In collaboration with Mexico’s Morelia International Film Festival (Ficm), Cannes’ Critics’ Week has presented four shorts by upcoming Mexican directors on Thursday: Daniela Silva Solórzano’s “The Things I Tell You”; “The Short Film” by José Luis Isoard Arrubarrena; “To Go Away and Come Back” by José Permar: and “A Hand Beneath the Snow” by José Esteban Pavlovich.
“We started by presenting Critics’ Week’s films at our festival, because it’s an important section for Mexico. That’s where Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu were first discovered,” explains Ficm’s director Daniela Michel.
Since 2005, Mexican shorts have been travelling to Cannes, too.
“We have been very, very lucky to have this collaboration. It has also strengthened our relationship with Critics’ Week. Since last year, we have also been a part of [workshop] Next Step,” she adds, opening up about this year’s selection.
“These films show...
“We started by presenting Critics’ Week’s films at our festival, because it’s an important section for Mexico. That’s where Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu were first discovered,” explains Ficm’s director Daniela Michel.
Since 2005, Mexican shorts have been travelling to Cannes, too.
“We have been very, very lucky to have this collaboration. It has also strengthened our relationship with Critics’ Week. Since last year, we have also been a part of [workshop] Next Step,” she adds, opening up about this year’s selection.
“These films show...
- 5/26/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The festival unfolded mainly online with special socially distanced screenings for Israeli works.
Ukrainian producer and director Valentyn Vasyanovych’s drama Atlantis has won best film at the 37th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival (Jff), which is running as an online event December 10-20 due to Israel’s ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.
Set in war-torn eastern Ukraine in the near future, the film revolves around a former soldier suffering from Ptsd, who is trying to rebuild his life against the backdrop of his environmentally devastated homeland.
It is Vasyanovych’s third feature and Ukraine’s submission to the best international film category of the 2021 Oscars.
Ukrainian producer and director Valentyn Vasyanovych’s drama Atlantis has won best film at the 37th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival (Jff), which is running as an online event December 10-20 due to Israel’s ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.
Set in war-torn eastern Ukraine in the near future, the film revolves around a former soldier suffering from Ptsd, who is trying to rebuild his life against the backdrop of his environmentally devastated homeland.
It is Vasyanovych’s third feature and Ukraine’s submission to the best international film category of the 2021 Oscars.
- 12/16/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Fernanda Valadez’s feature debut “Identifying Features” (“Sin Señas Particulares”) has collected the 18th Morelia Int’l Film Festival’s Best Film Ojo prize as well as Audience Award and best actress plaudit for its lead, Mercedes Hernandez.
In a spare and sparsely attended closing ceremony on Sunday evening, Hernandez was among only two winners who were present to come on stage. A visibly moved Hernandez said: “My son, when asked what I do, says I earn my living by crying, probably because he has seen me act in plays or movies.”
“Paradoxically, my character in this film cannot cry as she has to contain her rage, she has to persist in looking for her son… as there is nothing worse for a mother than not knowing if her son is dead or alive.”
The topical drama, about a mother searching desperately for her son who has vanished while attempting to cross into the U.
In a spare and sparsely attended closing ceremony on Sunday evening, Hernandez was among only two winners who were present to come on stage. A visibly moved Hernandez said: “My son, when asked what I do, says I earn my living by crying, probably because he has seen me act in plays or movies.”
“Paradoxically, my character in this film cannot cry as she has to contain her rage, she has to persist in looking for her son… as there is nothing worse for a mother than not knowing if her son is dead or alive.”
The topical drama, about a mother searching desperately for her son who has vanished while attempting to cross into the U.
- 11/2/2020
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Saudi Arabia’s nascent Red Sea International Film festival has unveiled its inaugural lineup featuring the Middle East premiere of Harvey Weinstein-inspired workplace abuse drama “The Assistant” amid a fresh mix of feature films and docs from Europe, the U.S., Asia, and Africa launching in the region on top of a robust representation of Arab films.
Significantly, the opener will be “The Book of Sun” by debuting Saudi directorial duo Faris and Suhaib Godus, about a teenager named Husam who, prompted by the growing phenomenon of Saudi YouTube content, embarks with a group of geeks on a mission to make a no-budget horror pic. Production of this film was supported by the fest.
Oliver Stone will preside over the competition jury.
Red Sea festival chief Mahmoud Sabbagh in a statement called “Book of Sun” “a testament to the passionate community of pioneering filmmakers who have inspired and drive Saudi cinema culture.
Significantly, the opener will be “The Book of Sun” by debuting Saudi directorial duo Faris and Suhaib Godus, about a teenager named Husam who, prompted by the growing phenomenon of Saudi YouTube content, embarks with a group of geeks on a mission to make a no-budget horror pic. Production of this film was supported by the fest.
Oliver Stone will preside over the competition jury.
Red Sea festival chief Mahmoud Sabbagh in a statement called “Book of Sun” “a testament to the passionate community of pioneering filmmakers who have inspired and drive Saudi cinema culture.
- 2/17/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Since 2007, the Morelia International Film Festival (Ficm) has organized an annual Indigenous People Forum in the Michoacán capital during the fest. This year, for the first time, it dedicated two days the Mexican Indigenous Women Filmmakers: Identity and New Narratives forum.
Daniela Michel, general director of the festival; Marina Stavenhagen, forum coordinator; and María Novaro, director of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Imcine) hosted the two-day event which included seven hours of debate and discussion, as well as ten screenings – six shorts and four features, including two features in competition, “Tio Yim” and “Tote/Abuelo.”
First-day speakers included Magda Cacari of the Purépecha community; Mixtec filmmakers Ángeles Cruz and Dinazar Urbina Mata; Totzil director Dolores Sántiz Gómez; Amalia Córdova, curator of digital and emerging media at the Center of Popular Arts and Cultural Heritage of the Smithsonian Institute; and María Candelaria Palma of the Afro-Indigenous community of San Antonio in Guerrero,...
Daniela Michel, general director of the festival; Marina Stavenhagen, forum coordinator; and María Novaro, director of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Imcine) hosted the two-day event which included seven hours of debate and discussion, as well as ten screenings – six shorts and four features, including two features in competition, “Tio Yim” and “Tote/Abuelo.”
First-day speakers included Magda Cacari of the Purépecha community; Mixtec filmmakers Ángeles Cruz and Dinazar Urbina Mata; Totzil director Dolores Sántiz Gómez; Amalia Córdova, curator of digital and emerging media at the Center of Popular Arts and Cultural Heritage of the Smithsonian Institute; and María Candelaria Palma of the Afro-Indigenous community of San Antonio in Guerrero,...
- 10/24/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Morelia, Mexico – Mindful of how his words could “turn into click-bait,” Willem Dafoe, in Morelia to present his latest film “The Lighthouse,” declined to comment about the looming advent of more streaming giants in the market. “It’s a complex question; we’re still forming ideas on how people see films and how films are being made,” he said. However, he later observed: “I still like film a lot, not just for its quality but the intention is stronger; you can’t just shoot and shoot like you can on digital film, so it changes how you think, it weeds out the laziness in performances,” he mused.
Speaking in a clear and measured pace for nearly an hour with festival director Daniela Michel and for a subsequent Q & A with the audience, a cerebral Dafoe talked about his craft, his role choices, “Lighthouse” director Robert Eggers and of course, the future Batman,...
Speaking in a clear and measured pace for nearly an hour with festival director Daniela Michel and for a subsequent Q & A with the audience, a cerebral Dafoe talked about his craft, his role choices, “Lighthouse” director Robert Eggers and of course, the future Batman,...
- 10/23/2019
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
For the first time in its history, the Morelia Film Festival will open with a European film, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s drama “Le Jeune Ahmed” (“Young Ahmed”), which garnered a best director prize for the Belgian siblings at Cannes last May. Luc Dardenne will be on hand to present the drama, described by Variety critic Peter Debruge as an “instantly recognizable” Dardenne film for having a “deceptively ‘rough’ quality as the directors’ earlier work, a carryover from their documentary background.”
Helmer-scribe James Ivory, who won a best adapted screenplay Oscar last year for his first-love gay drama “Call Me By Your Name” is also making his first visit to Morelia, which will honor him with a retrospective of his films.
“Five continents will be represented in Morelia this year, but most important are the 100-plus Mexican filmmakers participating in this edition,” said Morelia artistic director Daniela Michel.
The festival,...
Helmer-scribe James Ivory, who won a best adapted screenplay Oscar last year for his first-love gay drama “Call Me By Your Name” is also making his first visit to Morelia, which will honor him with a retrospective of his films.
“Five continents will be represented in Morelia this year, but most important are the 100-plus Mexican filmmakers participating in this edition,” said Morelia artistic director Daniela Michel.
The festival,...
- 9/30/2019
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Since 2005, the Cannes Film Festival Critics’ Week and Mexico’s Morelia Intl. Film Festival (Ficm) have enjoyed a reciprocal relationship. Each year, a selection of short competition films from Morelia is shown in a special selection at Critics’ Week, with the features from the Cannes section screening five months later in Morelia.
The short film program is also presented in Paris shortly after the festival.
The shorts which make it to Cannes are selected by Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson. Each year, Tesson attends the Mexican fest where he selects which shorts to bring back to Cannes with him. And, while Tesson often selects some of the winning films, he has complete freedom to curate the selection as he sees fit.
Since its inception in 2003 Morelia has been screening the Critics’ Week films, and in 2005, then then head of Critics’ Week Jean-Christophe Berjon attended the Mexican festival and made...
The short film program is also presented in Paris shortly after the festival.
The shorts which make it to Cannes are selected by Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson. Each year, Tesson attends the Mexican fest where he selects which shorts to bring back to Cannes with him. And, while Tesson often selects some of the winning films, he has complete freedom to curate the selection as he sees fit.
Since its inception in 2003 Morelia has been screening the Critics’ Week films, and in 2005, then then head of Critics’ Week Jean-Christophe Berjon attended the Mexican festival and made...
- 5/23/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Zhu Shengze’s ’Present.Perfect.’ takes Tiger award.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has announced the award winners for its 48th edition, with Zhu Shengze’s Present.Perfect. taking the Tiger Award, with €40,000 accompanying prize.
The Tiger jury, comprised of Alfredo Jaar, Daniela Michel, Susanna Nicchiarelli, Katriel Schory and Pimpaka Towira, described it as ”a daring film that takes us to places where we have never been…brings to light characters that want and need to be seen.”
Ena Sendijarević’s Take Me Somewhere Nice received the special jury award in the Tiger competition, praised by the jury as “a...
International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has announced the award winners for its 48th edition, with Zhu Shengze’s Present.Perfect. taking the Tiger Award, with €40,000 accompanying prize.
The Tiger jury, comprised of Alfredo Jaar, Daniela Michel, Susanna Nicchiarelli, Katriel Schory and Pimpaka Towira, described it as ”a daring film that takes us to places where we have never been…brings to light characters that want and need to be seen.”
Ena Sendijarević’s Take Me Somewhere Nice received the special jury award in the Tiger competition, praised by the jury as “a...
- 2/1/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Big Screen Competition line-up also announced.
The 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam (23 Jan – 3 Feb) has revealed the eight films that will compete in its 2018 Hivos Tiger Competition.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The award includes a cash prize of €40,000, to be divided between filmmaker and producer. There is also a special jury award worth €10,000.
This year’s selection includes new feature films by directors including Johannes Nyholm, Ena Sendijarević, Ulaa Salim and Shengze Zhu. There are seven world premieres and one international premiere.
This year’s jury will comprise of Chilean filmmaker and artist Alfredo Jaar; Daniela Michel, festival...
The 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam (23 Jan – 3 Feb) has revealed the eight films that will compete in its 2018 Hivos Tiger Competition.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The award includes a cash prize of €40,000, to be divided between filmmaker and producer. There is also a special jury award worth €10,000.
This year’s selection includes new feature films by directors including Johannes Nyholm, Ena Sendijarević, Ulaa Salim and Shengze Zhu. There are seven world premieres and one international premiere.
This year’s jury will comprise of Chilean filmmaker and artist Alfredo Jaar; Daniela Michel, festival...
- 1/9/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Lila Avilés snagged the top prize at Friday night’s Morelia Intl. Film Festival closing ceremony with her debut feature, “The Chambermaid” (“La Camarista”), which world premiered at Toronto. It also took the Warrior of the Press award.
“Llegamos! Llegamos!” (“We made it! We made it!”), screamed Avilés all the way from her seat to the stage, before breathlessly explaining her excitement. “I used up all of my savings to make this film.”
Alonso Ruizpalacios’ “Museo,” starring Mexico’s most marketable actor Gael García Bernal, had the biggest impact on the public, scoring the Audience Award for best Mexican film. Best director also went to Ruizpalacios.
This year’s festival jury boasted a lineup as impressive as the competition itself. Led by writer-director Lynne Ramsay, the jury included filmmaker Patrice Leconte (“Monsieur Hire”), actor-director-producer Diego Luna, Efm founder Beki Probst and Academy Award-winning producer Adele Romanski.
The festival doled out...
“Llegamos! Llegamos!” (“We made it! We made it!”), screamed Avilés all the way from her seat to the stage, before breathlessly explaining her excitement. “I used up all of my savings to make this film.”
Alonso Ruizpalacios’ “Museo,” starring Mexico’s most marketable actor Gael García Bernal, had the biggest impact on the public, scoring the Audience Award for best Mexican film. Best director also went to Ruizpalacios.
This year’s festival jury boasted a lineup as impressive as the competition itself. Led by writer-director Lynne Ramsay, the jury included filmmaker Patrice Leconte (“Monsieur Hire”), actor-director-producer Diego Luna, Efm founder Beki Probst and Academy Award-winning producer Adele Romanski.
The festival doled out...
- 10/27/2018
- by Jamie Lang and Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Morelia — There is no doubt that anytime Alfonso Cuarón shows up at a Mexican film festival, it will be one of the highlights of the event. Today’s Masterclass, given at the Morelia Film Festival, was no exception.
In the standing-room-only Teatro Ocampo, Cuarón regaled the assemble mix of press, industry professionals from films in the official competition and local Morelia students with a conversation with one of his closest friends, and this year’s best director winner at Cannes, Pawel Pawlikowski. It was a special treat indeed to have two such visionary filmmakers discussing their craft in a mix of Cuarón’s Spanish and the “Cold War” director’s Polish-accented English.
The event kicked off with festival head Daniela Michel introducing the pair, and praising Cuarón’s “Roma” as not just one of the most important films in Mexican cinema history, but the history of the artform in general.
In the standing-room-only Teatro Ocampo, Cuarón regaled the assemble mix of press, industry professionals from films in the official competition and local Morelia students with a conversation with one of his closest friends, and this year’s best director winner at Cannes, Pawel Pawlikowski. It was a special treat indeed to have two such visionary filmmakers discussing their craft in a mix of Cuarón’s Spanish and the “Cold War” director’s Polish-accented English.
The event kicked off with festival head Daniela Michel introducing the pair, and praising Cuarón’s “Roma” as not just one of the most important films in Mexican cinema history, but the history of the artform in general.
- 10/24/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes — Four Cannes 57th Critics’ Week shorts, sourced from the Morelia Festival – “Vuelve a mi ,” “Under the Sun,” “In Deep Water” and “Land of Waters, Sea of Mermaids” – highlighted Wednesday the seemingly bottomless well of young talent emerging in Mexico.
In a tradition which runs back to 2005, titles were chosen by Cannes Critics’ Week from a vast spread of fiction, animation and documentary shorts screened every year at Morelia, around 45 in 2017: a rich and ranging panoply, recording Morelia’s origins as a short film festival, which still marks it apart from other big Mexican film events.
Distinguished producer Roberto Fiesco (“David”) and director David Pablos (Un Certain Regard screener “The Chosen Ones”) both had early shorts playing at Morelia. Director Elisa Miller (“El placer es mío”) went straight from winning Morelia with “Watching It Rain” to winning a Palme d’Or at Cannes. The Morelia Festival shorts showcase remains...
In a tradition which runs back to 2005, titles were chosen by Cannes Critics’ Week from a vast spread of fiction, animation and documentary shorts screened every year at Morelia, around 45 in 2017: a rich and ranging panoply, recording Morelia’s origins as a short film festival, which still marks it apart from other big Mexican film events.
Distinguished producer Roberto Fiesco (“David”) and director David Pablos (Un Certain Regard screener “The Chosen Ones”) both had early shorts playing at Morelia. Director Elisa Miller (“El placer es mío”) went straight from winning Morelia with “Watching It Rain” to winning a Palme d’Or at Cannes. The Morelia Festival shorts showcase remains...
- 5/17/2018
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin International Film Festival on Thursday named Oscar-winning director Laura Poitras to the documentary film jury for this year's event.
Poitras produced her Academy Award-winning Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour in Berlin to avoid interference by the U.S. government. In addition to the Oscar, Citizenfour won best documentary at the German Film Awards in 2015. Poitras' recent documentary Risk was a look at WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Poitras will be joined by Iraqi director Samir, whose film Iraqi Odyssey screened in Berlin's Panorama sidebar in 2015, and Mexican film critic and festival programmer Daniela Michel.
The trio will judge the...
Poitras produced her Academy Award-winning Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour in Berlin to avoid interference by the U.S. government. In addition to the Oscar, Citizenfour won best documentary at the German Film Awards in 2015. Poitras' recent documentary Risk was a look at WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Poitras will be joined by Iraqi director Samir, whose film Iraqi Odyssey screened in Berlin's Panorama sidebar in 2015, and Mexican film critic and festival programmer Daniela Michel.
The trio will judge the...
- 1/26/2017
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Glowing reports from the Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia (Ficm) inspired me to fly down to Michoacan in late October for the 13th edition. I was not disappointed. After launching as a shorts festival, gradually director Daniela Michel and her co-founder, Cinepolis CEO Alejandro Ramírez Magaña, have added a Mexican Oscar-qualifying shorts as well as a feature competition section to a wide-ranging international program, as well as a works-in-progress showcase for international buyers, complete with cash awards. Arguably, this festival has done much to bolster Mexican filmmaking by nurturing talent, supporting talented shorts directors through their early features. Slowly but surely Morelia has grown into a world-class festival, drawing a warm community of cinephiles who love to socialize, including a large French contingent led by fest veteran Barbet Schroeder (Cannes entry "Amnesia") and Cannes director general Thierry Frémaux, who...
- 11/9/2015
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Two strong British programmes are running at top Mexican film festivals this month.
Mexico City documentary festival Docs Df (Oct 15-24) hosts the second leg of the Docunexion programme that British Council is running in partnership with Imcine, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Docs Df and Ambulante.
This training and mentorship initiative for emerging documentary makers from the UK and Mexico is delivered as part of the 2015 UK-Mexico year of exchange.
Jerry Rothwell, André Singer and Jo Lapping from the UK will give further dedicated development support to participants alongside three Mexican mentors. The programme culminates in a pitching session in front of international decision makers.
Claire Aguilar, programming director at Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Britdoc Foundation’s Luke Moody will attend as jury members alongside Julien Temple who will deliver a masterclass to accompany screenings of his films The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, Oil City Confidential and The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson.
The programme...
Mexico City documentary festival Docs Df (Oct 15-24) hosts the second leg of the Docunexion programme that British Council is running in partnership with Imcine, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Docs Df and Ambulante.
This training and mentorship initiative for emerging documentary makers from the UK and Mexico is delivered as part of the 2015 UK-Mexico year of exchange.
Jerry Rothwell, André Singer and Jo Lapping from the UK will give further dedicated development support to participants alongside three Mexican mentors. The programme culminates in a pitching session in front of international decision makers.
Claire Aguilar, programming director at Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Britdoc Foundation’s Luke Moody will attend as jury members alongside Julien Temple who will deliver a masterclass to accompany screenings of his films The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, Oil City Confidential and The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson.
The programme...
- 10/19/2015
- ScreenDaily
Anomalisa wins Grand Jury Prize; Robert Pattinson-starrer The Childhood Of A Leader wins best debut.Scroll down for full list of winners
From Afar (Desde Alla), the first Venezuelan production to appear in Competition at the Venice Film Festival, has won the Golden Lion for Best Film.
The directorial debut of Lorenzo Vigas concerns a middle-aged man (Alfredo Castro) who pays young boys to spend time with him. One day he befriends an 18-year-old delinquent (Luis Silva), a development that affects both profoundly.
The film, sold by Celluloid Dreams, is produced by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, who co-wrote the script.
The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Argentinian film-maker Pablo Trapero for kidnap drama The Clan (El Clan).
Trapero has a good relationship with Venice, having won two prizes for his 1999 debut, Crane World, returning in 2004 with Rolling Family and sitting on the Golden Lion jury in 2012.
The Clan is based on the real-life exploits...
From Afar (Desde Alla), the first Venezuelan production to appear in Competition at the Venice Film Festival, has won the Golden Lion for Best Film.
The directorial debut of Lorenzo Vigas concerns a middle-aged man (Alfredo Castro) who pays young boys to spend time with him. One day he befriends an 18-year-old delinquent (Luis Silva), a development that affects both profoundly.
The film, sold by Celluloid Dreams, is produced by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, who co-wrote the script.
The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Argentinian film-maker Pablo Trapero for kidnap drama The Clan (El Clan).
Trapero has a good relationship with Venice, having won two prizes for his 1999 debut, Crane World, returning in 2004 with Rolling Family and sitting on the Golden Lion jury in 2012.
The Clan is based on the real-life exploits...
- 9/12/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The international competition jury of the 68th Locarno Film Festival—Udo Kier, Nadav Lapid, Daniela Michel, Moon So-ri and Jerry Schatzberg—has awarded the Golden Leopard to Hong Sang-soo's Right Now, Wrong Then. The Special Jury Prize goes to Avishai Sivan's Tikkun. Best Direction: Andrzej Zulawski for Cosmos. Best Actress; Sachie Tanaka, Hazuki Kikuchi, Maiko Mihara and Rira Kawamura for their performances in Ryusuke Yamaguchi's Happy Hour, which, for Notebook editor Daniel Kasman, "emerged at the end of the festival as one of its best films." We've got the full list of all the award-winners. » - David Hudson...
- 8/15/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
The international competition jury of the 68th Locarno Film Festival—Udo Kier, Nadav Lapid, Daniela Michel, Moon So-ri and Jerry Schatzberg—has awarded the Golden Leopard to Hong Sang-soo's Right Now, Wrong Then. The Special Jury Prize goes to Avishai Sivan's Tikkun. Best Direction: Andrzej Zulawski for Cosmos. Best Actress; Sachie Tanaka, Hazuki Kikuchi, Maiko Mihara and Rira Kawamura for their performances in Ryusuke Yamaguchi's Happy Hour, which, for Notebook editor Daniel Kasman, "emerged at the end of the festival as one of its best films." We've got the full list of all the award-winners. » - David Hudson...
- 8/15/2015
- Keyframe
'Everest' 2015, with Jake Gyllenhaal at the Venice Film Festival. What global warming? Venice Film Festival 2015 jury: Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón president The 2015 Venice Film Festival, to be held Sept. 2–12, has announced the members of its three main juries: Venezia 72, Horizons, and the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Film. In case you're wondering, “Why Venezia 72”? Well, the simple answer is that this is the 72nd edition of the festival. Looking at the lists below, you'll notice that, as usual, Europeans dominate the award juries. The only two countries from the Americas represented are the U.S. and Mexico, and here and there you'll find a sprinkling of Asian film talent. Golden Lion jury The Golden Lion – Venezia 72 Competition – jury is comprised by the following: Jury President Alfonso Cuarón, the first Mexican national to take home the Best Director Academy Award (for the Sandra Bullock-George Clooney...
- 7/28/2015
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
We knew that Alfonso Cuarón would be presiding over the competition jury at the 72nd Venice Film Festival (September 2 through 12); as of today, we know that the other members are Elizabeth Banks, Emmanuel Carrère, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Diane Kruger, Francesco Munzi, Pawel Pawlikowski and Lynne Ramsay. On the Orizonti (Horizons) jury: Jonathan Demme (President), Anita Caprioli, Fruit Chan, Alix Delaporte and Paz Vega. And awarding a debut film will be Saverio Costanzo (President), Charles Burnett, Roger Garcia, Natacha Laurent and Daniela Michel. Also in today's news: Josephine Decker, Miguel Arteta and Heinz Emigholz. » - David Hudson...
- 7/27/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
We knew that Alfonso Cuarón would be presiding over the competition jury at the 72nd Venice Film Festival (September 2 through 12); as of today, we know that the other members are Elizabeth Banks, Emmanuel Carrère, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Diane Kruger, Francesco Munzi, Pawel Pawlikowski and Lynne Ramsay. On the Orizonti (Horizons) jury: Jonathan Demme (President), Anita Caprioli, Fruit Chan, Alix Delaporte and Paz Vega. And awarding a debut film will be Saverio Costanzo (President), Charles Burnett, Roger Garcia, Natacha Laurent and Daniela Michel. Also in today's news: Josephine Decker, Miguel Arteta and Heinz Emigholz. » - David Hudson...
- 7/27/2015
- Keyframe
Competition jury includes Elizabeth Banks, Lynne Ramsay, Diane Kruger and Hou Hsiao-hsien.
The Venice Film Festival (Sept 2-12) has revealed the members of its three international juries - Venezia 72, Orizzonti (Horizons) and ‘Luigi De Laurentiis’ Venice Award for Best Debut Film.
The Venezia 72 Competition jury, headed by Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón, will comprise:
French author, screenwriter and director Emmanuel Carrère, author of bestsellers Limonov (2011) and Le Royaume (2015);
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for Winter Sleep;
Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, director of Ida, winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film earlier this year;
Italian director Francesco Munzi, in competition at last year’s Venice with Black Souls, winner of nine David di Donatello awards from the Italian Academy;
Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice 1989 for A City of Sadness, and in competition at this year’s Cannes...
The Venice Film Festival (Sept 2-12) has revealed the members of its three international juries - Venezia 72, Orizzonti (Horizons) and ‘Luigi De Laurentiis’ Venice Award for Best Debut Film.
The Venezia 72 Competition jury, headed by Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón, will comprise:
French author, screenwriter and director Emmanuel Carrère, author of bestsellers Limonov (2011) and Le Royaume (2015);
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for Winter Sleep;
Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, director of Ida, winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film earlier this year;
Italian director Francesco Munzi, in competition at last year’s Venice with Black Souls, winner of nine David di Donatello awards from the Italian Academy;
Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice 1989 for A City of Sadness, and in competition at this year’s Cannes...
- 7/27/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
It's hard to express the sharp sense of joy I felt when I first opened the program for the 12th Morelia International Film Festival. The late and much-lamented Peter von Bagh named a section of the Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna "the cinephile's paradise," and though there's nothing anywhere in the world like Il Cinema Ritrovato, I am still excited by the cinephilic banquet that Daniela Michel and her programmers assemble in Morelia. It's not just a survey of the films, both narrative and documentary, that are currently making the festival circuit, which would be appealing on its own. And it's not just the strong section of current Mexican movies, few of which travel outside of the Spanish-speaking world. There's also the festival's link with the Semaine de la Critique, or Critics' Week, in Cannes, which traditionally brings a number of its films to Morelia. But what seduces me and...
- 10/23/2014
- by Meredith Brody
- Thompson on Hollywood
Gael Garcia Bernal and Agnes B. both receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-24) launched its 20th edition on Friday night and staged a hat-trick of events to mark the occasion.
After the traditional welcome drinks reception on the Festival Square, festival director Mirsad Purivatra took to the stage of the city’s Open Air Cinema in front of an audience of thousands to award Gael Garcia Bernal with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
The ceremony was held ahead of a screening of the Mexican actor and director’s breakthrough performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros (2000).
“Since your appearance in Amores Perros, you have played different characters in many films that have made up part of our programme,” said Purivatra.
“We admire you as an actor, a film director and a person who is trying to change the world. It is an honour to welcome you to Sarajevo and to...
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-24) launched its 20th edition on Friday night and staged a hat-trick of events to mark the occasion.
After the traditional welcome drinks reception on the Festival Square, festival director Mirsad Purivatra took to the stage of the city’s Open Air Cinema in front of an audience of thousands to award Gael Garcia Bernal with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
The ceremony was held ahead of a screening of the Mexican actor and director’s breakthrough performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros (2000).
“Since your appearance in Amores Perros, you have played different characters in many films that have made up part of our programme,” said Purivatra.
“We admire you as an actor, a film director and a person who is trying to change the world. It is an honour to welcome you to Sarajevo and to...
- 8/15/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Programmers and Tate Modern director also added to jury headed by Bela Tarr.
Actresses Melissa Leo and Orsi Toth are among additions to the Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-23) jury, which will be presided over by Bela Tarr.
Also judging will be Tate Modern director Chris Dercon, Morelia Film Festival founding director Daniela Michel, Toronto programmer Rasha Salti and Berlin Forum head Christoph Terhechte.
Oscar-winner Leo (The Fighter) will next be seen in upcoming Antoine Fuqua title The Equalizer. Toth is best known for performances in festival favourites including Women Without Men and The Notebook.
Sarajevo will open with trio The Bridges of Sarajevo, Of Horses And Men and Alejandro Inarittu’s Amores Perros.
Actresses Melissa Leo and Orsi Toth are among additions to the Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-23) jury, which will be presided over by Bela Tarr.
Also judging will be Tate Modern director Chris Dercon, Morelia Film Festival founding director Daniela Michel, Toronto programmer Rasha Salti and Berlin Forum head Christoph Terhechte.
Oscar-winner Leo (The Fighter) will next be seen in upcoming Antoine Fuqua title The Equalizer. Toth is best known for performances in festival favourites including Women Without Men and The Notebook.
Sarajevo will open with trio The Bridges of Sarajevo, Of Horses And Men and Alejandro Inarittu’s Amores Perros.
- 8/1/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Programmers and Tate Modern director also added to jury headed by Bela Tarr.
Actresses Melissa Leo and Orsi Toth are among additions to the Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-23) jury, which will be presided over by Bela Tarr.
Also judging will be Tate Modern director Chris Dercon, Morelia Film Festival founding director Daniela Michel, Toronto programmer Rasha Salti and Berlin Forum head Christoph Terhechte.
Oscar-winner Leo (The Fighter) will next be seen in upcoming Antoine Fuqua title The Equalizer. Toth is best known for performances in festival favourites including Women Without Men and The Notebook.
Sarajevo will open with trio The Bridges of Sarajevo, Of Horses And Men and Alejandro Inarittu’s Amores Perros.
Actresses Melissa Leo and Orsi Toth are among additions to the Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-23) jury, which will be presided over by Bela Tarr.
Also judging will be Tate Modern director Chris Dercon, Morelia Film Festival founding director Daniela Michel, Toronto programmer Rasha Salti and Berlin Forum head Christoph Terhechte.
Oscar-winner Leo (The Fighter) will next be seen in upcoming Antoine Fuqua title The Equalizer. Toth is best known for performances in festival favourites including Women Without Men and The Notebook.
Sarajevo will open with trio The Bridges of Sarajevo, Of Horses And Men and Alejandro Inarittu’s Amores Perros.
- 8/1/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Recently during the 67th Edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Cinema23, an association created in 2012 to promote Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese film culture, announced the Fénix Film Awards (Premio Iberoamericano de Cine Fénix). This unique event will take place for the first time in Mexico City in October 2014.
The Mexican actor, director and producer Gael García Bernal (in absentia because of his duties on the jury for Cannes Competition), Portuguese director and actress Maria de Medeiros, Brazilian actress Alice Braga, Spanish actress Paz Vega and Mexican actress Ana de la Reguera, presented the Fénix Film Awards to the international media as one of the key strategies of Cinema23 to provide visibility and recognition of the cinema made in the region.
“There is great variety in our region´s cinema with different forms and languages that in many cases reflect part of who we are. However we are not always able to enjoy it in our own countries, much less worldwide. The activities carried out by Cinema23 aim to develop a closer engagement between the filmmakers and their audiences. It is extremely important to have more visibility in order to gain recognition for the diversity of cinema. This is the premise under which we organized the Fénix Film Awards, commented Ricardo Giraldo, Director of Cinema23.
Ana de la Reguera added: “We have great talent in the region, but it is barely known outside film festivals; it’s important to find another way to reach a broader audience and I believe the Fénix Film Awards is a great strategy and opportunity to achieve it.”
“It is very important for us to get together, allowing us to get closer to the work of our colleagues in order to discover, meet and recognize the voices that make us so different. A celebration like this one opens up a space for us to meet and get to know each other. More importantly it will set the basis for a more profound way for us to share our ideas, create, and cooperate”, added Alice Braga.
María de Medeiros also mentioned: “We are creating a film community that has not existed till now. A community that aims to be inclusive by integrating not only those who make films but also those who study, promote, teach, distribute and exhibit films; so that we all help, support and communicate with each another, allowing our work to be shared both within and outside the region.”
Paz Vega commented: “Collaboration provides an opportunity for creative exchange that strengthens and nourishes our film culture. This collaboration and integration allows our industries to grow without losing their identity and create better opportunities. In the end, difference is what unites us.”
For the past two years, Cinema23 has been shaping a diverse film community from the 22 countries of the region and those who work closely with the region’s filmmaking. The tasks of this community include movie promotion, study, reviews, festivals, distribution, exhibition and filmmaking. The editorial project Cinema23 Notebooks, the conferences during festivals and the student program Classroom Cinema are developed throughout the year, seeking a creative, cultural and knowledge exchange between the different film cultures. These strategies are complemented and strengthened for the general audience through the Fénix Film Awards.
The Fénix Film Awards granted by more than 350 film professionals from Mexico, Latin America, USA, Europe and Canada, will award 12 categories and 4 special recognitions.
It is worth noting that the members of Cinema23 all have an active role in the selection, nomination and voting process for the Fénix Film Awards. Members include:
Karim Ainouz, Elena Anaya, José Carlos Avellar, Héctor Babenco, Luiz Carlos Barreto, Alice Braga, Brigitte Broch, Demián Bichir, Eugenio Caballero, Javier Cámara, Sebastián Cordero, Enrique Chediak, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón, María de Medeiros, Guillermo del Toro, Amat Escalante, Dolores Fonzi, Gael García Bernal, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Iván Giroud, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Salma Hayek, Carlos F. Heredero, Dolores Heredia, Pablo Larraín, Juan de Dios Larraín, Sebastián Lelio, Fernando León de Aranoa, Mónica Lozano, Emmanuel Lubezki, Diego Luna, Fernando Meirelles, Daniela Michel, Luis Miñarro, Wagner Moura, Bertha Navarro, Luis Ospina, Fito Páez, Marisa Paredes, Rodrigo Plá, Alejandro Ramírez, Édgar Ramírez, José Luis Rebordinos, Ana de la Reguera, Carlos Reygadas, José María Riba, Erica Rivas, Catalina Sandino, Ilda Santiago, Rodrigo Santoro, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Albert Serra, Juan Carlos Tabío, Paz Vega, Maribel Verdú & Monika Wagenberg.
Other international members that participate in the various activities of the association include:
Cameron Bailey (Artistic Director Toronto International Film Festival), Frederic Boyer (Artistic Director Tribeca Film Festival), Klaus Eder (President Fipresci), Robert Koehler (Film Critic), Claudia Landsberger (Vice-President Eye Film Institute) and Sydney Levine (Indiewire Blog Sydneys Buzz).
The award ceremony will be held in October 2014 in Mexico City and will be broadcast live on E! Entertainment Television to over 200 million people worldwide with the support of Mexico City’s Government.
To view Cinema23’s promotional video, click on the following link:
www.vimeo.com/81518414
To find out more about Cinema23 and the Fénix Film Awards please visit:
http://www.cinema23.com
About Cinema23
Cinema23 is an association created in 2012 to promote, support and raise awareness for the Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese film culture. It is formed by a diverse group of people with outstanding career trajectories from the film community mainly from the 22 countries of the region and those who work closely with the region’s filmmaking: directors, producers, actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, editors, art directors, sound designers, music composers, costume designers, festival directors and programmers, critics, researchers, distributors and film exhibitors.
Cinema23 seeks a more participative community amongst it members and provides a forum for creative and cultural exchange and cooperation among filmmakers from the region. Its yearly strategies and projects aim to promote and safeguard contemporary Ibero-American film culture, reaching new audiences, sharing ideas and enhancing the visibility and fostering the work of those who make films in Ibero-America.
About the Premio iberoamericano de cine Fénix®, (Fénix Film Awards)
The Fénix Film Awards is the key strategy to further Cinema23’s aims. It celebrates and emphasizes the work of film professionals, provides international visibility and strengthens bonds from the region’s film industry besides captivating and reaching a broader audience.
The first Fénix Film Awards’ gala will award 12 categories and 4 special recognitions. It will be held in October 2014 in Mexico City and will be broadcasted live on E! Entertainment Television to over 200 million people worldwide with the support of Mexico City’s Government.
The Mexican actor, director and producer Gael García Bernal (in absentia because of his duties on the jury for Cannes Competition), Portuguese director and actress Maria de Medeiros, Brazilian actress Alice Braga, Spanish actress Paz Vega and Mexican actress Ana de la Reguera, presented the Fénix Film Awards to the international media as one of the key strategies of Cinema23 to provide visibility and recognition of the cinema made in the region.
“There is great variety in our region´s cinema with different forms and languages that in many cases reflect part of who we are. However we are not always able to enjoy it in our own countries, much less worldwide. The activities carried out by Cinema23 aim to develop a closer engagement between the filmmakers and their audiences. It is extremely important to have more visibility in order to gain recognition for the diversity of cinema. This is the premise under which we organized the Fénix Film Awards, commented Ricardo Giraldo, Director of Cinema23.
Ana de la Reguera added: “We have great talent in the region, but it is barely known outside film festivals; it’s important to find another way to reach a broader audience and I believe the Fénix Film Awards is a great strategy and opportunity to achieve it.”
“It is very important for us to get together, allowing us to get closer to the work of our colleagues in order to discover, meet and recognize the voices that make us so different. A celebration like this one opens up a space for us to meet and get to know each other. More importantly it will set the basis for a more profound way for us to share our ideas, create, and cooperate”, added Alice Braga.
María de Medeiros also mentioned: “We are creating a film community that has not existed till now. A community that aims to be inclusive by integrating not only those who make films but also those who study, promote, teach, distribute and exhibit films; so that we all help, support and communicate with each another, allowing our work to be shared both within and outside the region.”
Paz Vega commented: “Collaboration provides an opportunity for creative exchange that strengthens and nourishes our film culture. This collaboration and integration allows our industries to grow without losing their identity and create better opportunities. In the end, difference is what unites us.”
For the past two years, Cinema23 has been shaping a diverse film community from the 22 countries of the region and those who work closely with the region’s filmmaking. The tasks of this community include movie promotion, study, reviews, festivals, distribution, exhibition and filmmaking. The editorial project Cinema23 Notebooks, the conferences during festivals and the student program Classroom Cinema are developed throughout the year, seeking a creative, cultural and knowledge exchange between the different film cultures. These strategies are complemented and strengthened for the general audience through the Fénix Film Awards.
The Fénix Film Awards granted by more than 350 film professionals from Mexico, Latin America, USA, Europe and Canada, will award 12 categories and 4 special recognitions.
It is worth noting that the members of Cinema23 all have an active role in the selection, nomination and voting process for the Fénix Film Awards. Members include:
Karim Ainouz, Elena Anaya, José Carlos Avellar, Héctor Babenco, Luiz Carlos Barreto, Alice Braga, Brigitte Broch, Demián Bichir, Eugenio Caballero, Javier Cámara, Sebastián Cordero, Enrique Chediak, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón, María de Medeiros, Guillermo del Toro, Amat Escalante, Dolores Fonzi, Gael García Bernal, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Iván Giroud, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Salma Hayek, Carlos F. Heredero, Dolores Heredia, Pablo Larraín, Juan de Dios Larraín, Sebastián Lelio, Fernando León de Aranoa, Mónica Lozano, Emmanuel Lubezki, Diego Luna, Fernando Meirelles, Daniela Michel, Luis Miñarro, Wagner Moura, Bertha Navarro, Luis Ospina, Fito Páez, Marisa Paredes, Rodrigo Plá, Alejandro Ramírez, Édgar Ramírez, José Luis Rebordinos, Ana de la Reguera, Carlos Reygadas, José María Riba, Erica Rivas, Catalina Sandino, Ilda Santiago, Rodrigo Santoro, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Albert Serra, Juan Carlos Tabío, Paz Vega, Maribel Verdú & Monika Wagenberg.
Other international members that participate in the various activities of the association include:
Cameron Bailey (Artistic Director Toronto International Film Festival), Frederic Boyer (Artistic Director Tribeca Film Festival), Klaus Eder (President Fipresci), Robert Koehler (Film Critic), Claudia Landsberger (Vice-President Eye Film Institute) and Sydney Levine (Indiewire Blog Sydneys Buzz).
The award ceremony will be held in October 2014 in Mexico City and will be broadcast live on E! Entertainment Television to over 200 million people worldwide with the support of Mexico City’s Government.
To view Cinema23’s promotional video, click on the following link:
www.vimeo.com/81518414
To find out more about Cinema23 and the Fénix Film Awards please visit:
http://www.cinema23.com
About Cinema23
Cinema23 is an association created in 2012 to promote, support and raise awareness for the Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese film culture. It is formed by a diverse group of people with outstanding career trajectories from the film community mainly from the 22 countries of the region and those who work closely with the region’s filmmaking: directors, producers, actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, editors, art directors, sound designers, music composers, costume designers, festival directors and programmers, critics, researchers, distributors and film exhibitors.
Cinema23 seeks a more participative community amongst it members and provides a forum for creative and cultural exchange and cooperation among filmmakers from the region. Its yearly strategies and projects aim to promote and safeguard contemporary Ibero-American film culture, reaching new audiences, sharing ideas and enhancing the visibility and fostering the work of those who make films in Ibero-America.
About the Premio iberoamericano de cine Fénix®, (Fénix Film Awards)
The Fénix Film Awards is the key strategy to further Cinema23’s aims. It celebrates and emphasizes the work of film professionals, provides international visibility and strengthens bonds from the region’s film industry besides captivating and reaching a broader audience.
The first Fénix Film Awards’ gala will award 12 categories and 4 special recognitions. It will be held in October 2014 in Mexico City and will be broadcasted live on E! Entertainment Television to over 200 million people worldwide with the support of Mexico City’s Government.
- 6/4/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Today I am writing from Cartagena, Colombia where I attended Ficci, the Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias.
This former colonial jewel in the crown of Spain offers a huge array of delights, film-wise, art-wise, food-wise and people-wise. Gorgeous arts and gorgeous people, sweet, polite and proud. As much as I love Havana, Cartagena is how Havana should look.
And as much as I loved Careyes where I was last week, the art and artisanal scope here is so wide; from the Colombian painter and sculptor, Botero to indigenous palm weaving – décor for homes (not cheap!), bags, designer clothing, linen and rubies.
Aside from films, my big discoveries of the day are Ruby Rumie, a Colombian artist who spends much of her time here in her studio in the Getsemaní section of town and in Chile. Coincidentally (again) Gary Meyer (Telluride Film Festival) and his wife Cathy who are here with Gary on the Documentary Competition Jury (I just left them in Careyas!) also just discovered her as well. The other artist, Olga Amaral, works in indigenous styles of weaving and textile production and now is favoring gold leaf displays of woven wall tapestries. Stunning. Both are available at the Nh Gallery, a place I just happened to wander into as I was walking from the theater to my equally stunning hotel Casa Pestagua.
The courteous and helpful people here are a proud mix of white, brown and black. They say the blacks will never follow the orders of a white. They say the blood of slaves is embedded in the wall fortifications of the city. The Inquisition here was very powerful, and they say the Jews (Conversos) coming in the conquistadors’ ships went to settle Medellín and the Catholics to Bogotá. Cartagena was the last city to be free of the Spanish crown and as such, it was extremely conservative.
It would take days to visit all the museums throughout the city. The Art Biennale is now in many of them (free entry) including the Museum of the Inquisition with its torture machines. The Museum of Gold with pre-Colombian gold artworks is astounding. All the gold of Latin America (and emeralds, diamonds and silver) went from here in the Spanish galleons back to Spain until the city declared its independence in 1811. We in the North know this history but from a different perspective. Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America and Gonzalo Arijon’s documentary Eyes Wide Open, an update of Galeano’s ideas are good starting points for understanding this part of the world. Eye opening indeed!
The beauty of the city and its people is matched by the food. There is great food here here and some very haute cuisine restaurants. Ceviches of many kinds, new sweet fruits like the pitaya and the drink mixing limeade and coconut milk delight the palate. The festival invites enough but not too many industry folks so it can host lunches and dinners in wonderful venues along with cocktail hours where we can all meet and talk. Talk among us is of food and film, film and food…even of food film festivals that are cropping up from Berlin, San Sebastian, here and in Northern California…stay tuned.
The Colombian government is aware of the need for the public to rediscover their own stories and to this end all the festival screenings are free, and all are packed Sro. The government also supports filmmakers with a deliberate, well-planned and well executed strategy to increase production and create an infrastructure.
Colombian films’ biggest challenge is to increase their share of their rapidly growing domestic market, worth $182.3 million in box office in 2012. One way forward is international co-production, where Bam (Bogotá Audiovisual Market) July 14-18, 2014 plays a large role. There is a mini version of this here (Encuentros Cartagena), centering on French and Colombian co-production, but not limited to that, with guests like George Goldenstern from Cinefondation (Cannes), producer/ international sales agent Marie-Pierre Masia and and the ever present Thierry Lenouvel of Cine-Sud whose film Tierra en la lengua aka Dust on the Tongue won the Best Picture Award in Competition. Vincenzo Bugno of World Cinema Fund of the Berlinale is always here too as is Jose Maria Riba on the Jury of the Competition and programmer for San Sebastian and Directors Fortnight. Also on the jury are Wendy Mitchel and Pawel Pawlikowski whose film Ida (Isa: Portobello Film Sales) is playing (outside of the Competition). A look at the winning competition films shows the strength of co-productions today.
Best Picture: Dust on the Tongue of Ruben Mendoza (Colombia) Colombia Film of $15,000. Special Jury Prize: The Third Side of the River (La tercera orilla) which premiered in Competition at the Berlinale, by Celina Murga (Argentina, Netherlands, Germany) (Isa: The Match Factory) Best Director: Alejandro Fernández Almendras for To kill a man (Matar a un hombre) which premiered in Sundance (Chile, France). Film Factory is selling international rights and Film Movement has U.S. It also won the Fipresci or International Critics’ Award. Best Actor: Fernando Bacilio by El Mudo (Peru, Mexico, France), Urban Distribution International is the sales agent.
Cinema in Colombia continues its steep ascent in the international production world. The reasons, according to Bugno, lie in “new political decisions, funding structures, and the developing of a new producing environment that also has to do with new emerging young talent.”
A visit to the festival headquarters proves the point of the extensive government support of film not only for its own sake, but for the sake of all the people, dispossessed, abused, Lgbt, children and women. It is a beautiful sight to see such support, and the people seem to reciprocate; I hear more praise than complaints about the government and everyone seems cautiously optimistic, aware of its current position vis à vis what has thankfully become recent history with the guerillas who had been waging war with the government for the past 40 years and the current elections and competing points of view between the former President Uribe and the current President Juan Manuel Santos.
Aecid , Association Espagnola de Cooperacon Internacional para el Desarrollo (The Spanish Association for International Cooperation for Development), a festival sponsor supports social cohesion, equality of genders, construction of peace, respect for cultural diversity and the reduction of poverty.
Currently in Colombia, national cinema holds a 10% share of the Colombian market and 8% of the box office. In 2012, 213 films were produced in Colombia, a huge increase since 2009 when 19 were produced according to Ocal, the Observotario del Cine f nCl [sic]. In 2012, 23 of the 213 domestic films were released theatrically, a tremendous increase from the 6 Colombian films released in the year 2000. [1],[2] This number surpasses every record in Colombia’s film history
This 10 day spectacular film festival gives free entry to all at 8 theaters and, proving the point that people love the movies, every single screening is packed solid, Sro. More than 135 films come from 27 countries. 48 daily screenings include 14 open air screenings in great locations. There are 40 world premieres and 26 Latin American premieres.
150 invited guests included Abbas Kiarostami, Clive Owen, Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, Pavel Pawlikowsky with his film Ida, John Sayles with whom I had an interesting talk about U.S. current distribution and of Return of Seacaucus Seven and Sunshine State. The screening of his film Go For Sisters has received an enthusiastic response from the audiences.
Since 2013, coproductions between the U.S. and Colombia with variations on the theme are on the rise. With its 40% cash rebate, Colombia is proving to be a great place to make movies.
Colombians such as Simon Brand are making English language genre films such as this year’s festival debuting Default (Isa: Wild Bunch). For budgets under Us$1 million, action, thrillers and horror genres can cross borders, and can recoup costs and even profit.
The reverse is also notable. Four films screening here are Colombian films made by Americans. The winner to three prizes here for Best Director, Best Documentary and the Audience Prize, Marmato by Marc Grieco was workshopped twice at Sundance where it premiered this January 2014. It is represented internationally by Ro*co and its U.S. representative is Ben Weiss at Paradigm. The other three remarkable debut films are Mambo Cool by Chris Gude,Manos Sucias by Josef Wladyka (a Japanese-Polish American) and Parador Hungaro by Patrick Alexander and Aseneth Suarez Ruiz. Look for upcoming interviews with these four directors who came to Colombia and, because of their experiences here, decided to make these exceptional movies. My next blog will be interviews with each of these films’ directors.
Secundaria , the first film I saw here was not shot here although it too was directed by an American who made 21 trips to Cuba to make it. Documenting the high school ballet training and competitions held by Cuba’s world famous National Ballet School -- Watch the trailer here -- it was not only beautiful but it magically captured the ever-present economic issues of Cuba. I can’t wait to see Primaria about the grade school of the Nbs.
Director and coproducer Mary Jane Doherty has been an Associate Professor of Film at Boston University since 1990. Proud of her lineage as a student of iconic documentarian Ricky Leacock, she developed B.U.’s Narrative Documentary Program: a novel approach to non-fiction storytelling using the building blocks of fiction film. Lyda Kuth , the coproducer, is founding board member and executive director of the Lef Foundation, which supports independent filmmakers through the Lef Moving Image Fund. In 2005, she established Nadita Productions and was producer/director on her first feature documentary, Love and Other Anxieties.
A cocktail party is given daily at the festival where we can all meet up. It was there I met Gail Gendler VP of Acquisitions for AMC/ Sundance Channel Global (international not domestic) and Gus
Dinner one night was with the jury for Nuevos Creadores (New Creators). Cynthia Garcia Calvo, Editor in Chief of LatamCinema.com, a Latino equivalent to Indiewire.com out of Chile and Argentina and I spoke of possible ways to cooperate. The third member of the jury, Javier Mejia, director of Colombia’s best film of 2008 Apocalypsur also has a documentary here, Duni, about a Chilean filmmaker who left Chile during the dictatorship and came to Colombia where he made political films in Medellin but never discussed his reasons for coming or even his Chilean roots. How happy I was that I had seen and enjoyed the films of the third jury member, Daniel Vega, who with his brother Diego made The Mute aka El Mudo (Isa: Urban Media) which played in Toronto and San Sebastian and his earlier film October, both dark comedies or perhaps dramadies dealing with subjective realities in unique environs of Peru we have never seen. He promised to help me with the Peru chapter of my upcoming book. Peru is in the lower middle of countries which support filmmaking. Their film fund is a rather laid back affair administered by the Ministry of Culture who receives money from the Ministry of Finance when they “get around to it”.
Jury for New Creators: Javier Mejía, Cynthia García Calvo and Diego Vega,displaying the winner for the Best Short Film: Alen Natalia Imery (Universidad del Valle) who won a Sony video camera, 2,000, 000 pesos of in kind services from Shock Magazin, and a scholarship for graduate Project Management and Film Production at the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga
Second prize went to The murmur of the earth Alejandro Daza (National University) - Win a Sony camera, and a Fellowship for Graduate Record Audio and Sound Design of the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga.
Other winners are:
Official Colombian Film Competition
Jurors: David Melo - Alissa Simon - Daniela Michel
Best Film: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA) Winner of the I.Sat Award for $30K and the Cinecolor Award for $11k in deliveries
Special Jury Prize: Mateo by María Gamboa
Best Director: Rubén Mendoza for Dust on the Tongue (Tierra en la lengua). Winner of Hangar Films Award for $30K in film equipment to produce his next film.
Additional Awards
Audience Award Colombia: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA). Winner of $15K
Official Documentary Competition
Jurors: Gary Meyer- Luis Ospina - Laurie Collyer
Best Film: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA). Winner of the Cinecolor Award for $13Kin post-production services.
Special Jury Prize: What Now? Remind Me (E Agora? Lembra-me) by Joaquim Pinto (Portugal)
Best Director: Justin Webster for I Will Be Murdered (Seré asesinado) (Spain, Denmark, U.K.)
Official Short Film Competition
JurorsOswaldo Osorio -Pacho Bottia - Denis de la Roca
Best Short Film: Statues (Estatuas) by Roberto Fiesco (Mexico). Winner of a professional Sony camera and $3K from Cinecolor in post-production services for his next project.
Special Jury Prize: About a Month (Pouco Mais de um Mês) by André Novais Oliveira (Brazil)
Best Director: Manuel Camacho Bustillo for Blackout chapter 4 "A Call to Neverland" (Blackout capítulo 4 "Una llamada a Neverland") (Mexico). Winner of a Sony photographic camera.
Gems
Jurors: Mauricio Reina - Manuel Kalmanowitz - Sofia Gomez Gonzalez
Best Film: Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Koreeda (Japan). Winner of the Rcn Award for $50 to promote the release of the film in Colombia.
Special Jury Prize: Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen (Singapore)
[1] http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/ocal/cifras.aspx
[2] http://www.mincultura.gov.co/areas/cinematografia/estadisticas-del-sector/Documents/Anuario%202012.p...
This former colonial jewel in the crown of Spain offers a huge array of delights, film-wise, art-wise, food-wise and people-wise. Gorgeous arts and gorgeous people, sweet, polite and proud. As much as I love Havana, Cartagena is how Havana should look.
And as much as I loved Careyes where I was last week, the art and artisanal scope here is so wide; from the Colombian painter and sculptor, Botero to indigenous palm weaving – décor for homes (not cheap!), bags, designer clothing, linen and rubies.
Aside from films, my big discoveries of the day are Ruby Rumie, a Colombian artist who spends much of her time here in her studio in the Getsemaní section of town and in Chile. Coincidentally (again) Gary Meyer (Telluride Film Festival) and his wife Cathy who are here with Gary on the Documentary Competition Jury (I just left them in Careyas!) also just discovered her as well. The other artist, Olga Amaral, works in indigenous styles of weaving and textile production and now is favoring gold leaf displays of woven wall tapestries. Stunning. Both are available at the Nh Gallery, a place I just happened to wander into as I was walking from the theater to my equally stunning hotel Casa Pestagua.
The courteous and helpful people here are a proud mix of white, brown and black. They say the blacks will never follow the orders of a white. They say the blood of slaves is embedded in the wall fortifications of the city. The Inquisition here was very powerful, and they say the Jews (Conversos) coming in the conquistadors’ ships went to settle Medellín and the Catholics to Bogotá. Cartagena was the last city to be free of the Spanish crown and as such, it was extremely conservative.
It would take days to visit all the museums throughout the city. The Art Biennale is now in many of them (free entry) including the Museum of the Inquisition with its torture machines. The Museum of Gold with pre-Colombian gold artworks is astounding. All the gold of Latin America (and emeralds, diamonds and silver) went from here in the Spanish galleons back to Spain until the city declared its independence in 1811. We in the North know this history but from a different perspective. Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America and Gonzalo Arijon’s documentary Eyes Wide Open, an update of Galeano’s ideas are good starting points for understanding this part of the world. Eye opening indeed!
The beauty of the city and its people is matched by the food. There is great food here here and some very haute cuisine restaurants. Ceviches of many kinds, new sweet fruits like the pitaya and the drink mixing limeade and coconut milk delight the palate. The festival invites enough but not too many industry folks so it can host lunches and dinners in wonderful venues along with cocktail hours where we can all meet and talk. Talk among us is of food and film, film and food…even of food film festivals that are cropping up from Berlin, San Sebastian, here and in Northern California…stay tuned.
The Colombian government is aware of the need for the public to rediscover their own stories and to this end all the festival screenings are free, and all are packed Sro. The government also supports filmmakers with a deliberate, well-planned and well executed strategy to increase production and create an infrastructure.
Colombian films’ biggest challenge is to increase their share of their rapidly growing domestic market, worth $182.3 million in box office in 2012. One way forward is international co-production, where Bam (Bogotá Audiovisual Market) July 14-18, 2014 plays a large role. There is a mini version of this here (Encuentros Cartagena), centering on French and Colombian co-production, but not limited to that, with guests like George Goldenstern from Cinefondation (Cannes), producer/ international sales agent Marie-Pierre Masia and and the ever present Thierry Lenouvel of Cine-Sud whose film Tierra en la lengua aka Dust on the Tongue won the Best Picture Award in Competition. Vincenzo Bugno of World Cinema Fund of the Berlinale is always here too as is Jose Maria Riba on the Jury of the Competition and programmer for San Sebastian and Directors Fortnight. Also on the jury are Wendy Mitchel and Pawel Pawlikowski whose film Ida (Isa: Portobello Film Sales) is playing (outside of the Competition). A look at the winning competition films shows the strength of co-productions today.
Best Picture: Dust on the Tongue of Ruben Mendoza (Colombia) Colombia Film of $15,000. Special Jury Prize: The Third Side of the River (La tercera orilla) which premiered in Competition at the Berlinale, by Celina Murga (Argentina, Netherlands, Germany) (Isa: The Match Factory) Best Director: Alejandro Fernández Almendras for To kill a man (Matar a un hombre) which premiered in Sundance (Chile, France). Film Factory is selling international rights and Film Movement has U.S. It also won the Fipresci or International Critics’ Award. Best Actor: Fernando Bacilio by El Mudo (Peru, Mexico, France), Urban Distribution International is the sales agent.
Cinema in Colombia continues its steep ascent in the international production world. The reasons, according to Bugno, lie in “new political decisions, funding structures, and the developing of a new producing environment that also has to do with new emerging young talent.”
A visit to the festival headquarters proves the point of the extensive government support of film not only for its own sake, but for the sake of all the people, dispossessed, abused, Lgbt, children and women. It is a beautiful sight to see such support, and the people seem to reciprocate; I hear more praise than complaints about the government and everyone seems cautiously optimistic, aware of its current position vis à vis what has thankfully become recent history with the guerillas who had been waging war with the government for the past 40 years and the current elections and competing points of view between the former President Uribe and the current President Juan Manuel Santos.
Aecid , Association Espagnola de Cooperacon Internacional para el Desarrollo (The Spanish Association for International Cooperation for Development), a festival sponsor supports social cohesion, equality of genders, construction of peace, respect for cultural diversity and the reduction of poverty.
Currently in Colombia, national cinema holds a 10% share of the Colombian market and 8% of the box office. In 2012, 213 films were produced in Colombia, a huge increase since 2009 when 19 were produced according to Ocal, the Observotario del Cine f nCl [sic]. In 2012, 23 of the 213 domestic films were released theatrically, a tremendous increase from the 6 Colombian films released in the year 2000. [1],[2] This number surpasses every record in Colombia’s film history
This 10 day spectacular film festival gives free entry to all at 8 theaters and, proving the point that people love the movies, every single screening is packed solid, Sro. More than 135 films come from 27 countries. 48 daily screenings include 14 open air screenings in great locations. There are 40 world premieres and 26 Latin American premieres.
150 invited guests included Abbas Kiarostami, Clive Owen, Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, Pavel Pawlikowsky with his film Ida, John Sayles with whom I had an interesting talk about U.S. current distribution and of Return of Seacaucus Seven and Sunshine State. The screening of his film Go For Sisters has received an enthusiastic response from the audiences.
Since 2013, coproductions between the U.S. and Colombia with variations on the theme are on the rise. With its 40% cash rebate, Colombia is proving to be a great place to make movies.
Colombians such as Simon Brand are making English language genre films such as this year’s festival debuting Default (Isa: Wild Bunch). For budgets under Us$1 million, action, thrillers and horror genres can cross borders, and can recoup costs and even profit.
The reverse is also notable. Four films screening here are Colombian films made by Americans. The winner to three prizes here for Best Director, Best Documentary and the Audience Prize, Marmato by Marc Grieco was workshopped twice at Sundance where it premiered this January 2014. It is represented internationally by Ro*co and its U.S. representative is Ben Weiss at Paradigm. The other three remarkable debut films are Mambo Cool by Chris Gude,Manos Sucias by Josef Wladyka (a Japanese-Polish American) and Parador Hungaro by Patrick Alexander and Aseneth Suarez Ruiz. Look for upcoming interviews with these four directors who came to Colombia and, because of their experiences here, decided to make these exceptional movies. My next blog will be interviews with each of these films’ directors.
Secundaria , the first film I saw here was not shot here although it too was directed by an American who made 21 trips to Cuba to make it. Documenting the high school ballet training and competitions held by Cuba’s world famous National Ballet School -- Watch the trailer here -- it was not only beautiful but it magically captured the ever-present economic issues of Cuba. I can’t wait to see Primaria about the grade school of the Nbs.
Director and coproducer Mary Jane Doherty has been an Associate Professor of Film at Boston University since 1990. Proud of her lineage as a student of iconic documentarian Ricky Leacock, she developed B.U.’s Narrative Documentary Program: a novel approach to non-fiction storytelling using the building blocks of fiction film. Lyda Kuth , the coproducer, is founding board member and executive director of the Lef Foundation, which supports independent filmmakers through the Lef Moving Image Fund. In 2005, she established Nadita Productions and was producer/director on her first feature documentary, Love and Other Anxieties.
A cocktail party is given daily at the festival where we can all meet up. It was there I met Gail Gendler VP of Acquisitions for AMC/ Sundance Channel Global (international not domestic) and Gus
Dinner one night was with the jury for Nuevos Creadores (New Creators). Cynthia Garcia Calvo, Editor in Chief of LatamCinema.com, a Latino equivalent to Indiewire.com out of Chile and Argentina and I spoke of possible ways to cooperate. The third member of the jury, Javier Mejia, director of Colombia’s best film of 2008 Apocalypsur also has a documentary here, Duni, about a Chilean filmmaker who left Chile during the dictatorship and came to Colombia where he made political films in Medellin but never discussed his reasons for coming or even his Chilean roots. How happy I was that I had seen and enjoyed the films of the third jury member, Daniel Vega, who with his brother Diego made The Mute aka El Mudo (Isa: Urban Media) which played in Toronto and San Sebastian and his earlier film October, both dark comedies or perhaps dramadies dealing with subjective realities in unique environs of Peru we have never seen. He promised to help me with the Peru chapter of my upcoming book. Peru is in the lower middle of countries which support filmmaking. Their film fund is a rather laid back affair administered by the Ministry of Culture who receives money from the Ministry of Finance when they “get around to it”.
Jury for New Creators: Javier Mejía, Cynthia García Calvo and Diego Vega,displaying the winner for the Best Short Film: Alen Natalia Imery (Universidad del Valle) who won a Sony video camera, 2,000, 000 pesos of in kind services from Shock Magazin, and a scholarship for graduate Project Management and Film Production at the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga
Second prize went to The murmur of the earth Alejandro Daza (National University) - Win a Sony camera, and a Fellowship for Graduate Record Audio and Sound Design of the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga.
Other winners are:
Official Colombian Film Competition
Jurors: David Melo - Alissa Simon - Daniela Michel
Best Film: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA) Winner of the I.Sat Award for $30K and the Cinecolor Award for $11k in deliveries
Special Jury Prize: Mateo by María Gamboa
Best Director: Rubén Mendoza for Dust on the Tongue (Tierra en la lengua). Winner of Hangar Films Award for $30K in film equipment to produce his next film.
Additional Awards
Audience Award Colombia: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA). Winner of $15K
Official Documentary Competition
Jurors: Gary Meyer- Luis Ospina - Laurie Collyer
Best Film: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA). Winner of the Cinecolor Award for $13Kin post-production services.
Special Jury Prize: What Now? Remind Me (E Agora? Lembra-me) by Joaquim Pinto (Portugal)
Best Director: Justin Webster for I Will Be Murdered (Seré asesinado) (Spain, Denmark, U.K.)
Official Short Film Competition
JurorsOswaldo Osorio -Pacho Bottia - Denis de la Roca
Best Short Film: Statues (Estatuas) by Roberto Fiesco (Mexico). Winner of a professional Sony camera and $3K from Cinecolor in post-production services for his next project.
Special Jury Prize: About a Month (Pouco Mais de um Mês) by André Novais Oliveira (Brazil)
Best Director: Manuel Camacho Bustillo for Blackout chapter 4 "A Call to Neverland" (Blackout capítulo 4 "Una llamada a Neverland") (Mexico). Winner of a Sony photographic camera.
Gems
Jurors: Mauricio Reina - Manuel Kalmanowitz - Sofia Gomez Gonzalez
Best Film: Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Koreeda (Japan). Winner of the Rcn Award for $50 to promote the release of the film in Colombia.
Special Jury Prize: Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen (Singapore)
[1] http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/ocal/cifras.aspx
[2] http://www.mincultura.gov.co/areas/cinematografia/estadisticas-del-sector/Documents/Anuario%202012.p...
- 3/26/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The 54th Edition of the Cartagena Film Festival has come to an end and the winners have been announced. The indisputable protagonists this year were Marmato by Mark Grieco, winning three awards, Rubén Mendoza's Dust on the Tongue, and the Chilean film To Kill a Man by Alejandro Fernández Almendras, with two awards each. Surely these three films and several other winners will become important works at other upcoming festivals since many of them have already done well at Sundance, Rotterdam, and Berlin.
Official Competition: Narrative Feature
Members of the Jury: Wendy Mitchell - Jose Maria Riba - Pawel Pawlikowski
Best Film: Dust on the Tongue (Tierra en la Lengua) by Rubén Mendoza (Colombia- Winner of $15K
Special Jury Prize: The Third Side of the River (La Tercera Orilla) by Celina Murga (Argentina, The Netherlands, Germany)
Best Director: Alejandro Fernández Almendras for To Kill a Man (Matar a un hombre) (Chile, France)
Best Actor: Fernando Bacilio for El Mudo (Peru, Mexico, France)
Fipresci
Members of the Jury: Carlos Heredero - Hiroaki Saitô - Michal Oleszczyk
Best Film: To Kill a Man by Alejandro Fernández Almendras (Chile, France)
Other Awards
Oclacc Award (Catholic Organization of Communications for Latin America and the Caribbean)
Special Mention: Mateo by María Gamboa (Colombia
Official Competition: Colombian Cinema
Members of the Jury: David Melo - Alissa Simon - Daniela Michel
Best Film: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA) Winner of the I.Sat Award for $30K and the Cinecolor Award for $11k in deliveries
Special Jury Prize: Mateo by María Gamboa
Best Director: Rubén Mendoza for Dust on the Tongue (Tierra en la lengua). Winner of Hangar Films Award for $30K in film equipment to produce his next film.
Additional Awards
Audience Award Colombia: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA). Winner of $15K
Official Competition: Documentary
Members of the Jury: Gary Meyer- Luis Ospina - Laurie Collyer
Best Film: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA). Winner of the Cinecolor Award for $13Kin post-production services.
Special Jury Prize: What Now? Remind Me (E Agora? Lembra-me) by Joaquim Pinto (Portugal)
Best Director: Justin Webster for I Will Be Murdered (Seré asesinado) (Spain, Denmark, U.K.)
Official Competition: Short Film
Members of the Jury: Oswaldo Osorio - Pacho Bottia - Denis de la Roca
Best Short Film: Statues (Estatuas) by Roberto Fiesco (Mexico). Winner of a professional Sony camera and $3K from Cinecolor in post-production services for his next project.
Special Jury Prize: About a Month (Pouco Mais de um Mês) by André Novais Oliveira (Brazil)
Best Director: Manuel Camacho Bustillo for Blackout chapter 4 "A Call to Neverland" (Blackout capítulo 4 "Una llamada a Neverland") (Mexico). Winner of a Sony photographic camera.
Gems
Members of the Jury:Mauricio Reina - Manuel Kalmanowitz - Sofia Gomez Gonzalez
Best Film: Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Koreeda (Japan). Winner of the Rcn Award for $50 to promote the release of the film in Colombia.
Special Jury Prize: Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen (Singapore)
New Creators
Members of the Jury: Javier Mejía- Diego Vega - Cynthia García Calvo
Best Short Film: Alén by Natalia Imery (Universidad del Valle).
Runner-up: The Earth's Whisper (El murmullo de la tierra) by Alejandro Daza (Universidad Nacional)...
Official Competition: Narrative Feature
Members of the Jury: Wendy Mitchell - Jose Maria Riba - Pawel Pawlikowski
Best Film: Dust on the Tongue (Tierra en la Lengua) by Rubén Mendoza (Colombia- Winner of $15K
Special Jury Prize: The Third Side of the River (La Tercera Orilla) by Celina Murga (Argentina, The Netherlands, Germany)
Best Director: Alejandro Fernández Almendras for To Kill a Man (Matar a un hombre) (Chile, France)
Best Actor: Fernando Bacilio for El Mudo (Peru, Mexico, France)
Fipresci
Members of the Jury: Carlos Heredero - Hiroaki Saitô - Michal Oleszczyk
Best Film: To Kill a Man by Alejandro Fernández Almendras (Chile, France)
Other Awards
Oclacc Award (Catholic Organization of Communications for Latin America and the Caribbean)
Special Mention: Mateo by María Gamboa (Colombia
Official Competition: Colombian Cinema
Members of the Jury: David Melo - Alissa Simon - Daniela Michel
Best Film: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA) Winner of the I.Sat Award for $30K and the Cinecolor Award for $11k in deliveries
Special Jury Prize: Mateo by María Gamboa
Best Director: Rubén Mendoza for Dust on the Tongue (Tierra en la lengua). Winner of Hangar Films Award for $30K in film equipment to produce his next film.
Additional Awards
Audience Award Colombia: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA). Winner of $15K
Official Competition: Documentary
Members of the Jury: Gary Meyer- Luis Ospina - Laurie Collyer
Best Film: Marmato by Mark Grieco (Colombia, USA). Winner of the Cinecolor Award for $13Kin post-production services.
Special Jury Prize: What Now? Remind Me (E Agora? Lembra-me) by Joaquim Pinto (Portugal)
Best Director: Justin Webster for I Will Be Murdered (Seré asesinado) (Spain, Denmark, U.K.)
Official Competition: Short Film
Members of the Jury: Oswaldo Osorio - Pacho Bottia - Denis de la Roca
Best Short Film: Statues (Estatuas) by Roberto Fiesco (Mexico). Winner of a professional Sony camera and $3K from Cinecolor in post-production services for his next project.
Special Jury Prize: About a Month (Pouco Mais de um Mês) by André Novais Oliveira (Brazil)
Best Director: Manuel Camacho Bustillo for Blackout chapter 4 "A Call to Neverland" (Blackout capítulo 4 "Una llamada a Neverland") (Mexico). Winner of a Sony photographic camera.
Gems
Members of the Jury:Mauricio Reina - Manuel Kalmanowitz - Sofia Gomez Gonzalez
Best Film: Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Koreeda (Japan). Winner of the Rcn Award for $50 to promote the release of the film in Colombia.
Special Jury Prize: Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen (Singapore)
New Creators
Members of the Jury: Javier Mejía- Diego Vega - Cynthia García Calvo
Best Short Film: Alén by Natalia Imery (Universidad del Valle).
Runner-up: The Earth's Whisper (El murmullo de la tierra) by Alejandro Daza (Universidad Nacional)...
- 3/22/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Dust On The Tongue [pictured], Marmato, To Kill A Man take home prizes.
The 54th edition of the Cartagena Film Festival wrapped tonight in Colombia, with the festival’s main Latin American competition prize going to a local film, Ruben Mendoza’s Dust On The Tounge (Tierra En La Lengua). The award comes with $15,000.
The film blends fake documentary and fiction in the story of a crude, violent patriarch (Jairo Salcedo) who brings his cityslicker grandchildren to his ranch to help him die.
The jury gave its best director prize to Alejandro Fernández Almendras for To Kill A Man (Matar a un hombre), a Chilean dark dramatic thriller that also took home Cartagena’s Fipresci prize.
Best actor was Fernando Bacilio for The Mute (El Mudo) by Daniel and Diego Vega from Peru. The special jury prize went to Celina Murga’s The Third Side of the River (La tercera orilla) from Argentina.
Best documentary...
The 54th edition of the Cartagena Film Festival wrapped tonight in Colombia, with the festival’s main Latin American competition prize going to a local film, Ruben Mendoza’s Dust On The Tounge (Tierra En La Lengua). The award comes with $15,000.
The film blends fake documentary and fiction in the story of a crude, violent patriarch (Jairo Salcedo) who brings his cityslicker grandchildren to his ranch to help him die.
The jury gave its best director prize to Alejandro Fernández Almendras for To Kill A Man (Matar a un hombre), a Chilean dark dramatic thriller that also took home Cartagena’s Fipresci prize.
Best actor was Fernando Bacilio for The Mute (El Mudo) by Daniel and Diego Vega from Peru. The special jury prize went to Celina Murga’s The Third Side of the River (La tercera orilla) from Argentina.
Best documentary...
- 3/20/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Greetings from Paradise. My blessed good fortune -- actually Steven Raphael, founder of Required Viewing.net (producer rep, publicist, theatrical distributor) -- invited me to join a small group going Costa Careyes, Mexico where the fourth edition of Infiniti ArteCareyes Film & Arts is taking place March 5th through 9th.
Situated on the Pacific coast of Mexico, a lush tropical forest in the state of Jalisco (a four hour drive from Guadalajara where the Guadalajara Film Festival will soon be held), about an hour and a half north of Manzanilla and south of Puerta Vallarta, Costa Careyes’ beauty defies description. But I am going to try to describe all that happens in the four days we spent here: nightly open air feature film screenings, contemporary art exhibitions, a charity auction, a live music program, matinee screenings and workshops held in venues sharing the land with huge permanent art installations in a tropical mountain terrain by artists including Retna and Jeffrey Sharf, two muralists whose West Hollywood Library murals illustrate an extraordinary coincidental synchronicity which continued throughout this long weekend.
In our little group, John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, here for the second time, is on the board of Arte Careyes. His husband Paul Louis Maillard, an executive of Kaiser Permanente, spent hours studying for his Harvard Leadership Course where he will spend the next two weeks. The documentary filmmaking and married team Jarrett Engle and Cort Tramontin and David Zellner, half of the Zellner Brothers filmmaking team whom John invited to present Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, the sleeper of Sundance which went on to show in the Forum of the Berlinale, were also part of our little group which shared a stunning four bedroom house, built in an extravagant Mexican style incorporating inside and outside living. David and I were consigned to our own little guest houses just down a flight of stairs. All our windows looked out onto the ocean which at night was domed by stars in an equatorial splendor, bright and disconcerting, different because we are so much closer to the equator. I was reminded of that marvelous Ray Bradbury short story, Nightfall.
Our late evening talks and early morning breakfasts together with Steven and John telling great stories were such fun and also deepened my appreciation and knowledge of the special part of “the biz” we are in.
John Cooper has been a member of the Sundance Film Festival programming staff since 1989 and assumed the role of Festival Director in April of 2009 after serving as the Sundance Film Festival's Director of Programming since 2003. Parenthetically, he is the only gay head of a major film festival, an achievement no woman can claim…yet.
His early work in theater, ranging from performance to design, took him to New York City. By chance, he volunteered at the Institute's Summer Labs in 1989 and fell in love with the process and energy of Sundance (and with his future husband). He returned to California to become part of the Festival programming team, which at that time consisted of two people. In the Festival's early years, Cooper created the short film program and quickly transitioned into programming documentaries and feature films.
In recent years, he took the lead in developing the Institute's online presence, which has garnered two Webby Awards. As Festival Director, he oversees creative direction of the Festival and has final decision on all films and events.
Other work includes guest curator or juror at major film festivals around the world. From 1995-1998 Cooper served as Programming Director of Outfest, a Los Angeles festival held annually in July, and until 2002 served on the Outfest Board of Directors.
John Cooper was a dancer before he became director of Sundance and though he did not dance for us, his performance skills are top. Watching him navigate as our “house father” was worth the trip.
The purpose of this art, music and film event as described by its founder Filippo Brignone and the film curator, Marina Stavenhagen, is to link creative people across disciplines – pictorial and plastic arts, music, design, literature and filmmakers in dialogues that will result in greater creativity for the good of the community and beyond.
Our host Filippo Brignone, who has been working and reworking this event for four years is intent as well about preserving the nature of the area along with incorporating the most progressive education in science and math as well as the liberal arts in a system which includes the interactions between the 100 + families who are creating a community and the children of the families in the town who have been here since time immemorial.
Our conversations around all these subjects flowed freely among the guests over the past four days.
The patriarch of the family, Gian Franco Brignone, the 86+year-old Italian onetime banker with an artistic sensibility and a love of nature, bought eight miles of coastline with more than 5,000 hectares of coastal forestland in 1968 and began inviting friends like Bill and Melinda Gates and Paris Hilton to visit.
Bignone père and his two sons, Filippo and Georgio, have continued to build Careyes into a glamorous residential community and resort with accommodations ranging from cozy beach bungalows to “castles,” like the six-bedroom, sunshine-yellow aerie Casa Oriente where we stayed. Filippo also took us to his home, equally beautiful and mystic in its nature.
There’s also a small hotel, a contemporary art gallery, – curated by Los Angeles’s Hammer Museum Los Angeles Hammer Museum curators Ann Philbin and Laurie Firstenburg, who is also creating a tropical Marfa, were instrumental in organizing both Pacific Standard Time, a citywide showcase of Los Angeles art of the 1950s and 60s and Laxart are curating the art side of this community. More on the art of Careyes can be read here.
This community also contains a world class polo club overseen by Giorgio, five restaurants, and 8 glorious miles of coastline which Felippo plans to allow families and individuals to build on if they fit certain qualifications.
Filippo, his brother Giorgio and PR and Communications executive Viviana Dean operate this entire enterprise under the auspices of The ?! Careyes Foundation. Btw, the Foundation is looking for a general manager who will know how to share the vision of what they are building here. Filippo himself is a bon vivant with an enormous curiosity and the executive ability to develop his vision. From speaking with him, my perception of whom they would grant residency to would be those the ability to enjoy the life that is here in all its aspects. Not only partying (which is extraordinary) and conversational abilities, but intelligence, an excellence in achievement, originality, a compassion which includes curiosity and the wish to include, discuss and implement all aspects of what makes life better for all.
The ?! Careyes Foundation's mission is to catalyze innovative programs related to education, health, sport, ecology and art in order to improve the well-being of local communities along the coast. Over 30 years of individual philanthropic efforts in Careyes, Mexico, and the surrounding villages along the Mexican Pacific Coast are consolidated in The ?! Careyes Foundation. From Perula to Agua Caliente, the region of initial concentration includes a population of approximately 6,000 people. In 2013, The ?! Careyes Foundation registered as a non-profit public charity with 501(c)3 tax designation in the United States in order to make its efforts in the region more accessible and impactful. The Foundation is in the process of obtaining a similar status in Mexico and in other countries over time.
The Foundation is overseen by a an Executive Board over which our host Filippo presides and a Board of Trustees and Advisors with expertise in each of the Foundation’s concentrated areas — community, sea, land, and arts. The Executive Committees determine the scope of projects, initiating proposed ideas that prove to be transformational, scalable, and sustainable. Members of the international Honorary Board serve as global ambassadors for the Foundation and its work, supporting programmatic and philanthropic efforts.
On the Executive Board:
Executive Board Secretary, Emanuela Brignone Cattaneo, is an architect who has spent most of her life travelling to Careyes, and lending her design vision to create a large new urban space, the Plaza Caballeros del Sol, including a Sanctuary and the Contemporary Art Space of Careyes. She is also dedicating herself in the restoration of many historical Italian buildings from the Xii century transforming them into Museums such as the Modern Art Gallery of Genova or Palazzo Lomellino listed as a Unesco world heritage. Emanuela holds a Ma from Colombia University in NY and serves as a Trustee of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, the Wolfsonian Foundation in Miami and Genoa. Emanuela is an Advisor of Airc , the Italian Association for Cancer Research.
Board Treasurer, Isabel SantoTomás, is Vice President of Investments for Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management focusing on portfolio management for ultra high net worth individuals, family offices, and endowments. She joined Morgan Stanley in 2008 and has 26 years of industry experience. Isabel received her Bachelors degree at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has spent the last 25 years in New York City and is relocating to Miami, Florida with her two children. She has been a part of the Careyes community for over 20 years.
Jonathan Congdon, co-founder of Beachbody LLC, has been instrumental in shaping the mission of the company, expanding its vision and growth, and overseeing media distribution channels and International business to increase the Beachbody market worldwide. After starting his career at Procter & Gamble, Jon traveled the world “on walkabout” before teaching science for more than three years in California. In 1995, he launched an educational consulting firm, but soon felt the call back to the world of marketing entrepreneurship. Jon was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year on two boards, including his second term on the Electronic Retailing Association (Era) Board of Directors. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a degree in political science with dual emphases in American Constitutional Law and International Relations. Jon has been part of the Careyes community for over 10 years.
The fifth member of the Executive Board, Guillermo Barnetche Davison, is also Chairman of Grupo Profesional Planeacion y Proyectos, S.A. de C.V. (Pypsa) where he is in charge of the leadership and operating direction of multiple projects in the industrial, agricultural, sea, infrastructure, and building sectors. Guillermo received his Civil Engineering certification at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before getting a Masters in Hydraulic Resource Planning at Georgia Technology Institute and studying Economy and Systems Engineering at Stanford University. He has more than 40 years of professional experience in civil engineering and is a long-standing member of the Careyes community.
On the Honorary Board (a list in progress):
Ann Philbin, Director of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Daniela Michel, Director of the Morelia Film Festival, Gian Franco Brignone the Founder & Visionary of Costa Careyes, Johan Van Lengen, The “Barefoot Architect”, Founder of Tiba School Brazil and our own John Cooper, the Director of the Sundance Film Festival.
The Advisory Board is made up of:
Jennifer Arcenaux, Director, External Relations Sundance Film Festival, Arceneaux previously served as Director of Development for The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Moca). During her seven-year tenure at Moca, Arceneaux cultivated philanthropic relationships and fostered the careers of artists and curators in the Los Angeles art community. Arceneaux also launched the successful Moca Now communications and development campaign to increase grassroots engagement in fundraising and create transparent communication with Moca members and patrons. The campaign evolved into the Moca New initiative raising more than $70 million in operating and endowment support. Prior to joining Moca, Arceneaux served as Director of Development at the Accelerated School in Los Angeles where she executed a $60 million capital campaign for a new campus and community center. Her professional experience spans over ten years working with non-profits and community-based arts organizations including Rand Corporation, Inner-City Arts, CityLife, A.R.T.S. Inc., The Housing Rights Center and more recently in a board and advisory capacity with the Watts House Project, and Laxart.
Sarah Ezzy is a Director of the Global Philanthropy Group. As a Director at Global Philanthropy Group, Sarah has advised a range of high-profile individuals and corporate clients on their philanthropic strategies. She has worked on a variety of issues including global education for girls, poverty alleviation, domestic homelessness, youth and fitness, and sustainable agriculture. She was previously with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Strategy and Organization Practice where she worked with international organizations, developing country governments, and domestic policymakers and NGOs on a range of development issues. Sarah holds a BA in French Studies and Geography from Dartmouth College and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She speaks fluent French and is co-founder of Sadiq, a non-profit organization created to support Iraqi refugees in the Middle East.
Douglas K. Freeman, J.D., LL.M. the Senior Managing Director of First Foundation Advisors, Director of First Foundation Inc. and Director of the First Foundation Bank. First Foundation provides strategic planning and organizational management advice for business, nonprofit, foundation, and family clients. He brings to First Foundation clients his experience gained as a consultant to nearly 300 family foundations, support organizations and public charities throughout the United States. Mr. Freeman is a noted retired tax attorney and founder of the Los Angeles based law firm, Freeman, Freeman & Smiley, Llp. From 2005 through 2008, he was recognized by Worth magazine as among the 100 top attorneys in the United States. In 1999, he was featured by Bloomberg Financial as one of the nation’s leading estate planning attorneys. He is the founder of National Philanthropy Day, proclaimed by Congress and celebrated throughout the United States since 1986. Mr. Freeman serves as a director of family foundations, independent foundations, and public charities. He is the past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of California, Irvine Foundation and chairman of its $1 billion campaign. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Orange County’s Pacific Symphony and a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Southern California Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy.
Mr. Freeman is the author of three books and over 30 articles and treatises on philanthropy and wealth planning. His new book, published in 2009, co-authored with Dr. Lee Hausner, Ph.D., is entitled “The Legacy Family… The Definitive Guide to Creating a Successful Multigenerational Family“. He is the co-author with Dr. Hausner of a leading treatise for family foundations, entitled “A Founder’s Guide to the Family Foundation“. He speaks throughout the country on behalf of professional associations, such as the Council on Foundations, the Association of Small Foundations, and the American Bar Association. He is a graduate of Stanford University (B.A. with Distinction, 1967), University of California at Los Angeles (J.D., 1970), and the University of San Diego (LL.M. in Taxation, 1984). Until retirement, Mr. Freeman was designated a Certified Specialist in Taxation under the State Bar of California.
Members of the Board of Trustees includes members like (list in progress):
Adam Lindemann – Art Collector & Advisor ; Alejandro Ramirez Magaña – CEO of Cinepolis ; Eric Goode – Founder & President of Turtle Conservancy; Esthella Provas – Art Advisor, Careyes ArtCommittee for special projects ; Eugenio Lopez – Collector, Jumex Collection; Patricia Marshall- Art Advisor, Careyes Art Committee; Piero Golia – Artist ; Serena Cattaneo Adorno – Director, Gagosian Gallery Paris, CareyesArtCommittee.
Continuing a trend of coincidences occurring for me on this incredible journey, out of the blue, at the first cocktail party held at this event, there appeared Christian Halsey Solomon, the son of a twenty-plus-year resident of Careyes, Michael Jay Solomon, whom I have known since the days when we were in our 20s when he set up McA Television in Latin America and personally bought prize winning shorts from the company where I was the acquisitions person. Years later, when I was buying feature films for Lorimar, his company Telepictures bought Lorimar. Christian and I also go way back to the days when he was 23, and I was working for the first time in independent international sales. We worked together in Milan, Italy at the Mifed film market with someone who has long since left the film scene. As if that were not enough of coincidences, my own brother Barry was the photographer for his first wedding.
Michael and Luciana had bought land here twenty years ago where they built their dream house. It is now home to Christian, his wife and two beautiful children who attend the incredible school here. Cuixmala School is a private non-profit school teaching core academic subjects in a bilingual environment while it emphasizes experiential learning about nature and the world; the students ride horses, raise their own food and have guests from every field from buddhists to biologists from the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve nearby. Christian showed me his home which was two doors down from our own Casa Oriente (next door to Seal) and he and his wife invited me back to visit and stay a while to write.
After each screening we were served delicious locally grown lunches and dinners. One wonderful night at the "ranchito", there was an art show of the old bones of animals who have died in this area where they are left out for the buzzards to pick clean. These bones, as if they were a precious as the fur and leather of beasts were decorated like Versace luxury items and showcased as art in the former stables of this former ranch. The best was the unicorn, a cow skeleton, whose short ribs look like they must have been really delicious before they were cleaned of all meat. This unicorn however, was missing its single horn. What a funny art show. The first two stalls looked like rooms where people were living, only the inhabitants were selling the furniture as art. Little stools made in traditional simple peasant style, were recreated in heavy marble. You can sit on them, or use them as little side tables. And shipping them home is not a problem.
Elegant community meals put us at the table one night where I sat next to Guillermo Arriaga, his wife, son and daughter. He was being honored with a tribute and he showed his short film The Blood of God (La Sangre de Dios) from the anthology which he produced as well, Words with Gods. Another coincidence is that he had just finished his short film Texas from Rio, I Love You, the franchise of our good friend Emmanuel Benbihy with whom we worked on Paris, Je t’aime and New York, I Love You. The Arriagas’ son and daughter are students at Mexico's private Ibero-American University’s School of Communications where Arriagas himself was a student and then a professor for twenty years and where is wife was a student of his. Coincidently that is also where he met his future partner Alejandro González Iñárritu with whom he worked on Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel, and where Marina Stavenhagen and her sisters and brothers are alumni as well as the 2013 Academy Award Winner for Cinematography, Emmanuel Lubezki.
Sr. Arriaga and I spoke quite a while - first about hunting which was not a topic I could speak much about beyond expressing surprise on hearing he was a hunter. But when we spoke about my Spanish and then about words and their derivations and meanings in Spanish and English, I became more actively interested. What I only realized afterward was that the conversation about words could have developed into the issue over words that ruptured his relationship with Iñárritu. The word for screenwriter in Spanish is objectionable to him because the word "guionista" means a tour guide or a writer of travel books and so a screenwriter accredited as “guionista” is merely a tour guide, putting up signposts for the director aka "The Auteur" in French parlance. I agree that the director alone is not the “auteur” of the film. Not only is a superbly written screenplay (which Arriagas writes often in close collaboration with his brother-in-law) an absolute necessity if a film is to have any chance to excel, but the producer who turns on the lights and turns them off and produces the money both before shooting and after shooting via distribution deals is required for a film’s success. Personally we think the producer and writer are the "Auteurs". The Auteur Theory proposed by Francois Truffaut in Cahiers de Cinema and promulgated in the U.S. by Peter Bogdanovich is merely a theory and not etched in marble. Pity about their falling out after their collaboraton on three greatest films in new Mexican cinema. But we did not get into all that.
The curator of the ArteCareyes film program, Marina Stavenhagen, also graduated from the Ibero-American University. Marina and I spoke the next day more about this event, which by its location and by design must stay small (around 300 - 400 people). Her thoughts concern creating an artist residency program, perhaps a think tank on a different topic every year such as music for film or producing along with two or three master classes, mentorships and inviting young filmmakers with shorts who can benefit from the intimate setting.
Marina Stavenhagen is a screenwriter and film developer with over 20 years of professional work in Mexico. Her work as a writer includes several short film and feature film scripts and has obtained several awards and recognitions. Marina has been a teacher, counselor and script consultant with many public and private Mexican institutions, and a jury in various national and international film festivals.
As a promoter of film, she has actively participated in the organization of exhibitions and film festivals in Mexico. She has been president of the Association of Women in Film and Television (Wift-Mexico), and was Director General of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Imcine). She is Member of the Board of Advisors of the Phoenix Film Ibero American Award and the Academic Council of the Bergman Cathedra, of the Unam University. For her work in promoting quality films and cultural exchange, Marina was honored by the Government of the French Republic with the Order of Arts and Letters in France.
After leaving her six year term as the head of Imcine, Marina was invited to create an interesting film program by Filippo Brignone while she returns to screenwriting.
Coincidently (again!), Marina’s sister is Andrea Stavenhagen, who was the head of the Iberoamerican Coproduction Meeting and Director of Industry at Ficg (Guadalajara Film Festival) until August 2013. She also co-directed the Morelia Lab Workshop for Young Producers in Latin America at the Morelia Film Festival and is now the San Sebastian Film Festival's new delegate for Latin America. All three of her siblings are in film, as is her husband.
Marina has invited other creative thinkers here, surprisingly my good friend Gary Meyer, Artistic Director of Telluride, Ivan Trujillo, Director of Ficg and Daniela Michel, General Director of Morelia Film Festival, with her husband, an educator, who is also renovating a jewel of an art deco theater just outside of Morelia.
Filippo took us on a tour of the land his father bought in 1968. We saw La Copa (The Cup) a folie his father built where the sun at the solar equinox beams a ray into the pyramid inside the mountain several miles away.
Situated on the Pacific coast of Mexico, a lush tropical forest in the state of Jalisco (a four hour drive from Guadalajara where the Guadalajara Film Festival will soon be held), about an hour and a half north of Manzanilla and south of Puerta Vallarta, Costa Careyes’ beauty defies description. But I am going to try to describe all that happens in the four days we spent here: nightly open air feature film screenings, contemporary art exhibitions, a charity auction, a live music program, matinee screenings and workshops held in venues sharing the land with huge permanent art installations in a tropical mountain terrain by artists including Retna and Jeffrey Sharf, two muralists whose West Hollywood Library murals illustrate an extraordinary coincidental synchronicity which continued throughout this long weekend.
In our little group, John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, here for the second time, is on the board of Arte Careyes. His husband Paul Louis Maillard, an executive of Kaiser Permanente, spent hours studying for his Harvard Leadership Course where he will spend the next two weeks. The documentary filmmaking and married team Jarrett Engle and Cort Tramontin and David Zellner, half of the Zellner Brothers filmmaking team whom John invited to present Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, the sleeper of Sundance which went on to show in the Forum of the Berlinale, were also part of our little group which shared a stunning four bedroom house, built in an extravagant Mexican style incorporating inside and outside living. David and I were consigned to our own little guest houses just down a flight of stairs. All our windows looked out onto the ocean which at night was domed by stars in an equatorial splendor, bright and disconcerting, different because we are so much closer to the equator. I was reminded of that marvelous Ray Bradbury short story, Nightfall.
Our late evening talks and early morning breakfasts together with Steven and John telling great stories were such fun and also deepened my appreciation and knowledge of the special part of “the biz” we are in.
John Cooper has been a member of the Sundance Film Festival programming staff since 1989 and assumed the role of Festival Director in April of 2009 after serving as the Sundance Film Festival's Director of Programming since 2003. Parenthetically, he is the only gay head of a major film festival, an achievement no woman can claim…yet.
His early work in theater, ranging from performance to design, took him to New York City. By chance, he volunteered at the Institute's Summer Labs in 1989 and fell in love with the process and energy of Sundance (and with his future husband). He returned to California to become part of the Festival programming team, which at that time consisted of two people. In the Festival's early years, Cooper created the short film program and quickly transitioned into programming documentaries and feature films.
In recent years, he took the lead in developing the Institute's online presence, which has garnered two Webby Awards. As Festival Director, he oversees creative direction of the Festival and has final decision on all films and events.
Other work includes guest curator or juror at major film festivals around the world. From 1995-1998 Cooper served as Programming Director of Outfest, a Los Angeles festival held annually in July, and until 2002 served on the Outfest Board of Directors.
John Cooper was a dancer before he became director of Sundance and though he did not dance for us, his performance skills are top. Watching him navigate as our “house father” was worth the trip.
The purpose of this art, music and film event as described by its founder Filippo Brignone and the film curator, Marina Stavenhagen, is to link creative people across disciplines – pictorial and plastic arts, music, design, literature and filmmakers in dialogues that will result in greater creativity for the good of the community and beyond.
Our host Filippo Brignone, who has been working and reworking this event for four years is intent as well about preserving the nature of the area along with incorporating the most progressive education in science and math as well as the liberal arts in a system which includes the interactions between the 100 + families who are creating a community and the children of the families in the town who have been here since time immemorial.
Our conversations around all these subjects flowed freely among the guests over the past four days.
The patriarch of the family, Gian Franco Brignone, the 86+year-old Italian onetime banker with an artistic sensibility and a love of nature, bought eight miles of coastline with more than 5,000 hectares of coastal forestland in 1968 and began inviting friends like Bill and Melinda Gates and Paris Hilton to visit.
Bignone père and his two sons, Filippo and Georgio, have continued to build Careyes into a glamorous residential community and resort with accommodations ranging from cozy beach bungalows to “castles,” like the six-bedroom, sunshine-yellow aerie Casa Oriente where we stayed. Filippo also took us to his home, equally beautiful and mystic in its nature.
There’s also a small hotel, a contemporary art gallery, – curated by Los Angeles’s Hammer Museum Los Angeles Hammer Museum curators Ann Philbin and Laurie Firstenburg, who is also creating a tropical Marfa, were instrumental in organizing both Pacific Standard Time, a citywide showcase of Los Angeles art of the 1950s and 60s and Laxart are curating the art side of this community. More on the art of Careyes can be read here.
This community also contains a world class polo club overseen by Giorgio, five restaurants, and 8 glorious miles of coastline which Felippo plans to allow families and individuals to build on if they fit certain qualifications.
Filippo, his brother Giorgio and PR and Communications executive Viviana Dean operate this entire enterprise under the auspices of The ?! Careyes Foundation. Btw, the Foundation is looking for a general manager who will know how to share the vision of what they are building here. Filippo himself is a bon vivant with an enormous curiosity and the executive ability to develop his vision. From speaking with him, my perception of whom they would grant residency to would be those the ability to enjoy the life that is here in all its aspects. Not only partying (which is extraordinary) and conversational abilities, but intelligence, an excellence in achievement, originality, a compassion which includes curiosity and the wish to include, discuss and implement all aspects of what makes life better for all.
The ?! Careyes Foundation's mission is to catalyze innovative programs related to education, health, sport, ecology and art in order to improve the well-being of local communities along the coast. Over 30 years of individual philanthropic efforts in Careyes, Mexico, and the surrounding villages along the Mexican Pacific Coast are consolidated in The ?! Careyes Foundation. From Perula to Agua Caliente, the region of initial concentration includes a population of approximately 6,000 people. In 2013, The ?! Careyes Foundation registered as a non-profit public charity with 501(c)3 tax designation in the United States in order to make its efforts in the region more accessible and impactful. The Foundation is in the process of obtaining a similar status in Mexico and in other countries over time.
The Foundation is overseen by a an Executive Board over which our host Filippo presides and a Board of Trustees and Advisors with expertise in each of the Foundation’s concentrated areas — community, sea, land, and arts. The Executive Committees determine the scope of projects, initiating proposed ideas that prove to be transformational, scalable, and sustainable. Members of the international Honorary Board serve as global ambassadors for the Foundation and its work, supporting programmatic and philanthropic efforts.
On the Executive Board:
Executive Board Secretary, Emanuela Brignone Cattaneo, is an architect who has spent most of her life travelling to Careyes, and lending her design vision to create a large new urban space, the Plaza Caballeros del Sol, including a Sanctuary and the Contemporary Art Space of Careyes. She is also dedicating herself in the restoration of many historical Italian buildings from the Xii century transforming them into Museums such as the Modern Art Gallery of Genova or Palazzo Lomellino listed as a Unesco world heritage. Emanuela holds a Ma from Colombia University in NY and serves as a Trustee of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, the Wolfsonian Foundation in Miami and Genoa. Emanuela is an Advisor of Airc , the Italian Association for Cancer Research.
Board Treasurer, Isabel SantoTomás, is Vice President of Investments for Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management focusing on portfolio management for ultra high net worth individuals, family offices, and endowments. She joined Morgan Stanley in 2008 and has 26 years of industry experience. Isabel received her Bachelors degree at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has spent the last 25 years in New York City and is relocating to Miami, Florida with her two children. She has been a part of the Careyes community for over 20 years.
Jonathan Congdon, co-founder of Beachbody LLC, has been instrumental in shaping the mission of the company, expanding its vision and growth, and overseeing media distribution channels and International business to increase the Beachbody market worldwide. After starting his career at Procter & Gamble, Jon traveled the world “on walkabout” before teaching science for more than three years in California. In 1995, he launched an educational consulting firm, but soon felt the call back to the world of marketing entrepreneurship. Jon was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year on two boards, including his second term on the Electronic Retailing Association (Era) Board of Directors. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a degree in political science with dual emphases in American Constitutional Law and International Relations. Jon has been part of the Careyes community for over 10 years.
The fifth member of the Executive Board, Guillermo Barnetche Davison, is also Chairman of Grupo Profesional Planeacion y Proyectos, S.A. de C.V. (Pypsa) where he is in charge of the leadership and operating direction of multiple projects in the industrial, agricultural, sea, infrastructure, and building sectors. Guillermo received his Civil Engineering certification at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before getting a Masters in Hydraulic Resource Planning at Georgia Technology Institute and studying Economy and Systems Engineering at Stanford University. He has more than 40 years of professional experience in civil engineering and is a long-standing member of the Careyes community.
On the Honorary Board (a list in progress):
Ann Philbin, Director of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Daniela Michel, Director of the Morelia Film Festival, Gian Franco Brignone the Founder & Visionary of Costa Careyes, Johan Van Lengen, The “Barefoot Architect”, Founder of Tiba School Brazil and our own John Cooper, the Director of the Sundance Film Festival.
The Advisory Board is made up of:
Jennifer Arcenaux, Director, External Relations Sundance Film Festival, Arceneaux previously served as Director of Development for The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Moca). During her seven-year tenure at Moca, Arceneaux cultivated philanthropic relationships and fostered the careers of artists and curators in the Los Angeles art community. Arceneaux also launched the successful Moca Now communications and development campaign to increase grassroots engagement in fundraising and create transparent communication with Moca members and patrons. The campaign evolved into the Moca New initiative raising more than $70 million in operating and endowment support. Prior to joining Moca, Arceneaux served as Director of Development at the Accelerated School in Los Angeles where she executed a $60 million capital campaign for a new campus and community center. Her professional experience spans over ten years working with non-profits and community-based arts organizations including Rand Corporation, Inner-City Arts, CityLife, A.R.T.S. Inc., The Housing Rights Center and more recently in a board and advisory capacity with the Watts House Project, and Laxart.
Sarah Ezzy is a Director of the Global Philanthropy Group. As a Director at Global Philanthropy Group, Sarah has advised a range of high-profile individuals and corporate clients on their philanthropic strategies. She has worked on a variety of issues including global education for girls, poverty alleviation, domestic homelessness, youth and fitness, and sustainable agriculture. She was previously with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Strategy and Organization Practice where she worked with international organizations, developing country governments, and domestic policymakers and NGOs on a range of development issues. Sarah holds a BA in French Studies and Geography from Dartmouth College and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She speaks fluent French and is co-founder of Sadiq, a non-profit organization created to support Iraqi refugees in the Middle East.
Douglas K. Freeman, J.D., LL.M. the Senior Managing Director of First Foundation Advisors, Director of First Foundation Inc. and Director of the First Foundation Bank. First Foundation provides strategic planning and organizational management advice for business, nonprofit, foundation, and family clients. He brings to First Foundation clients his experience gained as a consultant to nearly 300 family foundations, support organizations and public charities throughout the United States. Mr. Freeman is a noted retired tax attorney and founder of the Los Angeles based law firm, Freeman, Freeman & Smiley, Llp. From 2005 through 2008, he was recognized by Worth magazine as among the 100 top attorneys in the United States. In 1999, he was featured by Bloomberg Financial as one of the nation’s leading estate planning attorneys. He is the founder of National Philanthropy Day, proclaimed by Congress and celebrated throughout the United States since 1986. Mr. Freeman serves as a director of family foundations, independent foundations, and public charities. He is the past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of California, Irvine Foundation and chairman of its $1 billion campaign. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Orange County’s Pacific Symphony and a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Southern California Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy.
Mr. Freeman is the author of three books and over 30 articles and treatises on philanthropy and wealth planning. His new book, published in 2009, co-authored with Dr. Lee Hausner, Ph.D., is entitled “The Legacy Family… The Definitive Guide to Creating a Successful Multigenerational Family“. He is the co-author with Dr. Hausner of a leading treatise for family foundations, entitled “A Founder’s Guide to the Family Foundation“. He speaks throughout the country on behalf of professional associations, such as the Council on Foundations, the Association of Small Foundations, and the American Bar Association. He is a graduate of Stanford University (B.A. with Distinction, 1967), University of California at Los Angeles (J.D., 1970), and the University of San Diego (LL.M. in Taxation, 1984). Until retirement, Mr. Freeman was designated a Certified Specialist in Taxation under the State Bar of California.
Members of the Board of Trustees includes members like (list in progress):
Adam Lindemann – Art Collector & Advisor ; Alejandro Ramirez Magaña – CEO of Cinepolis ; Eric Goode – Founder & President of Turtle Conservancy; Esthella Provas – Art Advisor, Careyes ArtCommittee for special projects ; Eugenio Lopez – Collector, Jumex Collection; Patricia Marshall- Art Advisor, Careyes Art Committee; Piero Golia – Artist ; Serena Cattaneo Adorno – Director, Gagosian Gallery Paris, CareyesArtCommittee.
Continuing a trend of coincidences occurring for me on this incredible journey, out of the blue, at the first cocktail party held at this event, there appeared Christian Halsey Solomon, the son of a twenty-plus-year resident of Careyes, Michael Jay Solomon, whom I have known since the days when we were in our 20s when he set up McA Television in Latin America and personally bought prize winning shorts from the company where I was the acquisitions person. Years later, when I was buying feature films for Lorimar, his company Telepictures bought Lorimar. Christian and I also go way back to the days when he was 23, and I was working for the first time in independent international sales. We worked together in Milan, Italy at the Mifed film market with someone who has long since left the film scene. As if that were not enough of coincidences, my own brother Barry was the photographer for his first wedding.
Michael and Luciana had bought land here twenty years ago where they built their dream house. It is now home to Christian, his wife and two beautiful children who attend the incredible school here. Cuixmala School is a private non-profit school teaching core academic subjects in a bilingual environment while it emphasizes experiential learning about nature and the world; the students ride horses, raise their own food and have guests from every field from buddhists to biologists from the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve nearby. Christian showed me his home which was two doors down from our own Casa Oriente (next door to Seal) and he and his wife invited me back to visit and stay a while to write.
After each screening we were served delicious locally grown lunches and dinners. One wonderful night at the "ranchito", there was an art show of the old bones of animals who have died in this area where they are left out for the buzzards to pick clean. These bones, as if they were a precious as the fur and leather of beasts were decorated like Versace luxury items and showcased as art in the former stables of this former ranch. The best was the unicorn, a cow skeleton, whose short ribs look like they must have been really delicious before they were cleaned of all meat. This unicorn however, was missing its single horn. What a funny art show. The first two stalls looked like rooms where people were living, only the inhabitants were selling the furniture as art. Little stools made in traditional simple peasant style, were recreated in heavy marble. You can sit on them, or use them as little side tables. And shipping them home is not a problem.
Elegant community meals put us at the table one night where I sat next to Guillermo Arriaga, his wife, son and daughter. He was being honored with a tribute and he showed his short film The Blood of God (La Sangre de Dios) from the anthology which he produced as well, Words with Gods. Another coincidence is that he had just finished his short film Texas from Rio, I Love You, the franchise of our good friend Emmanuel Benbihy with whom we worked on Paris, Je t’aime and New York, I Love You. The Arriagas’ son and daughter are students at Mexico's private Ibero-American University’s School of Communications where Arriagas himself was a student and then a professor for twenty years and where is wife was a student of his. Coincidently that is also where he met his future partner Alejandro González Iñárritu with whom he worked on Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel, and where Marina Stavenhagen and her sisters and brothers are alumni as well as the 2013 Academy Award Winner for Cinematography, Emmanuel Lubezki.
Sr. Arriaga and I spoke quite a while - first about hunting which was not a topic I could speak much about beyond expressing surprise on hearing he was a hunter. But when we spoke about my Spanish and then about words and their derivations and meanings in Spanish and English, I became more actively interested. What I only realized afterward was that the conversation about words could have developed into the issue over words that ruptured his relationship with Iñárritu. The word for screenwriter in Spanish is objectionable to him because the word "guionista" means a tour guide or a writer of travel books and so a screenwriter accredited as “guionista” is merely a tour guide, putting up signposts for the director aka "The Auteur" in French parlance. I agree that the director alone is not the “auteur” of the film. Not only is a superbly written screenplay (which Arriagas writes often in close collaboration with his brother-in-law) an absolute necessity if a film is to have any chance to excel, but the producer who turns on the lights and turns them off and produces the money both before shooting and after shooting via distribution deals is required for a film’s success. Personally we think the producer and writer are the "Auteurs". The Auteur Theory proposed by Francois Truffaut in Cahiers de Cinema and promulgated in the U.S. by Peter Bogdanovich is merely a theory and not etched in marble. Pity about their falling out after their collaboraton on three greatest films in new Mexican cinema. But we did not get into all that.
The curator of the ArteCareyes film program, Marina Stavenhagen, also graduated from the Ibero-American University. Marina and I spoke the next day more about this event, which by its location and by design must stay small (around 300 - 400 people). Her thoughts concern creating an artist residency program, perhaps a think tank on a different topic every year such as music for film or producing along with two or three master classes, mentorships and inviting young filmmakers with shorts who can benefit from the intimate setting.
Marina Stavenhagen is a screenwriter and film developer with over 20 years of professional work in Mexico. Her work as a writer includes several short film and feature film scripts and has obtained several awards and recognitions. Marina has been a teacher, counselor and script consultant with many public and private Mexican institutions, and a jury in various national and international film festivals.
As a promoter of film, she has actively participated in the organization of exhibitions and film festivals in Mexico. She has been president of the Association of Women in Film and Television (Wift-Mexico), and was Director General of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Imcine). She is Member of the Board of Advisors of the Phoenix Film Ibero American Award and the Academic Council of the Bergman Cathedra, of the Unam University. For her work in promoting quality films and cultural exchange, Marina was honored by the Government of the French Republic with the Order of Arts and Letters in France.
After leaving her six year term as the head of Imcine, Marina was invited to create an interesting film program by Filippo Brignone while she returns to screenwriting.
Coincidently (again!), Marina’s sister is Andrea Stavenhagen, who was the head of the Iberoamerican Coproduction Meeting and Director of Industry at Ficg (Guadalajara Film Festival) until August 2013. She also co-directed the Morelia Lab Workshop for Young Producers in Latin America at the Morelia Film Festival and is now the San Sebastian Film Festival's new delegate for Latin America. All three of her siblings are in film, as is her husband.
Marina has invited other creative thinkers here, surprisingly my good friend Gary Meyer, Artistic Director of Telluride, Ivan Trujillo, Director of Ficg and Daniela Michel, General Director of Morelia Film Festival, with her husband, an educator, who is also renovating a jewel of an art deco theater just outside of Morelia.
Filippo took us on a tour of the land his father bought in 1968. We saw La Copa (The Cup) a folie his father built where the sun at the solar equinox beams a ray into the pyramid inside the mountain several miles away.
- 3/14/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Quentin Tarantino introduces his personal 16mm print of "Frenchman's Creek," part of the excellent Arturo de Cordova retrospective in Morelia this year, with a fast-talking infectious rush of enthusiasm. He says that he discovered the film on late night television when he was 16 or 17, and that he was in an acting class with a woman who said she liked Arturo de Cordova, and when he saw "Frenchman's Creek," he completely agreed with her -- and he watched it whenever he could again, over 20 or 30 years. At the time, he didn't know that de Cordova was one of the great stars of Mexican cinema. He's only seen a couple of his Spanish-language films, he said, "and that's why it's so great to be at this festival. Boy is de Cordoba cool in this movie!" And he repeats "super cool" after he hears festival director Daniela Michel translate "cool" into Spanish that way.
- 10/26/2013
- by Meredith Brody
- Thompson on Hollywood
One of the most alluring aspects of the Morelia Film Festival is its diverse programming: not just promoting new Mexican and Michoacan filmmaking, and sampling the best of new worldwide films, those destined for both the arthouse and commercial venues, but creating a new generation of cinephiles, as well as pleasing those already converted, with its rediscoveries of the past. Luckily on day one I stumbled into an astonishing 1952 flamenco documentary by the cineaste audit Edgar Neville, which festival director Daniela Michel told me was due to their relationship with the Filmoteca Espanola, source of her major rediscovery of last year, Manuel Mur Oti. But the tribute to Neville, as fascinating as he sounds in the catalogue essay (friend of Chaplin, supervisor of Hispanic versions of early American sound films, director of twenty films in Franco's Spain), only includes one other film, "Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks," in an unsubtitled print.
- 10/25/2013
- by Meredith Brody
- Thompson on Hollywood
When I knew I was coming to Morelia for the second time this year, I entertained a fantasy of perhaps skipping a movie or two and spending some time exploring the beautiful colonial city. It is to laugh. Today I barely see the sky – not only am I inside the Cinepolis multiplex for seven programs in a row, for the last five, from about 3 p.m. to well after midnight, I’m seated in the same theater, #4 – which happily has the largest screen. I’m even more grateful to Daniela Michel for taking me and Olivier Assayas on an impromptu walking tour day before yesterday. The day starts with “Augustine,” by young French director Alice Winocour, part of the films selected for Morelia by Cannes’ Critic’s Week. (Two previous films co-written by Winocour, “Ordinary People,” directed by Vladimir Persed, and “Home,” by Ursula Meier, showed in Cannes at Critic’s Week.
- 11/13/2012
- by Meredith Brody
- Thompson on Hollywood
Since 2003, the Morelia Film Festival has been nurturing filmmakers and audiences, and has rooted its niche as a discovery festival of up and coming Mexican filmmakers. At the same time it’s earned a prestigious reputation for its expertly curated sidebars that would make the most hard core cinephile drool, and for the Festival’s unparalleled attention and hospitality towards their guests, Invitados. The Festival invites renowned international cineastes to participate in showing their films for the first time in Mexico, in turn enticing them to experience the vibrant scene of Mexican Cinema in the most charming historic city of Morelia, Michoacán.
To celebrate its 10th year anniversary the powerhouse boutique festival has put together an epic program consisting of over 200 hand picked films as part of special screenings, tributes and homages to compliment its more solid than ever Mexican Competition made up of 25 documentaries, 45 shorts, 9 narrative features, along with 12 films from the hosting state of Michoacán. Among the special guests this year, English filmmaker Sally Potter, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, and Chicano filmmaker Gregory Nava.
I thank the tirelessly dynamic Director of the Festival, Daniela Michel for talking with me about the Festival’s programming then and now. {redacted and translated}
C: From the return of Regyadas with his highly anticipated Post-Tenebras Lux, who was one of three Mexican directors awarded a prize at Cannes (along with Fogo by documentary and fiction director, Yulene Olaizola, and Después de Lucía by Michel Franco which is Mexico’s foreign language Oscar entry), to Locarno Film Festival’s Carte Blanche spotlight of Mexican works in progress, 2012 has been a stellar year for Mexican films. The Festival is showing nine narrative features in competition, seven of them world premieres by first time filmmakers, reflecting this building breakthrough momentum…
D: Yes, we’re thrilled that Cannes was a big year for Mexican film. We were honored to have Artistic director, Thierry Frémaux as a guest at the Festival last year. He’s truly been supportive of Mexican films and we are profoundly thankful. When we first started the festival there just weren’t enough features films to warrant a solid competition program. Our mission was to build a program made up of the next generation of filmmakers and support them. We weren’t interested in showing already established Mexican filmmakers. In 2007 we had our first narrative feature length competition and we were grateful for having such a prominent jury comprised of Trevor Groth, Director of Programming at Sundance Film Festival, Peter Scarlet, at that time Artistic Director of Tribeca Film Festival and Cecilia Suarez, a talented Mexican actress. They bestowed the Best Film award to Nicolás Pereda’s first film, Where are their Stories. Pereda has gone on to be a prolific and singular talent. We are screening his 7th film out of competition, The Greatest Hits.
C: Documentaries are an integral part of the festival, this year the festival is showing a record breaking 25 documentaries in competition. Typically the Mexican documentary genre has generally fit into the ethnographic study type. How has this changed over the years?
D: We are seeing more intimate and personal journey type of stories that are breaking with that notion that there is only that kind of Mexican documentary. There are looks of forgotten history like Flor en Otomi by Luisa Riley about a young female guerilla fighter who disappeared following a violent raid, or Convict Patient by Alejandro Solar Luna about a man who attempted to assassinate the president in 1970 and is now homeless and mentally unstable. There are more experimental films, more personal portraits like Carriere, 250 Meters by Juan Carlos Rulfo and Natalia Gil about the inspiring writer and Bunuel collaborator Jean-Claude Carriere, Diario a Tres Voces by Otilia Portillo Padua, a compelling multigenerational look of three women in relationship to their age, Miradas Multiples (La Maquina Loca) by Emilio Maille which is about the great cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa. Definitely, Mexican documentary is expanding its horizons.
C: Last year you had Luis Valdez and as an honored guest and screened his seminal Chicano film, Zoot Suit. This year you are honoring Gregory Nava with a screening of El Norte and Mi Familia. What prompted this recognition of Chicano filmmakers at the festival?
D: We’ve always had a section called Cine Sin Fronteras (Cinema without Borders) curated by Jesse Lerner an academic expert on border films. While we had not, up until last year, recognized such well known chicano figures like Luis Valdez we’ve shown the work of lesser known, independent filmmakers. We felt it was overdue and important to introduce chicano films to mexico. Not necessarily a border crossing story but the perspective of Mexicans living in the United States. Certainly Luis Valdez deserved a homage here in Mexico. Unfortunately chicano cinema is not well known in Mexico. We are very happy that Gregory Nava who we highly respect, will be joining us this year.
C: The Michoacán section. The festival recognizes the talent of filmmakers from the hosting state with its separate competition section. How do you make sure this section does not fly under the radar or get lost in the shuffle since it competes with high profile national and international films.
D: Well, first of all the caliber has to be there and I think that since the festival’s inception, the filmmaking scene in Michoacán has been greatly stimulated as there’s been more production, filmmaking has become more accessible and over the past ten years we’ve seen the production value and quality getting better and better. Not only indigenous filmmakers which was very important to us like Dante Cerano and Pavel Rodriguez but filmmakers who were born and raised there and may live elsewhere. We make an effort to give these films the highest visibility by giving them the best time slots so that the public can easily find and discover.
C: Given the Festival’s success, there must be a desire and pressure to continue to expand and grow. How do you navigate the appeal of complimenting the festival with an increasing number of programs yet work to keep the mission’s integrity?
D: Interest in participating in the festival has certainly grown but we can’t lose focus that our main goal is to support the young mexican filmmakers so we select only the best work out there, always. Its important not to have any kind of institutional or political ties that might compromise that mission. One of the sections I most love which we created in 2008, based on the invaluable recommendation of Bertrand Tavernier who has an impressive knowledge of film, is called Imaginary Mexico. This section showcases work connected to Mexico imagined by foreign filmmakers abroad, revealing their perception of Mexico. It’s a rich, eye opening trove. For instance Mexico as seen by Hollywood. This year we are showing a number of Sam Peckinpah’s films (The Wild Bunch, among others). Two years ago we had the extraordinary gift of having Quentin Tarantino present Sergio Corbucci’s spaghetti westerns about the Mexican Revolution. These films had been previously banned in Mexico for its scathing portrayal of the revolution….
It’s a rich diaspora. The Festival supports the future of Mexican Cinema with the best work by the next generation of filmmakers just starting out. It celebrates Mexico of the past, through classics and retrospectives like this year’s homage to cinematographer Jose Ortiz Ramos born in the state of Michoacan, and the other, films about Mexico from outside of Mexico. We attack it on all fronts. This intersection of borders, indigenous films made by indigenous filmmakers who have a permanent space in our festival, film students and history.
C: About the Morelia audience
D: There is a big population of university students which combined with the city’s strong tradition of historical culture, we felt there was potential there. It wasn’t easy at first. I remember programming a Woody Allen film against a block of unknown shorts. We realized that once the tickets for the Woody Allen movie sold out, people who weren’t able to get in, naturally found their way into the shorts program. We are indeed grateful for that audience. Obviously showing Bela Tarr’s epic eight hour Satantango last year would not have worked had we programmed it the first year. We owe a lot of this audience development to our extraordinary colleague and dear friend Joaquin Rodriguez (founding programmer who passed away earlier this year). He worked year round developing that audience. His film appreciation classes there would have space for twenty, and five times the amount of people would show up. This edition is dedicated to him for his consummate professionalism, passion and brilliance.
C: We are a few days away from the 10th edition. How are you feeling now and do you remember how you felt ten years ago at this point?
D: It was one of the most stressful moments in my life because I had no idea how it was going to work. It was terrifying. Today I feel very blessed to have this incredible team because the work is put in by all of us and it would be impossible without the dedicated group assembled who I admire and respect very much. …Every year there is stress. But like they say “If you stop feeling the nerves then quit”. I’m a huge cinephile so I love sharing this gift of film with new audiences. Its endless, there is an endless vault of films to be re-discovered and that’s what I love best that these films return to life. You learn a lot about life seeing film.
Follow the Festival @Ficm. To see the competition lineup click here, and to download this year’s catalogue click here.
To celebrate its 10th year anniversary the powerhouse boutique festival has put together an epic program consisting of over 200 hand picked films as part of special screenings, tributes and homages to compliment its more solid than ever Mexican Competition made up of 25 documentaries, 45 shorts, 9 narrative features, along with 12 films from the hosting state of Michoacán. Among the special guests this year, English filmmaker Sally Potter, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, and Chicano filmmaker Gregory Nava.
I thank the tirelessly dynamic Director of the Festival, Daniela Michel for talking with me about the Festival’s programming then and now. {redacted and translated}
C: From the return of Regyadas with his highly anticipated Post-Tenebras Lux, who was one of three Mexican directors awarded a prize at Cannes (along with Fogo by documentary and fiction director, Yulene Olaizola, and Después de Lucía by Michel Franco which is Mexico’s foreign language Oscar entry), to Locarno Film Festival’s Carte Blanche spotlight of Mexican works in progress, 2012 has been a stellar year for Mexican films. The Festival is showing nine narrative features in competition, seven of them world premieres by first time filmmakers, reflecting this building breakthrough momentum…
D: Yes, we’re thrilled that Cannes was a big year for Mexican film. We were honored to have Artistic director, Thierry Frémaux as a guest at the Festival last year. He’s truly been supportive of Mexican films and we are profoundly thankful. When we first started the festival there just weren’t enough features films to warrant a solid competition program. Our mission was to build a program made up of the next generation of filmmakers and support them. We weren’t interested in showing already established Mexican filmmakers. In 2007 we had our first narrative feature length competition and we were grateful for having such a prominent jury comprised of Trevor Groth, Director of Programming at Sundance Film Festival, Peter Scarlet, at that time Artistic Director of Tribeca Film Festival and Cecilia Suarez, a talented Mexican actress. They bestowed the Best Film award to Nicolás Pereda’s first film, Where are their Stories. Pereda has gone on to be a prolific and singular talent. We are screening his 7th film out of competition, The Greatest Hits.
C: Documentaries are an integral part of the festival, this year the festival is showing a record breaking 25 documentaries in competition. Typically the Mexican documentary genre has generally fit into the ethnographic study type. How has this changed over the years?
D: We are seeing more intimate and personal journey type of stories that are breaking with that notion that there is only that kind of Mexican documentary. There are looks of forgotten history like Flor en Otomi by Luisa Riley about a young female guerilla fighter who disappeared following a violent raid, or Convict Patient by Alejandro Solar Luna about a man who attempted to assassinate the president in 1970 and is now homeless and mentally unstable. There are more experimental films, more personal portraits like Carriere, 250 Meters by Juan Carlos Rulfo and Natalia Gil about the inspiring writer and Bunuel collaborator Jean-Claude Carriere, Diario a Tres Voces by Otilia Portillo Padua, a compelling multigenerational look of three women in relationship to their age, Miradas Multiples (La Maquina Loca) by Emilio Maille which is about the great cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa. Definitely, Mexican documentary is expanding its horizons.
C: Last year you had Luis Valdez and as an honored guest and screened his seminal Chicano film, Zoot Suit. This year you are honoring Gregory Nava with a screening of El Norte and Mi Familia. What prompted this recognition of Chicano filmmakers at the festival?
D: We’ve always had a section called Cine Sin Fronteras (Cinema without Borders) curated by Jesse Lerner an academic expert on border films. While we had not, up until last year, recognized such well known chicano figures like Luis Valdez we’ve shown the work of lesser known, independent filmmakers. We felt it was overdue and important to introduce chicano films to mexico. Not necessarily a border crossing story but the perspective of Mexicans living in the United States. Certainly Luis Valdez deserved a homage here in Mexico. Unfortunately chicano cinema is not well known in Mexico. We are very happy that Gregory Nava who we highly respect, will be joining us this year.
C: The Michoacán section. The festival recognizes the talent of filmmakers from the hosting state with its separate competition section. How do you make sure this section does not fly under the radar or get lost in the shuffle since it competes with high profile national and international films.
D: Well, first of all the caliber has to be there and I think that since the festival’s inception, the filmmaking scene in Michoacán has been greatly stimulated as there’s been more production, filmmaking has become more accessible and over the past ten years we’ve seen the production value and quality getting better and better. Not only indigenous filmmakers which was very important to us like Dante Cerano and Pavel Rodriguez but filmmakers who were born and raised there and may live elsewhere. We make an effort to give these films the highest visibility by giving them the best time slots so that the public can easily find and discover.
C: Given the Festival’s success, there must be a desire and pressure to continue to expand and grow. How do you navigate the appeal of complimenting the festival with an increasing number of programs yet work to keep the mission’s integrity?
D: Interest in participating in the festival has certainly grown but we can’t lose focus that our main goal is to support the young mexican filmmakers so we select only the best work out there, always. Its important not to have any kind of institutional or political ties that might compromise that mission. One of the sections I most love which we created in 2008, based on the invaluable recommendation of Bertrand Tavernier who has an impressive knowledge of film, is called Imaginary Mexico. This section showcases work connected to Mexico imagined by foreign filmmakers abroad, revealing their perception of Mexico. It’s a rich, eye opening trove. For instance Mexico as seen by Hollywood. This year we are showing a number of Sam Peckinpah’s films (The Wild Bunch, among others). Two years ago we had the extraordinary gift of having Quentin Tarantino present Sergio Corbucci’s spaghetti westerns about the Mexican Revolution. These films had been previously banned in Mexico for its scathing portrayal of the revolution….
It’s a rich diaspora. The Festival supports the future of Mexican Cinema with the best work by the next generation of filmmakers just starting out. It celebrates Mexico of the past, through classics and retrospectives like this year’s homage to cinematographer Jose Ortiz Ramos born in the state of Michoacan, and the other, films about Mexico from outside of Mexico. We attack it on all fronts. This intersection of borders, indigenous films made by indigenous filmmakers who have a permanent space in our festival, film students and history.
C: About the Morelia audience
D: There is a big population of university students which combined with the city’s strong tradition of historical culture, we felt there was potential there. It wasn’t easy at first. I remember programming a Woody Allen film against a block of unknown shorts. We realized that once the tickets for the Woody Allen movie sold out, people who weren’t able to get in, naturally found their way into the shorts program. We are indeed grateful for that audience. Obviously showing Bela Tarr’s epic eight hour Satantango last year would not have worked had we programmed it the first year. We owe a lot of this audience development to our extraordinary colleague and dear friend Joaquin Rodriguez (founding programmer who passed away earlier this year). He worked year round developing that audience. His film appreciation classes there would have space for twenty, and five times the amount of people would show up. This edition is dedicated to him for his consummate professionalism, passion and brilliance.
C: We are a few days away from the 10th edition. How are you feeling now and do you remember how you felt ten years ago at this point?
D: It was one of the most stressful moments in my life because I had no idea how it was going to work. It was terrifying. Today I feel very blessed to have this incredible team because the work is put in by all of us and it would be impossible without the dedicated group assembled who I admire and respect very much. …Every year there is stress. But like they say “If you stop feeling the nerves then quit”. I’m a huge cinephile so I love sharing this gift of film with new audiences. Its endless, there is an endless vault of films to be re-discovered and that’s what I love best that these films return to life. You learn a lot about life seeing film.
Follow the Festival @Ficm. To see the competition lineup click here, and to download this year’s catalogue click here.
- 10/31/2012
- by Christine Davila
- Sydney's Buzz
Variety reports on Morelia Film Festival's ninth edition October 15 - 23. I won't repeat the article here except to cite its place today as an exciting venue (hopefully not too exciting!!) to see new Latino, especially Mexican, films. The artistic director and founder Daniela Michel has quickly brought the festival an international reputation for welcoming filmmakers and their films. "The smartly programmed official selection captures very well the energy and diversity of contemporary Mexican independent film," notes critic and Museum of Moving Image editorial director Dennis Lim. More than most newer Latin American fests, Morelia has established its international…...
- 10/12/2011
- Sydney's Buzz
Variety reports on Morelia Film Festival's ninth edition October 15 - 23. I won't repeat the article here except to cite its place today as an exciting venue (hopefully not too exciting!!) to see new Latino, especially Mexican, films. The artistic director and founder Daniela Michel has quickly brought the festival an international reputation for welcoming filmmakers and their films. "The smartly programmed official selection captures very well the energy and diversity of contemporary Mexican independent film," notes critic and Museum of Moving Image editorial director Dennis Lim. More than most newer Latin American fests, Morelia has established its international credentials with a...
- 10/12/2011
- Sydney's Buzz
Variety reports on Morelia Film Festival's ninth edition October 15 - 23. I won't repeat the article here except to cite its place today as an exciting venue (hopefully not too exciting!!) to see new Latino, especially Mexican, films. The artistic director and founder Daniela Michel has quickly brought the festival an international reputation for welcoming filmmakers and their films. "The smartly programmed official selection captures very well the energy and diversity of contemporary Mexican independent film," notes critic and Museum of Moving Image editorial director Dennis Lim.
- 10/12/2011
- Sydney's Buzz
Peter Bradshaw leapt at an invitation to be a judge at this year's Cannes film festival – even though it meant an awkward meeting with a director he'd panned
The call came while I was on holiday, scrambling to answer my phone while wresting a collapsing ice-cream from my six-year-old son. A cultured French voice had a question for me from Thierry Frémaux, director of the Cannes film festival. "Thierry would like to know if you will serve on the Un Certain Regard jury this year," she asked coolly. My yelpingly uncool four-word reply was: "Oui, I mean yes!"
And that was it. I was on the 2011 jury, judging the section of the festival intended to honour films with "a certain gaze"; films that were innovative and different. I was skittishly overexcited. A critic, of course, is judge and jury in his own little world. Having to fight your corner with...
The call came while I was on holiday, scrambling to answer my phone while wresting a collapsing ice-cream from my six-year-old son. A cultured French voice had a question for me from Thierry Frémaux, director of the Cannes film festival. "Thierry would like to know if you will serve on the Un Certain Regard jury this year," she asked coolly. My yelpingly uncool four-word reply was: "Oui, I mean yes!"
And that was it. I was on the 2011 jury, judging the section of the festival intended to honour films with "a certain gaze"; films that were innovative and different. I was skittishly overexcited. A critic, of course, is judge and jury in his own little world. Having to fight your corner with...
- 5/24/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Updated through 5/23.
Emir Kusturica and his Jury (Elodie Bouchez, Peter Bradshaw, Geoffrey Gilmore and Daniela Michel) have announced that the Prize of Un Certain Regard is a tie this year between Andreas Dresen's Stopped on Track (image above) and Kim Ki-duk's Arirang. A roundup on the first is on its way, while you can read up on critical reaction to Kim's solo project here.
The Special Jury Prize goes to Andrei Zvyagintsev's Elena (roundup's coming), while the Directing Prize goes to Mohammad Rasoulof for Good Bye (more here).
A round of other awards has been announced this evening as well. John Hopewell reports for Variety that the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) has presented awards to films in three sections at Cannes: Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre (Competion; roundup), Pierre Schöller's The Minister (Un Certain Regard; more soon) and Jeff Nichols's Take Shelter (Critics' Week; roundup). For that third prize,...
Emir Kusturica and his Jury (Elodie Bouchez, Peter Bradshaw, Geoffrey Gilmore and Daniela Michel) have announced that the Prize of Un Certain Regard is a tie this year between Andreas Dresen's Stopped on Track (image above) and Kim Ki-duk's Arirang. A roundup on the first is on its way, while you can read up on critical reaction to Kim's solo project here.
The Special Jury Prize goes to Andrei Zvyagintsev's Elena (roundup's coming), while the Directing Prize goes to Mohammad Rasoulof for Good Bye (more here).
A round of other awards has been announced this evening as well. John Hopewell reports for Variety that the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) has presented awards to films in three sections at Cannes: Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre (Competion; roundup), Pierre Schöller's The Minister (Un Certain Regard; more soon) and Jeff Nichols's Take Shelter (Critics' Week; roundup). For that third prize,...
- 5/23/2011
- MUBI
It was the scale, the ambition, the sheer mass of Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life that captivated its admirers
In the end, what Robert De Niro's jury at Cannes responded to in Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life, the winner of the Palme D'Or, was almost certainly the same thing that captivated me and captivated all admirers of this outstanding movie.
It was the scale, the ambition, the sheer mass. Like those people who gathered, awestruck, in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall in 2002 to gaze at Anish Kapoor's monumental Marsyas installation, festivalgoers gasped and goggled at Malick's film. Some wondered at it, a few shrugged, others giggled. It was a movie to be gazed at, rubbernecked at.
Malick explicitly gave it a cathedral-like structure with one shot of a spiralling stained-glass window. The Tree Of Life is, simply, big – very big. It takes on big themes,...
In the end, what Robert De Niro's jury at Cannes responded to in Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life, the winner of the Palme D'Or, was almost certainly the same thing that captivated me and captivated all admirers of this outstanding movie.
It was the scale, the ambition, the sheer mass. Like those people who gathered, awestruck, in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall in 2002 to gaze at Anish Kapoor's monumental Marsyas installation, festivalgoers gasped and goggled at Malick's film. Some wondered at it, a few shrugged, others giggled. It was a movie to be gazed at, rubbernecked at.
Malick explicitly gave it a cathedral-like structure with one shot of a spiralling stained-glass window. The Tree Of Life is, simply, big – very big. It takes on big themes,...
- 5/23/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Here’s the official word:
Un Certain Regard 2011 presented 21 films directed by 22 directors hailing from 19 different countries. 2 of the works were first films.
Presided over by Emir Kusturica (Director, actor and musician – Serbia), the Jury was comprised of: Elodie Bouchez (Actress – France), Peter Bradshaw (Critic-The Guardian – United Kingdom), Geoffrey Gilmore (Chief Creative Officer-Tribeca Enterprises – USA), Daniela Michel (Director of the Morelia Festival – Mexico).
Prize Of Un Certain Regard Ex-æquo
Arirang by Kim Ki-Duk
Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped on track) by Andreas Dresen
Special Jury Prize
Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directing Prize
BÉ Omid É Didar (Au revoir) by Mohammad Rasoulof
Search Terms Leading to This Post: canes un certain, kusturica, what happens to the man with the mermaid in pirates 4?...
Un Certain Regard 2011 presented 21 films directed by 22 directors hailing from 19 different countries. 2 of the works were first films.
Presided over by Emir Kusturica (Director, actor and musician – Serbia), the Jury was comprised of: Elodie Bouchez (Actress – France), Peter Bradshaw (Critic-The Guardian – United Kingdom), Geoffrey Gilmore (Chief Creative Officer-Tribeca Enterprises – USA), Daniela Michel (Director of the Morelia Festival – Mexico).
Prize Of Un Certain Regard Ex-æquo
Arirang by Kim Ki-Duk
Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped on track) by Andreas Dresen
Special Jury Prize
Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directing Prize
BÉ Omid É Didar (Au revoir) by Mohammad Rasoulof
Search Terms Leading to This Post: canes un certain, kusturica, what happens to the man with the mermaid in pirates 4?...
- 5/23/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Here’s the official word:
Un Certain Regard 2011 presented 21 films directed by 22 directors hailing from 19 different countries. 2 of the works were first films.
Presided over by Emir Kusturica (Director, actor and musician – Serbia), the Jury was comprised of: Elodie Bouchez (Actress – France), Peter Bradshaw (Critic-The Guardian – United Kingdom), Geoffrey Gilmore (Chief Creative Officer-Tribeca Enterprises – USA), Daniela Michel (Director of the Morelia Festival – Mexico).
Prize Of Un Certain Regard Ex-æquo
Arirang by Kim Ki-Duk
Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped on track) by Andreas Dresen
Special Jury Prize
Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directing Prize
BÉ Omid É Didar (Au revoir) by Mohammad Rasoulof
Search Terms Leading to This Post: canes un certain, kusturica, what happens to the man with the mermaid in pirates 4?...
Un Certain Regard 2011 presented 21 films directed by 22 directors hailing from 19 different countries. 2 of the works were first films.
Presided over by Emir Kusturica (Director, actor and musician – Serbia), the Jury was comprised of: Elodie Bouchez (Actress – France), Peter Bradshaw (Critic-The Guardian – United Kingdom), Geoffrey Gilmore (Chief Creative Officer-Tribeca Enterprises – USA), Daniela Michel (Director of the Morelia Festival – Mexico).
Prize Of Un Certain Regard Ex-æquo
Arirang by Kim Ki-Duk
Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped on track) by Andreas Dresen
Special Jury Prize
Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directing Prize
BÉ Omid É Didar (Au revoir) by Mohammad Rasoulof
Search Terms Leading to This Post: canes un certain, kusturica, what happens to the man with the mermaid in pirates 4?...
- 5/23/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
HollywoodNews.com: Un Certain Regard 2011 presented 21 films directed by 22 directors hailing from 19 different countries. 2 of the works were first films.
Presided over by Emir Kusturica (Director, actor and musician – Serbia), the Jury was comprised of: Elodie Bouchez (Actress – France), Peter Bradshaw (Critic-The Guardian – United Kingdom), Geoffrey Gilmore (Chief Creative Officer-Tribeca Enterprises – USA), Daniela Michel (Director of the Morelia Festival – Mexico).
Prize Of Un Certain Regard Ex-æquo
Arirang by Kim Ki-Duk
Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped on Track) by Andreas Dresen
Special Jury Prize
Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directing Prize
BÉ Omid É Didar (Au revoir) by Mohammad Rasoulof
To read more go to Cannes Film Festival
Photo By © Fif/Thibaud Morin
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News...
Presided over by Emir Kusturica (Director, actor and musician – Serbia), the Jury was comprised of: Elodie Bouchez (Actress – France), Peter Bradshaw (Critic-The Guardian – United Kingdom), Geoffrey Gilmore (Chief Creative Officer-Tribeca Enterprises – USA), Daniela Michel (Director of the Morelia Festival – Mexico).
Prize Of Un Certain Regard Ex-æquo
Arirang by Kim Ki-Duk
Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped on Track) by Andreas Dresen
Special Jury Prize
Elena by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Directing Prize
BÉ Omid É Didar (Au revoir) by Mohammad Rasoulof
To read more go to Cannes Film Festival
Photo By © Fif/Thibaud Morin
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News...
- 5/21/2011
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
In the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival that consisted of 21 films from 19 different countries, the top prize was shared by the Kim Ki-Duk-directed Arirang and the Andreas Dresen-directed Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped On Track). The Special Jury Prize went to the Andrew Zvyagintsev-directed Elena and the directing prize went to Mohammad Rasoulof for Be Omid E Didar (Au Revoir). Latter award is poignant considering Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi were hit with six-year jail sentences by the hard-line Iran government. The harsh sentences have resulted in an outcry among organizations including Amnesty International, filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and festivals that include Cannes, which made sure to include films by both directors in the lineups. The Un Certain Regard jury was headed by Serbian director Emir Kusturica and was comprised of French actress Elodie Bouchez, UK critic Peter Bradshaw, Tribeca's Geoffrey Gilmore, and Morelia Festival director Daniela Michel.
- 5/21/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
All the latest news, reviews, comment and buzz from the Croisette, as it happens
9.00am: Morning all, and welcome to day two of the all-new experimental Guardian Cannes live blog!
Just like yesterday, we'll be bringing you all the news, reviews and reaction from the Croisette, as it happens. My colleague Ian and I will be drawing coverage together in London; we'll be getting regular updates from the team on the ground: Peter Bradshaw, Xan Brooks, Andrew Pulver, Charlotte Higgins, Jason Solomons, Henry Barnes, Laurence Topham and Jason Phipps.
And wherever you are we want to know what you reckon: you can post a comment below, or email, or tweet us @guardianfilm.
9.16am: So, what can you expect today? Well, we'll be recapping the opening night premiere, Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, with a gallery and a video, including a reel review of the film. Last night also saw...
9.00am: Morning all, and welcome to day two of the all-new experimental Guardian Cannes live blog!
Just like yesterday, we'll be bringing you all the news, reviews and reaction from the Croisette, as it happens. My colleague Ian and I will be drawing coverage together in London; we'll be getting regular updates from the team on the ground: Peter Bradshaw, Xan Brooks, Andrew Pulver, Charlotte Higgins, Jason Solomons, Henry Barnes, Laurence Topham and Jason Phipps.
And wherever you are we want to know what you reckon: you can post a comment below, or email, or tweet us @guardianfilm.
9.16am: So, what can you expect today? Well, we'll be recapping the opening night premiere, Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, with a gallery and a video, including a reel review of the film. Last night also saw...
- 5/12/2011
- by Catherine Shoard, Ian J Griffiths
- The Guardian - Film News
We were all holding our breath to see which film would be included in this year's Main Comp (there were rumors that Brillante Mendoza and Andrey Zvyagintsev respective films were fighting for a final spot) it is the filmmaker behind Oss 117 spoofs that will see his Out of Comp selected The Artist make the odd jump from "not good enough" to "perfectly suited to accompany the masters of cinema" slot. And while Zvyagintsev's Elena didn't make the Main Comp cut -- it has thankfully been accepted as the closing film in the Un Certain Regard category -- which basically means the Russian filmmaker who gave us The Return (Venice 2003) and The Banishment (Cannes 2007) will be working the film until the very last minute with the story of an elderly woman who has lived with her rich husband in a large, comfortable home tries to rescue her alcoholic son from poverty...
- 5/4/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Mexico City -- The 8th edition of the Morelia International Film Festival will kick off with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's latest drama "Biutiful," marking the Mexico premiere of the Javier Bardem vehicle.
"Biutiful," Mexico's foreign-language Oscar submission, made its worldwide debut in Cannes earlier this year, where Bardem won best actor for his role as an underworld businessman.
Festival director Daniela Michel told reporters at a Wednesday news conference that Gonzalez Inarritu, Bardem and Argentine actress Maricel Alvarez will attend the film fest, which runs from Oct. 16-24. "Biutiful" will screen out of competition.
Also programmed for this year's event is a retrospective spanning the career of Terry Gilliam, which includes all 12 of his feature films. Gilliam will be on hand as a special guest.
More than 80 Mexican films will screen in competition, with seven fiction works from first- and second-time directors. The feature films in the official selection comprise Jorge Michel Grau...
"Biutiful," Mexico's foreign-language Oscar submission, made its worldwide debut in Cannes earlier this year, where Bardem won best actor for his role as an underworld businessman.
Festival director Daniela Michel told reporters at a Wednesday news conference that Gonzalez Inarritu, Bardem and Argentine actress Maricel Alvarez will attend the film fest, which runs from Oct. 16-24. "Biutiful" will screen out of competition.
Also programmed for this year's event is a retrospective spanning the career of Terry Gilliam, which includes all 12 of his feature films. Gilliam will be on hand as a special guest.
More than 80 Mexican films will screen in competition, with seven fiction works from first- and second-time directors. The feature films in the official selection comprise Jorge Michel Grau...
- 10/6/2010
- by By John Hecht
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mexico City -- Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" will open the seventh edition of the Morelia International Film Festival, adding a touch of international glory to a key platform for emerging Mexican talent.
Tarantino will present his latest picture in Morelia when the weeklong film fest kicks off Oct. 3. Festival director Daniela Michel said other confirmed guests include French filmmaker Bruno Dumont, newcomer actress Molly Windsor and Michael Fitzgerald, producer of Tommy Lee Jones' "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada."
Romania will be the guest country of honor. "Tales From the Golden Age," a series of five shorts written by Romanian helmer Cristian Mungiu, will make its Mexico debut.
More than 80 films comprising Mexican features, documentaries and shorts will compete at this year's edition. Among the full-length fiction pictures in competition is Miguel Necoechea's boxing film "Chamaco," featuring Martin Sheen. Other notable titles include Rigoberto Perezcano's immigration drama...
Tarantino will present his latest picture in Morelia when the weeklong film fest kicks off Oct. 3. Festival director Daniela Michel said other confirmed guests include French filmmaker Bruno Dumont, newcomer actress Molly Windsor and Michael Fitzgerald, producer of Tommy Lee Jones' "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada."
Romania will be the guest country of honor. "Tales From the Golden Age," a series of five shorts written by Romanian helmer Cristian Mungiu, will make its Mexico debut.
More than 80 films comprising Mexican features, documentaries and shorts will compete at this year's edition. Among the full-length fiction pictures in competition is Miguel Necoechea's boxing film "Chamaco," featuring Martin Sheen. Other notable titles include Rigoberto Perezcano's immigration drama...
- 9/24/2009
- by By John Hecht
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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