The red carpet rolled out last night for the Opening Night of the Colombian Film Festival, running at the Tribeca Cinemas till March 30th. In an effort to boost film production in Colombia, major tax-breaks (around 40%) are being offered to filmmakers who agree to hire production crew and rentals in the country itself and it's paying off. The fest is presenting feature films, documentaries, and two shorts programs (one for Free at Instituto Cervantes). Call me biased but every trailer below gave me chills, made me think and was a feast for my eyes. There are indigenous tribes, estranged fathers, vallenato music and My Mother's Tits. We're just as excited as you are! Check out our picks below.
Looking For
Director: Andrea Said
Documentary
Friday, March 28 at 4:00 Pm Buy Tickets
Saturday, March 29 at 5:00 Pm Buy Tickets
Andrea Said was born in London but lived her entire life in Colombia. Born to a Colombian mother, Leonor Camargo and Shahid Said from Pakistan, Andrea’s journey takes her to across the pond for the first time determined to find the father she never knew. If the intersection of cultures isn’t interesting enough, the music, montages of old family photos, and Andrea Said’s honest narration will undoubtedly move you.
Mateo
Director: Maria Gamboa
Cast: Carlos Hernandez, Felipe Botero, Samuel Lazcano, Miriam "Pesca" Gutierrez
Wednesday, March 26 at 8:20 Pm Buy Tickets
Sunday, March 30 at 9:10 Pm Buy Tickets
Mateo supports his mother by collecting dirty money from his uncle. Living alongside Magdalena River, one of the poorest and most violent neighborhoods in the region, Mateo begins to infiltrate a local theatre group who may or may not have political ulterior motives. Once inside, Mateo becomes fascinated by the free flowing, artistic lifestyle of the actors and is torn between family and his freedom.
Chasing Fireflies (Cazando Luciernagas)
Director: Roberto Flores Prieto
Cast: Marlon Moreno, Estefania Munoz
Thursday, March 27 at 8:10 Pm Buy Tickets
Sunday, March 30 at 7:30 Pm Buy Tickets
Played by Colombian playboy and screen star, Marlon Moreno, Manrique lives a solitary life working in an abandoned salt mine; his only companion is a dog that goes after fireflies all night. Manrique is disconnected from a world he claims to care nothing about until the appearance of his long lost teenage daughter (whoa!), changes his perceptions. With a beautiful score and top notch cinematography Chasing Fireflies is a beautiful story of love, family and the small things in life.
My Mother's Tits (Las tetas de mi madre)
Director: Carlos Zapata
Cast: Santiago Heins, Billy Heins, Paula Correa, Alejandro Aguilar
Sunday, March 30 at 6:55 Pm Buy Tickets
I'm not gonna lie, this trailer kind of disturbed me. Martin, a 10 year old pizza delivery boy, goes on a run one night to a whorehouse. Stumbling on a peephole, Martin sees a woman do a striptease. Once the veil is lifted Martin's perception of his mother changes. Las tetas de mi madre explores loss of innocence and the relationships between a single mother and her son, with the added backdrop of dynamic barrio-realness.
The Eternal Night of Twelve Moons (La Eterna Noche de Las Doce Lunas)
Director: Priscilla Padilla
Friday, March 28 at 6:50 Pm Buy Tickets
Sunday, March 30 at 1:00 Pm Buy Tickets
Indigenous tribes make up about 20% of Colombia’s current population and the Wayuu tribe is one still thriving in Northern Colombia and Northwest Venezuela. In this community, tradition says that once a woman has her first menstruation, she is to be isolated from all men for 12 moon cycles. During that time, we see our protagonist Filia learning to weave (the Wayuu are famous for their mochilas which can now be seen in Upper West Side store-fronts, no joke) cook, and gain other skills for her future.
The Accordion's Voyage (El Viaje del Acordéon)
Directors: Rey Sagbini & Andrew Tucker
Documentary
Thursday, March 27 at 4:00 Pm Buy Tickets
Saturday, March 29 at 3:00Pm Buy Tickets
Legend has it, the accordion was first sent from Germany to Buenos Aires, but got lost along the way. Fast forward to present day and virtuoso Manuel Vega and his group have been trying for years to win the world's most important vallenato music festival, Le Leyenda del Vallenato in Valledupar. Instead, Manuel gets an invitation to perform with the Hohner Accordion Orchestra in Germany. Go figure! This documentary takes us back to the origins of an instrument that is ingrained in Colombian history and culture.
This post originally appeared on Remezcla.com...
Looking For
Director: Andrea Said
Documentary
Friday, March 28 at 4:00 Pm Buy Tickets
Saturday, March 29 at 5:00 Pm Buy Tickets
Andrea Said was born in London but lived her entire life in Colombia. Born to a Colombian mother, Leonor Camargo and Shahid Said from Pakistan, Andrea’s journey takes her to across the pond for the first time determined to find the father she never knew. If the intersection of cultures isn’t interesting enough, the music, montages of old family photos, and Andrea Said’s honest narration will undoubtedly move you.
Mateo
Director: Maria Gamboa
Cast: Carlos Hernandez, Felipe Botero, Samuel Lazcano, Miriam "Pesca" Gutierrez
Wednesday, March 26 at 8:20 Pm Buy Tickets
Sunday, March 30 at 9:10 Pm Buy Tickets
Mateo supports his mother by collecting dirty money from his uncle. Living alongside Magdalena River, one of the poorest and most violent neighborhoods in the region, Mateo begins to infiltrate a local theatre group who may or may not have political ulterior motives. Once inside, Mateo becomes fascinated by the free flowing, artistic lifestyle of the actors and is torn between family and his freedom.
Chasing Fireflies (Cazando Luciernagas)
Director: Roberto Flores Prieto
Cast: Marlon Moreno, Estefania Munoz
Thursday, March 27 at 8:10 Pm Buy Tickets
Sunday, March 30 at 7:30 Pm Buy Tickets
Played by Colombian playboy and screen star, Marlon Moreno, Manrique lives a solitary life working in an abandoned salt mine; his only companion is a dog that goes after fireflies all night. Manrique is disconnected from a world he claims to care nothing about until the appearance of his long lost teenage daughter (whoa!), changes his perceptions. With a beautiful score and top notch cinematography Chasing Fireflies is a beautiful story of love, family and the small things in life.
My Mother's Tits (Las tetas de mi madre)
Director: Carlos Zapata
Cast: Santiago Heins, Billy Heins, Paula Correa, Alejandro Aguilar
Sunday, March 30 at 6:55 Pm Buy Tickets
I'm not gonna lie, this trailer kind of disturbed me. Martin, a 10 year old pizza delivery boy, goes on a run one night to a whorehouse. Stumbling on a peephole, Martin sees a woman do a striptease. Once the veil is lifted Martin's perception of his mother changes. Las tetas de mi madre explores loss of innocence and the relationships between a single mother and her son, with the added backdrop of dynamic barrio-realness.
The Eternal Night of Twelve Moons (La Eterna Noche de Las Doce Lunas)
Director: Priscilla Padilla
Friday, March 28 at 6:50 Pm Buy Tickets
Sunday, March 30 at 1:00 Pm Buy Tickets
Indigenous tribes make up about 20% of Colombia’s current population and the Wayuu tribe is one still thriving in Northern Colombia and Northwest Venezuela. In this community, tradition says that once a woman has her first menstruation, she is to be isolated from all men for 12 moon cycles. During that time, we see our protagonist Filia learning to weave (the Wayuu are famous for their mochilas which can now be seen in Upper West Side store-fronts, no joke) cook, and gain other skills for her future.
The Accordion's Voyage (El Viaje del Acordéon)
Directors: Rey Sagbini & Andrew Tucker
Documentary
Thursday, March 27 at 4:00 Pm Buy Tickets
Saturday, March 29 at 3:00Pm Buy Tickets
Legend has it, the accordion was first sent from Germany to Buenos Aires, but got lost along the way. Fast forward to present day and virtuoso Manuel Vega and his group have been trying for years to win the world's most important vallenato music festival, Le Leyenda del Vallenato in Valledupar. Instead, Manuel gets an invitation to perform with the Hohner Accordion Orchestra in Germany. Go figure! This documentary takes us back to the origins of an instrument that is ingrained in Colombian history and culture.
This post originally appeared on Remezcla.com...
- 3/26/2014
- by Stefa Alarcon
- Sydney's Buzz
As the leading presenter of Latin American Cinema in the U.S. Cinema Tropical advocates for the Latino filmmaking community and honors their achievements. Cinema Tropical Awards now in its fourth edition have announced this year's nominees
The winners of the 4th Annual Cinema Tropical Awards will be announced at a special event at The New York Times Company headquarters in New York City in late January, 2014.
The nominees for this year’s Cinema Tropical Awards were selected by a nine-member jury panel from a list of Latin American and U.S. Latino feature films of a minimum of 60 minutes in length that were premiered between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 (January 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013, for U.S. Latino productions). The list was culled by a nominating committee composed of 17 film professionals from Latin America, the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
The Cinema Tropical Awards are presented in partnership with Voces, Latino Heritage Network of The New York Times Company. Media Sponsors: LatAm Cinema and Remezcla. Special thanks to Mario Díaz, Andrea Betanzos, and Tatiana García.
Best Feature Film
- Gloria (Sebastián Lelio, Chile/Spain, 2013)
- No (Pablo Larraín, Chile/USA/France/Mexico, 2012)
- Post Tenebras Lux (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico/France/Germany/Netherlands, 2012)
- Tanta Agua | So Much Water (Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Uruguay/Germany/Mexico, 2013)
- VIolA (Matías Piñeiro, Argentina, 2012)
Best Director, Feature Film
- Sebastián Silva, Crystal Fairy (Chile, 2013)
- Pablo Larraín, No (Chile/USA/France/Mexico, 2012)
- Carlos Reygadas, Post Tenebras Lux (Mexico/ France/ Germany/ Netherlands, 2012)
-Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Tanta Agua | So Much Water
(Uruguay/ Germany/ Mexico, 2013)
- Matías Piñeiro, Viola (Argentina, 2012)
Best Documentary Film
- El Alcalde | The Mayor (Emiliano Altuna, Carlos F. Rossini, Diego Osorno, Mexico, 2012)
- La Chica Del Sur | The Girl from the South (José Luis García, Argentina, 2012)
- La Gente Del RÍO | The River People (Martín Benchimol and Pablo Aparo, Argentina, 2012)
- El Huaso (Carlo Guillermo Proto, Chile/Canada, 2012)
- El Otro DÍA | The Other Day (Ignacio Agüero, Chile, 2012)
Best Director, Documentary Film
- José Luis García, La Chica Del Sur | The Girl from the South (Argentina, 2012)
- Priscilla Padilla, La Eterna Noche De Las Doce Lunas | The Eternal Night of the Twelve Moons (Colombia, 2013)
- Martín Benchimol, Pablo Aparo, La Gente Del RÍO | The River People (Argentina, 2012)
- Mercedes Moncada, Palabras MÁGICAS (Para Romper Un Encantamiento) | Magic Words (Breaking a Spell) (Mexico/Guatemala, 2012)
- Ignacio Agüero, El Otro DÍA | The Other Day (Chile, 2012)
Best First Film
- Carne De Perro | Dog Flesh (Fernando Guzzoni, Chile/France/Germany, 2012)
- El Limpiador | The Cleaner (Adrián Saba, Peru, 2012)
- Melaza | Molasses (Carlos Díaz Lechuga, Cuba/France/Panama, 2012)
- Tanta Agua | So Much Water (Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Uruguay/Germany/Mexico, 2013)
- Los Salvajes | The Wild Ones (Alejandro Fadel, Argentina, 2012)
Best U.S. Latino Film
- American Promise (Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, USA, 2013)
- Filly Brown (Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos, USA, 2012)
- Mosquita Y Mari (Aurora Guerrero, USA, 2012)
- Reportero (Bernardo Ruiz, USA, 2012)
- Wonder Women! The Untold Story Of American Superheroines (Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, USA, 2012)
2013 Jury:
Chris Allen, founder and director, UnionDocs; Melissa Anderson, film critic, Artforum; Beth Janson, executive director, Tribeca Film Institute; Daniel Loría, overseas editor, BoxOffice; Mike Maggiore, programmer, Film Forum; Paco de Onís, filmmaker; Anita Reher, executive director, Robert Flaherty Film Seminar; Julia Solomonoff, filmmaker; Maria-Christina Villaseñor, film curator and writer.
2013 Nominating Committee:
Cecilia Barrionuevo, programmer, Mar del Plata Film Festival, Argentina; Raúl Camargo, programmer, Valdivia Film Festival, Chile; John Campos Gómez, director, Transcinema Film Festival, Peru; Inti Cordera, director, DocsDF Film Festival, Mexico; Christine Davila, programmer, Sundance, Los Angeles Film Festival, Ambulante USA; Eugenio del Bosque, director, Cine Las Américas, USA; Raciel del Toro, Cinergia, Costa Rica; Vanessa Erazo, film programmer and journalist, indieWIRE/LatinoBuzz, Remezcla, USA; Lisa Franek, programmer, San Diego Latino Film Festival, USA; Robert A. Gomez, film journalist, Cinemathon, Venezuela; Jaie Laplante, director, Miami Film Festival, USA; Agustín Mango, film journalist, Hollywood Reporter, Argentina; Jim Mendiola, programmer, CineFestival, San Antonio, USA; Luis Ortiz, director, Latino Public Broadcasting, USA; Rafael Sampaio, programmer, Sao Paulo Latin American Film Festival, Brazil; Eva Sangiorgi, programmer, Ficunam, Mexico; Gerwin Tamsma, programmer, Rotterdam Film Festival, Netherlands.
The winners of the 4th Annual Cinema Tropical Awards will be announced at a special event at The New York Times Company headquarters in New York City in late January, 2014.
The nominees for this year’s Cinema Tropical Awards were selected by a nine-member jury panel from a list of Latin American and U.S. Latino feature films of a minimum of 60 minutes in length that were premiered between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 (January 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013, for U.S. Latino productions). The list was culled by a nominating committee composed of 17 film professionals from Latin America, the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
The Cinema Tropical Awards are presented in partnership with Voces, Latino Heritage Network of The New York Times Company. Media Sponsors: LatAm Cinema and Remezcla. Special thanks to Mario Díaz, Andrea Betanzos, and Tatiana García.
Best Feature Film
- Gloria (Sebastián Lelio, Chile/Spain, 2013)
- No (Pablo Larraín, Chile/USA/France/Mexico, 2012)
- Post Tenebras Lux (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico/France/Germany/Netherlands, 2012)
- Tanta Agua | So Much Water (Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Uruguay/Germany/Mexico, 2013)
- VIolA (Matías Piñeiro, Argentina, 2012)
Best Director, Feature Film
- Sebastián Silva, Crystal Fairy (Chile, 2013)
- Pablo Larraín, No (Chile/USA/France/Mexico, 2012)
- Carlos Reygadas, Post Tenebras Lux (Mexico/ France/ Germany/ Netherlands, 2012)
-Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Tanta Agua | So Much Water
(Uruguay/ Germany/ Mexico, 2013)
- Matías Piñeiro, Viola (Argentina, 2012)
Best Documentary Film
- El Alcalde | The Mayor (Emiliano Altuna, Carlos F. Rossini, Diego Osorno, Mexico, 2012)
- La Chica Del Sur | The Girl from the South (José Luis García, Argentina, 2012)
- La Gente Del RÍO | The River People (Martín Benchimol and Pablo Aparo, Argentina, 2012)
- El Huaso (Carlo Guillermo Proto, Chile/Canada, 2012)
- El Otro DÍA | The Other Day (Ignacio Agüero, Chile, 2012)
Best Director, Documentary Film
- José Luis García, La Chica Del Sur | The Girl from the South (Argentina, 2012)
- Priscilla Padilla, La Eterna Noche De Las Doce Lunas | The Eternal Night of the Twelve Moons (Colombia, 2013)
- Martín Benchimol, Pablo Aparo, La Gente Del RÍO | The River People (Argentina, 2012)
- Mercedes Moncada, Palabras MÁGICAS (Para Romper Un Encantamiento) | Magic Words (Breaking a Spell) (Mexico/Guatemala, 2012)
- Ignacio Agüero, El Otro DÍA | The Other Day (Chile, 2012)
Best First Film
- Carne De Perro | Dog Flesh (Fernando Guzzoni, Chile/France/Germany, 2012)
- El Limpiador | The Cleaner (Adrián Saba, Peru, 2012)
- Melaza | Molasses (Carlos Díaz Lechuga, Cuba/France/Panama, 2012)
- Tanta Agua | So Much Water (Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Uruguay/Germany/Mexico, 2013)
- Los Salvajes | The Wild Ones (Alejandro Fadel, Argentina, 2012)
Best U.S. Latino Film
- American Promise (Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, USA, 2013)
- Filly Brown (Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos, USA, 2012)
- Mosquita Y Mari (Aurora Guerrero, USA, 2012)
- Reportero (Bernardo Ruiz, USA, 2012)
- Wonder Women! The Untold Story Of American Superheroines (Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, USA, 2012)
2013 Jury:
Chris Allen, founder and director, UnionDocs; Melissa Anderson, film critic, Artforum; Beth Janson, executive director, Tribeca Film Institute; Daniel Loría, overseas editor, BoxOffice; Mike Maggiore, programmer, Film Forum; Paco de Onís, filmmaker; Anita Reher, executive director, Robert Flaherty Film Seminar; Julia Solomonoff, filmmaker; Maria-Christina Villaseñor, film curator and writer.
2013 Nominating Committee:
Cecilia Barrionuevo, programmer, Mar del Plata Film Festival, Argentina; Raúl Camargo, programmer, Valdivia Film Festival, Chile; John Campos Gómez, director, Transcinema Film Festival, Peru; Inti Cordera, director, DocsDF Film Festival, Mexico; Christine Davila, programmer, Sundance, Los Angeles Film Festival, Ambulante USA; Eugenio del Bosque, director, Cine Las Américas, USA; Raciel del Toro, Cinergia, Costa Rica; Vanessa Erazo, film programmer and journalist, indieWIRE/LatinoBuzz, Remezcla, USA; Lisa Franek, programmer, San Diego Latino Film Festival, USA; Robert A. Gomez, film journalist, Cinemathon, Venezuela; Jaie Laplante, director, Miami Film Festival, USA; Agustín Mango, film journalist, Hollywood Reporter, Argentina; Jim Mendiola, programmer, CineFestival, San Antonio, USA; Luis Ortiz, director, Latino Public Broadcasting, USA; Rafael Sampaio, programmer, Sao Paulo Latin American Film Festival, Brazil; Eva Sangiorgi, programmer, Ficunam, Mexico; Gerwin Tamsma, programmer, Rotterdam Film Festival, Netherlands.
- 1/8/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Now that a new year is upon us let's reflect back on 2013. Something like a year in Latino film. Latin American filmmakers continued to kill it on the international film festival circuit. Chile, in particular, has been conquering the world one film festival award at a time.
Sadly, American Latino filmmakers were mostly absent from big name festivals like Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, and Cannes. Normally, the major Latino film festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Diego offer a home to these overlooked films. The surprising collapse of the New York International Latino Film Festival this past summer and with the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival barely recovering from financial difficulties, the exhibition of American Latino indies remains in a precarious position.
Still, there is much to celebrate. Starting in the early part of the year, at Sundance, Chilean director Sebastian Silva joined a very elite club of filmmakers -- those who have premiered two films at the same festival. His mescaline-fueled odyssey Crystal Fairy won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award and the psychological thriller Magic, Magic starring Michael Cera went on to play Director's Fortnight in Cannes.
The Berlinale, in February, brought the much anticipated world premiere of Sebastian Lelio's fourth film Gloria and the charming Uruguayan family comedy Tanta Agua. Cementing 2013 as the year of Chile, actress Paulina Garcia won the Silver Bear for her dazzling and dynamic performance as a middle-aged divorcee in Gloria.
Mid-year, Mexican filmmakers took Cannes by storm again, winning the Best Director prize for the second year in a row. In 2013, the victor was Amat Escalante for his feature film Heli. The year prior Carlos Reygadas took home the prize for Post Tenebras Lux.
In the fall, Toronto spoiled us with Latin American riches. The gargantuan fest showcased more than 300 films from 70 different countries including the Mexican documentary El Alcalde, Venezuela's Pelo Malo (Bad Hair), Peruvian black comedy El Mudo (The Mute), the Brazilian drama O lobo atras da porta (A Wolf at the Door), and the world premiere of Fernando Eimbcke's Club Sandwich. Costa Rica made a first-time appearance at the Toronto Film Festival with Por las plumas (All About the Feathers) and the Dominican Republic showcased Cristo Rey.
Over Labor Day weekend, Eugenio Derbez, a Mexican actor most Americans had never heard of released his sleeper hit Instructions Not Included. Totally ignored by mainstream film critics, the Spanish-language family comedy went on to shatter box office records. It beat out Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine and critical darling 12 Years a Slave making it the top grossing indie film of the year. It also became the highest grossing Spanish-language film ever in the United States. A few weeks later, when Instructions opened in Derbez's home country, it became the most-watched Mexican film of all time.
Despite being snubbed by the Academy Awards (no Latin American productions made the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film), Latino films ended the year on a high note. The triumph of our films abroad coupled with a Spanish-language box office hit at home bodes well for the Latino films of 2014.
In case you were living under a rock this past year and missed it all, we've got you covered. Thankfully, there are professionals who get paid to keep track of what Latino movies are receiving accolades, have the most buzz, and got picked up for distribution. LatinoBuzz went straight to the experts, film programmers, to ask, "What are your top 5 Latino films of 2013?"
Christine Davila, Director of Ambulante California
There is no shortage of original and compelling Us Latino writer/directors working across different genres out there, and this list proves it. These confident artists have captured fresh and mighty perspectives far too underrepresented, and they are storming through the cluster neck of homogeneity that continues to reign in film content.
Water & Power (Richard Montoya, USA)
Los Wild Ones (Elise Salomon, USA)
Delusions of Grandeur (Iris Almaraz, Gustavo Ramos, USA)
Sleeping with the Fishes (Nicole Gomez Fisher, USA)
The House that Jack Built (Henry Barrial, USA)
Marcela Goglio, Programmer at the Film Society of Lincoln Center
No special criteria in these choices, just some of the many accomplished Latin American films that, in my opinion, create universes or make statements in beautiful, original and/or powerful ways.
Viola (Matias Pineiro, Argentina)
El alcalde (Emiliano Altuna/Carlos Rossini/Diego Osorno, Mexico)
La eterna noche de las doce lunas (Priscilla Padilla, Colombia)
El futuro (Alicia Scherson, Chile)
Gloria (Sebastian Lelio, Chile)
Carlos A. Gutierrez, Co-founder and Executive Director of Cinema Tropical
For practical purposes, my list features five Latin American films (my area of expertise) that I highly recommend, and that screened in the U.S. in 2013 (in alphabetical order):
El Alcalde / The Mayor (Carlos F. Rossini, Emiliano Altuna and Diego Osorno, Mexico)
El otro dia / The Other Day (Ignacio Aguero, Chile)
Los mejores temas / Greatest Hits (Nicolas Pereda, Mexico)
Tanta Agua / So Much Water (Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Uruguay)
Viola (Matias Pineiro, Argentina)
Lucho Ramirez, Founder & Executive Director of Cine+Mas Sf, presenter of the Cm San Francisco Latino Film Festival
There are so many works by Latino and Latin American filmmakers that merit the public and the tastemaker's attention. Compiling a list of 5 is difficult for me as a festival director because each film that we program is beloved. In addition, there are the other films I see at other fests or at theaters, particularly the bigger ones replete with distribution, celebrity, and marketing budgets. It's hard for independent, quality films to break through and that's part of the reason I seek those out. I believe there is an audience for artisanal films with substance, creativity, and diversity.
I went on memory for this list. Included are films that I saw this year that really stuck with me long after watching them. What's important to me is seeing images of Latinos by Latinos on the screen. This doesn't mean sanitized. Bless Me, Ultima is an important literary work. It was a huge accomplishment to get this on the screen for all us non-readers. Sex, Love, & Salsa packs all the punch of a big romantic comedy in very local and Latino way; Tlatelolco is a historical drama that's really well done, revisiting a chaotic time in Mexico's history but interpreted in a narrow sliver of a relationship that can't be; Porcelain Horse mixes sex, drugs, and rich-kid problems and really does something different with a crime-drama; Delusions of Grandeuer is purely Latino hipster fun.
Bless Me, Ultima (Carl Franklin, USA)
Sex, Love, & Salsa (Adrian Manzano, USA)
Tlatelolco, Summer of 68 (Carlos Bolado, Mexico)
Porcelain Horse (Javier Andrade, Ecuador)
Delusions of Grandeur (Iris Almaraz, Gustavo Ramos, USA)
Glenn Heath Jr., Artistic Director of the San Diego Latino Film Festival
De Jueves a Domingo is a fascinating and subtext-heavy debut from director Dominga Sotomayor Castillo about a family road trip that could be the beginning of the end. In Viola Shakespeare is reinvented, it's art house cinema meets the off-note pacing of jazz. My Sister's Quinceañera is an honest and poignant look at the complexities of family and identity in small town America. Aqui y Alla is riveting in its acute understanding of how the mundane adds up to something grand. Fecha de Caducidad is dark comedy at its finest.
De Jueves a Domingo (Dominga Sotomayor Castillo, Chile)
Viola (Matias Pineiro, Argentina)
My Sister's Quinceanera (Aaron Douglas Johnston, USA)
Aqui y Alla (Antonio Mendez Esparza, Mexico)
Fecha de Caducidad (Kenya Marquez , Mexico)
Diana Vargas, Artistic Director at the Havana Film Festival New York
In Gloria Paulina Garcia's performance is unforgettable and the way the director talks about the middle life crisis of a woman that seems unremarkable until she finds out she can make her own choices and maybe to be single is not that bad, haha. La Sirga portrays the crude reality of the Colombian conflict without showing explicit violence, through impeccable cinematography. In a cinema verite style, La jaula de oro shows 3 Guatemalan adolescents experiencing the harshness of the journey of those who want to immigrate to U.S. 7 Cajas, the biggest Paraguayan box office hit, is as entertaining as well done. With an impeccable screenplay and Guarani dialogues, the film shows a country that usually don't have a strong representation in the festivals around the world. Sibila de Teresa Arredondo (Chile). Sibila Arguedas is the widow of one of the most iconic public figures in Peruvian literature. She's also Chilean and a political prisoner, accused of being a Sendero Luminoso collaborator. This documentary made by Sibila's niece brings to light one of the most fascinating, enimagtic and contradictory characters of the last century.
Gloria (Sebastian Lelio, Chile)
La Sirga (William Vega, Colombia).
La jaula de oro (Diego Quemada-Diez, Mexico)
7 Cajas (Tana Schembori, Juan Carlos Maneglia, Paraguay)
Sibila (Teresa Arredondo, Chile)
Juan Caceres, Director of Programming at the New York International Latino Film Festival
2013 was a great year for Latin American films. Ecuador, Panama, Guatemala and Paraguay, countries with no real infrastructure for filmmaking, all were present in festivals. Chile in particular showed no sign of slowing down their own presence on the festival circuit, taking home prizes at the major festivals. I think it's no coincidence that they share this wonderful genuine camaraderie where there is a support system that includes producing each others projects to simply rooting for one another when it comes to award nominations (you can go to all their Fb pages and occasionally they have each others films as their cover pics! It's uber dope). It's as real as it gets and I think it's something lacking here in the Us. So my list is the Chilean films you should not miss.
Gloria, (Sebastian Lelio, Chile)
No (Pablo Larrain, Chile)
Il Futuro / The Future (Alicia Scherson, Chile)
El verano de los peces voladores / The Summer of Flying Fish (Marcela Said, Chile)
Las cosas como son / Things The Way They Are (Fernando Lavanderos, Chile)
Marlene Dermer, Director/Programmer at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival
It has been really hard to narrow it to five I have to say. I find Latino cinema and its creators in a wonderful period. It’s alive and beats like a heart. There is so much talent in our communities and they are doing some of the most interesting work in world cinema. It's thought provoking or personal and universal. It's also tough to include U.S. works with Latin American work because there are many more countries and many with support. This year in our festival we had the largest showcase of U.S.A. films which was very exciting to see. As a programmer for 22 years I find it stimulating to discover all these new voices coming up in our community and truly sharing the screens at festivals and theaters around the world. There is a new generation in every country, that is very exciting and promising for the future of cinema, our community and the audio visual world.
Club Sandwich (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico)
Pelo Malo (Mariana Rondón, Venezuela)
Gloria (Sebastian Lelio, Chile)
O lobo atras da porta (Fernando Coimbra, Brazil)
Tanta Agua / So Much Water (Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Uruguay)
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.
Sadly, American Latino filmmakers were mostly absent from big name festivals like Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, and Cannes. Normally, the major Latino film festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Diego offer a home to these overlooked films. The surprising collapse of the New York International Latino Film Festival this past summer and with the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival barely recovering from financial difficulties, the exhibition of American Latino indies remains in a precarious position.
Still, there is much to celebrate. Starting in the early part of the year, at Sundance, Chilean director Sebastian Silva joined a very elite club of filmmakers -- those who have premiered two films at the same festival. His mescaline-fueled odyssey Crystal Fairy won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award and the psychological thriller Magic, Magic starring Michael Cera went on to play Director's Fortnight in Cannes.
The Berlinale, in February, brought the much anticipated world premiere of Sebastian Lelio's fourth film Gloria and the charming Uruguayan family comedy Tanta Agua. Cementing 2013 as the year of Chile, actress Paulina Garcia won the Silver Bear for her dazzling and dynamic performance as a middle-aged divorcee in Gloria.
Mid-year, Mexican filmmakers took Cannes by storm again, winning the Best Director prize for the second year in a row. In 2013, the victor was Amat Escalante for his feature film Heli. The year prior Carlos Reygadas took home the prize for Post Tenebras Lux.
In the fall, Toronto spoiled us with Latin American riches. The gargantuan fest showcased more than 300 films from 70 different countries including the Mexican documentary El Alcalde, Venezuela's Pelo Malo (Bad Hair), Peruvian black comedy El Mudo (The Mute), the Brazilian drama O lobo atras da porta (A Wolf at the Door), and the world premiere of Fernando Eimbcke's Club Sandwich. Costa Rica made a first-time appearance at the Toronto Film Festival with Por las plumas (All About the Feathers) and the Dominican Republic showcased Cristo Rey.
Over Labor Day weekend, Eugenio Derbez, a Mexican actor most Americans had never heard of released his sleeper hit Instructions Not Included. Totally ignored by mainstream film critics, the Spanish-language family comedy went on to shatter box office records. It beat out Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine and critical darling 12 Years a Slave making it the top grossing indie film of the year. It also became the highest grossing Spanish-language film ever in the United States. A few weeks later, when Instructions opened in Derbez's home country, it became the most-watched Mexican film of all time.
Despite being snubbed by the Academy Awards (no Latin American productions made the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film), Latino films ended the year on a high note. The triumph of our films abroad coupled with a Spanish-language box office hit at home bodes well for the Latino films of 2014.
In case you were living under a rock this past year and missed it all, we've got you covered. Thankfully, there are professionals who get paid to keep track of what Latino movies are receiving accolades, have the most buzz, and got picked up for distribution. LatinoBuzz went straight to the experts, film programmers, to ask, "What are your top 5 Latino films of 2013?"
Christine Davila, Director of Ambulante California
There is no shortage of original and compelling Us Latino writer/directors working across different genres out there, and this list proves it. These confident artists have captured fresh and mighty perspectives far too underrepresented, and they are storming through the cluster neck of homogeneity that continues to reign in film content.
Water & Power (Richard Montoya, USA)
Los Wild Ones (Elise Salomon, USA)
Delusions of Grandeur (Iris Almaraz, Gustavo Ramos, USA)
Sleeping with the Fishes (Nicole Gomez Fisher, USA)
The House that Jack Built (Henry Barrial, USA)
Marcela Goglio, Programmer at the Film Society of Lincoln Center
No special criteria in these choices, just some of the many accomplished Latin American films that, in my opinion, create universes or make statements in beautiful, original and/or powerful ways.
Viola (Matias Pineiro, Argentina)
El alcalde (Emiliano Altuna/Carlos Rossini/Diego Osorno, Mexico)
La eterna noche de las doce lunas (Priscilla Padilla, Colombia)
El futuro (Alicia Scherson, Chile)
Gloria (Sebastian Lelio, Chile)
Carlos A. Gutierrez, Co-founder and Executive Director of Cinema Tropical
For practical purposes, my list features five Latin American films (my area of expertise) that I highly recommend, and that screened in the U.S. in 2013 (in alphabetical order):
El Alcalde / The Mayor (Carlos F. Rossini, Emiliano Altuna and Diego Osorno, Mexico)
El otro dia / The Other Day (Ignacio Aguero, Chile)
Los mejores temas / Greatest Hits (Nicolas Pereda, Mexico)
Tanta Agua / So Much Water (Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Uruguay)
Viola (Matias Pineiro, Argentina)
Lucho Ramirez, Founder & Executive Director of Cine+Mas Sf, presenter of the Cm San Francisco Latino Film Festival
There are so many works by Latino and Latin American filmmakers that merit the public and the tastemaker's attention. Compiling a list of 5 is difficult for me as a festival director because each film that we program is beloved. In addition, there are the other films I see at other fests or at theaters, particularly the bigger ones replete with distribution, celebrity, and marketing budgets. It's hard for independent, quality films to break through and that's part of the reason I seek those out. I believe there is an audience for artisanal films with substance, creativity, and diversity.
I went on memory for this list. Included are films that I saw this year that really stuck with me long after watching them. What's important to me is seeing images of Latinos by Latinos on the screen. This doesn't mean sanitized. Bless Me, Ultima is an important literary work. It was a huge accomplishment to get this on the screen for all us non-readers. Sex, Love, & Salsa packs all the punch of a big romantic comedy in very local and Latino way; Tlatelolco is a historical drama that's really well done, revisiting a chaotic time in Mexico's history but interpreted in a narrow sliver of a relationship that can't be; Porcelain Horse mixes sex, drugs, and rich-kid problems and really does something different with a crime-drama; Delusions of Grandeuer is purely Latino hipster fun.
Bless Me, Ultima (Carl Franklin, USA)
Sex, Love, & Salsa (Adrian Manzano, USA)
Tlatelolco, Summer of 68 (Carlos Bolado, Mexico)
Porcelain Horse (Javier Andrade, Ecuador)
Delusions of Grandeur (Iris Almaraz, Gustavo Ramos, USA)
Glenn Heath Jr., Artistic Director of the San Diego Latino Film Festival
De Jueves a Domingo is a fascinating and subtext-heavy debut from director Dominga Sotomayor Castillo about a family road trip that could be the beginning of the end. In Viola Shakespeare is reinvented, it's art house cinema meets the off-note pacing of jazz. My Sister's Quinceañera is an honest and poignant look at the complexities of family and identity in small town America. Aqui y Alla is riveting in its acute understanding of how the mundane adds up to something grand. Fecha de Caducidad is dark comedy at its finest.
De Jueves a Domingo (Dominga Sotomayor Castillo, Chile)
Viola (Matias Pineiro, Argentina)
My Sister's Quinceanera (Aaron Douglas Johnston, USA)
Aqui y Alla (Antonio Mendez Esparza, Mexico)
Fecha de Caducidad (Kenya Marquez , Mexico)
Diana Vargas, Artistic Director at the Havana Film Festival New York
In Gloria Paulina Garcia's performance is unforgettable and the way the director talks about the middle life crisis of a woman that seems unremarkable until she finds out she can make her own choices and maybe to be single is not that bad, haha. La Sirga portrays the crude reality of the Colombian conflict without showing explicit violence, through impeccable cinematography. In a cinema verite style, La jaula de oro shows 3 Guatemalan adolescents experiencing the harshness of the journey of those who want to immigrate to U.S. 7 Cajas, the biggest Paraguayan box office hit, is as entertaining as well done. With an impeccable screenplay and Guarani dialogues, the film shows a country that usually don't have a strong representation in the festivals around the world. Sibila de Teresa Arredondo (Chile). Sibila Arguedas is the widow of one of the most iconic public figures in Peruvian literature. She's also Chilean and a political prisoner, accused of being a Sendero Luminoso collaborator. This documentary made by Sibila's niece brings to light one of the most fascinating, enimagtic and contradictory characters of the last century.
Gloria (Sebastian Lelio, Chile)
La Sirga (William Vega, Colombia).
La jaula de oro (Diego Quemada-Diez, Mexico)
7 Cajas (Tana Schembori, Juan Carlos Maneglia, Paraguay)
Sibila (Teresa Arredondo, Chile)
Juan Caceres, Director of Programming at the New York International Latino Film Festival
2013 was a great year for Latin American films. Ecuador, Panama, Guatemala and Paraguay, countries with no real infrastructure for filmmaking, all were present in festivals. Chile in particular showed no sign of slowing down their own presence on the festival circuit, taking home prizes at the major festivals. I think it's no coincidence that they share this wonderful genuine camaraderie where there is a support system that includes producing each others projects to simply rooting for one another when it comes to award nominations (you can go to all their Fb pages and occasionally they have each others films as their cover pics! It's uber dope). It's as real as it gets and I think it's something lacking here in the Us. So my list is the Chilean films you should not miss.
Gloria, (Sebastian Lelio, Chile)
No (Pablo Larrain, Chile)
Il Futuro / The Future (Alicia Scherson, Chile)
El verano de los peces voladores / The Summer of Flying Fish (Marcela Said, Chile)
Las cosas como son / Things The Way They Are (Fernando Lavanderos, Chile)
Marlene Dermer, Director/Programmer at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival
It has been really hard to narrow it to five I have to say. I find Latino cinema and its creators in a wonderful period. It’s alive and beats like a heart. There is so much talent in our communities and they are doing some of the most interesting work in world cinema. It's thought provoking or personal and universal. It's also tough to include U.S. works with Latin American work because there are many more countries and many with support. This year in our festival we had the largest showcase of U.S.A. films which was very exciting to see. As a programmer for 22 years I find it stimulating to discover all these new voices coming up in our community and truly sharing the screens at festivals and theaters around the world. There is a new generation in every country, that is very exciting and promising for the future of cinema, our community and the audio visual world.
Club Sandwich (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico)
Pelo Malo (Mariana Rondón, Venezuela)
Gloria (Sebastian Lelio, Chile)
O lobo atras da porta (Fernando Coimbra, Brazil)
Tanta Agua / So Much Water (Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, Uruguay)
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.
- 1/1/2014
- by Vanessa Erazo
- Sydney's Buzz
Organisers at the Rio Film Festival have brought in an extra 11 titles ahead of the September 26 opening night gala screening of Thierry Ragobert’s Amazonia 3D.
The late arrivals include Gianfranco Rosi’s fresh Venice Golden Lion winner Sacro Gra as well as Steven Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra, Shane Salerno’s Salinger and Kim Ki-duck’s Moebius.
Rounding out the additions are Greg Mottola’s Clear History, Nimrod Antal’s Metallica Through The Never, Hong Sangsoo’s Our Sunhi, Bruce Labruce’s Gerontophilia, Catherine Breillat’s Abuse Of Weakness, Shinji Aoyama’s Backwater and John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s Finding Vivian Maier.
Festival top brass also announced the full line-up of films in the Latin Première and Environment sections.
The Latin Première selection will present 21 features, of which five will be Latin American premieres. All films in the section are eligible for the Fipresci Best Latin American Film award.
Latin PremièreIl...
The late arrivals include Gianfranco Rosi’s fresh Venice Golden Lion winner Sacro Gra as well as Steven Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra, Shane Salerno’s Salinger and Kim Ki-duck’s Moebius.
Rounding out the additions are Greg Mottola’s Clear History, Nimrod Antal’s Metallica Through The Never, Hong Sangsoo’s Our Sunhi, Bruce Labruce’s Gerontophilia, Catherine Breillat’s Abuse Of Weakness, Shinji Aoyama’s Backwater and John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s Finding Vivian Maier.
Festival top brass also announced the full line-up of films in the Latin Première and Environment sections.
The Latin Première selection will present 21 features, of which five will be Latin American premieres. All films in the section are eligible for the Fipresci Best Latin American Film award.
Latin PremièreIl...
- 9/18/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Organisers at the Festival do Rio, the Rio Film Festival, have brought in an extra 11 titles ahead of the September 26 opening night gala screening of Thierry Ragobert’s France-Brazil co-production Amazonia 3D.
The late arrivals include Gianfranco Rosi’s fresh Venice Golden Lion winner Sacro Gra as well as Steven Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra, Shane Salerno’s Salinger and Kim Ki-duck’s Moebius.
Rounding out the additions are Greg Mottola’s Clear History, Nimrod Antal’s Metallica Through The Never, Hong Sangsoo’s Our Sunhi, Bruce Labruce’s Gerontophilia, Catherine Breillat’s Abuse Of Weakness, Shinji Aoyama’s Backwater and John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s Finding Vivian Maier.
Festival top brass also announced the full line-up of films in the Latin Première and Environment sections.
The Latin Première selection will present 21 features, of which five will be Latin American premieres. All films in the section are eligible for the Fipresci Best Latin American Film award...
The late arrivals include Gianfranco Rosi’s fresh Venice Golden Lion winner Sacro Gra as well as Steven Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra, Shane Salerno’s Salinger and Kim Ki-duck’s Moebius.
Rounding out the additions are Greg Mottola’s Clear History, Nimrod Antal’s Metallica Through The Never, Hong Sangsoo’s Our Sunhi, Bruce Labruce’s Gerontophilia, Catherine Breillat’s Abuse Of Weakness, Shinji Aoyama’s Backwater and John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s Finding Vivian Maier.
Festival top brass also announced the full line-up of films in the Latin Première and Environment sections.
The Latin Première selection will present 21 features, of which five will be Latin American premieres. All films in the section are eligible for the Fipresci Best Latin American Film award...
- 9/18/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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