As we make our way deeper and deeper into the Fall Festival season, some of the highlights from festivals earlier in the year are finally arriving in theaters. Be it the Safdie Brothers Cannes-stealing Good Time or Eliza Hittman’s Sundance stunner Beach Rats some of the spring’s most talked about festival pictures are just now making their way into theaters around the country. But what about those that went relatively unspoken of? There are some true discoveries to be had.
One of those discoveries is the newest film from Narco Cultura director Shaul Schwarz and co-director Christina Clusiau, entitled Trophy. As one could gather from the title, the film focuses its lens on the world of animal conservation in an age where more and more animals inch closer and closer to extinction. We watch as people try to help nurture animals and their populations back to life as...
One of those discoveries is the newest film from Narco Cultura director Shaul Schwarz and co-director Christina Clusiau, entitled Trophy. As one could gather from the title, the film focuses its lens on the world of animal conservation in an age where more and more animals inch closer and closer to extinction. We watch as people try to help nurture animals and their populations back to life as...
- 9/8/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
One of the more controversial, much-discussed documentaries to come out of Sundance this year was Trophy, the latest film from Shaul Schwarz (Narco Cultura) and Christina Clusiau. Taking a deep, complex look inside big-game hunting and wildlife conservation, the documentary will be arriving next month and now a new trailer has landed.
“There’s no clear answer for what to do here, like so much in this world,” we said in our review. “For every groundswell of social media support for a Cecil The Lion, there are a hundred (a thousand!) poaching atrocities committed in the name of protecting local farmers and fueling a growing hunting economy, and some of that is certainly legitimate.”
Check out the trailer below.
Endangered African species like elephants, rhinos and lions march closer to extinction each year. Their devastating decline is fueled in part by a global desire to consume these majestic animals. Trophy...
“There’s no clear answer for what to do here, like so much in this world,” we said in our review. “For every groundswell of social media support for a Cecil The Lion, there are a hundred (a thousand!) poaching atrocities committed in the name of protecting local farmers and fueling a growing hunting economy, and some of that is certainly legitimate.”
Check out the trailer below.
Endangered African species like elephants, rhinos and lions march closer to extinction each year. Their devastating decline is fueled in part by a global desire to consume these majestic animals. Trophy...
- 8/8/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It’s difficult for Mexican documentarians to tackle their country’s drug war. Mexican-born American filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz explored the danger facing Mexican journalists in his 2012 film Reportero. Once, there were rules about who was and wasn’t fair game for targeting in the drug trade. Since 2006, when Mexican President Felipe Calderon ramped up the war on drugs, those standards have seemingly all dissolved. With Kingdom of Shadows, Ruiz returns to the drug war, this time with a scope that’s simultaneously more personal and wider-reaching.
The movie is split mainly into three story threads. In Monterrey, site of some of the harshest turf battles between the cartels, Sister Consuelo Morales runs an organization which advocates for the families of people who have disappeared. More than 23,000 such cases exist in Mexico — a former Hrc employee points out that historically, this had once only happened under repressive authoritarian regimes. At the...
The movie is split mainly into three story threads. In Monterrey, site of some of the harshest turf battles between the cartels, Sister Consuelo Morales runs an organization which advocates for the families of people who have disappeared. More than 23,000 such cases exist in Mexico — a former Hrc employee points out that historically, this had once only happened under repressive authoritarian regimes. At the...
- 11/19/2015
- by Daniel Schindel
- The Film Stage
The war on drugs has been covered countless times on film. You’ve seen it in Steven Soderbergh’s award-winning “Traffic” and in recent documentaries like “The House I Live In,” “Narco Cultura,” and “Cartel Land.” While on the surface, French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s latest drama, “Sicario," is about the Mexican drug trade and the ruthless cartels that run it, but like all his films, underneath lurks something much shadowy. "Sicario" is a morally-bruising, unsettling and multi-layered heart-of-darkness drama that raises more questions than it answers while examining the cyclical echo of violence, powerlessness, and the lack of control in the fight. It's all seen through the eyes of a up-and-coming and idealistic FBI agent (played by Emily Blunt) who is enlisted by an elite government task force official (Josh Brolin) for a clandestine mission. However, the job becomes ethically dubious when an enigmatic outside consultant (Benicio Del Toro) turns out to be.
- 9/17/2015
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
A tremendously cinematic study of the bid by citizens’ groups to challenge the power of Mexico’s drug gangs
“We can’t become the criminals we’re fighting against…” Matthew Heineman’s almost accidentally fearless exposé of Mexico’s terrifying cross-border drug cartels opens with what looks like an outtake from Breaking Bad: an atmospherically torchlit scene of masked men cooking crystal meth, talking of American chemistry and local poverty, and how they will keep doing this “as long as God allows”, whatever the consequences. It ends with an equally cinematic encounter with a uniformed man whose chilling allegiances blur the lines between “good and evil” (drug prevention and creation) so thoroughly that, were this a fiction, the screenwriter would be fired for overplaying the Nietzschean parallels. But this is not fiction. On the contrary, it is horribly real, an urgent and alarming account of a crisis so hellishly...
“We can’t become the criminals we’re fighting against…” Matthew Heineman’s almost accidentally fearless exposé of Mexico’s terrifying cross-border drug cartels opens with what looks like an outtake from Breaking Bad: an atmospherically torchlit scene of masked men cooking crystal meth, talking of American chemistry and local poverty, and how they will keep doing this “as long as God allows”, whatever the consequences. It ends with an equally cinematic encounter with a uniformed man whose chilling allegiances blur the lines between “good and evil” (drug prevention and creation) so thoroughly that, were this a fiction, the screenwriter would be fired for overplaying the Nietzschean parallels. But this is not fiction. On the contrary, it is horribly real, an urgent and alarming account of a crisis so hellishly...
- 9/6/2015
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Good, Bad & Ugly: Heineman Embeds in the Borderlands
Towards the end of Matthew Heineman’s remarkable Cartel Land, which sees the filmmaker embedded deep within two fledgling anti-cartel independent militia groups – one in the southern Mexico region of Michoacán called the Autodefensas, the other dubbed the Arizona Border Recon, now patrolling Arizona’s Altar Valley – the once celebrated leader of the Mexican rebel group, Dr. Jose Mireles, steps from his secret asylum shirtless and haggard. Looking like the lost and lamenting Édgar Ramírez as the self styled revolutionary and terrorist at the end of Olivier Assayas’ Carlos, Mireles realizes he’s become just another casualty of Mexico’s deep seated corruption at the hands of a never ending cycle of cartel. As guards are let down and professional clumsiness sets in, Heineman’s characters are revealed to be as complex as the alarmingly multifarious situations unfolding on both sides of the border.
Towards the end of Matthew Heineman’s remarkable Cartel Land, which sees the filmmaker embedded deep within two fledgling anti-cartel independent militia groups – one in the southern Mexico region of Michoacán called the Autodefensas, the other dubbed the Arizona Border Recon, now patrolling Arizona’s Altar Valley – the once celebrated leader of the Mexican rebel group, Dr. Jose Mireles, steps from his secret asylum shirtless and haggard. Looking like the lost and lamenting Édgar Ramírez as the self styled revolutionary and terrorist at the end of Olivier Assayas’ Carlos, Mireles realizes he’s become just another casualty of Mexico’s deep seated corruption at the hands of a never ending cycle of cartel. As guards are let down and professional clumsiness sets in, Heineman’s characters are revealed to be as complex as the alarmingly multifarious situations unfolding on both sides of the border.
- 7/25/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
- 7/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The San Francisco Film Society has announced the 11 contenders for its $75,000-plus 2015 Sffs Documentary Film Fund supporting feature documentaries in post-production.
Organisers selected the finallists from more than 300 applications and the winners will be announced in early April.
Previous fund winners include Zachary Heinzerling’s Cutie And The Boxer, which won the Sundance directing award for documentary and Shaul Schwarz’s Narco Cultura, which also premiered in Park City in 2013.
The fund finallists are:
The Bad Kids – Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe, co-directors;
Forever Pure – Maya Zinshtein, director; Geoff Arbourne, producer;
Forty Panes – Laura Dunn, director;
Infanity – Ramona Diaz, director;
The Island And The Whales – Mike Day, director;
Learning To Forget – Kaspar Astrup Schröder, director; Katherine Sahlstrom, producer;
Liyana – Aaron Kopp and Amanda Kopp, co-directors;
The Oakland Police Project – Peter Nicks, director;
Selling Our Daughters – Dave Adams and Josie Swantek, co-directors; Susan MacLaury, producer;
Uncertain – Ewan McNichol and Anna Sandilands, co-directors; and[p...
Organisers selected the finallists from more than 300 applications and the winners will be announced in early April.
Previous fund winners include Zachary Heinzerling’s Cutie And The Boxer, which won the Sundance directing award for documentary and Shaul Schwarz’s Narco Cultura, which also premiered in Park City in 2013.
The fund finallists are:
The Bad Kids – Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe, co-directors;
Forever Pure – Maya Zinshtein, director; Geoff Arbourne, producer;
Forty Panes – Laura Dunn, director;
Infanity – Ramona Diaz, director;
The Island And The Whales – Mike Day, director;
Learning To Forget – Kaspar Astrup Schröder, director; Katherine Sahlstrom, producer;
Liyana – Aaron Kopp and Amanda Kopp, co-directors;
The Oakland Police Project – Peter Nicks, director;
Selling Our Daughters – Dave Adams and Josie Swantek, co-directors; Susan MacLaury, producer;
Uncertain – Ewan McNichol and Anna Sandilands, co-directors; and[p...
- 2/19/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The San Francisco Film Society today announces the 11 finalists for the 2015 Sffs Documentary Film Fund awards totaling more than $75,000, which support feature-length docs in postproduction. Finalists were culled from more than 300 applications, and winners will be announced in early April. Past Documentary Film Fund winners include Zachary Heinzerling's "Cutie and the Boxer," winner of Sundance's Directing Award for documentary and nominee for the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature; Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s "American Promise," which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and won the festival’s Special Jury Prize for documentary; and Shaul Schwarz’s harrowing "Narco Cultura," which premiered to strong reviews at Sundance the same year. The 11 Documentary Film Fund finalists projects are: The Bad Kids – Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe, codirectors The Bad Kids brings...
- 2/19/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
One of the toughest moments in Narco Cultura comes from a layer of the whole drug war problem that is not profoundly explored in that recent documentary: What are the feelings and thoughts of the familiars of the assassinated or missing victims? In Narco Cultura we see a desperate mother screaming because she cannot tolerate the pain that comes from the knowledge that her son was decapitated. Portraits of a Search (aka Retratos de una Búsqueda) is, then, the documentary that has as its main subject the victims of the drug war, and is told from the perspective of their familiars, in specific the mothers. Portraits of a Search is connected with another Mexican doc in the San Cristóbal De Las Casas festival lineup: The Naptime....
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 1/23/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Millennium Entertainment has named Vincent Scordino to the newly created position of Svp Marketing as the company welcomes him back after a stint at Cinedigm starting December 15. Scordino will report to Evp Marketing Brooke Ford and will head traditional and day-and-date marketing campaigns for the company, which recently released rom-com Elsa & Fred and has the Al Pacino starrer The Humbling coming up.
“We are happy to welcome Vincent back to the Millennium Entertainment family,” said Ford. “His vast experience in positioning independent film releases, as well as his close familiarity with our company’s strategies, will be huge assets to us as we build our marketing efforts to support our expanding distribution pipeline and platforms.” In his earlier stint at Millennium, the Picturehouse and Apparition alum negotiated the acquisitions of Bernie, Rampart, Paperboy, and A Little Bit Of Heaven.
Scordino was most recently Svp Theatrical Acquisitions and Releasing at Cinedigm,...
“We are happy to welcome Vincent back to the Millennium Entertainment family,” said Ford. “His vast experience in positioning independent film releases, as well as his close familiarity with our company’s strategies, will be huge assets to us as we build our marketing efforts to support our expanding distribution pipeline and platforms.” In his earlier stint at Millennium, the Picturehouse and Apparition alum negotiated the acquisitions of Bernie, Rampart, Paperboy, and A Little Bit Of Heaven.
Scordino was most recently Svp Theatrical Acquisitions and Releasing at Cinedigm,...
- 12/10/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
The falling leaves are a sure sign it’s now the beginning of awards season, with Oscar short lists starting to leak out, Ida Awards prepping their program and the Emmy’s already handing out golden statues. Also, on the festival circuit this month we have a whole host of big lineup announcements coming from a hefty set of acronym loving non-fiction fests the world over, from Cph:dox and Doc NYC, to Idfa and Ridm. Best of Fests Docs is a monthly snapshot of the films and filmmakers that are the make-up of the docu film festival and awards circuit. Check out the full rundown below:
Cph:dox - Denmark – November 6th-16th
The festival, also known as Copenhagen International Documentary Festival , has announced its 2014 lineup, which was guest curated this year by Citizenfour director Laura Poitras. Over 200 films (with the likes of Robert Greene’s Actress, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence,...
Cph:dox - Denmark – November 6th-16th
The festival, also known as Copenhagen International Documentary Festival , has announced its 2014 lineup, which was guest curated this year by Citizenfour director Laura Poitras. Over 200 films (with the likes of Robert Greene’s Actress, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence,...
- 10/28/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
On the heels of the 39th edition of the Toronto Int. Film Festival (Sept 4-14), Ifp’s Independent Film Week is where a plethora of fiction, non-fiction and new this year, web-based series from the likes of Desiree Akhavan and Calvin Reeder find future coin. Sectioned off as projects at the very beginning of financing to those that are nearing completion, there happens to be tons of Sundance alumni in the names below. Among those that caught our attention we have Medicine for Melancholy‘s Barry Jenkins’ sophomore feature, produced by Bad Milo!‘s Adele Romanski, Moonlight is about “two Miami boys navigate the temptations of the drug trade and their burgeoning sexuality in this triptych drama about black queer youth”. Concussion‘s Stacie Passon digs into the thriller genre with Strange Things Started Happening. Produced by vet Mary Jane Skalski (Mysterious Skin), this is about “a woman who has...
- 7/24/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The San Francisco Film Society has revealed the three winners of its 2014 Sffs Documentary Film Fund awards, which total more than $75,000 and support feature-length documentaries in post-production. Moby Longinotto’s “The Joneses,” Jason Zeldes's “Romeo Is Bleeding” and Andrew James's “Street Fighting Man” were each given funding to help push them towards completion. (More details on each project below.)Previous winners include Zachary Heinzerling’s Oscar nominated “Cutie and the Boxer,” Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s Sundance Special Jury Prize winner “American Promise” and Shaul Schwarz’s strongly reviewed 2013 Sundance entry “Narco Cultura.” 2014 Documentary Film Fund Winners:The Joneses — Moby Longinotto, director and Aviva Wishnow, producer — $30,627The Joneses is a portrait of Jheri, a 73-year-old transgender trailer park matriarch, who lives in bible belt Mississippi. Reconciled with her family after years of estrangement, and now living with two of her sons,...
- 4/9/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Gravity While my opinion of Gravity has diminished somewhat since first seeing it, if there was a movie last year that I hope you caught in theaters before seeing it at home it would be this one. I just don't know how good this film can be on a smaller screen in your living room. After all, at home is where movies depend on the narrative even more than they do in theaters and this one is seriously lacking in that department.
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Blue Is the Warmest Color (Criterion Collection) I don't quite understand the motivation behind Criterion's decision to release a bare bones version of Blue is the Warmest Color with the promise of a special edition further down the line, but here it is. Their explanation was something to the effect of "get it to the audience as soon as possible", but it seems to me Criterion is just sugar-coating a double-dip effort.
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Blue Is the Warmest Color (Criterion Collection) I don't quite understand the motivation behind Criterion's decision to release a bare bones version of Blue is the Warmest Color with the promise of a special edition further down the line, but here it is. Their explanation was something to the effect of "get it to the audience as soon as possible", but it seems to me Criterion is just sugar-coating a double-dip effort.
- 2/25/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The San Francisco Film Society has announced this year’s finalists for the Documentary Film Fund, which is set to divy up $75,000 next month. Open to nonfiction films in post-production, the Fund has previously supported such Sundance titles as Narco Cultura, American Promise and the Oscar-nominated Cutie and the Boxer. Making the list is Western, the Ross Brothers’ follow-up to Tchoupitoulas, and Blood Brother director Steve Hoover’s Gennadly. The Fund is made possible by Jennifer Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation, and you can view the full list of finalists below. Anatomy of an American Dream — John Ryan Johnson, director Antoine Hood is a charismatic 28-year-old former college basketball […]...
- 2/6/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The San Francisco Film Society has announced this year’s finalists for the Documentary Film Fund, which is set to divy up $75,000 next month. Open to nonfiction films in post-production, the Fund has previously supported such Sundance titles as Narco Cultura, American Promise and the Oscar-nominated Cutie and the Boxer. Making the list is Western, the Ross Brothers’ follow-up to Tchoupitoulas, and Blood Brother director Steve Hoover’s Gennadly. The Fund is made possible by Jennifer Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation, and you can view the full list of finalists below. Anatomy of an American Dream — John Ryan Johnson, director Antoine Hood is a charismatic 28-year-old former college basketball […]...
- 2/6/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The San Francisco Film Society revealed today their 11 finalists for the 2014 Documentary Film Fund awards totaling over $75,000. The fund supports feature-length documentaries currently in post-production, and finalists were culled from over 200 applications. Previous Film Fund winners, including Oscar-nominee Zachary Heinzerling ("Cutie and the Boxer") and Shaul Schwarz ("Narco Cultura"), have gone far with their projects. This year's winners will be announced in late March. The 2014 finalists are: Anatomy of an American Dream -- John Ryan Johnson, director Antoine Hood is a charismatic 28-year-old former college basketball star and captain in the U.S. Air Force. He is a regional sales manager for Michelin and lives in a beautiful suburban house with his wife and son. For most, this is the American dream, but not for Hood, who could lose all of the above trying to play in the NBA ... and he just might. The Bolivian Case -- Violeta Ayala, director Trying to fly out of.
- 2/6/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Jehane Noujaim's "The Square" edged out Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing" to emerge as the big winner of the 2013 Ida Documentary Awards! The documentary about the 2011 Egyptian Revolution also beat Jason Osder's "Let the Fire Burn," Gabriela Cowperthwaite's "Blackfish," and Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell" for the prize.
Here's a full list of winners of the 2013 Ida Documentary Awards:
Best Feature Award
The Square
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Producer: Karim Amer; Executive Producers: Geralyn Dreyfous, Mike Lerner, Sarah Johnson, Jodie Evans, Lekha Singh, Gavin Dougan, Dan Catullo III, Lisa Nishimura, Adam Del Deo, Khalil Noujaim, Alexandra Johnes, Jeff Skol; Noujaim Films, Netflix Originals
Best Short Award
Slomo
Director: Josh Izenberg; Producer: Amanda Micheli; Executive Producer: Neil Izenberg; Big Young Films, Runaway Films
Best Limited Series Award
Inside Man
Producers: Kristen Vaurio, Lisa Kalikow, Shannon Gibson, Suzanne Hillinger, Lara Benario; Writers: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock; Executive Producers: Jeremy Chilnick,...
Here's a full list of winners of the 2013 Ida Documentary Awards:
Best Feature Award
The Square
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Producer: Karim Amer; Executive Producers: Geralyn Dreyfous, Mike Lerner, Sarah Johnson, Jodie Evans, Lekha Singh, Gavin Dougan, Dan Catullo III, Lisa Nishimura, Adam Del Deo, Khalil Noujaim, Alexandra Johnes, Jeff Skol; Noujaim Films, Netflix Originals
Best Short Award
Slomo
Director: Josh Izenberg; Producer: Amanda Micheli; Executive Producer: Neil Izenberg; Big Young Films, Runaway Films
Best Limited Series Award
Inside Man
Producers: Kristen Vaurio, Lisa Kalikow, Shannon Gibson, Suzanne Hillinger, Lara Benario; Writers: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock; Executive Producers: Jeremy Chilnick,...
- 12/8/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The International Documentary Association’s 2013 Ida Documentary Awards honoured Jehane Noujaim’s Egyptian activism story The Square with the best feature award on Friday night (December 6) in Los Angeles.
The best short award went to Josh Izenberg’s Slomo, about neurologist turned rollerblader Dr John Kitchin.
The Ida’s Career Achievement Award was presented to Alex Gibney, currently in awards contention with The Armstrong Lie.
The Ida Amicus Award went to Impact Partners co-founder Geralyn Dreyfous, who also founded the Utah Film Center. Dreyfous’ executive producer credits include The Square, Born Into Brothels, The Invisible War and The Crash Reel.
Laura Poitras received Ida’s Courage Under Fire Award in recognition of “conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth.” Poitras and Glenn Greenwald, broke the story of National Security Agency (Nsa) whistleblower Edward Snowden, revealing the Prism programme in the process.
Poitras is currently in Berlin editing a film about Nsa surveillance, the third of...
The best short award went to Josh Izenberg’s Slomo, about neurologist turned rollerblader Dr John Kitchin.
The Ida’s Career Achievement Award was presented to Alex Gibney, currently in awards contention with The Armstrong Lie.
The Ida Amicus Award went to Impact Partners co-founder Geralyn Dreyfous, who also founded the Utah Film Center. Dreyfous’ executive producer credits include The Square, Born Into Brothels, The Invisible War and The Crash Reel.
Laura Poitras received Ida’s Courage Under Fire Award in recognition of “conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth.” Poitras and Glenn Greenwald, broke the story of National Security Agency (Nsa) whistleblower Edward Snowden, revealing the Prism programme in the process.
Poitras is currently in Berlin editing a film about Nsa surveillance, the third of...
- 12/7/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Narco Cultura
Directed by Shaul Schwarz
USA, 2013
Note. This review originally appeared at Sound on Sight when the film played at this year’s Fantastic Fest. It has been updated to tie in with the film’s wider theatrical release.
One of the most shocking moments of the new documentary Narco Cultura comes near the end, as one of the musicians who profits from the most heinous and violent acts committed by Mexican drug cartels deliberately misquotes a memorable line from Brian de Palma’s Scarface: “First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the bitches.” The surprise is not that the 1983 gangster opus is name-dropped here, but that it only happens once. The hits just keep on coming in Narco Cultura, a thoroughly horrifying look at the neverending criminal battle going on south of the border.
Narco Cultura‘s director and cinematographer Shaul Schwarz...
Directed by Shaul Schwarz
USA, 2013
Note. This review originally appeared at Sound on Sight when the film played at this year’s Fantastic Fest. It has been updated to tie in with the film’s wider theatrical release.
One of the most shocking moments of the new documentary Narco Cultura comes near the end, as one of the musicians who profits from the most heinous and violent acts committed by Mexican drug cartels deliberately misquotes a memorable line from Brian de Palma’s Scarface: “First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the bitches.” The surprise is not that the 1983 gangster opus is name-dropped here, but that it only happens once. The hits just keep on coming in Narco Cultura, a thoroughly horrifying look at the neverending criminal battle going on south of the border.
Narco Cultura‘s director and cinematographer Shaul Schwarz...
- 12/6/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
Director Shaul Schwarz examines the drug war in Mexico in the riveting and occasionally gruesome documentary Narco Cultura, opening Friday in Austin. Schwarz is an Israeli photojournalist who shot a series of images in 2011 on the violence erupting across Juarez, but decided the topic needed to be brought to life on the big screen. With this movie, he keeps the spotlight on Juarez, which has become the murder capital of the world while sitting directly across from the safety and relative security of El Paso, Texas.
What struck me right away about the film was the on-camera interviews with children, who could not be older than 10, talking about the murder of their family members as though it was the most common and natural thing in the world. Their day-to-day reality is skewed in an obscenely harmful way thanks to the drug syndicates who rule the streets.
The violence in Juarez grew slowly,...
- 12/5/2013
- by Matt Shiverdecker
- Slackerwood
Narco Cultura, a documentary about narcocorridos and drug violence in Mexico opens in select theaters Friday, December 6.
Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Every time a questionable video game, song, or film gets released the media launches an attack filling the airwaves with contentious debates. Usually a level-headed, well-read individual who runs an organization with a totally ambiguous and meaningless name like "Americans for a Better Society" will go off on a tirade about how hip hop is the bane of society or how graphic video games make children more aggressive.
The documentary film Narco Cultura explores the interaction between the musical genre of narcocorridos, popular in both the United States and Mexico, and the violent drug trafficking culture that it draws inspiration from. The Israeli-born director, Shaul Schwarz, walks a fine line between simply documenting a subculture and being critical of the genre it depicts. Inevitably, through editing and choice of subjects his movie weighs in on the debate: do narcorridos glorify and incite the violent and gruesome behaviors they depict?
First we meet Richi Soto, a soft-spoken crime scene investigator in Ciudad Juarez, one of the cities hardest hit by the war on drugs. Then we are introduced to Edgar Quintero a Los Angeles-raised Mexican-American who dreams of hitting it big singing the narcocorridos that he writes. The action switches back-and-forth between the U.S. and Mexico. Bloody, lifeless bodies pile up in the Juarez forensic lab where Richi works -- then the action cuts to a fancy recording studio. Back in Los Angeles, far away from the violence Edgar croons into a microphone, "With an Ak 47 but no bullet-proof vest, I cruised in my white truck, with my rifle I hit one." The purposeful juxtaposition leaves the audience with no choice, of course you compare the two. After watching a mother scream in agony, demanding an end to the drug violence that took her son's life -- to then see Edgar up on stage leading a large, dancing crowd in a chorus of, "We're bloodthirsty, crazy, and we like to kill" -- narcocorrido singers look absurd and even heartless.
It's no surprise that other film critics have reacted strongly to the film and its subjects. John Anderson in a review for Indiewire titled, "'Narco Cultura' Depicts a Mexican Culture that Glorifies Murder, Decapitation and Crime" goes on to say:
"It's hard to say what's more disturbing about Shaul Schwarz's excellent "Narco Cultura." Is it the dead children, wailing mothers and bloody water running through the gutters of Juarez? Or the roomful of clueless idiots at Hollywood's House of Blues, singing along to a Movimiento Alterado chestbeater ("we're bloodthirsty, crazy and we like to kill...") about cutting people's heads off?"
I take issue with this critic's reception of the film. The fans of narcocorridos are not rich, they are immigrants and workers. Most narcos are people who grew up struggling but sold drugs to make money (but yes, they are now loaded.) When it comes to communities of color or communities that are fighting to survive, the culture that comes out of these working-class communities -- usually music -- is almost always criticized and denigrated. The clearest example is the constant chatter about gangster rap and the effect its depiction of violence will have on its young, impressionable enthusiasts. Such is the crux of my problem with the film Narco Cultura or more precisely with the reaction it incites in audiences.
I do not disagree with the fact the narcocorrido genre glorifies violence but glorifying violence is not the same thing as advocating for or justifying violence. More importantly, a critique of the purveyors or consumers of narcocorridos misses the point. Instead of looking down at fans for enjoying these songs, the more important question is why are increasing numbers of Mexicans (both at home and abroad) drawn to narco culture? Despite being banned from Mexican radio, devotees find a way to get a hold of the music either by downloading or buying bootleg CDs. In the U.S., narcocorrido albums sell big at Walmart and music venues are easily filled to capacity.
About an hour into the documentary Sandra Rodriguez, a journalist at the Mexican newspaper El Diario, illuminates the phenomenon, "The kids want to look like narcos, what I think, is because they represent an idea of success and power and impunity..." These few sentences sum up what is missing from the film's discussion of narcocorridos and narco-related violence in Mexico. A narcocorrido fan's response to the music is an expression of disempowered people looking for an escape.
In the film, even Richi -- the real-life CSI cop who collects corpses on a daily basis -- is seen dancing to narcocorridos at a family party. Is he a "clueless idiot" or just a regular Joe enjoying a catchy song? In season 2 of Breaking Bad an episode featured a sample of "Negro y Azul", a narcocorrido by Los Cuates de Sinaloa. Is Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad (and co-writer of the lyrics for "Negro y Azul") a clueless idiot or is he just jumping on a cultural bandwagon?
Somehow it's ok when educated, sensible (read white/American) people listen to this music but the fear is that when lower class Mexicans listen they will seek to emulate it. A lot of the criticism launched at narco culture is couched in classism. Rather than discount the fans as stupid or ignorant let's discuss what got us here in the first place -- the ill-launched drug war and U.S. consumption of illegal drugs. It seems to me that the bureaucrats that created our failing drug policies are the clueless, heartless idiots.
For information on theaters and showtimes check the Narco Cultura website. The film is now showing in New York and Miami and starting Friday will play select theaters in, CA, Az, TX, Il, and Ok.
Written by Vanessa Erazo. LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.
Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Every time a questionable video game, song, or film gets released the media launches an attack filling the airwaves with contentious debates. Usually a level-headed, well-read individual who runs an organization with a totally ambiguous and meaningless name like "Americans for a Better Society" will go off on a tirade about how hip hop is the bane of society or how graphic video games make children more aggressive.
The documentary film Narco Cultura explores the interaction between the musical genre of narcocorridos, popular in both the United States and Mexico, and the violent drug trafficking culture that it draws inspiration from. The Israeli-born director, Shaul Schwarz, walks a fine line between simply documenting a subculture and being critical of the genre it depicts. Inevitably, through editing and choice of subjects his movie weighs in on the debate: do narcorridos glorify and incite the violent and gruesome behaviors they depict?
First we meet Richi Soto, a soft-spoken crime scene investigator in Ciudad Juarez, one of the cities hardest hit by the war on drugs. Then we are introduced to Edgar Quintero a Los Angeles-raised Mexican-American who dreams of hitting it big singing the narcocorridos that he writes. The action switches back-and-forth between the U.S. and Mexico. Bloody, lifeless bodies pile up in the Juarez forensic lab where Richi works -- then the action cuts to a fancy recording studio. Back in Los Angeles, far away from the violence Edgar croons into a microphone, "With an Ak 47 but no bullet-proof vest, I cruised in my white truck, with my rifle I hit one." The purposeful juxtaposition leaves the audience with no choice, of course you compare the two. After watching a mother scream in agony, demanding an end to the drug violence that took her son's life -- to then see Edgar up on stage leading a large, dancing crowd in a chorus of, "We're bloodthirsty, crazy, and we like to kill" -- narcocorrido singers look absurd and even heartless.
It's no surprise that other film critics have reacted strongly to the film and its subjects. John Anderson in a review for Indiewire titled, "'Narco Cultura' Depicts a Mexican Culture that Glorifies Murder, Decapitation and Crime" goes on to say:
"It's hard to say what's more disturbing about Shaul Schwarz's excellent "Narco Cultura." Is it the dead children, wailing mothers and bloody water running through the gutters of Juarez? Or the roomful of clueless idiots at Hollywood's House of Blues, singing along to a Movimiento Alterado chestbeater ("we're bloodthirsty, crazy and we like to kill...") about cutting people's heads off?"
I take issue with this critic's reception of the film. The fans of narcocorridos are not rich, they are immigrants and workers. Most narcos are people who grew up struggling but sold drugs to make money (but yes, they are now loaded.) When it comes to communities of color or communities that are fighting to survive, the culture that comes out of these working-class communities -- usually music -- is almost always criticized and denigrated. The clearest example is the constant chatter about gangster rap and the effect its depiction of violence will have on its young, impressionable enthusiasts. Such is the crux of my problem with the film Narco Cultura or more precisely with the reaction it incites in audiences.
I do not disagree with the fact the narcocorrido genre glorifies violence but glorifying violence is not the same thing as advocating for or justifying violence. More importantly, a critique of the purveyors or consumers of narcocorridos misses the point. Instead of looking down at fans for enjoying these songs, the more important question is why are increasing numbers of Mexicans (both at home and abroad) drawn to narco culture? Despite being banned from Mexican radio, devotees find a way to get a hold of the music either by downloading or buying bootleg CDs. In the U.S., narcocorrido albums sell big at Walmart and music venues are easily filled to capacity.
About an hour into the documentary Sandra Rodriguez, a journalist at the Mexican newspaper El Diario, illuminates the phenomenon, "The kids want to look like narcos, what I think, is because they represent an idea of success and power and impunity..." These few sentences sum up what is missing from the film's discussion of narcocorridos and narco-related violence in Mexico. A narcocorrido fan's response to the music is an expression of disempowered people looking for an escape.
In the film, even Richi -- the real-life CSI cop who collects corpses on a daily basis -- is seen dancing to narcocorridos at a family party. Is he a "clueless idiot" or just a regular Joe enjoying a catchy song? In season 2 of Breaking Bad an episode featured a sample of "Negro y Azul", a narcocorrido by Los Cuates de Sinaloa. Is Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad (and co-writer of the lyrics for "Negro y Azul") a clueless idiot or is he just jumping on a cultural bandwagon?
Somehow it's ok when educated, sensible (read white/American) people listen to this music but the fear is that when lower class Mexicans listen they will seek to emulate it. A lot of the criticism launched at narco culture is couched in classism. Rather than discount the fans as stupid or ignorant let's discuss what got us here in the first place -- the ill-launched drug war and U.S. consumption of illegal drugs. It seems to me that the bureaucrats that created our failing drug policies are the clueless, heartless idiots.
For information on theaters and showtimes check the Narco Cultura website. The film is now showing in New York and Miami and starting Friday will play select theaters in, CA, Az, TX, Il, and Ok.
Written by Vanessa Erazo. LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.
- 12/4/2013
- by Vanessa Erazo
- Sydney's Buzz
It’s been an extremely rich year for doc film and while The Academy appear to have included some of the year’s most critically acclaimed items (mostly Sundance preemed) in Dirty Wars, The Act of Killing (Gotham award winner yesterday), Cutie and the Boxer (pictured above) and Stories We Tell (Nyfcc winner today) among their 15 short film list (semi-finalists are then lassoed into a category containing five), there are always a handful of titles that receive a cold shoulder and this year After Tiller, Let the Fire Burn and the too experimental, but nonetheless brilliant Leviathan were among those snubbed. Update: Jordan mentions that quality docs such as Caucus, American Promise, 12 O’Clock Boys and Narco Cultura are no shows that in some circles could have made the cut.
Here’s the list of fifteen.
The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
The Crash Reel
Cutie and the Boxer...
Here’s the list of fifteen.
The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
The Crash Reel
Cutie and the Boxer...
- 12/3/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
This is a tough awards season! Lots of great movies to see, so little time! I'm catching up like crazy before we vote for the Critics' Choice Movie Awards for the Broadcast Film Critics Association. So I apologize if I haven't updated you with the latest on the awards season 2013-2014! And there were many award-giving bodies announcing nominations.
We already told you about the Rome Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards, now let's talk about the 2013 Gotham Awards, the Ida Documentary Awards, the Cinema Eye, and the Producers Guild announcing its best documentary choices.
First stop, we have the 2013 Gotham Awards where Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" topped the nominations with three nods including best feature, best actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor and breakthrough actor for Lupita Nyong'o.
Winners will be announced on Dec. 2nd where Richard Linklater, Forest Whitaker, and Katherine Oliver (head of the NYC...
We already told you about the Rome Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards, now let's talk about the 2013 Gotham Awards, the Ida Documentary Awards, the Cinema Eye, and the Producers Guild announcing its best documentary choices.
First stop, we have the 2013 Gotham Awards where Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" topped the nominations with three nods including best feature, best actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor and breakthrough actor for Lupita Nyong'o.
Winners will be announced on Dec. 2nd where Richard Linklater, Forest Whitaker, and Katherine Oliver (head of the NYC...
- 12/2/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Christmas Candle, which was produced by the Christian-themed studio that Santorum heads, fails to fly
• News: Rick Santorum calls Hollywood 'the devil's playground'
The power of prayer has failed to save The Christmas Candle, the new release from Rick Santorum's faith based film studio, EchoLight.
The Christmas Candle, set in the fictional English village of Gladbury and billed as "a timeless holiday film for the entire family", attracted widespread critical scorn as well as dismal box-office results, having grossed just over $1.6m (£988,000) after two weeks on release.
The bad reviews were perhaps predictable, with the New York Daily News saying: "This odd Dickens-meets-Sunday-school movie is as artless as the setup is muddled", while the New York Post judged: "This throwback, made-for-tv-style film takes the easy way out in a cheesy climax, but its resolute quaintness may appeal to the kind of viewers who regard electricity as disturbingly newfangled.
• News: Rick Santorum calls Hollywood 'the devil's playground'
The power of prayer has failed to save The Christmas Candle, the new release from Rick Santorum's faith based film studio, EchoLight.
The Christmas Candle, set in the fictional English village of Gladbury and billed as "a timeless holiday film for the entire family", attracted widespread critical scorn as well as dismal box-office results, having grossed just over $1.6m (£988,000) after two weeks on release.
The bad reviews were perhaps predictable, with the New York Daily News saying: "This odd Dickens-meets-Sunday-school movie is as artless as the setup is muddled", while the New York Post judged: "This throwback, made-for-tv-style film takes the easy way out in a cheesy climax, but its resolute quaintness may appeal to the kind of viewers who regard electricity as disturbingly newfangled.
- 11/25/2013
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Narco Cultura’s director Shaul Schwarz and Edgar Quintero of the Mexican regional band featured in the film discuss why they decided to focus on the musical movement that glorifies Mexico’s drug war.
Veteran photojournalist Shaul Schwarz documents Mexico’s war on drugs through the music scene and the narcocorrido. The narcocorrido is nothing new, but more people and the younger generation are embracing the scene more so than ever with the escalating problem of Mexican cartel.
Veteran photojournalist Shaul Schwarz risked his life for years covering Mexico’s crimes in Juarez, but even more so while shooting Narco Cultura. Schwarz documents musicians of the narcocorridos through their performances across both sides of the borders and the music written specifically for the gangsters who want to be immortalized with their own theme song. Edgar Quintero
Read more...
Veteran photojournalist Shaul Schwarz documents Mexico’s war on drugs through the music scene and the narcocorrido. The narcocorrido is nothing new, but more people and the younger generation are embracing the scene more so than ever with the escalating problem of Mexican cartel.
Veteran photojournalist Shaul Schwarz risked his life for years covering Mexico’s crimes in Juarez, but even more so while shooting Narco Cultura. Schwarz documents musicians of the narcocorridos through their performances across both sides of the borders and the music written specifically for the gangsters who want to be immortalized with their own theme song. Edgar Quintero
Read more...
- 11/22/2013
- CineMovie
Shaul Schwarz comes from a different ilk of filmmaker than your standard shooter of vérité imagery and sit down interviews. He made his name shooting stills from the front lines of the Israel Lebanon War and the conflict in Gaza for publications like Newsweek and Time, but with his go-to equipment now sporting high end video capability, it only made sense for the battle embedded journalist to broach the documentary form. He’s since pieced together startling shorts on the rise of cremation in America with Ashes to Ashes, and the devastation in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti with Breach of Faith (both of which can be seen in full on Schwarz’s personal website).
His first feature, Narco Cultura, debuted in Park City earlier this year, where I sat in for the world premiere, but it wasn’t until several months later that I caught up with...
His first feature, Narco Cultura, debuted in Park City earlier this year, where I sat in for the world premiere, but it wasn’t until several months later that I caught up with...
- 11/22/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Don’t let the lack of theatrical output foul you. Adam Rapp is a man of many hats, alternating between novelist, playwright, television, guitarist, actor (Ryan Piers Williams’ X/Y) and the filmmaker of indie comedy (Tiff 2005 preemed) Winter Passing. Rapp shot his third film Why Now?! in upstate New York for peanuts in comparison to several other films mentioned on this list with this talent pool size (Sam Rockwell, Marisa Tomei, Aya Cash, Brian Geraghty) somewhere in late 2012/2013.
Gist: Written by Ivan Martin and Michael Godere, details on this one are buttoned, zipped, throw away the key mum.
Production Co./Producers: Parts and Labor’s Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen (Narco Cultura) , New Artists Alliance’s Gabriel Cowan and John Suits (Bad Milo), Unified Pictures’s Keith Kjarval (A Single Shot), Ivan Martin, Michael Godere, Tory Lenosky.
Prediction: Premieres category or a return to Tiff in the fall.
Gist: Written by Ivan Martin and Michael Godere, details on this one are buttoned, zipped, throw away the key mum.
Production Co./Producers: Parts and Labor’s Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen (Narco Cultura) , New Artists Alliance’s Gabriel Cowan and John Suits (Bad Milo), Unified Pictures’s Keith Kjarval (A Single Shot), Ivan Martin, Michael Godere, Tory Lenosky.
Prediction: Premieres category or a return to Tiff in the fall.
- 11/22/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Just looking at popular culture in the United States, there is no doubt that the glorification of violence continues to increase. Since most of our popular culture is exported to other countries, it should come as no surprise that there has been a ripple effect felt around the world. It seems impossible to surmise who is more responsible for this trend -- the suppliers or the demanders -- or what effect the violence has on the audience. These were topics that I actually set out to cover in my graduate school thesis, but I quickly determined that it would be impossible to tackle such an unruly beast in just one year. That was almost 20 years ago and -- though many have tried -- very little headway has been made in this discussion. As the supply and demand both continue to skyrocket out of control, it is pretty difficult to ignore...
- 11/22/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Something for everyone this weekend. While most moviegoers will flock to the new "Hunger Games" film, which looks to break box office records around the world, Oscar hopeful "Philomena" arrives in select cities after its festival sweep, and new Vince Vaughn vehicle "Delivery Man" gets a wide release. Doc lovers, head to "Narco Cultura" if not "Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?" Trailers after the jump. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is as terrific as everybody says it is. It took at least three great writers to massage Suzanne Collins' second novel in her bestselling "Hunger Games" trilogy into a taut, thrilling movie balanced between reluctant symbol Katniss Everdeen's pure mission to protect her family by surviving and her conflicted feelings for her two loving swains, Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Jennifer Lawrence carries this movie on her shoulders with nary a wrong move--athletic but feminine,...
- 11/21/2013
- by TOH!
- Thompson on Hollywood
It's all fun and games until your children are murdered in the street. A blood-boiling documentary, Narco Cultura explores the intersection of mass murder and pop culture in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where the murder toll skyrocketed tenfold from 2007 to 2010. The tremendous increase in homicides is laid at the feet of the Mexican government's declaration of war upon drug cartels in 2006, and the subsequent battle for territory instigated by the most powerful cartel in the country. It's a city where crime scene investigators are compelled to wear masks while carrying out their duties in public, for fear that the murderers will take revenge. It's a genuine, growing concern; in one police unit, three of Richi Soto's colleagues have already been gunned down, either...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 11/21/2013
- Screen Anarchy
New Release
Reaching for the Moon
Not Rated, 1 Hr., 58 Mins.
The real-life love story of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloría Pires) is gorgeously shot against the lush postcard backdrops of ’50s and ’60s South America —but its emotional landscape is a little more arid. If Blue Is the Warmest Color is the gloriously messy supernova of this year’s lesbian dramas, this is the J. Peterman catalog version: elegant, tasteful, and two-dimensional. B —Leah Greenblatt
New Release
Cold Turkey
Not Rated, 1 Hr., 24 Mins.
Dysfunctional-family Thanksgivings have been served up by...
Reaching for the Moon
Not Rated, 1 Hr., 58 Mins.
The real-life love story of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloría Pires) is gorgeously shot against the lush postcard backdrops of ’50s and ’60s South America —but its emotional landscape is a little more arid. If Blue Is the Warmest Color is the gloriously messy supernova of this year’s lesbian dramas, this is the J. Peterman catalog version: elegant, tasteful, and two-dimensional. B —Leah Greenblatt
New Release
Cold Turkey
Not Rated, 1 Hr., 24 Mins.
Dysfunctional-family Thanksgivings have been served up by...
- 11/20/2013
- by EW staff
- EW - Inside Movies
We worry ourselves sick about whether rap lyrics and Tarantino movies will turn our kids into axe murderers or desensitized zom-bots. The answer is probably yes, no, maybe, depends. But what if we flip the question on its head and ask how real-life violence worms its way into the pop canon in the first place? “Narco Cultura,” a properly dispiriting, mesmerizing documentary by Israeli-born photographer Shaul Schwartz, examines the influence of one of the world’s most vicious criminal groups — the Mexican drug cartels — on a mushrooming Latino musical subculture in the United States. Schwartz, an experienced photojournalist with a poetic.
- 11/19/2013
- by Ella Taylor
- The Wrap
The breadth of director Shaul Schwarz's documentary Narco Cultura is staggering.
A hybrid of hard investigative journalism and incisive cultural criticism, the film at its core is about definitions of success and power, and how today those terms are shaped by the shared forces of poverty and celebrity culture.
Schwarz and his crew dot back and forth across the United States and Mexico to show how Mexico's war on drugs (fueled by both artillery easily scored in the U.S., and our insatiable appetite for drugs) has all but decimated the once thriving city of Juárez, turning it into the murder capital of the world.
Graphic crime scene photos and videos illustrate the bloody reality, as everyone from ordinary citizens and beleaguered CSI workers (targets ...
A hybrid of hard investigative journalism and incisive cultural criticism, the film at its core is about definitions of success and power, and how today those terms are shaped by the shared forces of poverty and celebrity culture.
Schwarz and his crew dot back and forth across the United States and Mexico to show how Mexico's war on drugs (fueled by both artillery easily scored in the U.S., and our insatiable appetite for drugs) has all but decimated the once thriving city of Juárez, turning it into the murder capital of the world.
Graphic crime scene photos and videos illustrate the bloody reality, as everyone from ordinary citizens and beleaguered CSI workers (targets ...
- 11/19/2013
- Village Voice
It’s hard to say what’s more disturbing about Shaul Schwarz’s excellent “Narco Cultura.” Is it the dead children, wailing mothers and bloody water running through the gutters of Juarez? Or the roomful of clueless idiots at Hollywood’s House of Blues, singing along to a Movimento Alterado chestbeater (“we’re bloodthirsty, crazy and we like to kill…”) about cutting people’s heads off? Those would be Mexican heads, by the way, not the ones partying along Sunset Boulevard. A documentary about the U.S.-Mexican drug war – which has resulted in 60,000 people being murdered south of the border since 2006 – would be horrifying in any case. What Schwarz does in his film, which opens Friday, is take it all a step further, into a cultural swamp: He not only follows the near-hopeless battle against the meth-coke-and-pot cartels, but the musical culture that they’ve spawned, a genre that...
- 11/17/2013
- by John Anderson
- Thompson on Hollywood
One only has to look at the enduring popularity and influence of Brian De Palma's "Scarface" to see just how pervasive drug culture has become in the mainstream (and no surprise, there is a remake brewing). Only a few months ago, we saw millions tune in to see the fate of chemistry teacher turned meth overlord Walter White on "Breaking Bad," and across TV, movies, music, books and more, dealers and kingpins remain vital subject matter. But as always, the truth is stranger than fiction. The acclaimed documentary "Narco Cultura" finds filmmaker Shaul Schwarz exploring the rise of “narcocorridos,” songs by Mexican and Latin American musicians that popularize the murderous and dangerous dealers, portraying them as outlaws and heroes. Often commissioned by the gangsters themselves, these tunes have been popular on both sides of the border, and it's a world Schwarz knows well, having documented the violence in Juarez as a photographer.
- 11/11/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
As the biggest shopping season of the year approaches because of the holidays so does the movie season. Take a look at some of the high-profile films as well as the films eyeing the Oscar race in this Winter Movie Preview.
Heading into Thanksgiving, surprisingly there aren't many family-oriented fare with only Disney's Frozen and leftovers like the animated film Free Birds being the only holiday choices with dramas and award season being the focus of the movie releases. In the mix, a few comedies like Vince Vaughn in Delivery Man and The Best Man Holiday are the only two releases this month and the Anchorman sequel in December.
November 15 Charlie Countryman
The Best Man Holiday
Nebraska
Sunlight Jr.
November 22
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Narco Cultura
Delivery Man
Betty Page Reveals All
Philomena
November 27
Frozen
Homefront (Jason Statham, James
Read more...
Heading into Thanksgiving, surprisingly there aren't many family-oriented fare with only Disney's Frozen and leftovers like the animated film Free Birds being the only holiday choices with dramas and award season being the focus of the movie releases. In the mix, a few comedies like Vince Vaughn in Delivery Man and The Best Man Holiday are the only two releases this month and the Anchorman sequel in December.
November 15 Charlie Countryman
The Best Man Holiday
Nebraska
Sunlight Jr.
November 22
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Narco Cultura
Delivery Man
Betty Page Reveals All
Philomena
November 27
Frozen
Homefront (Jason Statham, James
Read more...
- 11/11/2013
- CineMovie
Narco Cultura Cinedigm Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on RottenTomatoes.com Grade: B+ Director: Shaul Schwarz Cast: Richi Soto, Edgar Quintero Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 11/6/13 Opens: November 22, 2013 in NY, national rollout to follow As we in the audience watch the frames unfold in director-cinematographer Shaul Schwarz’s “Narco Cultura,” some of us will see parallels with the vulgar lyrics embraced by some within the American hip-hop movement. Others may conjure scenes from docs and dramas about how the Nazi party in Germany had no problem getting millions of that country’s citizenry to raise their arms in salute and cheer wildly when listening to speeches of their [ Read More ]
The post Narco Cultura Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Narco Cultura Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 11/7/2013
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Joshua Oppenheimer and Sarah Polley’s respective docs have begun their year-end duke out for best docu of 2013. The International Documentary Association’s Ida Awards have announced the nominations for their Best Documentary Feature category and joining the pair we have the Sundance preemed Blackfish (Gabriela Cowperthwaite) and Jehane Noujaim’s The Square with Jason Osder’s Let the Fire Burn. Already selected award winners include Pablo’s Winter (cinematography by Julian Schwanitz) will be recognized with the award for Best Cinematography; Let the Fire Burn (edited by Nels Bangerter) will receive the Best Editing award; Narco Cultura (original music by Jeremy Turner) will be presented with the Best Music award; and How To Make Money Selling Drugs (written by Matthew Cooke) will receive the Best Writing award. The Ida Awards also honor docu in several other categories outside of theatrical released feature length films – head on over to see the complete list.
- 10/29/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave to open festival; director Peter Greenaway to receive Visionary Award.Scroll down for full line-up
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
- 10/22/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
After being cancelled last year, sadly, for lack of funding, the Latino International Film Festival (Laliff) returns stronger than ever to treat audiences to some of the best cinematic works, of all lengths and genres, created by Latino American filmmakers in their native countries or by Latino creators here in the U.S. This 16th edition of the festival will run from Thursday October 10th to Monday October 14th, and showcases a varied compilation of films from 14 Latin filmmaking countries.
"We are very excited and honored to have this record breaking number of Premieres presented at Laliff," said Marlene Dermer, Co-founder/Executive Director/Programmer of Laliff. "16 years and it keeps getting better because of the films." added co-founder Edward James Olmos.
This year's diverse selection of 62 works includes 28 features, 11 documentaries, and 23 shorts, which represent an eclectic mosaic of styles, subject matters, and experiences. The festival will close with the special presentation of the Mexican box-office smash hit Nosotros los Nobles, directed by Gary Alazraki, followed by an after party sponsored by Cine Latino. The list of films include the Guatemalan feature Polvo by Julio Hernandez or the Argentinian La Paz by Santiago Loza Directorial debuts like Water & Power by Richard Montoya, based off his acclaimed play by the same name, compelling documentaries like Narco Cultura and Gimme the Power, among many others.
For more information, single tickets, and festival passes click Here
This year's Laliff films are as follows (in alphabetical order):
Amor Cronico , Jorge Perugorria, 83 min
Country: Cuba
Premiere: West Coast
A Puerta FRÍA , Xavi Puebla, 80 min
Country: Spain
Premiere: USA
A Truth In Silence , Jonathan Salemi, 4:23 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Bordando La Frontera (Embroidering The Border) , Rene Rhi, 27 min
Country: Mexico/ USA
Captive Radio , Lauren Rosenfeld, 23 min
Country: USA/ Colombia
Premiere: Los Angeles
Carne De Perro (Dog's Flesh) , Fernando Guzzoni, 81min
Country: Chile
Premiere: Los Angeles
Catch , David Henrie, 10 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Cement Suitcase , Rick Castañeda, 94 min
Country: USA
Close Your Eyes , Sonia Malfa, 14:32 min
Country: USA
Con La Pata Quebrada (Barefoot In The Kitchen) , Diego Galán, 83 min
Country: Spain
Premiere: U.S.
Defectuosos (Defective) , Gabriela Martínez Garza & Jon Fernández López, 8 min
Country: Mexico
Dentro De Uno (Inside Oneself) , Salvador Aguirre, 8 min
Country: Mexico
Desert Road Kill , Michael Carreño, 16:57 min
Country: USA
Detained In The Desert , Iliana Sosa, 80 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Dragon Day , Jeffrey Travis, 95 min
Country:usa/Mexico
Premiere: World
Dreamer , Jesse Salmeron, 93 min
Country: USA
El Alcalde (The Mayor) , Emiliano Altuna, 80 min
Country: Mexico
Premiere: Los Angeles
El Cocodrillo , Steve Acevedo, 15 min
Country: USA
El Doctor , Heather de Michele, 11:24 min
Country: USA
El Jazz (Jazz) , Andrés Peralta, 10:30 min
Country: Mexico
Esther En Alguna Parte (Esther Somewhere) , Gerardo Chijona, 95 min
Country: Cuba
Premiere: World
Gimme The Power , Olallo Rubio, 101min
Country: Mexico
Greencard Warriors , Miriam Kruishoop, 91min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Homebound , Fanny Veliz, 105 min
Country: USA
¡Huelga! (Strike) , Skeets McGrew, 57:32 min
Country: USA
Interstate , Camille Stochitch, 19:56 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
JARDĺN De Amapolas (Field Of Amapolas) , Juan Carlos Melo Guevara, 86min
Country: Colombia
Premiere: World
Justice For My Sister , Kimberly Bautista, 69 min
Country: USA
Premiere: Los Angeles
Kill The Dictator (El Teniente Amado) , Félix Limardo, 90 min
Country: Dominican Republic
Premiere: West Coast
La Calle Estereo (The Stereo Street) , Santiago León Cuellar, 30min
Country: Colombia
La Paz , Santiago Loza, 73 min
Country: Argentina
Premiere: Los Angeles
La Piscina (The Swimming Pool) , Carlos Machado Quintela, 66 min
Country: Cuba
Premiere: Los Angeles
Las Tardes De Tintico (Tintico's Afternoons) , Alejandro García Caballero, 8:30 min
Country: Mexico
Llegar A Ti (To Reach You) , Alejandro Torres Rezzio, 8 min
Country: USA
Lo Azul Del Cielo , Juan Alfredo Uribe, 112min La
Country: Colombia
Premiere: Los Angeles
Maestra , Catherine Murphy, 33 min
Country: USA/ Cuba
Meu Pais (My Country) , André Ristum, 84min
Country: Brazil
Premiere: Los Angeles
Miradas MÚLTIPLES (La MÁQUINA Loca) / (Multiple Perspectives (The Crazy Machine) , Emilio Maillé, 90 min
Country: France/ Mexico
Muerte De Una Ama De Casa (Death Of A Housewife) , Marisé Samitier, 27 min
Country: Spain
Narco Cultura , Shaul Schwarz, 102 min
Country: USA
Premiere: West Coast
Ni Un Hombre MÁS (Iguana Stew) , Martin Salinas, 83 min
Country: Argentina
Premiere: West Coast
Nosotros Los Nobles (The Noble Family) , Gaz Alazraki, 95 min
Country: Mexico
Premiere: Los Angeles
O Afinador (The Tuner) , Fernando Camargo & Matheus Parizi, 15 min
Country: Brazil
Premiere: Los Angeles
Our Boys , Leonardo Ricagni, 88 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Pablo , Richard Goldgewicht, 93 min
Country: USA / Brazil
Premiere: Los Angeles
Phoenix , Stefano Capuzzi Lapietra, 13 min
Country: Brazil
Premiere: West Coast
Polvo (Dust) , Julio Hernández Cordón, 80 min
Country: Guatemala/Spain/Chile/Germany
Premiere: Los Angeles
Ponchao , Josh Crook, 85 min
Country: Dominican Republic
Premiere: World
POTOSÍ , Alfredo Castruita, 120min
Country: Mexico
Premiere: USA
Princesas Rojas (Red Princesses) , Laura Astorga Carrera, 100 min
Country: Costa Ria/ Venezuela/ Nicaragua
Premiere: Los Angeles
Rebel , Maria Agui Carter, 75 min
Country: USA
Premiere: Los Angeles
Sleeping With The Fishes , Nicole Gómez Fisher, 101 min
Country: USA
Stand & Deliver , Ramón Menéndez, 102 min Special Screening - 25Th Anniversary
Tanta Agua , Ana Guevara & Leticia Jorge, 102 min
Country: Urugua/ Mexico/ Netherlands/ Germany
Premiere: West Coast
Tierra De Sangre , James Katz, 106 min
Country: Chile
Premiere: North American
The Graduates (Los Graduados) , Bernardo Ruiz, 60 minYOUTH Program
Country: USA
The Price We Pay , Jesse Garcia, 7:24 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World Premiere
The Shooting Star Salesman , Kico Velarde, 20 min
Country: USA
Water & Power , Richard Montoya, 87 minOpera Prima
Country: USA
We Women Warriors (Tejiendo Sabiduria) , Nicole Karsin, 82 min
Country:usa/Colombia
Your Father's Daughter , Carlos Bernard, 15:20 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Zero Hour , Dan Carillo Levy, 7:20 min
Country: USA/Mexico...
"We are very excited and honored to have this record breaking number of Premieres presented at Laliff," said Marlene Dermer, Co-founder/Executive Director/Programmer of Laliff. "16 years and it keeps getting better because of the films." added co-founder Edward James Olmos.
This year's diverse selection of 62 works includes 28 features, 11 documentaries, and 23 shorts, which represent an eclectic mosaic of styles, subject matters, and experiences. The festival will close with the special presentation of the Mexican box-office smash hit Nosotros los Nobles, directed by Gary Alazraki, followed by an after party sponsored by Cine Latino. The list of films include the Guatemalan feature Polvo by Julio Hernandez or the Argentinian La Paz by Santiago Loza Directorial debuts like Water & Power by Richard Montoya, based off his acclaimed play by the same name, compelling documentaries like Narco Cultura and Gimme the Power, among many others.
For more information, single tickets, and festival passes click Here
This year's Laliff films are as follows (in alphabetical order):
Amor Cronico , Jorge Perugorria, 83 min
Country: Cuba
Premiere: West Coast
A Puerta FRÍA , Xavi Puebla, 80 min
Country: Spain
Premiere: USA
A Truth In Silence , Jonathan Salemi, 4:23 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Bordando La Frontera (Embroidering The Border) , Rene Rhi, 27 min
Country: Mexico/ USA
Captive Radio , Lauren Rosenfeld, 23 min
Country: USA/ Colombia
Premiere: Los Angeles
Carne De Perro (Dog's Flesh) , Fernando Guzzoni, 81min
Country: Chile
Premiere: Los Angeles
Catch , David Henrie, 10 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Cement Suitcase , Rick Castañeda, 94 min
Country: USA
Close Your Eyes , Sonia Malfa, 14:32 min
Country: USA
Con La Pata Quebrada (Barefoot In The Kitchen) , Diego Galán, 83 min
Country: Spain
Premiere: U.S.
Defectuosos (Defective) , Gabriela Martínez Garza & Jon Fernández López, 8 min
Country: Mexico
Dentro De Uno (Inside Oneself) , Salvador Aguirre, 8 min
Country: Mexico
Desert Road Kill , Michael Carreño, 16:57 min
Country: USA
Detained In The Desert , Iliana Sosa, 80 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Dragon Day , Jeffrey Travis, 95 min
Country:usa/Mexico
Premiere: World
Dreamer , Jesse Salmeron, 93 min
Country: USA
El Alcalde (The Mayor) , Emiliano Altuna, 80 min
Country: Mexico
Premiere: Los Angeles
El Cocodrillo , Steve Acevedo, 15 min
Country: USA
El Doctor , Heather de Michele, 11:24 min
Country: USA
El Jazz (Jazz) , Andrés Peralta, 10:30 min
Country: Mexico
Esther En Alguna Parte (Esther Somewhere) , Gerardo Chijona, 95 min
Country: Cuba
Premiere: World
Gimme The Power , Olallo Rubio, 101min
Country: Mexico
Greencard Warriors , Miriam Kruishoop, 91min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Homebound , Fanny Veliz, 105 min
Country: USA
¡Huelga! (Strike) , Skeets McGrew, 57:32 min
Country: USA
Interstate , Camille Stochitch, 19:56 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
JARDĺN De Amapolas (Field Of Amapolas) , Juan Carlos Melo Guevara, 86min
Country: Colombia
Premiere: World
Justice For My Sister , Kimberly Bautista, 69 min
Country: USA
Premiere: Los Angeles
Kill The Dictator (El Teniente Amado) , Félix Limardo, 90 min
Country: Dominican Republic
Premiere: West Coast
La Calle Estereo (The Stereo Street) , Santiago León Cuellar, 30min
Country: Colombia
La Paz , Santiago Loza, 73 min
Country: Argentina
Premiere: Los Angeles
La Piscina (The Swimming Pool) , Carlos Machado Quintela, 66 min
Country: Cuba
Premiere: Los Angeles
Las Tardes De Tintico (Tintico's Afternoons) , Alejandro García Caballero, 8:30 min
Country: Mexico
Llegar A Ti (To Reach You) , Alejandro Torres Rezzio, 8 min
Country: USA
Lo Azul Del Cielo , Juan Alfredo Uribe, 112min La
Country: Colombia
Premiere: Los Angeles
Maestra , Catherine Murphy, 33 min
Country: USA/ Cuba
Meu Pais (My Country) , André Ristum, 84min
Country: Brazil
Premiere: Los Angeles
Miradas MÚLTIPLES (La MÁQUINA Loca) / (Multiple Perspectives (The Crazy Machine) , Emilio Maillé, 90 min
Country: France/ Mexico
Muerte De Una Ama De Casa (Death Of A Housewife) , Marisé Samitier, 27 min
Country: Spain
Narco Cultura , Shaul Schwarz, 102 min
Country: USA
Premiere: West Coast
Ni Un Hombre MÁS (Iguana Stew) , Martin Salinas, 83 min
Country: Argentina
Premiere: West Coast
Nosotros Los Nobles (The Noble Family) , Gaz Alazraki, 95 min
Country: Mexico
Premiere: Los Angeles
O Afinador (The Tuner) , Fernando Camargo & Matheus Parizi, 15 min
Country: Brazil
Premiere: Los Angeles
Our Boys , Leonardo Ricagni, 88 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Pablo , Richard Goldgewicht, 93 min
Country: USA / Brazil
Premiere: Los Angeles
Phoenix , Stefano Capuzzi Lapietra, 13 min
Country: Brazil
Premiere: West Coast
Polvo (Dust) , Julio Hernández Cordón, 80 min
Country: Guatemala/Spain/Chile/Germany
Premiere: Los Angeles
Ponchao , Josh Crook, 85 min
Country: Dominican Republic
Premiere: World
POTOSÍ , Alfredo Castruita, 120min
Country: Mexico
Premiere: USA
Princesas Rojas (Red Princesses) , Laura Astorga Carrera, 100 min
Country: Costa Ria/ Venezuela/ Nicaragua
Premiere: Los Angeles
Rebel , Maria Agui Carter, 75 min
Country: USA
Premiere: Los Angeles
Sleeping With The Fishes , Nicole Gómez Fisher, 101 min
Country: USA
Stand & Deliver , Ramón Menéndez, 102 min Special Screening - 25Th Anniversary
Tanta Agua , Ana Guevara & Leticia Jorge, 102 min
Country: Urugua/ Mexico/ Netherlands/ Germany
Premiere: West Coast
Tierra De Sangre , James Katz, 106 min
Country: Chile
Premiere: North American
The Graduates (Los Graduados) , Bernardo Ruiz, 60 minYOUTH Program
Country: USA
The Price We Pay , Jesse Garcia, 7:24 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World Premiere
The Shooting Star Salesman , Kico Velarde, 20 min
Country: USA
Water & Power , Richard Montoya, 87 minOpera Prima
Country: USA
We Women Warriors (Tejiendo Sabiduria) , Nicole Karsin, 82 min
Country:usa/Colombia
Your Father's Daughter , Carlos Bernard, 15:20 min
Country: USA
Premiere: World
Zero Hour , Dan Carillo Levy, 7:20 min
Country: USA/Mexico...
- 10/10/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
It's all fun and games until your children are murdered in the street. A blood-boiling documentary, Narco Cultura explores the intersection of mass murder and pop culture in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where the murder toll skyrocketed tenfold from 2007 to 2010. The tremendous increase in homicides is laid at the feet of the Mexican government's declaration of war upon drug cartels in 2006, and the subsequent battle for territory instigated by the most powerful cartel in the country. It's a city where crime scene investigators are compelled to wear masks while carrying out their duties in public, for fear that the murderers will take revenge. It's a genuine, growing concern; in one police unit, three of Richi Soto's colleagues have already been gunned down, either...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 9/28/2013
- Screen Anarchy
A few days ago, I’d never been to an Alamo Drafthouse location, whereas I’ve now spent hours upon hours inside of one. I was in comically close proximity to roughly 2,000 people over the last week, the same 2,000 people. I had to not get even remotely awestruck when I walked into the men’s bathroom at the Lakeline Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, and Elijah Wood walked by me to exit. Or Doug Benson. Or Pat Healy. Or Harry Knowles. They’re all real! I can prove it, even if I didn’t speak to any of them.
Yes, Fantastic Fest 2013 is now in the history books. (Well, after tonight, at least, with the closing night selection The Zero Theorem, from director Terry Gilliam. But like the rest of you, I’ll have to wait to watch it at a later date.) From last Thursday to Monday, I watched 26 films at Fantastic Fest.
Yes, Fantastic Fest 2013 is now in the history books. (Well, after tonight, at least, with the closing night selection The Zero Theorem, from director Terry Gilliam. But like the rest of you, I’ll have to wait to watch it at a later date.) From last Thursday to Monday, I watched 26 films at Fantastic Fest.
- 9/26/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
I’ve returned from Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, but the festival keeps on running until the end of the day tomorrow, September 26. And, like any self-respecting festival, there have been awards announced for various films and the people involved in their creation. The only award I can say I had even a slight hand in was the Audience Award–ballots were handed out after each public screening over the first four days of the festival. Sadly, though, I can’t even say that my votes mattered, as the Audience Award winner was a film I sadly didn’t get a chance to see. It’s Jodorowsky’s Dune, a documentary about a film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novel directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Of course, as we all know, that version never came to fruition, as the actual film was directed by David Lynch. But the story...
- 9/25/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
Today's ratings bulletin includes a bit of a surprise by including Bullhead director, Michael R. Roskam's follow-up, Animal Rescue, a new crime-drama featuring an impressive cast including Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace and Matthias Schoenaerts. No surprise it's rated R and I've heard some buzz about a particular scene Gandolfini has in the film opposite Hardy that may be worth the price of admission alone. Additionally is a PG-rating for Kasi Lemmons' Black Nativity and a strong R rating for Kimberly Peirce's remake of Carrie starring Chloe Moretz and Julianne Moore. Also looking down the list I see Takeshi Kitano's sequel Beyond Outrage, which, considering the lackluster original, doesn't seem all that necessary, but Magnolia is going to give it to us and then I thought the PG-rating for Christmas for A Dollar was pretty funny considering it's for "some mean behavior", whatever that means. The complete bulletin is listed below.
- 9/24/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Frank Pavich’s Jodorowsky’s Dune won the Fantastic Fest audience award and claimed best picture prize in the Documentary Features section.Scroll down for full list of winners
Ari Folman’s The Congress was named best picture and that film’s Robin Wright won the best actress prize in the Fantastic Features strand.
Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s Afflicted dominated the Horror Features section, winning best picture, screenplay and directors.
In the Next Wave Spotlight competition, Matt Johnson’s The Dirties was named best picture, while Sion Sono’s Why Don’t You Play In Hell? prevailed in the Gutbuster Comedy Features’ best picture contest.
In Fantastic Fest’s inaugural genre co-production market, Fantastic Market | Mercado Fantastic, Cuban filmmaker Alejandro BruguésThe Wrong Place won Gold Prize.
The Wrong Placebeat 15 other submissions at the market, which ran from September 19-21, and will receive a production support package comprising products and services provided by Panavision, Chemistry, Assimilate...
Ari Folman’s The Congress was named best picture and that film’s Robin Wright won the best actress prize in the Fantastic Features strand.
Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s Afflicted dominated the Horror Features section, winning best picture, screenplay and directors.
In the Next Wave Spotlight competition, Matt Johnson’s The Dirties was named best picture, while Sion Sono’s Why Don’t You Play In Hell? prevailed in the Gutbuster Comedy Features’ best picture contest.
In Fantastic Fest’s inaugural genre co-production market, Fantastic Market | Mercado Fantastic, Cuban filmmaker Alejandro BruguésThe Wrong Place won Gold Prize.
The Wrong Placebeat 15 other submissions at the market, which ran from September 19-21, and will receive a production support package comprising products and services provided by Panavision, Chemistry, Assimilate...
- 9/23/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
There’s no lack of films and TV shows focusing on Mexican-American relationships mediated by the border, their focus most commonly on the never-ending drug wars. On TV, The Bridge and Breaking Bad criss-cross between the two countries, mapping out mayhem and violence, as do recent documentaries like 2010’s El Sicario, Room 164, 2011’s El Velador and this year’s Narco Cultura. 2013 “25 New Face” Rodrigo Reyes’ Purgatorio is a different kind of border movie, beginning with footage of rural Mexico as the director urges us, in voiceover, to “try to imagine what the world was like, many, many years ago. Try to […]...
- 9/6/2013
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
There’s no lack of films and TV shows focusing on Mexican-American relationships mediated by the border, their focus most commonly on the never-ending drug wars. On TV, The Bridge and Breaking Bad criss-cross between the two countries, mapping out mayhem and violence, as do recent documentaries like 2010’s El Sicario, Room 164, 2011’s El Velador and this year’s Narco Cultura. 2013 “25 New Face” Rodrigo Reyes’ Purgatorio is a different kind of border movie, beginning with footage of rural Mexico as the director urges us, in voiceover, to “try to imagine what the world was like, many, many years ago. Try to […]...
- 9/6/2013
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Scordino to oversee distribution and acquisitions at La-based distributor.
Cinedigm has promoted Vincent Scordino to svp of theatrical releasing. Previously, Scordino was Cinedigm’s vp of theatrical acquisitions.
In the newly created position, Scordino will head up the company’s theatrical releasing business, overseeing distribution and acquisitions. He will continue to focus on acquiring content and establishing distribution partnerships.
Cinedigm is currently releasing Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, which is expanding nationwide after launching in New York and Los Angeles on Aug 23. Other current and upcoming releases include Penny Lane’s Our Nixon, Jill Soloway’s Afternoon Delight, Godfrey Reggio’s Visitors and Shaul Schwarz’s Narco Cultura.
“Vincent has been a major asset to Cinedigm over the past year as we launched our theatrical releasing business. Not only is he a top independent film executive with great taste, he’s also highly collaborative and strategic,” said Susan Margolin, co-president of [link...
Cinedigm has promoted Vincent Scordino to svp of theatrical releasing. Previously, Scordino was Cinedigm’s vp of theatrical acquisitions.
In the newly created position, Scordino will head up the company’s theatrical releasing business, overseeing distribution and acquisitions. He will continue to focus on acquiring content and establishing distribution partnerships.
Cinedigm is currently releasing Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, which is expanding nationwide after launching in New York and Los Angeles on Aug 23. Other current and upcoming releases include Penny Lane’s Our Nixon, Jill Soloway’s Afternoon Delight, Godfrey Reggio’s Visitors and Shaul Schwarz’s Narco Cultura.
“Vincent has been a major asset to Cinedigm over the past year as we launched our theatrical releasing business. Not only is he a top independent film executive with great taste, he’s also highly collaborative and strategic,” said Susan Margolin, co-president of [link...
- 9/4/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
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