar) – World premiere

The Trip (A Viagem) (Portugal/USA, directed by Simao Cayatte) – Florida premiere

10 Films Set for Miami Festival's Ibero-American Competition

Brian Brooks — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:25:00 GMT

The Miami International Film Festival unveiled the first of its competition lineups Friday, with four North American premieres and two U.S. premieres among those competing in the festival's signature MIFF Knight Ibero-American Competition. Ten features will compete in the section, which spotlights feature films by directors from Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

Competing films are eligible for a $30,000 USD Knight Grand Jury Prize that will be split between the filmmaker and the U.S. distributor of the film (funds will be awarded to the U.S. distributor on the condition of a minimum one-week commercial theatrical engagement in Miami-Dade County before March 11, 2013). If no U.S. distributor is secured before April 12, 2012, then the full award will be made to the filmmaker. The Grand Jury, in its own discretion, will also award up to a total of $10,000 additional funds to two other films.

"The Ibero-American films submitted to our competition this year are of exceptional quality," commented MIFF's executive director Jaie Laplante in a statement. "With an intriguing mix of thrillers, dramas, romances and cutting-edge work, the competing films are rich, impactful and brilliantly engaging."

The 29th Miami International Film Festival, produced by Miami Dade College, takes place March 2 - 11.

2012 MIFF Knight Ibero-American Competition films with descriptions and credits provided by the festival:

"The Porcelain Horse" (Mejor no hablar de ciertas cosas), Ecuador, directed by Javier Andrade
In Javier Andrade’s startling debut, two brothers steal a porcelain horse from their parent’s home in order to buy drugs, leading to a fight that will haunt the family for the rest of their lives. North American Premiere

"I'd Receive the Worst News From Your Beautiful Lips" (Eu Receberia As Piores Notícias De Seus Lindos Lábios), Brazil, directed by Beto Brant and Renato Ciasca
Set against a steamy Amazonian backdrop, a sensual melodrama of a beautiful woman caught in an unstable situation between two men. North American Premiere

"Blood of My Blood" (Sangue do Meu Sangue), Portugal, directed by João Canijo
Two adult sisters struggle fiercely to hold their family together in the harsh world of a Lisbon slum, but the ticking time bomb of the situation is in grave danger of exploding. East Coast Premiere

"Pescador" (Ecuador/Colombia, directed by Sebastián Cordero)
After a drug shipment miraculously washes up on a beach, Blanquito (Andrés Crespo) has the opportunity to finally leave his small fishing village and go to the big city, in this major tonal new direction for acclaimed director Cordero. North American Premiere

"Bonsái" (Chile/Argentina/Portugal/France), directed by Cristián Jiménez
Based on the seminal novel by Chilean author Alejandro Zambra. Julio, a struggling writer, pens a book about his first experience with love, in order to keep up a lie he’s told his lover. Bonsai marks director’s Cristián Jiménez second appearance in MIFF’s Iberoamerican competition. Florida Premiere

"Zoo" (Zoológico), Chile, directed by Rodrigo Marín
Set in an affluent Santiago suburb, a social commentary on today’s youth follows three teens (Alicia Rodríguez, Luis Balmaceda and Santiago de Aguirre) consumed in Americanized customs: malls, the Internet, pornography, skateboarding and angst. North American Premiere

"The Cat Vanishes" (El gato desaparece), Argentina, directed by Carlos Sorin
When Beatriz (Beatriz Spelzini) picks up her husband Luis (Luis Luque) from the sanatorium, she doesn’t quite believe the psychiatrist’s pronouncement that he is cured. But after the family cat vanishes, she questions her sanity as well as her husband’s in Sorin’s unsettling psychological mystery. U.S. Premiere

"Madrid," 1987 (Spain, directed by David Trueba)
The balance of power and desire shift during the meeting of an older journalist (José Sacristán) and a young student (María Valverde) in a beautifully-written, dusk-to-dawn meditation on youth, age and the music of the spheres. East Coast Premiere

"Violeta Went to Heaven" (Violeta se fue a los cielos), Chile, directed by Andrés Wood
Portrait of famed Chilean singer, folklorist and multifaceted artist Violeta Parra (Francisca Gavilán) filled with her musical work, her memories, her loves and her hopes. East Coast Premiere

"The Sleeping Voice" (La voz dormida), Spain, directed by Benito Zambrano
In Benito Zambrano’s portrayal of the dark days following the Spanish Civil War, two sisters (Maria Leon and Inma Cuesta) find themselves caught up in the frightening politics of the divided country. U.S. Premiere

The Innovative O Cinema Wants to Redefine Moviegoing In Miami

Peter Knegt — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 08:56:29 GMT

O Cinema opened February 24 in downtown Miami's Wynwood Arts District with the intent of offering a whole new way of exhibiting media. The brainchild of Vivian Marthell and Kareem Tabsch, co-directors of Living Arts Trust, it's the result a $400,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to establish the cinema’s presence in the South Florida.

Like many arthouses, it specializes in first-run independent, foreign and other niche market films. However, it also sublets three artist studios, and includes a gallery that shows new works every 6-8 weeks. In the works is Monitoring Art, a dedicated video art gallery and a courtyard for live music and other gatherings. They also plan to expand the 50-seat stadium-style theater to seat 130.

Tabsch and Marthell, both veterans of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, spent about three years bringing their vision to fruition.

"Our taste and aesthetic are generally polar opposites, but we have an appreciation and respect for each other's opposing likes," said Tabsch. However, the well-traveled Miami natives lamented the fact that while many elements of arts and culture had come a long way in their hometown, film wasn't one of them.

"The Miami Film Festival was a great event and had done a lot to bring good films to the city, but that was just 10 days out of the whole year and there was no real place to regularly see the wide variety of great movies that would play at places like the Quad, Film Forum, Angelika, the Cumberland, Kabuki, or any of the other haunts we'd pop into in the cities we'd frequent," Tabsch said. "We were determined to find a way and change that."

So when the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced their $40 million investment into Miami's arts community in early 2008, Marthell and Tabsch responded to an open call for Miami residents to propose ideas that would help transform the city's cultural landscape.

The scene inside the O Cinema.

"The submission process was easy -- just 150 words to sum up our concept, click submit and wait," Marthell said. "We were thrilled to be invited to submit a more hashed-out proposal, then called back again for more pointed questions, facts and figures, and ultimately a third time around where we presented our concept, our numbers and our goals for the cinema. We were awarded funding in December of 2008."

It turned out getting the grant was the easier part. As a matching grant, Marthell and Tabsch had to raise the equivalent themselves in a now-melting economy. They also had to find a location that would work as a cinema in their target neighborhood of the Wynwood Art District on Miami's Upper East Side, which repurposed industrial spaces into artistic environments.

Thanks to the Knight Foundation, they were allowed to match the grant in portions (so far they've raised about a quarter). And after they finally found their site in July 2010, across from the Rubell Family Collection, O Cinema opened seven months later.

Since then, Marthell and Tabsch have showcased titles like "Mississippi Damned," "Four Lions," "A Somewhat Gentle Man" and 'Tiny Furniture." They're also developing series that target Miami's LGBT, Jewish, African-American and Latino communities as well as partnering with local institutions like indie music store Sweat Records and the Borscht Film Festival.

"People are really excited about what we're doing," Marthell said. "We've started out slowly, opening quietly to work the kinks out, but the feedback has been great and people who come into the space comment that they've never been in a place, let alone a cinema, like this. We don't want kids who grow up in Miami to feel like they need to flock to New York or to Los Angeles to get that cinematic fix that feeds your soul. We've had those same pangs, too, and we want to make it better for everyone else."

For more information, check out O Cinema's website.

Miami International Film Festival Turns 28 Amidst Transition

Peter Knegt — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:26:08 GMT

The 2011 Miami International Film Festival wrapped this weekend, concluding nine days of over 100 films from 30 countries screening across Miami-Dade county. Denis Villeneuve's Oscar-nominated "Incendies" helped do so on Saturday night, screening as the festival's "Awards Night Centerpiece" following a ceremony that handed out various prizes to films at the fest.

Among the winners was "Marimbas From Hell" (Las marimbas del infierno), directed by Julio Hernández Cordón, which took the top juried prize for Ibero-American Competition. The Guatemala/France/Mexico co-production had premiered at last year's San Sebastian Film Festival and was billed in Miami as "surely the world's first Guatemalan heavy-metal marimbas movie." It tells the story of Don Alfonso, a deliveryman who also plays marimbas, the traditional Guatemalan instrument. Don ends up approaching an underground heavy-metal legend, Blacko, suggesting the two fuse their styles. What results is a distinct Guatemalan story that represents one of the things that the Miami International Film Festival clearly does best: showcase great Latin American cinema.

"Over the years, you always program what the best films are no matter where they come from," Miami International Film Festival Executive Director Jaie Laplante told indieWIRE. "Some years are stronger for Latin films than others, but I was very fortunate that this year was such an extraordinary year. I was really able to infuse the festival with films from nearly every country in the Latin America diaspora."

Another highlight was Spanish-Cuban co-production "Half of Oscar," which won a special jury prize, and Haitian-set "Jean Genti," written and directed by the husband-and-wife team of Israel Cárdenas and Laura Amelia, which won the Screenwriting Award.

“Incendies” director Denis Villeneuve joined Miami International Film Festival Executive Director Jaie Laplante as his film closed the 28th edition of the Miami International Film Festival last night at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami. Photo by Peter Knegt.

Other juried prize winners included Zhang Meng's "The Piano in a Factory," which won the top prize in the World Competition, and Nir Bergman's "Intimate Grammer," which won a special jury prize (indieWIRE profiled the film from the fest). The documentary section saw Steve James' widely acclaimed "The Interrupters" - which tackles a year in the life of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed - take the top juried prize, while Marshall Curry's "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" won a special jury prize.

"The Interrupters" and "If a Tree Falls" were two of the films that came out of a revamped documentary section that was just one of the many elements of the this year's festival that represented considerable transition for the 28-year-old festival, which just under half a year ago hired a new executive director in Laplante, a former co-director of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and current director of the South Beach Food & Wine Festival.

"I'm very gratified from the response to the festival, both from the filmmakers and the audience," Laplante told indieWIRE Saturday. "I received a lot of great warmth from our audience. I came on board late in the timeline this year - just four months before the festival started. But I've lived here for 12 years, and I've seem the festival go through a lot of incarnations, so I came in with a lot of ideas that I wanted to implement. I put of a few of them forward this year, and I think they worked out for the most part really beautifully. But I look forward to continuing to develop the future of the festival."

Among those changes was a general audience award that applied to all films (whereas previously there were separate audience awards for each competition section); experimenting with new venues and parties, including a Paella Party that evolved from Laplante's experiences running the South Beach Wine & Food Festival; as well as bringing in Toronto International Film Festival doc programmer Thom Powers to revitalize MIFF's documentary programs. Laplante and Powers together came up with "Doc-You-Up," an initative that expanded beyond the competition to highlight all the films they felt were "bracing and original visions." Films in the program included recent fest favorites like Janus Metz's "Armadillo," Morgan Spurlock's "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," Steve James' "The Interrupters," Marshall Curry's "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front," David Weissman's "We Were Here," and James Marsh's "Project Nim."

“The Interrupters” director Steve James (left) and Miami International Film Festival doc programmer Thom Powers celebrated at the closing night party of the festival. James’s film won the best documentary prize at the fest earlier that night. Photo by Peter Knegt.

"I'm grateful to Jaie Laplante for creating MIFF's new Doc-You-Up section and supporting my efforts to expand the documentary audience," Thom Powers told indieWIRE. "For me, the highlights include screening 'The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical' on the outdoor wall of Frank Gehry's New World Symphony building; hosting Morgan Spurlock with 'The Greatest Movie Ever Sold'; reviving the cinema verite classic 'Mooney vs. Fowle' on its 50th anniversary; and giving Steve James' 'The Interrupters' its first jury prize. Jaie has only been in his job for half a year, but he's already shown the potential for MIFF to rank among Miami's other great festivals such as the Book Fair, Food & Wine and Art Basel."

Going forward, Laplante is very optimistic about the potential the festival has.

"Miami Beach is a gorgeous location and this is a gorgeous time of year," Laplante said. "So celebrating our location and celebrating this as a beautiful place to come and see extraordinary films is something that I would like MIFF to become known for. I really feel like there's a lot of similarities between this city and its venues with Cannes. We don't have the Palais here, but we do have the beautiful beaches and the extraordinary weather and the glamour that is there. So I'd like to utilize that in our own unique way... A smaller, Latin way..."

"Chico & Rita" to Open Internationally-Oriented 2011 Miami Film Festival

Indiewire Staff — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:40:59 GMT

Fernando Trueba's animated musical "Chico & Rita" will open the 28th Miami International Film Festival. This year's festival will have four world and international premieres along with fifteen North American and U.S. Premieres.The films are all divided across MIFF's three principal categories: the Ibero-American competition, the "Doc-You-Up" Program and the DOX Competition and the World Competition.

Highlights from the competition include a strong core of documentary films. Oscar winners James Marsh ("Man on Wire") and Alex Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side") will present their respective new films, "Project Nim" and "Magic Trip." Miami audiences will also get a chance to see new work from Oscar-nominees Steve James ("Hoop Dreams") and Marshall Curry ("If a Tree Falls"). James's "The Interrupters" and Curry's "If a Tree Falls" add to the strength of a documentary section that will also offer a seminar from filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.

Fiction films will also have a strong representation at the Festival. MIFF's internationally-focused programming is apparent with the inclusion of Zhang Meng's "The Piano in a Factory," Sebastian Hiriart's "A Stone's Throw Away," and "Jean Gentil" from filmmakers Laura Amelia Guzman and Israel Cardenas.

Danish director Sussane Bier will be receiving the Festival's Career Achievement Tribute on March 6. Bier's latest film, "In a Better World," won the award for the Best Foreign Film at this year's Golden Globes.

"Dreams are a key theme of MIFF 2011, starting with our 2011 official image from photographer Stian Roenning," said MIFF Executive Director Jaie Laplante. "The directors of these films are a true 'dream team' of cinematic artists. Their works will bestow a wizardly enchantment on this year's Miami Film Society members and MIFF ticket buyers."