Argentina’s Ajimolido Films and Mostra Cine, Mexico’s Beita also co-producing.
Ángeles Hernández and David Matamoros from Spain’s Mr Miyagi, a co-producer on Netflix hit and 2019 TIFF Midnight Madness audience winner The Platform, has announced on the first day of Ventana Sur that the company has come on board The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake (La Virgen De La Tosquera) from Laura Casabé, who presented The Returned at the market in 2019.
Mr Miyagi will co-produce Argentinian filmmaker Casabé’s next film alongside Argentina’s Ajimolido Films (The Returned) and Mostra Cine (Delfina Castagnino’s 2019 Mar del Plata best...
Ángeles Hernández and David Matamoros from Spain’s Mr Miyagi, a co-producer on Netflix hit and 2019 TIFF Midnight Madness audience winner The Platform, has announced on the first day of Ventana Sur that the company has come on board The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake (La Virgen De La Tosquera) from Laura Casabé, who presented The Returned at the market in 2019.
Mr Miyagi will co-produce Argentinian filmmaker Casabé’s next film alongside Argentina’s Ajimolido Films (The Returned) and Mostra Cine (Delfina Castagnino’s 2019 Mar del Plata best...
- 11/28/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga
- ScreenDaily
Heading into this year’s Guadalajara’s Co-Production Meetings, the team behind Michelle Garza’s maternal horror flick “Huesera” has shared with Variety news of a new minority co-producer, choreographer and key casting details.
“Huesera” is produced by Paulina Villaviencio from Mexico’s Disruptiva Films and Edher Campos of Machete Producciones. Villaviencio’s recently produced Simon Hernández‘s 2019 Sitges Documenta Award-winner “La venganza de Jairo,” documenting the final shoot of Colombian genre master Jairo Pinilla.
A recent Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences addition, Campos’ impressive resume includes Cannes awarded fare such as Michael Rowe’ Cannes Camera d’Or-winner “Leap Year” and Diego Quemada-Díez’s “La Jaula de Oro,” which scooped A Certain Talent award for its leads in 2013. Most recently, he produced Heidi Ewing’s Sundance Audience Award and Next Innovator Award-winner “I Carry You with Me.”
Lorena Ugarteche from Peru’s Señor Z will co-produce on the...
“Huesera” is produced by Paulina Villaviencio from Mexico’s Disruptiva Films and Edher Campos of Machete Producciones. Villaviencio’s recently produced Simon Hernández‘s 2019 Sitges Documenta Award-winner “La venganza de Jairo,” documenting the final shoot of Colombian genre master Jairo Pinilla.
A recent Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences addition, Campos’ impressive resume includes Cannes awarded fare such as Michael Rowe’ Cannes Camera d’Or-winner “Leap Year” and Diego Quemada-Díez’s “La Jaula de Oro,” which scooped A Certain Talent award for its leads in 2013. Most recently, he produced Heidi Ewing’s Sundance Audience Award and Next Innovator Award-winner “I Carry You with Me.”
Lorena Ugarteche from Peru’s Señor Z will co-produce on the...
- 11/23/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
San Sebastian — Rouge International co-founder Nadia Turincev, whose credits included the Oscar-nominated “The Insult,” “Raw” and “Mimosas,” has teamed with Omar El Kadi, head of acquisitions and sales, Emea, at Lebanon’s Mc Distribution, to launch Easy Riders Films, a new Paris-based production company.
If Easy Riders Films first titles are anything to go by – Latin American co-production “Perros,” 1941 Lebanon-set comedy “The Fifteen,” political romantic drama series “L’Âge d’Or,” Easy Riders looks set to pursue the adventurous, unconventional production line which has come to distinguish Turincev.
At the same time she and El Kadi have linked from the get-go with prestigious production partners around the globe and are backing projects put through the most illustrious of development programs.
“Perros,” for example, is directed by Cannes Cinéfondation Résidence 2019 winner Vinko Tomičić, is also produced by Chile’s Jirafa Films, behind Christopher Murray’s “The Blind Christ” and Alicia Scherson’s “Il Futuro,...
If Easy Riders Films first titles are anything to go by – Latin American co-production “Perros,” 1941 Lebanon-set comedy “The Fifteen,” political romantic drama series “L’Âge d’Or,” Easy Riders looks set to pursue the adventurous, unconventional production line which has come to distinguish Turincev.
At the same time she and El Kadi have linked from the get-go with prestigious production partners around the globe and are backing projects put through the most illustrious of development programs.
“Perros,” for example, is directed by Cannes Cinéfondation Résidence 2019 winner Vinko Tomičić, is also produced by Chile’s Jirafa Films, behind Christopher Murray’s “The Blind Christ” and Alicia Scherson’s “Il Futuro,...
- 9/26/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Guadalajara, Mexico — New Mexican production shingle Zafiro Cinema, launched by Machete Prods. founder Edher Campos and Bolivian producer Gabriela Maire late last year, is gearing up to make its first film, “Perros” (“Dogs”), written and to be directed by Chilean director Vinko Tomičić.
Chilean thesp Alfredo Castro, who broke out internationally in Pablo Larraín’s films and then Lorenzo Vigas’ Venice Golden Lion winner “From Afar” (“Desde Alla”), will play opposite a yet-to-be discovered non-pro from La Paz, Bolivia.
This will be Tomičić’s sophomore feature. His debut film “Cockroach” (“Fumigador”), co-directed with Francisco Hevia, won the best film at the 2016 Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic) among others.
Tomičić is currently polishing his script at the Cannes Festival’s Cinefondation Residence program in Paris, one of two Chilean filmmakers selected for its 38th session.
Set to begin shooting later this year in La Paz on an estimated $450,000 budget, “Perros” turns...
Chilean thesp Alfredo Castro, who broke out internationally in Pablo Larraín’s films and then Lorenzo Vigas’ Venice Golden Lion winner “From Afar” (“Desde Alla”), will play opposite a yet-to-be discovered non-pro from La Paz, Bolivia.
This will be Tomičić’s sophomore feature. His debut film “Cockroach” (“Fumigador”), co-directed with Francisco Hevia, won the best film at the 2016 Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic) among others.
Tomičić is currently polishing his script at the Cannes Festival’s Cinefondation Residence program in Paris, one of two Chilean filmmakers selected for its 38th session.
Set to begin shooting later this year in La Paz on an estimated $450,000 budget, “Perros” turns...
- 3/13/2019
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Los Cabos, Mexico — In a newly expansive move for a vigorous Mexican movie industry, Machete Producciones founder Edher Campos and producer Gabriela Maire are launching a new production house, Zafiro Cinema.
Based out of Mexico City, Zafiro will look to co-produce titles from territories currently underserved by state film funding and industry infrastructure, such as Bolivia – Maire’s home country – Paraguay and Central America.
Zafiro’s launch obeys a major net of globalized film production: Talent can come from anywhere. Think Guatemala’s Jayro Bustamante, a recent Berlinale Alfredo Bauer winner with “Ixcanul,” sold voluminously by The Film Factory.
But talent often does emerge in the world’s less privileged territories, in film terms, often because of not only a lack of funding but producer facilitators linking talent to further funds, festival exposure and sales agents.
Zafiro Cinema’s most immediate focus will be Bolivia, where Maire has multiple contacts.
Based out of Mexico City, Zafiro will look to co-produce titles from territories currently underserved by state film funding and industry infrastructure, such as Bolivia – Maire’s home country – Paraguay and Central America.
Zafiro’s launch obeys a major net of globalized film production: Talent can come from anywhere. Think Guatemala’s Jayro Bustamante, a recent Berlinale Alfredo Bauer winner with “Ixcanul,” sold voluminously by The Film Factory.
But talent often does emerge in the world’s less privileged territories, in film terms, often because of not only a lack of funding but producer facilitators linking talent to further funds, festival exposure and sales agents.
Zafiro Cinema’s most immediate focus will be Bolivia, where Maire has multiple contacts.
- 11/12/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
“La Jaula de Oro” which translates to “The Golden Cage” now goes under the title “The Golden Dream”. The film, repped by Films Boutique, has sold widely. In U.S. it was acquired by HBO, but this week it is playing in L.A. at the TCM Chinese and Cinepolis Pico Rivera in East L.A. If you want an extra special treat, you will see it. It will also open Friday, September 4 at Village East Cinema in NYC and in DC at Cinema Pop-Up after Sept 11th.
Watch the Trailer / Showtimes and Tickets
Q&A with filmmaker Fri 9/4, Sat 9/5, Sun 9/6 at the 7pm show.
It will continue through more cities before HBO puts it on cable. It has won awards at every festival screening, starting with Cannes 2013 where it played in Un Certain Regard and won A Certain Talent Prize for the ensemble and the Gillo Pontecorvo Award and François Chalais Award - Special Mention for the strength of the visual aspect, the violence of truth and its emotional intensity. It won 9 Ariel Awards, the Mexican equivalent to the Oscar.
“La Jaula” transcends the usual depiction of young immigrants taking La Bestia through Central America and illegally entering the United States. After “El Norte”, “Sin Nombre” and “Mary Full of Grace”, we have become inured to this long festering problem of immigration. However, this poetic yet realistic and heartbreakingly beautiful depiction of three teenagers (one is a girl) from the slums of Guatemala traveling to the U.S. in search of a better life is pure heart. On their journey through Mexico they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn’t speak Spanish. Traveling together in cargo trains, walking on the railroad tracks, they form bonds that create the magic of this film.
The beauty of every shot is proof that Diego Quemada-díez was a cinematographer before this debut directorial tour de force.
Diego was interviewed at the premiere by Ian Bernie, festival programmer for Bombay and the New Orleans Film Festivals, former director of the renowned Lacma film program.
Diego:
The social reality in Latin America requires cinema to be deeply engaged with the world as it is. I am interested in making films firmly rooted in our contemporary society.
True realism has it all: fantasy and reason, suffering and utopia, the happiness and pain of our existence. I want to give voice to migrants – human beings who challenge a system established by impassive national and international authorities by crossing borders illegally, risking their own lives in the hope of overcoming dire poverty.
This film is not a documentary, rather it is a fiction based on reality, reenacting it from a place of authenticity and integrity. We constructed the narrative and poetics of this odyssey from the testimony of hundreds of migrants and from the personal sentiments of each and every person who participated in the creative process.
As we identify with Juan and Chauk, we depart from our own daily lives and embark on a grand emotional adventure that delivers us to profound discovery – a journey dispelling the notion that happiness awaits us in a distant place, a journey offering reflection on the borders that divide nations, a journey towards awareness of what separates us as human beings.
We made this adventure in the hope of deconstructing those conventions that imprison us so we can reinvent our own reality. My dream is that these boundaries that separate us dissolve, allowing us to board another train.
One whose destination doesn’t matter, a train whose passengers all know our all existence is interconnected, a train whose obstacles inspire us to celebrate our existence with respect and conscience that transcends nationalities, races, classes and beliefs.
The words of a Mexican man named Juan Menéndez López, spoken just before boarding a moving cargo train with seven of his companions, became the intention I wanted to communicate with the film, “You learn a lot along the path. Here, we are all brothers. We all have the same need. What’s important is that we learn to share. Only in this way can we move ahead, only in this way can we reach our destination, only a united people can survive. As human beings, there is no place in the world where we are illegal.”
Once you have the intention it acts like a magnet, the film starts speaking and we follow it. But to articulate an idea on film we need to do it thru actions, characters, conflict. A metaphor can help us articulate the idea.
In the painting called American Progress from Manifest Destiny, the unquestioned western model of "Progress" or "Civilization" spreads through the land. Then I discovered that behind migration there is a territorial conflict, still current in America. Two ways of looking at the world, with very diferent belief systems, still clashing.
So I thought "I will tell the story of the conflict of two cultures", a story of ‘Cowboys and Indians’ through the clash between a Tzotzil Indian and a mixed race Guatemalan who believes in the Western model. They have completely opposite views of the world, one more materialistic and mental, the other more grounded, more in touch with his soul, his feelings. Throughout the story there is a transformation of the protagonist due to the Indian, not the other way around as the western societies usually expect.
I wanted to question our model of "Progress".
What if it is the western model that needs to change and not the indigenous way?
The opening ten minutes were without words.
Diego: Show me, don’t tell me.
The ending seven minutes themselves are incredible, filmed in a cold, dehumanized Colorado meat-packing warehouse where our hero ends his journey, transformed within himself.
Diego: He was alone; migrants have a lot of loneliness. Many testimonies I gathered ended in ‘We were 15 when we left and none of us arrived’ or ‘one of us arrived’. Very few make it and I wanted to convey this.
A migrant starts the journey looking for the gold (for the money) and as soon as he/ she arrives is trapped due to current legislation. Many pay a high price to get to the U.S. For many it becomes a trap.
Tell us about the genesis of this project.
Diego: I spent seven years researching the story, finding locations, speaking with migrants, gathering their testimonies that the screenplay is based on.
In the production itself, I followed Ken Loach’s techniques, filming in chronological order, without the actors knowing what would happen next. That way they have a life experience instead of acting. I would read them the script five minutes before we shot. We would do this every day, for every scene and based on their words I would rewrite it on the set.
Tell us more about your technique for shooting this film.
Diego: We worked with over 600 migrants in this movie and many people from the villages we passed by. We incorporated our actors into each location surrounded by real people and real locations, then we just filmed like a documentary, becoming an observer of what was happening on front of us. I tried to get the best from fiction and the best from documentary: Dramatic structure, to be able to reenact events instead of talking about them, working with real people, real locations, showing contemporary events that speak about issues of our time.
The hero’s internal journey is a metaphor of our own life and our death. Each of us in our own journey of life meets obstacles; we fall, we stand up, we learn things, we grow or we give up. We are never the same when we arrive at the destination where we believed our dreams would be fulfilled.
I believe we can learn a lot from migrants, from their extreme odyssey. They are people who risk their lives to help their loved ones. They are heroes so I wanted to tell their story through an epic poem.
On a deeper level, I talk of my own life through others. Like twenty years ago when my mother died and I had to keep going. Things happen to you but you go on, you continue however you can. Migrants do that; some people stumble and fall in the journey and still they keep going as best as they can.
How did you find the migrants?
Diego: In regards to the extras in the film, the casting crew would arrive three days before we arrived at each location, so when we got there we could include migrants and people from the villages.
How was this film financed?
Diego: Through a Mexican tax incentive. That is why there are so many movies now being made in Mexico. Last year 140 films. Each very different.
Biography
Born in the Iberian peninsula, Diego has lived in the American continent for the past two decades as nationalized Mexican. His first job in the film industry was in 1995, in Ken Loach's film “Land and Freedom” as a camera assistant to the director of cinematography. A year later, he migrated to the U.S. where he continued his career in film. His graduation film at the American Film Institute (AFI) as writer/director/Dop, “A Table is a Table”, won the Best Cinematography award given by the American Society of Cinematographers (Asc).
He has collaborated as camera operator with directors Spike lee, Alejandro Gonzalez-iñarritu, Tony Scott, Fernando Meirelles, among others, as he wrote and directed his own short films and documentaries. In 2006 he premiered his second short film “I Want to Be A Pilot” at the Sundance Film Festival. The film played at over 200 festivals and won over 50 awards, including Audience Award at La Mostra Sao Paulo Film Festival, Special Mention at the Amiens Film Festival.
That same year he directed in Mexico his short documentary “La Morena”, that premiered at Morelia Film Festival in 2007. In 2010 he won one of the scholarship awarded by Cinéfondation, which enabled him to participate in the Cannes Film Festival Atelier workshop with his first long-feature film, “La Jaula de Oro”. As we said above, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard’s Official Selection and won Un Certain Talent Award and The Gillo Pontecorvo Award and François Chalais Special Mention Award. In its Mexican premiere at the Morelia Film Festival, the film won three awards: Audience Award, Best First Film and Press Guerrero Award. As a Director he has won Best Director at Vladivostock Ff, Best New Director at the Chicago Ff, Best Director at Thessaloniki Ff, Best Director at Havana New York Ff, Best Director at Luis Buñuel Calanda Ff in Spain, Best Director from Satjavit Ray Foundation at the London Ff and Jean Renoir Award in France. It also won Best First Film in Lima, La Habana, República Dominicana and Best Film in Mumbai, Mar de Plata,Thessaloniki, Zurich.
It won nine Ariel Awards from the Mexican Film Academy, including Best Film, Best First Film and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Iberoamerican Film at the Fenix Iberoamerican Awards held in Mexico City. Up to now the film has received over 80 awards.
As a writer, aside from his screenplays, he has also written a poetry book called I “Dreamed I Found My Octogonal Room”.
More information on the film below:
"La Jaula de Oro" (The Golden Dream)
A film by Diego Quemada-Diez (Mexico/Spain, 102 min. In Spanish and Tzotzil with English subtitles)
Opens Friday, September 4 Village East Cinema 181-189 Second Avenue (at 12th Street) New York City, (212) 529-6998
Watch the Trailer / Showtimes and Tickets
Q&A with filmmaker Fri 9/4 and Sat 9/5 at the 7pm show.
The most awarded Mexican film in history -with over 80 international accolades- Diego Quemada-Diez's acclaimed debut feature "La Jaula de Oro" tells the story of three teenagers from the slums of Guatemala travel to the Us in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico they meet Chauk, a Tzotzil kid from Chiapas who doesn’t speak Spanish. Travelling together in cargo trains, walking on the railroad tracks, they soon have to face a harsh reality.
Watch the Trailer / Showtimes and Tickets
Q&A with filmmaker Fri 9/4, Sat 9/5, Sun 9/6 at the 7pm show.
It will continue through more cities before HBO puts it on cable. It has won awards at every festival screening, starting with Cannes 2013 where it played in Un Certain Regard and won A Certain Talent Prize for the ensemble and the Gillo Pontecorvo Award and François Chalais Award - Special Mention for the strength of the visual aspect, the violence of truth and its emotional intensity. It won 9 Ariel Awards, the Mexican equivalent to the Oscar.
“La Jaula” transcends the usual depiction of young immigrants taking La Bestia through Central America and illegally entering the United States. After “El Norte”, “Sin Nombre” and “Mary Full of Grace”, we have become inured to this long festering problem of immigration. However, this poetic yet realistic and heartbreakingly beautiful depiction of three teenagers (one is a girl) from the slums of Guatemala traveling to the U.S. in search of a better life is pure heart. On their journey through Mexico they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn’t speak Spanish. Traveling together in cargo trains, walking on the railroad tracks, they form bonds that create the magic of this film.
The beauty of every shot is proof that Diego Quemada-díez was a cinematographer before this debut directorial tour de force.
Diego was interviewed at the premiere by Ian Bernie, festival programmer for Bombay and the New Orleans Film Festivals, former director of the renowned Lacma film program.
Diego:
The social reality in Latin America requires cinema to be deeply engaged with the world as it is. I am interested in making films firmly rooted in our contemporary society.
True realism has it all: fantasy and reason, suffering and utopia, the happiness and pain of our existence. I want to give voice to migrants – human beings who challenge a system established by impassive national and international authorities by crossing borders illegally, risking their own lives in the hope of overcoming dire poverty.
This film is not a documentary, rather it is a fiction based on reality, reenacting it from a place of authenticity and integrity. We constructed the narrative and poetics of this odyssey from the testimony of hundreds of migrants and from the personal sentiments of each and every person who participated in the creative process.
As we identify with Juan and Chauk, we depart from our own daily lives and embark on a grand emotional adventure that delivers us to profound discovery – a journey dispelling the notion that happiness awaits us in a distant place, a journey offering reflection on the borders that divide nations, a journey towards awareness of what separates us as human beings.
We made this adventure in the hope of deconstructing those conventions that imprison us so we can reinvent our own reality. My dream is that these boundaries that separate us dissolve, allowing us to board another train.
One whose destination doesn’t matter, a train whose passengers all know our all existence is interconnected, a train whose obstacles inspire us to celebrate our existence with respect and conscience that transcends nationalities, races, classes and beliefs.
The words of a Mexican man named Juan Menéndez López, spoken just before boarding a moving cargo train with seven of his companions, became the intention I wanted to communicate with the film, “You learn a lot along the path. Here, we are all brothers. We all have the same need. What’s important is that we learn to share. Only in this way can we move ahead, only in this way can we reach our destination, only a united people can survive. As human beings, there is no place in the world where we are illegal.”
Once you have the intention it acts like a magnet, the film starts speaking and we follow it. But to articulate an idea on film we need to do it thru actions, characters, conflict. A metaphor can help us articulate the idea.
In the painting called American Progress from Manifest Destiny, the unquestioned western model of "Progress" or "Civilization" spreads through the land. Then I discovered that behind migration there is a territorial conflict, still current in America. Two ways of looking at the world, with very diferent belief systems, still clashing.
So I thought "I will tell the story of the conflict of two cultures", a story of ‘Cowboys and Indians’ through the clash between a Tzotzil Indian and a mixed race Guatemalan who believes in the Western model. They have completely opposite views of the world, one more materialistic and mental, the other more grounded, more in touch with his soul, his feelings. Throughout the story there is a transformation of the protagonist due to the Indian, not the other way around as the western societies usually expect.
I wanted to question our model of "Progress".
What if it is the western model that needs to change and not the indigenous way?
The opening ten minutes were without words.
Diego: Show me, don’t tell me.
The ending seven minutes themselves are incredible, filmed in a cold, dehumanized Colorado meat-packing warehouse where our hero ends his journey, transformed within himself.
Diego: He was alone; migrants have a lot of loneliness. Many testimonies I gathered ended in ‘We were 15 when we left and none of us arrived’ or ‘one of us arrived’. Very few make it and I wanted to convey this.
A migrant starts the journey looking for the gold (for the money) and as soon as he/ she arrives is trapped due to current legislation. Many pay a high price to get to the U.S. For many it becomes a trap.
Tell us about the genesis of this project.
Diego: I spent seven years researching the story, finding locations, speaking with migrants, gathering their testimonies that the screenplay is based on.
In the production itself, I followed Ken Loach’s techniques, filming in chronological order, without the actors knowing what would happen next. That way they have a life experience instead of acting. I would read them the script five minutes before we shot. We would do this every day, for every scene and based on their words I would rewrite it on the set.
Tell us more about your technique for shooting this film.
Diego: We worked with over 600 migrants in this movie and many people from the villages we passed by. We incorporated our actors into each location surrounded by real people and real locations, then we just filmed like a documentary, becoming an observer of what was happening on front of us. I tried to get the best from fiction and the best from documentary: Dramatic structure, to be able to reenact events instead of talking about them, working with real people, real locations, showing contemporary events that speak about issues of our time.
The hero’s internal journey is a metaphor of our own life and our death. Each of us in our own journey of life meets obstacles; we fall, we stand up, we learn things, we grow or we give up. We are never the same when we arrive at the destination where we believed our dreams would be fulfilled.
I believe we can learn a lot from migrants, from their extreme odyssey. They are people who risk their lives to help their loved ones. They are heroes so I wanted to tell their story through an epic poem.
On a deeper level, I talk of my own life through others. Like twenty years ago when my mother died and I had to keep going. Things happen to you but you go on, you continue however you can. Migrants do that; some people stumble and fall in the journey and still they keep going as best as they can.
How did you find the migrants?
Diego: In regards to the extras in the film, the casting crew would arrive three days before we arrived at each location, so when we got there we could include migrants and people from the villages.
How was this film financed?
Diego: Through a Mexican tax incentive. That is why there are so many movies now being made in Mexico. Last year 140 films. Each very different.
Biography
Born in the Iberian peninsula, Diego has lived in the American continent for the past two decades as nationalized Mexican. His first job in the film industry was in 1995, in Ken Loach's film “Land and Freedom” as a camera assistant to the director of cinematography. A year later, he migrated to the U.S. where he continued his career in film. His graduation film at the American Film Institute (AFI) as writer/director/Dop, “A Table is a Table”, won the Best Cinematography award given by the American Society of Cinematographers (Asc).
He has collaborated as camera operator with directors Spike lee, Alejandro Gonzalez-iñarritu, Tony Scott, Fernando Meirelles, among others, as he wrote and directed his own short films and documentaries. In 2006 he premiered his second short film “I Want to Be A Pilot” at the Sundance Film Festival. The film played at over 200 festivals and won over 50 awards, including Audience Award at La Mostra Sao Paulo Film Festival, Special Mention at the Amiens Film Festival.
That same year he directed in Mexico his short documentary “La Morena”, that premiered at Morelia Film Festival in 2007. In 2010 he won one of the scholarship awarded by Cinéfondation, which enabled him to participate in the Cannes Film Festival Atelier workshop with his first long-feature film, “La Jaula de Oro”. As we said above, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard’s Official Selection and won Un Certain Talent Award and The Gillo Pontecorvo Award and François Chalais Special Mention Award. In its Mexican premiere at the Morelia Film Festival, the film won three awards: Audience Award, Best First Film and Press Guerrero Award. As a Director he has won Best Director at Vladivostock Ff, Best New Director at the Chicago Ff, Best Director at Thessaloniki Ff, Best Director at Havana New York Ff, Best Director at Luis Buñuel Calanda Ff in Spain, Best Director from Satjavit Ray Foundation at the London Ff and Jean Renoir Award in France. It also won Best First Film in Lima, La Habana, República Dominicana and Best Film in Mumbai, Mar de Plata,Thessaloniki, Zurich.
It won nine Ariel Awards from the Mexican Film Academy, including Best Film, Best First Film and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Iberoamerican Film at the Fenix Iberoamerican Awards held in Mexico City. Up to now the film has received over 80 awards.
As a writer, aside from his screenplays, he has also written a poetry book called I “Dreamed I Found My Octogonal Room”.
More information on the film below:
"La Jaula de Oro" (The Golden Dream)
A film by Diego Quemada-Diez (Mexico/Spain, 102 min. In Spanish and Tzotzil with English subtitles)
Opens Friday, September 4 Village East Cinema 181-189 Second Avenue (at 12th Street) New York City, (212) 529-6998
Watch the Trailer / Showtimes and Tickets
Q&A with filmmaker Fri 9/4 and Sat 9/5 at the 7pm show.
The most awarded Mexican film in history -with over 80 international accolades- Diego Quemada-Diez's acclaimed debut feature "La Jaula de Oro" tells the story of three teenagers from the slums of Guatemala travel to the Us in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico they meet Chauk, a Tzotzil kid from Chiapas who doesn’t speak Spanish. Travelling together in cargo trains, walking on the railroad tracks, they soon have to face a harsh reality.
- 9/4/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
All of Me (aka Llévate Mis Amores) is a documentary that deals with a well known subject - the illegal immigrants from Central America, recently portrayed in Diego Quemada-Diez's successful narrative film The Golden Dream - but that manages to present a unique perspective. Set in the town of La Patrona, in Veracruz, Mexico, All of Me kicks off as an exploration of the local people. It's told from a female point of view, indicating right from the beginning that the protagonists are a group of strong women who are mostly alone. If they have a supportive male partner, it's very likely that he works outside the house all day; and if they don't, it can be because they have been already left behind. From...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 1/21/2015
- Screen Anarchy
The first Fénix Iberoamerican Film Awards, (Phoenix Awards) highlighting and celebrating cinema made in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal as well as applauding the professionals involved was inaugurated by Cinema 23 this October 30th, a couple days before Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, one of the most important holidays in México. The event brought together hundreds of figures from the Iberoamerican film community who celebrated the well-deserved recognition to their work and to their dedication. At the same time, the event served to strengthen relationships among the diverse industries and will continuously help forge the region's identity.
Aside from enumerating the awards here, we wish to show how the films' dissemination throughout the world is, in fact succeeding by showing sales agents and commercial distributors, some of many festivals the films played, and some of the awards won.
Nominees in twelve categories were chosen from a shortlist of 58 feature films and 16 documentaries in the region and awarded by a jury made up of - among others - Luis Tosar, Wagner Moura, Daniel Hendler, Selton Mello, José María Yazpik, Maria de Medeiros, Paulina García, Amat Escalante, Fernando Meirelles, Rodrigo García, Sebastián Lelio, Rodrigo Pla.
Feature Film category
Winner: "The Golden Cage" ("La Juala de oro") by Diego Quemada-díez, a coproduction of Guatemala, Spain and Mexico, since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard in 2013 where Quemada-díez won A Certain Talent Award for his directing work and the ensemble cast has received a total of 67 awards, including 9 Ariel awards by the Mexican Film Academy: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best First Feature, Best Actor, Best Upcoming Actor, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Music. It also won Best Picture, Best Editing and Best Sound at the Fenix Awards. Producers sold to Benelux - Wild Bunch Benelux, France - Pretty Pictures , Mexico - Canibal Networks,, Portugal - Legendmain Filmes, Spain - Golem Distribución, Taiwan - Maison Motion, U.K. - Peccadillo Pictures.
Other contenders:
"Club Sandwich" by Fernando Eimbcke, a Mexican production, screened in Toronto International Film Festival 2013, San Sebastian 2013 among many others. International sales agent (Isa) Funny Balloons sold the film to Benelux - ABC - Cinemien, Brazil--Esfera Filmes, Mexico--Cine Pantera, Poland--Art House, Turkey--Filma Ltd.
"Heli" by Amat Escalante, a Mexican production premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2013. Isa Ndm sold to U.S.--Outsider Pictures, Belgium--Film Fest Gent, Brazil--Zeta Filmes, Canada--K Films Amerique and A-z Films, Denmark--Ost For Paradis, France--Le Pacte, Greece--Ama Films, Hungary--Cirko Film Kft., Netherlands--Amstelfilm, Norway--Filmhuset Gruppen As & Europafilm As, Poland--Spectator, Puerto Ric--Wiesner Distribution, Serbia--Mcf Megacom Film, Spain--Savor Ediciones, S.A., Sweden--Njutafilms and Maywin Films Ab, Taiwan--Pomi International, Turkey--Filmarti Film, U.K.--Network
"Jauja" by Lisandro Alonso, a coproduction of Argentina, Denmark, France and Mexico and winner of the Fipresci Award in Cannes' Un Certain Regard 2014 where it debuted. It also played in Toronto and Busan among many other festivals. Isa Ndm, sold to U.S. -- The Cinema Guild; Argentina--Distribution Company Sudamericana S.A.; Spain--Noucinemart- Festival Internacional De Cinema D'autor De Barcelona; U.K.--Soda Pictures
"Bad Hair" ("Pelo Malo") by Mariana Rondon, a coproduction of Venezuela, Peru, Germany and Argentina premiered in Toronto 2013. FiGa sold it to U.S. – Pragda, Argentina--Obra Cine, Brazil--Esfera Filmes, Bulgaria--Sofia International Film Festival - Art Fest Ltd., France--Pyramide Distribution, Hungary -- Cirko, Italy--Cineclub Internazionale, Latin America--Palmera International, Portugal -- Nitrato Filmes, Serbia--European Film Festival Palic, Switzerland --Look Now! Filmdistribution, U.K.--Axiom Films International, Venezuela--Centro Nacional Autonomo De Cinematografia
Documentary Feature category
Winner: "Sobre la Marxa: the Creator of the Jungle" by Jordi Morató from Spain debuted at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Other Contenders:
"Letter to a Father" of Edgardo Cozarinsky, a coproduction from France and Argentina screened at Mar del Plata, Cinema du reel 2014 (Competition), Vienna and Jerusalem among other festivals. Doc and FIlms has the international rights.
"Echo Mountain" ("Eco de la montaña") by Nicolás Echevarría, a coproduction of U.S. and Mexico, premiered at Guadalajara Film Festival and Cinema du Reel in 2014.
"And Now? Remember Me" ("E agora? Lembra-me") by Joaquim Pinto from Portugal premiered at Locarno Film Festival 2013, has won 16 awards and 3 nominations and is distributed in France by Epicentre and by Midas in Portugal.
"Watch & Listen" by José Luis Torres Leiva
Best Female Role:
Winner:
Leandra Leal ("A Wolf At the Door" from Brazil premiered at Toronto Ff 2013. Isa: Im Global/Mundial sold to U.S.--Film Movement and Outsider Pictures, Benelux—Cdc United Network, Canada--A-z Films, Israel--United King Video Ltd., Latin America--Palmera International, So. Korea --Korean Film Art Center Baekdu-Daegan Films Co., Ltd, Portugal--Vendetta Filmes, Spain--Betta Pictures, Turkey--Moviebox)
Other Contenders:
Marian Álvarez ("The Wound" aka "La Herida" - Isa: Imagina, premiered San Sebastian Ff where the Special jury prize / Silver Shell for best actress went to Marian Álvarez), Samantha Castillo ("Bad Hair")
Paulina García ("Illiterate" - Isa: Habanero, screened at Guadalajara Ficg 2014, Sanfic - Santiago International Film Festival - Best Picture Audience award , Venice Film Festival - Settimana della Critica - Closing Film, Chicago International Film Festival - New Directors Competition, Sao Paulo International Film Festival - New Directors Competition )
Karen Martinez ("The Golden Cage")
Best Male Role:
Winner:
Viggo Mortensen ("Cockaigne" aka "Jauja")
Other Contenders:
Fernando Bacilio ("Mute" aka "El Mudo" by Daniel Vega premiered at Toronto in 2013. Udi sold it to Encore for airlines)
Alex Brendemühl ("Stella cadente" aka "Falling Star" by Luis Miñarro from Spain screened in Bafici (Buenos Aires) 2014 Panorama, San Sebastian 2014 Made in Spain, Gent Iff 2014 Feature Films, Rotterdam Iffr 2014 (Tiger Competition). Isa: Ndm sold it to Germany--Salzgeber & Co. Medien Gmbh Puerto Rico--Wiesner Distribution, Spain--Vercine)
Brandon Lopez ("The Golden Cage")
Antonio de la Torre ("Cannibal" by Manuel Martin Cuenca, a coproduction of Spain, Romania, Russia, France premiered at Toronto and San Sebastian 2013. Isa Film Factory sold it to U.S. - Film Movement, Belgium--Film Fest Gent, Hong Kong--Encore Inflight Limited-, Japan--Broadmedia Studios Corporation, Latin America--Palmera International, Spain--Mod Producciones, Taiwan--Creative Century Entertainment Co., Ltd.)
Eight other awards (listed below) were granted in the photography category, costumes, art direction, sound, music, editing and screenplay.
Four special awards were also presented:
The Latin American Festival Award, decided by the Advisory Council Cinema23 went to the Havana Film Festival (Festival de Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano). On December 3, 1979, over five hundred film professionals, mainly from Latin America, met in Havana, Cuba, for the inaugural Festival of New Latin American Cinema, which in its own words, "sought to build a space to identify and disseminate films whose significance and artistic values enrich and reaffirm American and Caribbean cultural identity where rich dialogue between film professionals, students and the informed public and critics gather". For decades and through its multiple realities Havana has played a role in community building around film as an art form and as an incentive for social reflection.
The work of more than three decades by a team led today by Ivan Giroud and which survives the noble and generous spirit of its founder, Alfredo Guevara, and those like Santiago Alvarez and Gabriel García Márquez, who have accompanied him from his beginnings, deserves to be recognized by those who think that culture is a way that allows us to approach, meet, recognize and move away from violence towards a better world. "With this award go our admiration and our gratitude to the Festival of New Latin American Cinema of Havana."
The Critics' Award, selected by Fipresci (Federation International Film Critics) went to the Brazilian writer José Carlos Avellar for his critical work. An admired and appreciated writer, critic, teacher and programmer, Avellar worked for over twenty years for the newspaper Jornal do Brasil, and has published six books on Brazilian and Latin American cinema. The former vice-president of Fipresci is also Berlinale's delegate in Brazil. More information and examples of his work can be found in his website www.escrevercinema.com.
Recognition of the Exhibition Sector, awarded by the leading exhibitors in the region went to Mexican actor and producer, Eugenio Derbez, for "No se aceptan devoluciones" ("Instructions Not Included").
The resurgence of Mexican films which began in 2001 with the all-time hit "Amores Perros" by Alejandro González Iñárritu and which also introduced Gael Garcia Bernal to the public (U.S. box office $5,408,467, worldwide $20,908,467) and "El crimen del Padre Amaro" in 2002 (U.S. box office $5,717,044, worldwide: $26,996,738) up until the hits, "Nosotros los Nobles" and "No se aceptan devoluciones" had the highest number admissions than any other Mexican film. Twelve years later, in six weeks "No se aceptan devolucions" outgrossed both "Amores" and "El crimen" combined. México Televisa’s Videocine Mexican box office was Us $44,882,061 and U.S. box office was $44,143,000. This is truly an exhibitor's dream movie.
No sooner had "Los Nobles" swept the Mexican box-office off its feet than another Mexican movie, independently produced by Monica Lozano’s México City-based Alebrije Cine y Video, "Instructions Not Included" was released -- first in the U.S. by Pantelion on August 30, 2013, almost three weeks before its Mexican release on September 20, 2013. The two countries grossed an equal amount. Moreover, Videocine released the film on 1,500 prints similar to a major release of a film such as "Batman". Through the Cinepolis chain’s use of satellite, these 1,500 prints were able to show on 2,500 screens. This represents both a new release pattern and a new type of Mexican film.
Previously Mexican films which were meant for the Mexican and Mexican-American audience (as opposed to those targeted to the art house audiences) were perceived as too Mexican by their U.S. target and they were released in the U.S. only after the Mexican release, and by that time, piracy had done its work in the U.S. and the film lacked the prestige of an "American" film. This film and the previous film, "The Noble Family", are not typically Mexican. Their storyline could be transposed anywhere, and in fact "The Noble Family" remake rights have been sold to U.S. In addition, releasing the film first in the U.S. changes the perception of the film in México. Being such a success in U.S. paves the way for its success in México as if it were validated as a "good" film.
Added to these two elements is the third key to success, Eugenio Derbez, the director and star of "Instructions", is a major TV comedy star in México and is known by all Mexicans wherever they reside. Mexican TV is quite powerful, it has a duopoly made by Televisa and TV Azteca. Derbez comes from Televisa. The film was also shot in English and Spanish and takes place in the U.S. Finally, Derbez himself and former head of production at Pantelion, Ben Odell, have now established a production company, 3 Spas, pronounced "Tres Paz" which funnily enough sounds like "tripas" or "guts". Reese Witherspoon whose film "Wild" opened the festival said that she had approached Derbez for a film she was producing already, but he was busy. However, she hopes they will soon find a project to do together. How great that will be for the exhibitors, the distributors and the audiences around the world!
The Phoenix Lifetime Achievement Award, which is awarded by the different academies and film associations in all the differenct countries of the region and announced by the Mexican Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences, went to Arturo Ripstein. Recognized as one of the great masters in the history of Mexican cinema, Ripstein said, "I'm glad to say that a lifetime achievement award is usually given when one is finished with everything. But I am pleased to say that I still need a bit of experience, because next week I start my new film. I've been practicing this craft half a century, and this (the Phoenix Award ) symbolizes what it has really cost me over the past 50 years."
List of all winners include:
Narrative Film: Diego Quemada-Diez ("La Jaula de Oro")
Documentary Film: Jordi Morato ("Sobre la Marxa")
Screenplay: Amat Escalante y Gabriel Reyes ("Heli")
Director: Amat Escalante ("Heli")
Photography: Julián Apezteguia ("El ardor")
Art Design: José Luis Arrizabalaga y Arturo García ("Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi")
Editing: Paloma López Carrillo y Felipe Gómez ("La Jaula de Oro")
Costume Design: Chris Garrido ("Tatuagem")
Sound Design: Matías Barberis, Raúl Locatelli y Jaime Baksht ("La Jaula de oro")
Music: Joan Valent ("Las brujas de Zugarramurdi")
Lead Actor: Viggo Mortensen ("Jauja")
Lead Actress: Leandra Leal ("A Wolf at the Door")
Diego Quemada-Diez Receives the Award for Best Narrative Film for "La Jaula de Oro"
Amat Escalante Receives the Award for Best Director for "Heli"
Viggo Mortensen Receives the Award for Best Lead Actor for "Jauja"
Leandra Leal Receives the Award for Best Lead Actress for "A Wolf at the Door"...
Aside from enumerating the awards here, we wish to show how the films' dissemination throughout the world is, in fact succeeding by showing sales agents and commercial distributors, some of many festivals the films played, and some of the awards won.
Nominees in twelve categories were chosen from a shortlist of 58 feature films and 16 documentaries in the region and awarded by a jury made up of - among others - Luis Tosar, Wagner Moura, Daniel Hendler, Selton Mello, José María Yazpik, Maria de Medeiros, Paulina García, Amat Escalante, Fernando Meirelles, Rodrigo García, Sebastián Lelio, Rodrigo Pla.
Feature Film category
Winner: "The Golden Cage" ("La Juala de oro") by Diego Quemada-díez, a coproduction of Guatemala, Spain and Mexico, since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard in 2013 where Quemada-díez won A Certain Talent Award for his directing work and the ensemble cast has received a total of 67 awards, including 9 Ariel awards by the Mexican Film Academy: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best First Feature, Best Actor, Best Upcoming Actor, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Music. It also won Best Picture, Best Editing and Best Sound at the Fenix Awards. Producers sold to Benelux - Wild Bunch Benelux, France - Pretty Pictures , Mexico - Canibal Networks,, Portugal - Legendmain Filmes, Spain - Golem Distribución, Taiwan - Maison Motion, U.K. - Peccadillo Pictures.
Other contenders:
"Club Sandwich" by Fernando Eimbcke, a Mexican production, screened in Toronto International Film Festival 2013, San Sebastian 2013 among many others. International sales agent (Isa) Funny Balloons sold the film to Benelux - ABC - Cinemien, Brazil--Esfera Filmes, Mexico--Cine Pantera, Poland--Art House, Turkey--Filma Ltd.
"Heli" by Amat Escalante, a Mexican production premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2013. Isa Ndm sold to U.S.--Outsider Pictures, Belgium--Film Fest Gent, Brazil--Zeta Filmes, Canada--K Films Amerique and A-z Films, Denmark--Ost For Paradis, France--Le Pacte, Greece--Ama Films, Hungary--Cirko Film Kft., Netherlands--Amstelfilm, Norway--Filmhuset Gruppen As & Europafilm As, Poland--Spectator, Puerto Ric--Wiesner Distribution, Serbia--Mcf Megacom Film, Spain--Savor Ediciones, S.A., Sweden--Njutafilms and Maywin Films Ab, Taiwan--Pomi International, Turkey--Filmarti Film, U.K.--Network
"Jauja" by Lisandro Alonso, a coproduction of Argentina, Denmark, France and Mexico and winner of the Fipresci Award in Cannes' Un Certain Regard 2014 where it debuted. It also played in Toronto and Busan among many other festivals. Isa Ndm, sold to U.S. -- The Cinema Guild; Argentina--Distribution Company Sudamericana S.A.; Spain--Noucinemart- Festival Internacional De Cinema D'autor De Barcelona; U.K.--Soda Pictures
"Bad Hair" ("Pelo Malo") by Mariana Rondon, a coproduction of Venezuela, Peru, Germany and Argentina premiered in Toronto 2013. FiGa sold it to U.S. – Pragda, Argentina--Obra Cine, Brazil--Esfera Filmes, Bulgaria--Sofia International Film Festival - Art Fest Ltd., France--Pyramide Distribution, Hungary -- Cirko, Italy--Cineclub Internazionale, Latin America--Palmera International, Portugal -- Nitrato Filmes, Serbia--European Film Festival Palic, Switzerland --Look Now! Filmdistribution, U.K.--Axiom Films International, Venezuela--Centro Nacional Autonomo De Cinematografia
Documentary Feature category
Winner: "Sobre la Marxa: the Creator of the Jungle" by Jordi Morató from Spain debuted at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Other Contenders:
"Letter to a Father" of Edgardo Cozarinsky, a coproduction from France and Argentina screened at Mar del Plata, Cinema du reel 2014 (Competition), Vienna and Jerusalem among other festivals. Doc and FIlms has the international rights.
"Echo Mountain" ("Eco de la montaña") by Nicolás Echevarría, a coproduction of U.S. and Mexico, premiered at Guadalajara Film Festival and Cinema du Reel in 2014.
"And Now? Remember Me" ("E agora? Lembra-me") by Joaquim Pinto from Portugal premiered at Locarno Film Festival 2013, has won 16 awards and 3 nominations and is distributed in France by Epicentre and by Midas in Portugal.
"Watch & Listen" by José Luis Torres Leiva
Best Female Role:
Winner:
Leandra Leal ("A Wolf At the Door" from Brazil premiered at Toronto Ff 2013. Isa: Im Global/Mundial sold to U.S.--Film Movement and Outsider Pictures, Benelux—Cdc United Network, Canada--A-z Films, Israel--United King Video Ltd., Latin America--Palmera International, So. Korea --Korean Film Art Center Baekdu-Daegan Films Co., Ltd, Portugal--Vendetta Filmes, Spain--Betta Pictures, Turkey--Moviebox)
Other Contenders:
Marian Álvarez ("The Wound" aka "La Herida" - Isa: Imagina, premiered San Sebastian Ff where the Special jury prize / Silver Shell for best actress went to Marian Álvarez), Samantha Castillo ("Bad Hair")
Paulina García ("Illiterate" - Isa: Habanero, screened at Guadalajara Ficg 2014, Sanfic - Santiago International Film Festival - Best Picture Audience award , Venice Film Festival - Settimana della Critica - Closing Film, Chicago International Film Festival - New Directors Competition, Sao Paulo International Film Festival - New Directors Competition )
Karen Martinez ("The Golden Cage")
Best Male Role:
Winner:
Viggo Mortensen ("Cockaigne" aka "Jauja")
Other Contenders:
Fernando Bacilio ("Mute" aka "El Mudo" by Daniel Vega premiered at Toronto in 2013. Udi sold it to Encore for airlines)
Alex Brendemühl ("Stella cadente" aka "Falling Star" by Luis Miñarro from Spain screened in Bafici (Buenos Aires) 2014 Panorama, San Sebastian 2014 Made in Spain, Gent Iff 2014 Feature Films, Rotterdam Iffr 2014 (Tiger Competition). Isa: Ndm sold it to Germany--Salzgeber & Co. Medien Gmbh Puerto Rico--Wiesner Distribution, Spain--Vercine)
Brandon Lopez ("The Golden Cage")
Antonio de la Torre ("Cannibal" by Manuel Martin Cuenca, a coproduction of Spain, Romania, Russia, France premiered at Toronto and San Sebastian 2013. Isa Film Factory sold it to U.S. - Film Movement, Belgium--Film Fest Gent, Hong Kong--Encore Inflight Limited-, Japan--Broadmedia Studios Corporation, Latin America--Palmera International, Spain--Mod Producciones, Taiwan--Creative Century Entertainment Co., Ltd.)
Eight other awards (listed below) were granted in the photography category, costumes, art direction, sound, music, editing and screenplay.
Four special awards were also presented:
The Latin American Festival Award, decided by the Advisory Council Cinema23 went to the Havana Film Festival (Festival de Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano). On December 3, 1979, over five hundred film professionals, mainly from Latin America, met in Havana, Cuba, for the inaugural Festival of New Latin American Cinema, which in its own words, "sought to build a space to identify and disseminate films whose significance and artistic values enrich and reaffirm American and Caribbean cultural identity where rich dialogue between film professionals, students and the informed public and critics gather". For decades and through its multiple realities Havana has played a role in community building around film as an art form and as an incentive for social reflection.
The work of more than three decades by a team led today by Ivan Giroud and which survives the noble and generous spirit of its founder, Alfredo Guevara, and those like Santiago Alvarez and Gabriel García Márquez, who have accompanied him from his beginnings, deserves to be recognized by those who think that culture is a way that allows us to approach, meet, recognize and move away from violence towards a better world. "With this award go our admiration and our gratitude to the Festival of New Latin American Cinema of Havana."
The Critics' Award, selected by Fipresci (Federation International Film Critics) went to the Brazilian writer José Carlos Avellar for his critical work. An admired and appreciated writer, critic, teacher and programmer, Avellar worked for over twenty years for the newspaper Jornal do Brasil, and has published six books on Brazilian and Latin American cinema. The former vice-president of Fipresci is also Berlinale's delegate in Brazil. More information and examples of his work can be found in his website www.escrevercinema.com.
Recognition of the Exhibition Sector, awarded by the leading exhibitors in the region went to Mexican actor and producer, Eugenio Derbez, for "No se aceptan devoluciones" ("Instructions Not Included").
The resurgence of Mexican films which began in 2001 with the all-time hit "Amores Perros" by Alejandro González Iñárritu and which also introduced Gael Garcia Bernal to the public (U.S. box office $5,408,467, worldwide $20,908,467) and "El crimen del Padre Amaro" in 2002 (U.S. box office $5,717,044, worldwide: $26,996,738) up until the hits, "Nosotros los Nobles" and "No se aceptan devoluciones" had the highest number admissions than any other Mexican film. Twelve years later, in six weeks "No se aceptan devolucions" outgrossed both "Amores" and "El crimen" combined. México Televisa’s Videocine Mexican box office was Us $44,882,061 and U.S. box office was $44,143,000. This is truly an exhibitor's dream movie.
No sooner had "Los Nobles" swept the Mexican box-office off its feet than another Mexican movie, independently produced by Monica Lozano’s México City-based Alebrije Cine y Video, "Instructions Not Included" was released -- first in the U.S. by Pantelion on August 30, 2013, almost three weeks before its Mexican release on September 20, 2013. The two countries grossed an equal amount. Moreover, Videocine released the film on 1,500 prints similar to a major release of a film such as "Batman". Through the Cinepolis chain’s use of satellite, these 1,500 prints were able to show on 2,500 screens. This represents both a new release pattern and a new type of Mexican film.
Previously Mexican films which were meant for the Mexican and Mexican-American audience (as opposed to those targeted to the art house audiences) were perceived as too Mexican by their U.S. target and they were released in the U.S. only after the Mexican release, and by that time, piracy had done its work in the U.S. and the film lacked the prestige of an "American" film. This film and the previous film, "The Noble Family", are not typically Mexican. Their storyline could be transposed anywhere, and in fact "The Noble Family" remake rights have been sold to U.S. In addition, releasing the film first in the U.S. changes the perception of the film in México. Being such a success in U.S. paves the way for its success in México as if it were validated as a "good" film.
Added to these two elements is the third key to success, Eugenio Derbez, the director and star of "Instructions", is a major TV comedy star in México and is known by all Mexicans wherever they reside. Mexican TV is quite powerful, it has a duopoly made by Televisa and TV Azteca. Derbez comes from Televisa. The film was also shot in English and Spanish and takes place in the U.S. Finally, Derbez himself and former head of production at Pantelion, Ben Odell, have now established a production company, 3 Spas, pronounced "Tres Paz" which funnily enough sounds like "tripas" or "guts". Reese Witherspoon whose film "Wild" opened the festival said that she had approached Derbez for a film she was producing already, but he was busy. However, she hopes they will soon find a project to do together. How great that will be for the exhibitors, the distributors and the audiences around the world!
The Phoenix Lifetime Achievement Award, which is awarded by the different academies and film associations in all the differenct countries of the region and announced by the Mexican Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences, went to Arturo Ripstein. Recognized as one of the great masters in the history of Mexican cinema, Ripstein said, "I'm glad to say that a lifetime achievement award is usually given when one is finished with everything. But I am pleased to say that I still need a bit of experience, because next week I start my new film. I've been practicing this craft half a century, and this (the Phoenix Award ) symbolizes what it has really cost me over the past 50 years."
List of all winners include:
Narrative Film: Diego Quemada-Diez ("La Jaula de Oro")
Documentary Film: Jordi Morato ("Sobre la Marxa")
Screenplay: Amat Escalante y Gabriel Reyes ("Heli")
Director: Amat Escalante ("Heli")
Photography: Julián Apezteguia ("El ardor")
Art Design: José Luis Arrizabalaga y Arturo García ("Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi")
Editing: Paloma López Carrillo y Felipe Gómez ("La Jaula de Oro")
Costume Design: Chris Garrido ("Tatuagem")
Sound Design: Matías Barberis, Raúl Locatelli y Jaime Baksht ("La Jaula de oro")
Music: Joan Valent ("Las brujas de Zugarramurdi")
Lead Actor: Viggo Mortensen ("Jauja")
Lead Actress: Leandra Leal ("A Wolf at the Door")
Diego Quemada-Diez Receives the Award for Best Narrative Film for "La Jaula de Oro"
Amat Escalante Receives the Award for Best Director for "Heli"
Viggo Mortensen Receives the Award for Best Lead Actor for "Jauja"
Leandra Leal Receives the Award for Best Lead Actress for "A Wolf at the Door"...
- 11/19/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
★★★☆☆ Diego Quemada-Díez’s debut film The Golden Dream (2013) so impressed at Cannes in 2013 that it received a special award and fulsome praise from Ken Loach. It tells the simple and familiar story of three young Guatemalans who decide to leave their homeland and travel through Mexico towards the 'dream' of the United States. Cocksure, but not quite as competent as he thinks he is, Juan (Brandon Lopez) is the leader, joined by Sara (Karen Martinez) who we initially see cutting her hair off and strapping it to her chest in order to transform herself into a boy called Osvaldo. Samuel (Carlos Chajon) is the third of the trio, whose previous employment required scavenging a living from giant rubbish dumps.
- 11/13/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Mexican feature Perpetual Sadness and Israeli drama Next to Her take top prizes at Greek festival.Scroll down for full list of winners
Mexican director Jorge Perez Solorzano’s Perpetual Sadness (La Tirisia) was named best film at the 55th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Oct 31 - Nov 9) winning the Golden Alexander.
It beat competition from 13 other first and second films screened in this year’s international competition section.
The film deals with the stoicism and the sadness shared by women in a remote village facing the departure of their sons in search of work. World sales are handled by Media Luna.
It marks the second consecutive year that a Mexican production has won top honours at Thessaloniki. Last year, Diego Quemada-Diez’s Golden Dream (La jaula de oro) scooped the top award as well as best director.
Some 10 Mexican features have played in competition at the festival since 2000, winning cropping 12 principal awards.
Israeli feature...
Mexican director Jorge Perez Solorzano’s Perpetual Sadness (La Tirisia) was named best film at the 55th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Oct 31 - Nov 9) winning the Golden Alexander.
It beat competition from 13 other first and second films screened in this year’s international competition section.
The film deals with the stoicism and the sadness shared by women in a remote village facing the departure of their sons in search of work. World sales are handled by Media Luna.
It marks the second consecutive year that a Mexican production has won top honours at Thessaloniki. Last year, Diego Quemada-Diez’s Golden Dream (La jaula de oro) scooped the top award as well as best director.
Some 10 Mexican features have played in competition at the festival since 2000, winning cropping 12 principal awards.
Israeli feature...
- 11/10/2014
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
Gael Garcia Bernal and Agnes B. both receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-24) launched its 20th edition on Friday night and staged a hat-trick of events to mark the occasion.
After the traditional welcome drinks reception on the Festival Square, festival director Mirsad Purivatra took to the stage of the city’s Open Air Cinema in front of an audience of thousands to award Gael Garcia Bernal with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
The ceremony was held ahead of a screening of the Mexican actor and director’s breakthrough performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros (2000).
“Since your appearance in Amores Perros, you have played different characters in many films that have made up part of our programme,” said Purivatra.
“We admire you as an actor, a film director and a person who is trying to change the world. It is an honour to welcome you to Sarajevo and to...
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-24) launched its 20th edition on Friday night and staged a hat-trick of events to mark the occasion.
After the traditional welcome drinks reception on the Festival Square, festival director Mirsad Purivatra took to the stage of the city’s Open Air Cinema in front of an audience of thousands to award Gael Garcia Bernal with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
The ceremony was held ahead of a screening of the Mexican actor and director’s breakthrough performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros (2000).
“Since your appearance in Amores Perros, you have played different characters in many films that have made up part of our programme,” said Purivatra.
“We admire you as an actor, a film director and a person who is trying to change the world. It is an honour to welcome you to Sarajevo and to...
- 8/15/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
We’re trying to make cinema that encourages thinking
The Golden Dream is a stunning first feature by Diego Quemada-Diez, who has previously worked camera for, among others, Alejandro Inarritu, Oliver Stone, and, most influentially, for Ken Loach. The Golden Dream has recently become the most awarded Mexican film in history, scooping up awards from Thessaloniki to Tallinn, including Un Certain Regard at Cannes. Juan (Brandon Lopez), Sara (Karen Martinez), and Chauk (Rodolfo Dominguez) are three Guatemalans, barely burgeoning on adulthood, who leave the poverty of their slum and head for a treacherous dream, a life—a fantasy better life—in the United States. First as illegal immigrants in Mexico, they must make their way west and then up, to become illegal immigrants in Los Angeles, joining a river of migration through an incredibly hostile environment. Besides robbery (if it’s not bandits, it’s the police who rob them), hunger,...
The Golden Dream is a stunning first feature by Diego Quemada-Diez, who has previously worked camera for, among others, Alejandro Inarritu, Oliver Stone, and, most influentially, for Ken Loach. The Golden Dream has recently become the most awarded Mexican film in history, scooping up awards from Thessaloniki to Tallinn, including Un Certain Regard at Cannes. Juan (Brandon Lopez), Sara (Karen Martinez), and Chauk (Rodolfo Dominguez) are three Guatemalans, barely burgeoning on adulthood, who leave the poverty of their slum and head for a treacherous dream, a life—a fantasy better life—in the United States. First as illegal immigrants in Mexico, they must make their way west and then up, to become illegal immigrants in Los Angeles, joining a river of migration through an incredibly hostile environment. Besides robbery (if it’s not bandits, it’s the police who rob them), hunger,...
- 7/4/2014
- by Dr. Garth Twa
- Pure Movies
With the grand tradition of road movies, characters are obligingly swept away on a journey that will show them new things, throw a bunch of conflict their way, and they will – as a result – grow and change for the better. On paper, The Golden Dream fits the same stylings, but it’s not the story you know; the children at the heart of this wonderful picture certainly do change, and learn some hard-fought lessons, but not necessarily for the better.
If you were Guatemalan, chances are you’d want to leave, too; three kids, barely teens, make the decision to escape their slum-circled existence and head for the hope-filled United States, shimmering on the horizon many miles north with many dangers before it. Juan (Brandon López) leads the trio of wannabe Us citizens, a tough street kid with a mean streak but also a soul, while Sara (Karen Martínez) provides...
If you were Guatemalan, chances are you’d want to leave, too; three kids, barely teens, make the decision to escape their slum-circled existence and head for the hope-filled United States, shimmering on the horizon many miles north with many dangers before it. Juan (Brandon López) leads the trio of wannabe Us citizens, a tough street kid with a mean streak but also a soul, while Sara (Karen Martínez) provides...
- 7/3/2014
- by Gary Green
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
All great debut features come from a place of true inspiration. For Diego Quemada-Diez, those places are dotted all over; with his knockout first film, The Golden Dream, which follows the lives of a group of teenagers as they embark on a mission from Guatemala to the U.S., the elements of his work can be traced back to the director’s influences (of which there are many) while also standing entirely on their own.
He sat down with HeyUGuys for a lengthy chat about the movie, and the political, social and deeply personal aspects that came to shape not only The Golden Dream, but his life.
Warning: this interview contains spoilers.
I found the film to be very powerful, but very sad as well. Did you have any inspirations? Were you thinking of other films while you were making this one?
I’ve been a cinephile all my life,...
He sat down with HeyUGuys for a lengthy chat about the movie, and the political, social and deeply personal aspects that came to shape not only The Golden Dream, but his life.
Warning: this interview contains spoilers.
I found the film to be very powerful, but very sad as well. Did you have any inspirations? Were you thinking of other films while you were making this one?
I’ve been a cinephile all my life,...
- 6/27/2014
- by Gary Green
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
★★★★☆The ongoing search for a better life becomes a desperate fable of escape from poverty in Diego Quemada-Díez's debut feature The Golden Dream (2013). A coming of age drama of sorts as four kids up sticks and hike towards America, it never shirks away from the horrors of their journey, including kidnappings, gangs and gun-ho border patrols. Juan (Brandon López), Samuel (Carlos Chajon) and Sara (Karen Martínez), three Guatemalan teens, head northwards in search of a new start in the States. On the way they meet a young Tzotzil boy, Chauk (Rodolfo Dominguez) - who doesn't speak Spanish - but strike up a partnership with him as they wade through the dangerous world of migrant travel.
- 6/25/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The Golden Dream follows the fortunes of four Guatemalan teenagers on a dangerous journey across the Mexican border into America
The Golden Dream (La Jaula De Oro) is Diego Quemada-Diez’s debut feature. The Golden Dream follows the fortunes of four Guatemalan teenagers on a dangerous journey across the Mexican border into America. Using improvisational techniques and non-professional actors, The Golden Dream has astounded and won critical praise world over, garnering numerous awards including a specially created prize by Cannes Jury members in 2013.
The Golden Dream (La Jaula De Oro) is Diego Quemada-Diez’s debut feature. The Golden Dream follows the fortunes of four Guatemalan teenagers on a dangerous journey across the Mexican border into America. Using improvisational techniques and non-professional actors, The Golden Dream has astounded and won critical praise world over, garnering numerous awards including a specially created prize by Cannes Jury members in 2013.
- 6/8/2014
- by admin
- Pure Movies
Diego Quemada-Díez's debut film The Golden Cage (La Jaula de Oro), a drama about Central American immigrants travelling to the United States, won big at the 56th edition of the Ariel Awards, the Mexican equivalent of the Oscars. After having a successful presentation at last year's Cannes Film Festival, where it won the A Certain Talent Prize for Ensemble Cast, The Golden Cage was released in Mexican movie theaters just this month and it's still playing in some. The Golden Cage took home nine Ariel Awards, including Best Film, Actor, and Original Screenplay. Amat Escalante, another Cannes 2013 Mexican winner, got the Best Director Ariel Award for Heli, while Quebranto was cited for best doc. Few surprises overall really, and perhaps the most shocking thing...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 5/28/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Today we’ve got an exclusive look at the feature film debut of Diego Quemada-Diez, whose previous work lies behind the cameras on the sets of Fernando Meirelles and Alejandro González Iñárritu.
The Golden Dream is being released in the UK on the 27th of June by Peccadillo Pictures following its successful festival run and the trailer below gives us a brief insight into the dangerous struggle faced by the two teenagers trying to cross the Mexican/Us border and into the promised land.
The trailer teases a few choice images and the director’s work with Ken Loach promises the harsh realities of such a life will not be given any gloss. Look out for it in a month.
Here’s the trailer and poster,
The post First Look at the Trailer and Poster for Diego Quemada-Diez’s The Golden Dream appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The Golden Dream is being released in the UK on the 27th of June by Peccadillo Pictures following its successful festival run and the trailer below gives us a brief insight into the dangerous struggle faced by the two teenagers trying to cross the Mexican/Us border and into the promised land.
The trailer teases a few choice images and the director’s work with Ken Loach promises the harsh realities of such a life will not be given any gloss. Look out for it in a month.
Here’s the trailer and poster,
The post First Look at the Trailer and Poster for Diego Quemada-Diez’s The Golden Dream appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 5/27/2014
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Providing a glimpse into the vast landscape of Iberoamerican cinema and its artists, MoMa’s eclectic selection of films for their biannual showcase is truly enlightening. These year’s collection features some works that received distribution and critical acclaimed and others that have been outstandingly successful in the festival circuit, creating an opportunity for audiences to connect with films they might have missed and others that are shown in the American market.
Staying away from the obvious choices, these gems are films that represent a special perspective within the Iberoamerican collective narrative. Personal stories about heritage, social change, and family, delivered in ways that make innovative use of the medium both in terms of content and form. Working in over 20 countries the Ibermedia organization has been instrumental for the development of these and many other films across the Americas, Spin and Portugal, and this small but artistically impressive retrospective aims to continuously honor their efforts.
This fantastic film exhibition started on May 1st, and continues through May 14th. Below are some of the most notable titles, but in all honesty anything playing here is worth the price of admission.
Palabras Magicas (Para romper un encantamiento)/ Magic Words (Breaking a Spell)
Dir. Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez
Morphing breathtaking vistas of Nicaragua into poignant visual metaphors, Mercedes Moncada Rodriguez weaves together fragments of her country's torturous past and its forgotten beauty to form a riveting portrait of her homeland. Using July 19, 1979 - the fateful first day of the Sandinista Revolution - as connecting point between old wounds and an the uncertain future, the filmmaker creates a poetic documentary adorned with evocative narration. The archive footage blends with carefully chosen imagery to make the sense lost hope and broken promises even more prominent. Beyond the historical importance it carries, this is a stunning revelation of a film.
No
Dir. Pablo Larraín
This Academy Award-nominated film by Pablo Larrain uses a peculiar visual style to tackle the crucial role of the media to create social change. It is an extremely entertaining work that seamlessly juxtaposes the visual style of the 80′s with contemporary cinematic language. The piece has a powerful message of unity, and it’s truthful to the history of the Chilean nation. Gael Garcia Bernal is riveting, besides nailing the Chilean accent, his character resonates as a torn man who finds no closure or national identity even after achieving success. His work in advertising serves the same purpose for capitalist marketing and revolutionary campaigns. Based on the real life events that help end the Pinochet regime, this is, above all, a story about incredible results from the most improbable of circumstances.
La Sirga (The Towrope)
Dir. William Vega
With a naturalist aesthetic that highlights the captivating setting and the hyperrealist characters, La Sirga is a delicately crafted new take on the coming-of-age tale. Alicia has just lost her parents at the hands of criminals that lurk around these remote towns in the Andes. She finds shelter with her uncle Don Oscar, and slowly begins to familiarize herself with the locals, their legends, and their fears. Darkness and the quiet sounds of the night slowly reveal the true nature of each character and their unspoken desires. Each silent moment in this film is as important as every line of dialogue. William Vega’s minimalist study of human relations in an isolated community is shot with impressive attention to the composition of each frame and the emotion it conveys.
La Demora (The Delay)
Dir. Rodrigo Plá
Intimate and touching, this bittersweet love letter to parents and their children focuses on a single mother of three who must also take care of her elderly father, who is not lucid enough to fend for himself. At the end if her rope, making very little money, and juggling all her obligations Maria decides to take drastic measures, which she soon regrets. This tiny Uruguayan gem relies on topnotch performances and the honesty of it story. Love is understood here not in magical and perfect terms, but as a mixture sacrifice, patience, and willingness to forgive.
Yvy Maraey: Tierra Sin Mal (Yvy Maraey: Land Without Evil)
Dir. Juan Carlos Valdivia
Essentially a narrative feature that borrows heavily from more sensorial and experimental works, this unclassifiable film set in Bolivia ponders on past wounds and the fervent collision between those of European descent and the indigenous people. Focusing on a filmmaker’s journey following the steps of researcher Erland Nordeskiold by the hand of Guarani Indian, this is a film about the concepts and images that are encrypted in the post-colonial history of Latin America. The concept is at the intersection of scripted drama and Cinéma vérité and it offers mysticism and insightful social commentary.
La Jaura de Oro (The Golden Dream)
Dir. Diego Quemada-Díez
Among the vast and redundant collection of tales dealing with illegal immigration, very few can claim to be unique. Given that there are some inherent qualities to these stories, it takes an assertive new voice to infuse the subject matter with honesty. Spanish director Diego Quemada-Díez’ La Jaula de Oro, is perhaps the most poetic, and neo-realist film about the struggles of people searching for a better future thousands of miles away from home at any cost. There are twists and turns in the plot that make for a satisfying, often heartbreaking viewing experience. Three Guatemalan kids on their way to the live the capitalist dream become trapped in a nightmarish reality as they travel though Mexico. They have nothing to lose but their lives.
Staying away from the obvious choices, these gems are films that represent a special perspective within the Iberoamerican collective narrative. Personal stories about heritage, social change, and family, delivered in ways that make innovative use of the medium both in terms of content and form. Working in over 20 countries the Ibermedia organization has been instrumental for the development of these and many other films across the Americas, Spin and Portugal, and this small but artistically impressive retrospective aims to continuously honor their efforts.
This fantastic film exhibition started on May 1st, and continues through May 14th. Below are some of the most notable titles, but in all honesty anything playing here is worth the price of admission.
Palabras Magicas (Para romper un encantamiento)/ Magic Words (Breaking a Spell)
Dir. Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez
Morphing breathtaking vistas of Nicaragua into poignant visual metaphors, Mercedes Moncada Rodriguez weaves together fragments of her country's torturous past and its forgotten beauty to form a riveting portrait of her homeland. Using July 19, 1979 - the fateful first day of the Sandinista Revolution - as connecting point between old wounds and an the uncertain future, the filmmaker creates a poetic documentary adorned with evocative narration. The archive footage blends with carefully chosen imagery to make the sense lost hope and broken promises even more prominent. Beyond the historical importance it carries, this is a stunning revelation of a film.
No
Dir. Pablo Larraín
This Academy Award-nominated film by Pablo Larrain uses a peculiar visual style to tackle the crucial role of the media to create social change. It is an extremely entertaining work that seamlessly juxtaposes the visual style of the 80′s with contemporary cinematic language. The piece has a powerful message of unity, and it’s truthful to the history of the Chilean nation. Gael Garcia Bernal is riveting, besides nailing the Chilean accent, his character resonates as a torn man who finds no closure or national identity even after achieving success. His work in advertising serves the same purpose for capitalist marketing and revolutionary campaigns. Based on the real life events that help end the Pinochet regime, this is, above all, a story about incredible results from the most improbable of circumstances.
La Sirga (The Towrope)
Dir. William Vega
With a naturalist aesthetic that highlights the captivating setting and the hyperrealist characters, La Sirga is a delicately crafted new take on the coming-of-age tale. Alicia has just lost her parents at the hands of criminals that lurk around these remote towns in the Andes. She finds shelter with her uncle Don Oscar, and slowly begins to familiarize herself with the locals, their legends, and their fears. Darkness and the quiet sounds of the night slowly reveal the true nature of each character and their unspoken desires. Each silent moment in this film is as important as every line of dialogue. William Vega’s minimalist study of human relations in an isolated community is shot with impressive attention to the composition of each frame and the emotion it conveys.
La Demora (The Delay)
Dir. Rodrigo Plá
Intimate and touching, this bittersweet love letter to parents and their children focuses on a single mother of three who must also take care of her elderly father, who is not lucid enough to fend for himself. At the end if her rope, making very little money, and juggling all her obligations Maria decides to take drastic measures, which she soon regrets. This tiny Uruguayan gem relies on topnotch performances and the honesty of it story. Love is understood here not in magical and perfect terms, but as a mixture sacrifice, patience, and willingness to forgive.
Yvy Maraey: Tierra Sin Mal (Yvy Maraey: Land Without Evil)
Dir. Juan Carlos Valdivia
Essentially a narrative feature that borrows heavily from more sensorial and experimental works, this unclassifiable film set in Bolivia ponders on past wounds and the fervent collision between those of European descent and the indigenous people. Focusing on a filmmaker’s journey following the steps of researcher Erland Nordeskiold by the hand of Guarani Indian, this is a film about the concepts and images that are encrypted in the post-colonial history of Latin America. The concept is at the intersection of scripted drama and Cinéma vérité and it offers mysticism and insightful social commentary.
La Jaura de Oro (The Golden Dream)
Dir. Diego Quemada-Díez
Among the vast and redundant collection of tales dealing with illegal immigration, very few can claim to be unique. Given that there are some inherent qualities to these stories, it takes an assertive new voice to infuse the subject matter with honesty. Spanish director Diego Quemada-Díez’ La Jaula de Oro, is perhaps the most poetic, and neo-realist film about the struggles of people searching for a better future thousands of miles away from home at any cost. There are twists and turns in the plot that make for a satisfying, often heartbreaking viewing experience. Three Guatemalan kids on their way to the live the capitalist dream become trapped in a nightmarish reality as they travel though Mexico. They have nothing to lose but their lives.
- 5/9/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
The Havana Film Festival in New York, running April 3-11, is celebrating its 15th year with a diverse lineup of documentary and fiction films from several Latin American countries. We take a closer look at the talent behind the camera and profile four filmmakers screening their works at this year's fest. Read on to hear from Cuban master Gerardo Chijona, camera operator-turned-director Diego Quemada-Diez, multiple award-winner Fernando Coimbra of Brazil, and Spanish documentarian Yolanda Pividal. They share their inspirations, aspirations, and cinematic guilty pleasures.
Gerardo Chijona, Director of Esther en alguna parte Lino Catala, a serious and traditional man, is approached by Larry Po, an eccentric elder who tells him that his late wife, Maruja, led a double life. From that moment on, the two old men join in an intense search of Maruja's past while trying to find the whereabouts of Esther, Larry's great love.
Where are you from? Cuba
What city do you call home? Havana
When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
I was a movie fan since I was in high school, but definitely I just knew it the first time I was invited to watch the shooting of a feature.
Did you formally study film?
No, my school was the industry. I worked first as assistant editor and also, during many years, as assistant director in features. Later I directed a lot of documentaries before jumping to fiction.
What's a movie you are embarrassed to admit you really like? Those I envy when I watch them.
If you could make a film with any actor (living or dead) who would it be? What would be the plot?
There are many actors through the history of cinema I would like to have with me in a film set, no matter the genre, either a drama or a comedy.
What was your inspiration for this story?
It was an old dream that I had since Eliseo Alberto Diego, one of my best friends, wrote his novel Esther Somewhere in 2005. We fought a lot to make it real. The inspiration was the friendship that joined us for almost forty years until his death.
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
To work with Reinaldo Miravalles, the best actor in Cuban cinema ever. He left Cuba in 1994 but came back to shoot the movie in Havana. The biggest challenge was to direct him with since he's 90 years old.
What sort of response has your film will had?
The film had a big response by the Cuban audience when it was shown in the theaters, mainly because of the quality of the cast that we managed to recruit. Outside Cuba, it is just starting to be shown and I am anxious to know the response. It was screened in October at the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival and won the awards for Best film and Best Script.
What is next for you? Any new projects?
I am just starting pre-production of a new movie, a comedy, called The Human Thing.
Diego Quemada-Diez, Director of La Jaula de Oro Three teenagers from Guatemala's slums travel to the Us in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn't speak Spanish. Traveling together in cargo trains and walking on the railroad tracks, they soon have to face a harsh reality.
Where are you from? Iberian Peninsula
What city do you call home? Mexico City
When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
After watching Shane (1953) by George Stevens. I cried lots and thought, "I want to make others feel."
Did you formally study film?
I worked my way up the ladder in the camera department until I saved enough money to go to the American Film Institute. I worked in over twenty films, my best teacher and master has been Ken Loach. I learned his method while working on Land & Freedom and 2 other of his films. While I was making shorts and researching and writing my first feature, I made a living as camera operator which allowed me collaborate with other directors like Iñarritu, Meirelles, Spike Lee, Toni Scott and others. That allowed me to meditate on how I would do things and find my own method.
What's a movie you are embarrassed to admit you really like? Evil Dead
If you could make a film with any actor (living or dead) who would it be? What would be the plot?
Alec nor Charles Laughton searching for his identity
What was your inspiration for this story?
From testimonies of migrants. They asked me to tell their story. One of them told me: "as human beings, no one in the world is illegal"
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
To film in less that 7 weeks, including travel days, a road movie, well, a train movie, that travelled 3000 miles over 3 countries, 120 locations, with 2000 extras.
What do you hope to achieve with your film? What sort of response or impact do you think it will have?
My intention is that during the screening the barriers between us (race, languages, nationalities) would dissolve. I want to impact the perception of undocumented migrants by someone in Kansas for example, that he/she would understand why migrants travel, that he/she would do the same thing if they were in a similar situation.
What is next for you? Any new projects?
I am researching and writing a new film. It also takes place in Latin America and is about a contemporary issue.
Fernando Coimbra, Director of O Lobo Atras da Porta
A girl is kidnapped. At the police station, Sylvia and Bernardo, the victim's parents, and Rosa, the main suspect and Bernardo's lover, give contradictory evidence. Rosa and Bernardo met on a train in Rio de Janeiro and they became lovers. Obsessed, Rosa and Sylvia develop a secret friendship, without Sylvia knowing of Bernardo's infidelities.
Where are you from? Brazil
What city do you call home? São Paulo
When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
I was 11 year old, my parents bought a videocassette and my grandma bought a VHS camera. I started to see a lot of films and to do some videos.
Did you formally study film?
Yes, at Eca-usp (School of Communication and Arts - Sao Paulo University)
What's a movie you are embarrassed to admit you really like?
I have no shame about the films I like.
If you could make a film with any actor (living or dead) who would it be? What would be the plot?
Marlon Brando, the best actor ever. I don't know the plot.
How did the idea of this film come to you? What was your inspiration for this story?
It's inspired on a true story. I read it in an old magazine and got thrilled by the strength of the story and the characters.
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
The editing. To keep the tension through the whole film. The beginning is so thrilling that was a challenge to keep the tension until the end. But I believe we got it.
What do you hope to achieve with your film?
I want the film to keep on the minds and bodies of the audience and make them think about all these crazy emotions a human being can experiment and live.
What is next for you? Any new projects?
I'm starting to write a new script in Brazil and I'm talking about other projects. Soon I hope I will have great news about these projects!
Yolanda Pividal, Director Of Kites and Borders
In this documentary, Edie is a teen who smuggles immigrants into the United States. Carmela is a nine-year-old who knows more about work in the city's dumps than fairy tales. Brothers Adrian and Fernando don masks to conceal their young age and perform wrestling matches at busy intersections in order to support their family.
Where are you from? Spain
What city do you call home? New York
When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
After college, when struggling to turn my journalistic work into something deeper.
Did you formally study film?
I studied communication in Spain then got my Mfa in Documentary film at City College of New York
What's a movie you are embarrassed to admit you really like? Titanic
If you could make a film with any actor (living or dead) who would it be? What would be the story?
I would just make The Night of the Hunter with Robert Mitchun the way it is!
What was your inspiration for this story?
A conversation with a Mexican man who had been deported and had crossed back the Rio Bravo guided by two kids, twice!
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
Being able to cross our own financial borders. Also, breaking all the borders between us and the characters till we felt we were all on the same side.
What do you hope to achieve with your film?
We hope people rethink the ideas on the border and the people on the other side.
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.
Gerardo Chijona, Director of Esther en alguna parte Lino Catala, a serious and traditional man, is approached by Larry Po, an eccentric elder who tells him that his late wife, Maruja, led a double life. From that moment on, the two old men join in an intense search of Maruja's past while trying to find the whereabouts of Esther, Larry's great love.
Where are you from? Cuba
What city do you call home? Havana
When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
I was a movie fan since I was in high school, but definitely I just knew it the first time I was invited to watch the shooting of a feature.
Did you formally study film?
No, my school was the industry. I worked first as assistant editor and also, during many years, as assistant director in features. Later I directed a lot of documentaries before jumping to fiction.
What's a movie you are embarrassed to admit you really like? Those I envy when I watch them.
If you could make a film with any actor (living or dead) who would it be? What would be the plot?
There are many actors through the history of cinema I would like to have with me in a film set, no matter the genre, either a drama or a comedy.
What was your inspiration for this story?
It was an old dream that I had since Eliseo Alberto Diego, one of my best friends, wrote his novel Esther Somewhere in 2005. We fought a lot to make it real. The inspiration was the friendship that joined us for almost forty years until his death.
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
To work with Reinaldo Miravalles, the best actor in Cuban cinema ever. He left Cuba in 1994 but came back to shoot the movie in Havana. The biggest challenge was to direct him with since he's 90 years old.
What sort of response has your film will had?
The film had a big response by the Cuban audience when it was shown in the theaters, mainly because of the quality of the cast that we managed to recruit. Outside Cuba, it is just starting to be shown and I am anxious to know the response. It was screened in October at the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival and won the awards for Best film and Best Script.
What is next for you? Any new projects?
I am just starting pre-production of a new movie, a comedy, called The Human Thing.
Diego Quemada-Diez, Director of La Jaula de Oro Three teenagers from Guatemala's slums travel to the Us in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn't speak Spanish. Traveling together in cargo trains and walking on the railroad tracks, they soon have to face a harsh reality.
Where are you from? Iberian Peninsula
What city do you call home? Mexico City
When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
After watching Shane (1953) by George Stevens. I cried lots and thought, "I want to make others feel."
Did you formally study film?
I worked my way up the ladder in the camera department until I saved enough money to go to the American Film Institute. I worked in over twenty films, my best teacher and master has been Ken Loach. I learned his method while working on Land & Freedom and 2 other of his films. While I was making shorts and researching and writing my first feature, I made a living as camera operator which allowed me collaborate with other directors like Iñarritu, Meirelles, Spike Lee, Toni Scott and others. That allowed me to meditate on how I would do things and find my own method.
What's a movie you are embarrassed to admit you really like? Evil Dead
If you could make a film with any actor (living or dead) who would it be? What would be the plot?
Alec nor Charles Laughton searching for his identity
What was your inspiration for this story?
From testimonies of migrants. They asked me to tell their story. One of them told me: "as human beings, no one in the world is illegal"
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
To film in less that 7 weeks, including travel days, a road movie, well, a train movie, that travelled 3000 miles over 3 countries, 120 locations, with 2000 extras.
What do you hope to achieve with your film? What sort of response or impact do you think it will have?
My intention is that during the screening the barriers between us (race, languages, nationalities) would dissolve. I want to impact the perception of undocumented migrants by someone in Kansas for example, that he/she would understand why migrants travel, that he/she would do the same thing if they were in a similar situation.
What is next for you? Any new projects?
I am researching and writing a new film. It also takes place in Latin America and is about a contemporary issue.
Fernando Coimbra, Director of O Lobo Atras da Porta
A girl is kidnapped. At the police station, Sylvia and Bernardo, the victim's parents, and Rosa, the main suspect and Bernardo's lover, give contradictory evidence. Rosa and Bernardo met on a train in Rio de Janeiro and they became lovers. Obsessed, Rosa and Sylvia develop a secret friendship, without Sylvia knowing of Bernardo's infidelities.
Where are you from? Brazil
What city do you call home? São Paulo
When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
I was 11 year old, my parents bought a videocassette and my grandma bought a VHS camera. I started to see a lot of films and to do some videos.
Did you formally study film?
Yes, at Eca-usp (School of Communication and Arts - Sao Paulo University)
What's a movie you are embarrassed to admit you really like?
I have no shame about the films I like.
If you could make a film with any actor (living or dead) who would it be? What would be the plot?
Marlon Brando, the best actor ever. I don't know the plot.
How did the idea of this film come to you? What was your inspiration for this story?
It's inspired on a true story. I read it in an old magazine and got thrilled by the strength of the story and the characters.
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
The editing. To keep the tension through the whole film. The beginning is so thrilling that was a challenge to keep the tension until the end. But I believe we got it.
What do you hope to achieve with your film?
I want the film to keep on the minds and bodies of the audience and make them think about all these crazy emotions a human being can experiment and live.
What is next for you? Any new projects?
I'm starting to write a new script in Brazil and I'm talking about other projects. Soon I hope I will have great news about these projects!
Yolanda Pividal, Director Of Kites and Borders
In this documentary, Edie is a teen who smuggles immigrants into the United States. Carmela is a nine-year-old who knows more about work in the city's dumps than fairy tales. Brothers Adrian and Fernando don masks to conceal their young age and perform wrestling matches at busy intersections in order to support their family.
Where are you from? Spain
What city do you call home? New York
When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
After college, when struggling to turn my journalistic work into something deeper.
Did you formally study film?
I studied communication in Spain then got my Mfa in Documentary film at City College of New York
What's a movie you are embarrassed to admit you really like? Titanic
If you could make a film with any actor (living or dead) who would it be? What would be the story?
I would just make The Night of the Hunter with Robert Mitchun the way it is!
What was your inspiration for this story?
A conversation with a Mexican man who had been deported and had crossed back the Rio Bravo guided by two kids, twice!
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
Being able to cross our own financial borders. Also, breaking all the borders between us and the characters till we felt we were all on the same side.
What do you hope to achieve with your film?
We hope people rethink the ideas on the border and the people on the other side.
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.
- 4/9/2014
- by Vanessa Erazo
- Sydney's Buzz
Lenny Abrahamson’s feature, starring Michael Fassbender, in competition at the Istanbul Film Festival.
The 33rd Istanbul Film Festival has unveiled its line-up of features including the 11 films that will go head-to-head in its international competition.
The competition titles include:
Frank, Lenny AbrahamsonMetalhead, Ragnar BragasonTracks, John CurranTom at the Farm, Xavier DolanMe, Myself and Mum, Guillaume GalliennePapusza, Joanna Kos, Krzysztof KrauzeThose Happy Years, Daniele LuchettiThe Reunion, Anna OdellTriptyque, Pedro Pires, Robert LepageViolette, Martin ProvostBlind, Eskil Vogt
The 10 titles in its Human Rights in Cinema Competition include:
Rags and Tatters, Ahmad AbdallaTransX Istanbul, Maria BinderMy Love Awaits Me by the Sea, Mais DarwazahAi Weiwei the Fake Case, Andreas JohnsenThe Voice of The Voiceless, Maximón MonihanThe Missing Picture, Rithy PanhLa Jaula de oro, Diego Quemada-DíezTangerines, Zaza UrushadzeThe Verdict, Jan VerheyenFor Those Who Can Tell No Tales, Jasmila Zbanic
As previously announced, Stephen Frears’ Oscar-nominated feature Philomena, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, will open the...
The 33rd Istanbul Film Festival has unveiled its line-up of features including the 11 films that will go head-to-head in its international competition.
The competition titles include:
Frank, Lenny AbrahamsonMetalhead, Ragnar BragasonTracks, John CurranTom at the Farm, Xavier DolanMe, Myself and Mum, Guillaume GalliennePapusza, Joanna Kos, Krzysztof KrauzeThose Happy Years, Daniele LuchettiThe Reunion, Anna OdellTriptyque, Pedro Pires, Robert LepageViolette, Martin ProvostBlind, Eskil Vogt
The 10 titles in its Human Rights in Cinema Competition include:
Rags and Tatters, Ahmad AbdallaTransX Istanbul, Maria BinderMy Love Awaits Me by the Sea, Mais DarwazahAi Weiwei the Fake Case, Andreas JohnsenThe Voice of The Voiceless, Maximón MonihanThe Missing Picture, Rithy PanhLa Jaula de oro, Diego Quemada-DíezTangerines, Zaza UrushadzeThe Verdict, Jan VerheyenFor Those Who Can Tell No Tales, Jasmila Zbanic
As previously announced, Stephen Frears’ Oscar-nominated feature Philomena, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, will open the...
- 3/7/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
We asked a few LatinoBuzz amigos to get their Robinson Crusoe on and pick a film, an album, a book and a companion from the movies to join them in their shenanigans were they to be stuck on a deserted island (and before anyone nitpicks, filmmakers are resourceful, so of course they built solar powered entertainment centers made from bamboos, coconuts and grass to watch movies and listen to baby making slow jams). We figured we'd start with the narrative filmmakers since they probably sit around thinking about this kinda stuff anyway.
Film: Choosing desert island items may mean sacrificing taste and/or reason, thinking about those items that you wouldn’t forgive yourself for not bringing them as your company, it´s like choosing the woman of your life. Here it goes: Hiroshima Mon Amour; there might be others I fancy as much as or more than (La Dolce Vita, Vertigo, M , some Lubitsch or Preminger), but I can think of no other as unique. I wouldn’t be able to choose any other without feeling Hiroshima’s absence - the best love film, the best movie about war, the best motion picture regarding the memory and its consequences. I can spend my whole life learning about film and the world because of Hiroshima...'.
Album: “Los Preludios de Debussy” by Claudio Arrau. These were so important to my life (I'm referring to my childhood of course) and I think no one does it better than Arrau. Same thing: it is endless. I think I could never tire of this and I could still wake up each and every morning amazed by it.
Book: “Sentimental Education”, by Flaubert. Similar to “Hiroshima”, a book that changed my outlook on literature and the world and I am certain it will keep transforming it forever.
Companion: Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer in 'The fabulous Baker Boys'). Since I saw the film (which I liked very much!) in the provincial movie theater of my childhood, I felt as Jack Baker´s relative and I loved Susie. If we had a piano, it would all be all be perfect. - Santiago Palavecino (Algunas chicas/Some Girls)
Film: This is a tricky question. I've always said that on a deserted island you should bring some porn. You could use that more than regular movies. But since I've got to pick a film I guess it'd be Jaws. Why? Because it's one of my favorites (I could also go with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). But being on a deserted island, Jaws will remind me all the time what'll happen to me for sure if I try to get away!
Album: “ Appetite for Destruction” (Guns N' Roses). Hey, I was 13 when this came out. I listen to it every day while I work, anyways. My favorite, by far.
A Book: I'm going to cheat on this one: 'The Complete Works' by Jorge Luis Borges. The best writer, and enough labyrinths to get lost on endless nights.
Companion: Sherlock Holmes. He's always been my favorite, and also, since my guess is he'll be pretty useless in a deserted island, every time we fail to get out because of him I can get to tell him "Is that the best you can do, Sherlock? - Alejandro Brugués (Juan of the Dead)
Film: Los Olvidados- this is punk rock and Pachuco. Mexico City style before the bombed out bunkers of Sid & Nancy. Bunuel is a hero and I wanna buy Jaibo a beer and milk for the old poetic man!
Album: The Blade Runner album. I can play it over and over, get cranked up or mellow with Blade Runner Blues and the constant rain.
Book: '20 years of Joda' - poems of Jose Montoya, my pop. Epic stuff! 'Ran with Miguel Pinero in the Lower Eastside!”
Companion: Michael Corleone cause he's Mack in my book! Jaibo gets an honorable mention. - Richard Montoya (Water & Power )
Film: I´d choose Misery because a year can go by and I can watch it again eagerly. It's simple and the director (Rob Reiner) and Stephen King are both masters of suspense.
Album: I know this may be considered cheating but it would have to be 'The Best of David Bowie'. That way I have 2 CD's with nearly 40 songs!
Companion: There's many great people who I would to live with but on a deserted Island? It would have to be Mary Poppins for obvious reasons.
Book: And finally the book would be 'Blood Meridian' by Cormac McCarthy because it's one I haven't read yet. Analeine Cal y Mayor - (The Boy Who Smells Like Fish)
Film: I would say White Chicks. I’m going to need some humor! White Chicks is the movie that I put on when I need a good laugh. It does it for me every time. I grew up with characters like that; and admittedly, I can regress back to a few of them myself when no one is looking.
Album: ' Songs From the Capeman' - Paul Simon. I can’t get enough of that album. It instantly takes me to that world and electrifies that side of me that’s determined to make a change for Latinos. I want to keep that feeling with me alive eternally…wherever I’m at.”
Book: There are many but 'Anatomy of the Spirit' by Caroline Myss has been my compass. It taught me how to take control of my destiny by listening to my intuition and body. I stand by her quote: “Your biography becomes your biology.
Companion: The first person that came to mind when I read the question was silly Clarence from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I guess I’m going to need an angel with me, and he’s perfect. He has a pure childlike spirit that would help me find gratitude in the most unlikely moments… even on a deserted island! That right there is the meaning of life. - Carmen Marron (Endgame)
Film: There are so many brilliant, groundbreaking favorite films that have influenced me (The 400 Blows; Jules and Jim ; Law of Desire; et al) but I wouldn't bring any of them. If I'm stuck on a deserted island, I'm bringing Neil Simon's Murder by Death so I can laugh my ass off. Not a great film at all, it's true, but it's a classic comedy.
Album: Oh, this is easy: Madonna's "Ray of Light." I am no Madonna fanatic, but "deserted island, " means beach + summer weather + Fire Island-like atmosphere. So somewhere nearby there's got to be gay guys partying and I will use Madonna to lure them to me so I can be rescued.
One Book: Varga Llosa's "Feast of the Goat" ("La Fiesta del Chivo") -- it's action-packed historical fiction. It will keep me occupied. One of my favorite novels.
Companion: Huckleberry Finn. He will be a great companion: not only will he tell great stories, but undoubtedly, the ever-resourceful Huck Finn will figure out how to build a raft and get us out off that island! - Terracino (Elliot Loves )
Film: Whenever anyone asks me this I always think of what use these items would serve practically on a deserted island, so I answered this in that respect. Tokyo Story - Yasujiro Ozu. This would be a great film to take on a deserted island because it's really about the unavoidable suffering of the cycle of life, which I'm sure you'd relate to if you were stuck on an island. I really could watch this film a million times over and notice something new every time. Watching most Ozu films is not unlike participating in a Zen meditation practice. It's patience and slowness and trying to empty your mind of thought until your left with the basics of existence. Kind of like sitting on a deserted island alone. I can watch the scene where Kyoto says “Life is disappointing, isn't it?” and Noriko smiles and says “Yes it is.” I can watch that endlessly and cry every time. It's so true.
Album: ' Tusk' - Fleetwood Mac. I could also deal with 'Rumours' but I picked 'Tusk' because it's longer and denser; probably better for an island. 'Sara' is maybe my favorite song in the world and so it would be nice to have that with me. I think channeling the powerful witchy energy of Stevie Nicks would be a real asset on an island. This album has so much strange material on - you wouldn't get bored too easily with it. It's also got a range of emotions so if you get too depressed on the island you can just put on 'Never Forget' and feel better. And 'Sisters of the Moon' would be good around a fire at night. Even though you're stuck on an island, it's good to create an ambiance to remind you that life is worth living.
Book: ' In Search of Lost Time' - Marcel Proust. I've only read 'Swann's Way' which is first part of this. My analyst recommend it to me when I was totally heartbroken after someone broke up with me. It really did the trick. This would be a good long epic read that has enough complex ideas in it to keep you occupied for a life time. Probably a good book (or set of books) to get back to nature with.
Companion: I'll say Terry Malloy from “On the Waterfront”. He'd be strong and good to have around to cut down trees and hunt and stuff. He's also easy on the eyes and someone that could do with a little lonely contemplation away from the loading docks. That doesn't sound half bad...stuck on like a tropical island with a young, cute Marlon Brando, watching Ozu, reading Proust and listening to Fleetwood Mac all day. Sign me up! - Joshua Sanchez (Four)
Film: My film would have to be Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados. I have been a movie watcher since I was a child. Raised on mainstream American films and Wuxia flicks, it wasn't until I was a late teen that I took my first film class and was introduced to the work of Buñuel. Los Olvidados literally changed my perception of the world, both socially and visually. It was also the gateway for me to progress from movie watcher to film student.
Album: Music is my religion and I belong to the church of Robert Nesta Marley. I would prefer the whole anthology, but if I had to choose one album it would be “Exodus”. When on an island listen to island music.
Book: Right around the time I discovered the work of Buñuel, I was gifted Jose Montoya's 'In Formation: 20 years of Joda'. The book is a treasure of epic poems, sketches, and corridos. All testaments to the beauty and strength of Chicana/o culture. 20 years later I pay homage to both of these Maestros in my debut feature film, “Cry Now”. The film's protagonist is nicknamed 'Ojitos' during the course of the narrative, a reference to one of the characters in Los Olvidados. The late great Lupe Ontiveros playing the role of a sage loosely recites Montoya's mantra 'La Locura Cura' (In madness you find truth) while she councils our protagonist.
Companion: To bring it all full circle my fictitious character would have to be a Wuxia hero. As a child I was awe inspired by these bigger than life martial artists. As an adult, Ang Lee's “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” did the same. I know all would be as it should if Yu Shu Lien was on that island with me. - Alberto Barboza (Cry Now )
Film: Nothing But a Man (1964) It's a film that does an incredible job balancing a character-driven story within a politically charged context. It's a film I'm finding myself inspired by as I continue to write Los Valientes.
Album: I'm not a fan of albums, but if I had to choose one I guess I would have to go with any of Prince's albums. His music always puts me in a trance.
Book: My dream journal so I can look back look for signs of what is to become of my future.
Companion: Who better than TV's MacGyver. I'd put his ass to work on getting me off the island! -Aurora Guerrero (Mosquita y Mari)
Film: Hell in the Pacific so that I can be reminded that even in paradise there is a duality.
Album: “La Scala: Concert” by Ludovico Einaudi – I've listened to it a thousand times and each time I feel or discover something new.
Book: “ Voces Reunidas” by Antonio Porchia. Each time I read one of his poems I learn something new and I'm deeply moved.
Companion: Barbarella, so I could never be lonely and I could enjoy this planet-island – Diego Quemada-Díez (La jaula de oro/The Golden Dream)
Written by Juan Caceres . 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 [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...
Film: Choosing desert island items may mean sacrificing taste and/or reason, thinking about those items that you wouldn’t forgive yourself for not bringing them as your company, it´s like choosing the woman of your life. Here it goes: Hiroshima Mon Amour; there might be others I fancy as much as or more than (La Dolce Vita, Vertigo, M , some Lubitsch or Preminger), but I can think of no other as unique. I wouldn’t be able to choose any other without feeling Hiroshima’s absence - the best love film, the best movie about war, the best motion picture regarding the memory and its consequences. I can spend my whole life learning about film and the world because of Hiroshima...'.
Album: “Los Preludios de Debussy” by Claudio Arrau. These were so important to my life (I'm referring to my childhood of course) and I think no one does it better than Arrau. Same thing: it is endless. I think I could never tire of this and I could still wake up each and every morning amazed by it.
Book: “Sentimental Education”, by Flaubert. Similar to “Hiroshima”, a book that changed my outlook on literature and the world and I am certain it will keep transforming it forever.
Companion: Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer in 'The fabulous Baker Boys'). Since I saw the film (which I liked very much!) in the provincial movie theater of my childhood, I felt as Jack Baker´s relative and I loved Susie. If we had a piano, it would all be all be perfect. - Santiago Palavecino (Algunas chicas/Some Girls)
Film: This is a tricky question. I've always said that on a deserted island you should bring some porn. You could use that more than regular movies. But since I've got to pick a film I guess it'd be Jaws. Why? Because it's one of my favorites (I could also go with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). But being on a deserted island, Jaws will remind me all the time what'll happen to me for sure if I try to get away!
Album: “ Appetite for Destruction” (Guns N' Roses). Hey, I was 13 when this came out. I listen to it every day while I work, anyways. My favorite, by far.
A Book: I'm going to cheat on this one: 'The Complete Works' by Jorge Luis Borges. The best writer, and enough labyrinths to get lost on endless nights.
Companion: Sherlock Holmes. He's always been my favorite, and also, since my guess is he'll be pretty useless in a deserted island, every time we fail to get out because of him I can get to tell him "Is that the best you can do, Sherlock? - Alejandro Brugués (Juan of the Dead)
Film: Los Olvidados- this is punk rock and Pachuco. Mexico City style before the bombed out bunkers of Sid & Nancy. Bunuel is a hero and I wanna buy Jaibo a beer and milk for the old poetic man!
Album: The Blade Runner album. I can play it over and over, get cranked up or mellow with Blade Runner Blues and the constant rain.
Book: '20 years of Joda' - poems of Jose Montoya, my pop. Epic stuff! 'Ran with Miguel Pinero in the Lower Eastside!”
Companion: Michael Corleone cause he's Mack in my book! Jaibo gets an honorable mention. - Richard Montoya (Water & Power )
Film: I´d choose Misery because a year can go by and I can watch it again eagerly. It's simple and the director (Rob Reiner) and Stephen King are both masters of suspense.
Album: I know this may be considered cheating but it would have to be 'The Best of David Bowie'. That way I have 2 CD's with nearly 40 songs!
Companion: There's many great people who I would to live with but on a deserted Island? It would have to be Mary Poppins for obvious reasons.
Book: And finally the book would be 'Blood Meridian' by Cormac McCarthy because it's one I haven't read yet. Analeine Cal y Mayor - (The Boy Who Smells Like Fish)
Film: I would say White Chicks. I’m going to need some humor! White Chicks is the movie that I put on when I need a good laugh. It does it for me every time. I grew up with characters like that; and admittedly, I can regress back to a few of them myself when no one is looking.
Album: ' Songs From the Capeman' - Paul Simon. I can’t get enough of that album. It instantly takes me to that world and electrifies that side of me that’s determined to make a change for Latinos. I want to keep that feeling with me alive eternally…wherever I’m at.”
Book: There are many but 'Anatomy of the Spirit' by Caroline Myss has been my compass. It taught me how to take control of my destiny by listening to my intuition and body. I stand by her quote: “Your biography becomes your biology.
Companion: The first person that came to mind when I read the question was silly Clarence from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I guess I’m going to need an angel with me, and he’s perfect. He has a pure childlike spirit that would help me find gratitude in the most unlikely moments… even on a deserted island! That right there is the meaning of life. - Carmen Marron (Endgame)
Film: There are so many brilliant, groundbreaking favorite films that have influenced me (The 400 Blows; Jules and Jim ; Law of Desire; et al) but I wouldn't bring any of them. If I'm stuck on a deserted island, I'm bringing Neil Simon's Murder by Death so I can laugh my ass off. Not a great film at all, it's true, but it's a classic comedy.
Album: Oh, this is easy: Madonna's "Ray of Light." I am no Madonna fanatic, but "deserted island, " means beach + summer weather + Fire Island-like atmosphere. So somewhere nearby there's got to be gay guys partying and I will use Madonna to lure them to me so I can be rescued.
One Book: Varga Llosa's "Feast of the Goat" ("La Fiesta del Chivo") -- it's action-packed historical fiction. It will keep me occupied. One of my favorite novels.
Companion: Huckleberry Finn. He will be a great companion: not only will he tell great stories, but undoubtedly, the ever-resourceful Huck Finn will figure out how to build a raft and get us out off that island! - Terracino (Elliot Loves )
Film: Whenever anyone asks me this I always think of what use these items would serve practically on a deserted island, so I answered this in that respect. Tokyo Story - Yasujiro Ozu. This would be a great film to take on a deserted island because it's really about the unavoidable suffering of the cycle of life, which I'm sure you'd relate to if you were stuck on an island. I really could watch this film a million times over and notice something new every time. Watching most Ozu films is not unlike participating in a Zen meditation practice. It's patience and slowness and trying to empty your mind of thought until your left with the basics of existence. Kind of like sitting on a deserted island alone. I can watch the scene where Kyoto says “Life is disappointing, isn't it?” and Noriko smiles and says “Yes it is.” I can watch that endlessly and cry every time. It's so true.
Album: ' Tusk' - Fleetwood Mac. I could also deal with 'Rumours' but I picked 'Tusk' because it's longer and denser; probably better for an island. 'Sara' is maybe my favorite song in the world and so it would be nice to have that with me. I think channeling the powerful witchy energy of Stevie Nicks would be a real asset on an island. This album has so much strange material on - you wouldn't get bored too easily with it. It's also got a range of emotions so if you get too depressed on the island you can just put on 'Never Forget' and feel better. And 'Sisters of the Moon' would be good around a fire at night. Even though you're stuck on an island, it's good to create an ambiance to remind you that life is worth living.
Book: ' In Search of Lost Time' - Marcel Proust. I've only read 'Swann's Way' which is first part of this. My analyst recommend it to me when I was totally heartbroken after someone broke up with me. It really did the trick. This would be a good long epic read that has enough complex ideas in it to keep you occupied for a life time. Probably a good book (or set of books) to get back to nature with.
Companion: I'll say Terry Malloy from “On the Waterfront”. He'd be strong and good to have around to cut down trees and hunt and stuff. He's also easy on the eyes and someone that could do with a little lonely contemplation away from the loading docks. That doesn't sound half bad...stuck on like a tropical island with a young, cute Marlon Brando, watching Ozu, reading Proust and listening to Fleetwood Mac all day. Sign me up! - Joshua Sanchez (Four)
Film: My film would have to be Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados. I have been a movie watcher since I was a child. Raised on mainstream American films and Wuxia flicks, it wasn't until I was a late teen that I took my first film class and was introduced to the work of Buñuel. Los Olvidados literally changed my perception of the world, both socially and visually. It was also the gateway for me to progress from movie watcher to film student.
Album: Music is my religion and I belong to the church of Robert Nesta Marley. I would prefer the whole anthology, but if I had to choose one album it would be “Exodus”. When on an island listen to island music.
Book: Right around the time I discovered the work of Buñuel, I was gifted Jose Montoya's 'In Formation: 20 years of Joda'. The book is a treasure of epic poems, sketches, and corridos. All testaments to the beauty and strength of Chicana/o culture. 20 years later I pay homage to both of these Maestros in my debut feature film, “Cry Now”. The film's protagonist is nicknamed 'Ojitos' during the course of the narrative, a reference to one of the characters in Los Olvidados. The late great Lupe Ontiveros playing the role of a sage loosely recites Montoya's mantra 'La Locura Cura' (In madness you find truth) while she councils our protagonist.
Companion: To bring it all full circle my fictitious character would have to be a Wuxia hero. As a child I was awe inspired by these bigger than life martial artists. As an adult, Ang Lee's “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” did the same. I know all would be as it should if Yu Shu Lien was on that island with me. - Alberto Barboza (Cry Now )
Film: Nothing But a Man (1964) It's a film that does an incredible job balancing a character-driven story within a politically charged context. It's a film I'm finding myself inspired by as I continue to write Los Valientes.
Album: I'm not a fan of albums, but if I had to choose one I guess I would have to go with any of Prince's albums. His music always puts me in a trance.
Book: My dream journal so I can look back look for signs of what is to become of my future.
Companion: Who better than TV's MacGyver. I'd put his ass to work on getting me off the island! -Aurora Guerrero (Mosquita y Mari)
Film: Hell in the Pacific so that I can be reminded that even in paradise there is a duality.
Album: “La Scala: Concert” by Ludovico Einaudi – I've listened to it a thousand times and each time I feel or discover something new.
Book: “ Voces Reunidas” by Antonio Porchia. Each time I read one of his poems I learn something new and I'm deeply moved.
Companion: Barbarella, so I could never be lonely and I could enjoy this planet-island – Diego Quemada-Díez (La jaula de oro/The Golden Dream)
Written by Juan Caceres . 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 [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...
- 3/5/2014
- by Juan Caceres
- Sydney's Buzz
The International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias has confirmed the rest of its programme.
Cartagena has added a Midnight Cinema section including two Colombian horror films: Gallows Hill (Encerrada), directed by Víctor García and written by Richard D´Ovidio and starring Peter Facinelli; and Demental by young Colombian David Bohórquez, which will have its world premiere at the festival.
The outdoor series Cinema Under the Stars includes:
Gloria, Sebastián Lelio (Chile)La Jaula de Oro, Diego Quemada Diez (Mexico)The Lunchbox, Ritesh Batra (India)Ciudad Delirio, Chus Gutiérrez (festival opening film)Porro Hecho en Colombia, Adriana Lucía, who will give a concert at the end of the screening.
Special Presentations section include Simon Brand’s Default, Laurie Collyer’s Sunlight Jr, Spike Jonze’s Her, Go for Sisters by John Sayles (the subject of a retrospective), and Medeas by Andrea Pallaoro.
There are also two films that are also part of Tributes: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s [link...
Cartagena has added a Midnight Cinema section including two Colombian horror films: Gallows Hill (Encerrada), directed by Víctor García and written by Richard D´Ovidio and starring Peter Facinelli; and Demental by young Colombian David Bohórquez, which will have its world premiere at the festival.
The outdoor series Cinema Under the Stars includes:
Gloria, Sebastián Lelio (Chile)La Jaula de Oro, Diego Quemada Diez (Mexico)The Lunchbox, Ritesh Batra (India)Ciudad Delirio, Chus Gutiérrez (festival opening film)Porro Hecho en Colombia, Adriana Lucía, who will give a concert at the end of the screening.
Special Presentations section include Simon Brand’s Default, Laurie Collyer’s Sunlight Jr, Spike Jonze’s Her, Go for Sisters by John Sayles (the subject of a retrospective), and Medeas by Andrea Pallaoro.
There are also two films that are also part of Tributes: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s [link...
- 2/27/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Prize money will be boosted at the 10th edition of the Zurich Film Festival.
The Zurich Film Festival is to reorganise its competition section for its 10th edition, which is set to run Sept 25 to Oct 5.
Instead of the previous four categories – International Feature, German-Language Feature, International Documentary and German-Language Documentary – Zff’s competition will comprise three categories:
International Feature FilmInternational Documentary FilmFocus: Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
The Focus category will showcase feature films and documentaries from the three countries.
The Golden Eye award in each of the two main categories will be endowed with 25,000Chf ($28,000) with the winner of the Golden Eye in the Focus category receiving 20,000Chf ($22,000).
The winning film from each of the three categories will also receive an additional 100,000Chf ($112,000) worth of distribution support.
First, second or third directorial works are eligible for entry.
Last year’s winner of Best International Film was The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) from Mexico’s [link...
The Zurich Film Festival is to reorganise its competition section for its 10th edition, which is set to run Sept 25 to Oct 5.
Instead of the previous four categories – International Feature, German-Language Feature, International Documentary and German-Language Documentary – Zff’s competition will comprise three categories:
International Feature FilmInternational Documentary FilmFocus: Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
The Focus category will showcase feature films and documentaries from the three countries.
The Golden Eye award in each of the two main categories will be endowed with 25,000Chf ($28,000) with the winner of the Golden Eye in the Focus category receiving 20,000Chf ($22,000).
The winning film from each of the three categories will also receive an additional 100,000Chf ($112,000) worth of distribution support.
First, second or third directorial works are eligible for entry.
Last year’s winner of Best International Film was The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) from Mexico’s [link...
- 2/18/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
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
Trains of Innocence: Savage Road Story to the Land of Broken Dreams
Among the vast and redundant collection of tales dealing with illegal immigration, very few can claim to be unique. Given that there are some inherent qualities to these stories, it takes an assertive new voice to infuse the subject matter with honesty. Spanish director Diego Quemada-Díez’ La Jaula de Oro, which translates to “The Golden Cage”, is perhaps the most poetic, and neo-realist film about the struggles of people searching for a better future thousands of miles away from home, and at any cost.
Trying to disguise her feminine qualities, Sara (Karen Martínez) cuts her hair binds her breasts, as she gets ready to depart from her native Guatemala with her boyfriend Juan (Brandon López) and their friend Samuel (Carlos Chajon). The trio of kids, all of them no older than 16, head out determined to make it to the United States.
Among the vast and redundant collection of tales dealing with illegal immigration, very few can claim to be unique. Given that there are some inherent qualities to these stories, it takes an assertive new voice to infuse the subject matter with honesty. Spanish director Diego Quemada-Díez’ La Jaula de Oro, which translates to “The Golden Cage”, is perhaps the most poetic, and neo-realist film about the struggles of people searching for a better future thousands of miles away from home, and at any cost.
Trying to disguise her feminine qualities, Sara (Karen Martínez) cuts her hair binds her breasts, as she gets ready to depart from her native Guatemala with her boyfriend Juan (Brandon López) and their friend Samuel (Carlos Chajon). The trio of kids, all of them no older than 16, head out determined to make it to the United States.
- 12/3/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- IONCINEMA.com
Sorrentino’s Cannes hit wins at Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival.
Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) was awarded the $13,500 (€10,000) EurAsia Grand Prix in the main international competition of this year’s Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 15-Dec 1) in Tallinn.
Italy’s Oscar entry also received the Best Cinematographer award for Luca Bigazzi’s camerawork which the international jury described as being “musically dynamic”.
The jury, which included The White Ribbon’s DoP Christian Berger, Armenian director Harutan Khacahtryan and German actress Franziska Petri, gave its Best Director award to the Japanese director Koji Fukada for Au revoir l’été for its “sensitively observed scenes”.
The Best Acting awards went to Russian actor Maksim Sukhanov for his performance in Konstantin Lopushansky’s The Role and to Juliette Binoche for her role in Camille Claudel 1915.
The jury decided to award the Special Jury Prize ex aequo to two films:
Taiwanese film-maker Tsai Ming-Liang...
Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) was awarded the $13,500 (€10,000) EurAsia Grand Prix in the main international competition of this year’s Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 15-Dec 1) in Tallinn.
Italy’s Oscar entry also received the Best Cinematographer award for Luca Bigazzi’s camerawork which the international jury described as being “musically dynamic”.
The jury, which included The White Ribbon’s DoP Christian Berger, Armenian director Harutan Khacahtryan and German actress Franziska Petri, gave its Best Director award to the Japanese director Koji Fukada for Au revoir l’été for its “sensitively observed scenes”.
The Best Acting awards went to Russian actor Maksim Sukhanov for his performance in Konstantin Lopushansky’s The Role and to Juliette Binoche for her role in Camille Claudel 1915.
The jury decided to award the Special Jury Prize ex aequo to two films:
Taiwanese film-maker Tsai Ming-Liang...
- 12/3/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Mar Del Plata, Argentina – Diego Quemada-Diez’s The Golden Cage won the best film award in the international competition of the Mar del Plata Film Fest, which closed Saturday night in a ceremony headed by Liliana Mazure, head of the Argentine Film Institute, and the country’s vice president, Amado Boudu. A road movie about three teenage Guatemalan immigrants on their way to the U.S. that premiered at Cannes this year, The Golden Cage also picked up the Audience Award. The international jury was composed of Bong Joon-ho, Javier Angulo, Paula Astorga Riestra, Guillermo Martínez and Luciano
read more...
read more...
- 11/24/2013
- by Agustin Mango
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mexican feature The Golden Dream (La jaula de oro) and French drama Suzanne take top prizes at Greek festival.Scoll down for full list of winners
Diego Quemada-Diez’s Cannes winner The Golden Dream (La jaula de oro) added more trophies to its collection at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival on Saturday (Nov 9).
The road movie about teenage Guatemalan immigrants and their journey to the Us scooped the Golden Alexander for best film, the best director nod for Quemada, the audience (Fischer) award and the Greek Parliament trophy for “human values”.
The film won the Un Certain Regard – A Certain Talent Prize at Cannes, where it debuted in May, and also picked up Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
Suzanne, the portrait of a chaotic, unpredictable and fragile woman directed by Katell Quillevere was awarded second prize - the Silver Alexander.
The French drama also won the actress award for Sara Forestier, in the...
Diego Quemada-Diez’s Cannes winner The Golden Dream (La jaula de oro) added more trophies to its collection at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival on Saturday (Nov 9).
The road movie about teenage Guatemalan immigrants and their journey to the Us scooped the Golden Alexander for best film, the best director nod for Quemada, the audience (Fischer) award and the Greek Parliament trophy for “human values”.
The film won the Un Certain Regard – A Certain Talent Prize at Cannes, where it debuted in May, and also picked up Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
Suzanne, the portrait of a chaotic, unpredictable and fragile woman directed by Katell Quillevere was awarded second prize - the Silver Alexander.
The French drama also won the actress award for Sara Forestier, in the...
- 11/11/2013
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
Alexander Payne’s Nebraska to close the 10-day festival in the Greek city.
The 54th Thessaloniki International Film Festival is set to kick off today with the gala presentation of Only Lovers Left Alive in the presence of director Jim Jarmusch.
Jarmusch will attend following several efforts to lure him to the festival in northern Greece.
Only Lovers Left Alive, which played in competition at Cannes, was executive produced by Greece’s Christos Konstantakopoulos of Faliro House Productions.
The festival will wrap on Nov 10 with Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, for which lead actor Bruce Dern won best actor at Cannes.
Greek-American Payne returns to the festival to present the film and will preside over the international jury.
A total of 14 titles make up the competition and the award for the Golden and Silver Alexander will be decided by a jury including Romanian producer Ada Solomon, Cannes Directors Fortnight head Edouard Weintrop, Variety chief critic...
The 54th Thessaloniki International Film Festival is set to kick off today with the gala presentation of Only Lovers Left Alive in the presence of director Jim Jarmusch.
Jarmusch will attend following several efforts to lure him to the festival in northern Greece.
Only Lovers Left Alive, which played in competition at Cannes, was executive produced by Greece’s Christos Konstantakopoulos of Faliro House Productions.
The festival will wrap on Nov 10 with Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, for which lead actor Bruce Dern won best actor at Cannes.
Greek-American Payne returns to the festival to present the film and will preside over the international jury.
A total of 14 titles make up the competition and the award for the Golden and Silver Alexander will be decided by a jury including Romanian producer Ada Solomon, Cannes Directors Fortnight head Edouard Weintrop, Variety chief critic...
- 11/1/2013
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
On Saturday, October 26, the award ceremony for Morelia 2013 took place. I don't know how the show went, as I instead attended the last festival screening of Blue is the Warmest Color, but here are some thoughts and the complete list of winners. Earlier, the results of the press voting were revealed, with Diego Quemada-Díez's The Golden Cage and Quebranto taking home the best film and best doc award, respectively. I'm one of the few persons at the festival who didn't love the bittersweet The Amazing Catfish, hence it was surprising that the press chose The Golden Cage, a drama about immigration, over it. On the other hand, Quebranto winning was hardly a surprise, though my favorite doc was The Naked Room. The Amazing...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 10/27/2013
- Screen Anarchy
La Jaula de Oro
Directed by Diego Quemada-Díez
Philadelphia Film Festival
Mexico, 2013
A harrowing immigration-road movie bolstered by three beautifully natural adolescent performances frames Diego Quemada-Díez as a director to watch.
Teenagers Juan (Brandon López), Sara (Karen Martínez), and Samuel (Carlos Chajon) set out from Guatemala to cross the border into Los Angeles. Along the way they pick up Chauk (Rodolfo Domínguez), a taciturn Indian who changes the dynamics of the group as both he and Juan vie for Sara’s attention.
The four leads of Quemada-Díez’s first feature-film are startling strong, made all the more so by the fact that each young actor is making his and her screen debut. While Brandon López starts out as a one-note display of burgeoning masculinity, his Juan soon gains deeper complexities in a nuanced, painful performance from the young actor. Domínguez’s is a deceptively difficult role. Chauk’s Spanish is limited,...
Directed by Diego Quemada-Díez
Philadelphia Film Festival
Mexico, 2013
A harrowing immigration-road movie bolstered by three beautifully natural adolescent performances frames Diego Quemada-Díez as a director to watch.
Teenagers Juan (Brandon López), Sara (Karen Martínez), and Samuel (Carlos Chajon) set out from Guatemala to cross the border into Los Angeles. Along the way they pick up Chauk (Rodolfo Domínguez), a taciturn Indian who changes the dynamics of the group as both he and Juan vie for Sara’s attention.
The four leads of Quemada-Díez’s first feature-film are startling strong, made all the more so by the fact that each young actor is making his and her screen debut. While Brandon López starts out as a one-note display of burgeoning masculinity, his Juan soon gains deeper complexities in a nuanced, painful performance from the young actor. Domínguez’s is a deceptively difficult role. Chauk’s Spanish is limited,...
- 10/26/2013
- by Neal Dhand
- SoundOnSight
With a promise to be back next year, bigger and better, the final day of the 15th Mumbai Film Festival presented by Reliance Entertainment and organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (Mami) unfolded.
After a week of celebrating cinema, the final few films screened today included Red Wedding directed by Guillaume Suon and Lida Chan, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, Saving General Yang directed by Ronny Yu, Hiroshi Toda’s Seventh Cat, Five Years by Stefan Schaller, Costa Gavras’s Amen and the much acclaimed Z, A Few Days More by Om Prakash Srivastava among others.
The last of the 15th Mumbai Film Festival’s master classes was conducted by the legendary director Bruce Beresford, on Preparation by the Director. “I thought I would talk about the necessity of story boarding. These days, with tight budgets and short schedules, if you don’t plan them, you’ll...
After a week of celebrating cinema, the final few films screened today included Red Wedding directed by Guillaume Suon and Lida Chan, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, Saving General Yang directed by Ronny Yu, Hiroshi Toda’s Seventh Cat, Five Years by Stefan Schaller, Costa Gavras’s Amen and the much acclaimed Z, A Few Days More by Om Prakash Srivastava among others.
The last of the 15th Mumbai Film Festival’s master classes was conducted by the legendary director Bruce Beresford, on Preparation by the Director. “I thought I would talk about the necessity of story boarding. These days, with tight budgets and short schedules, if you don’t plan them, you’ll...
- 10/26/2013
- by Pooja Rao
- Bollyspice
Diego Quemada-Diez scoops top prize; Nagraj Manjule wins jury award.Scroll down for full list of winners
Mexican film A Golden Dream (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, A Golden Dream (fka The Golden Cage)follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us.
The film debuted at Cannes in May where it won the Talent award in the Un Certain Regard section. It recently won the Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s [link...
Mexican film A Golden Dream (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, A Golden Dream (fka The Golden Cage)follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us.
The film debuted at Cannes in May where it won the Talent award in the Un Certain Regard section. It recently won the Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s [link...
- 10/25/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Diego Quemada-Diez scoops top prize; Nagraj Manjule wins jury award.Scroll down for full list of winners
Mexican film The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, The Golden Cage follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us.
The film debuted at Cannes in May where it won the Talent award in the Un Certain Regard section. It recently won the Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo continued its successful festival...
Mexican film The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, The Golden Cage follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us.
The film debuted at Cannes in May where it won the Talent award in the Un Certain Regard section. It recently won the Best International Feature Film at the Zurich Film Festival.
The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo continued its successful festival...
- 10/25/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Mumbai – The 15th Mumbai Film Festival concluded Thursday evening with Mexican film La Jaula De Oro (The Golden Cage) winning the top honor of the Golden Gateway of India award in the international competition section for the best film from a debut director. The film – revolving around three young men trying to immigrate to the U.S. from Guatemala– is directed by Diego Quemada-Diez and produced by Inna Payan, Luis Salinas and Edher Campos. Salinas received the award from the international competition jury head, director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy). This is the second year in a row
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- 10/25/2013
- by Nyay Bushan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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Mexican film The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, The Golden Cage follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us. The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo continued its successful festival sweep by winning best director and best actress for Yann Yann Yeo. Best actor went to Vincent Macaigne for his role in Tonnerre, directed by France’s Guillaume Brac.
The jury also gave a special prize for “Best Work in Cinematography” to Australia-Laos-Thailand co-production The Rocket, directed by [link...
Mexican film The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) scooped the top prize, the Golden Gateway Of India award, in the Mumbai Film Festival’s international competition for first features, while Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry was awarded the Jury Grand Prize.
Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, who started his career as an assistant to Ken Loach, The Golden Cage follows the journey of three young Guatemalans attempting to emigrate to the Us. The only Indian film in competition, the Marathi-language Fandry revolves around an “untouchable” or Dalit boy and his love for a girl from a higher caste.
Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo continued its successful festival sweep by winning best director and best actress for Yann Yann Yeo. Best actor went to Vincent Macaigne for his role in Tonnerre, directed by France’s Guillaume Brac.
The jury also gave a special prize for “Best Work in Cinematography” to Australia-Laos-Thailand co-production The Rocket, directed by [link...
- 10/24/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
AFI Fest 2013 presented by Audi, a program of the American Film Institute, today announced the remaining sections and films that will screen in the festival’s World Cinema, American Independents, Breakthrough, Midnight, Cinema’s Legacy and Presentations programs. AFI Fest, which redefines Hollywood today as a place where icons and emerging artists bring audiences together to experience global cinema in the movie capital of the world, will take place November 7 through 14 at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
World Cinema showcases the most anticipated and prize-winning international films of the year, the American Independents section features work by U.S. filmmakers, Breakthrough highlights work discovered only through the blind submission process, Midnight’s selections tend toward the macabre and Cinema’s Legacy highlights restorations and classic films.
This year’s program includes the return of several filmmakers to AFI Fest...
World Cinema showcases the most anticipated and prize-winning international films of the year, the American Independents section features work by U.S. filmmakers, Breakthrough highlights work discovered only through the blind submission process, Midnight’s selections tend toward the macabre and Cinema’s Legacy highlights restorations and classic films.
This year’s program includes the return of several filmmakers to AFI Fest...
- 10/22/2013
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Festival top brass have announced the outstanding World Cinema, American Independents, Breakthrough, Midnight, Cinema’s Legacy and Presentations programmes.
The AFI Fest is scheduled to run from November 7-14 in Hollywood’s Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
The complete programme includes 119 films (83 features, 36 shorts), representing 43 countries. Twenty-seven films are directed or co-directed by women as are 10 documentaries.
For the fifth consecutive year, AFI Fest will offer free tickets to all screenings, however only the Cinepass Express will provide priority entry to all regular screenings. For the complete programme visit the official site.
World Cinema SelectionsBaby Blues Kasia Rosłaniec (Poland)Bethlehem Yuval Adler (Israel)Borgman Alex van Warmerdam (Neth-Bel-Den)Child’s Pose Călin Peter Netzer (Romania)Closed Curtain Jafar Panahi, Kamboziya Partovi (Iran)The Congress Ari Folman (Isr-Ger-Pol-Lux)An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker Danis Tanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina-France-Slovenia)Exhibition Joanna Hogg (UK)Gabrielle Louise Archambault (Canada...
The AFI Fest is scheduled to run from November 7-14 in Hollywood’s Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
The complete programme includes 119 films (83 features, 36 shorts), representing 43 countries. Twenty-seven films are directed or co-directed by women as are 10 documentaries.
For the fifth consecutive year, AFI Fest will offer free tickets to all screenings, however only the Cinepass Express will provide priority entry to all regular screenings. For the complete programme visit the official site.
World Cinema SelectionsBaby Blues Kasia Rosłaniec (Poland)Bethlehem Yuval Adler (Israel)Borgman Alex van Warmerdam (Neth-Bel-Den)Child’s Pose Călin Peter Netzer (Romania)Closed Curtain Jafar Panahi, Kamboziya Partovi (Iran)The Congress Ari Folman (Isr-Ger-Pol-Lux)An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker Danis Tanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina-France-Slovenia)Exhibition Joanna Hogg (UK)Gabrielle Louise Archambault (Canada...
- 10/22/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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
At this point festivals like London and AFI Fest all start to resemble one another as they score a world premiere or two ("Saving Mr. Banks" and "Out of the Furnace" respectively) and lay out the usual smorgasbord of awards contenders. But Hollywood's AFI Fest (November 7-14) is adding films to its World Cinema, American Independents, Breakthrough, Midnight, Cinema’s Legacy and Presentations selections. This year’s program includes the return of several filmmakers to AFI Fest including Jafar Panahi ("Closed Curtains"); Kim Ki-duk ("Moebius"); Hong Sang-soo ("Our Sunhi") and Xavier Dolan ("Tom at the Farm"). The AFI selection favors 14 films from 54 AFI alumni, including "Breathe In" from writer-director Drake Doremus; "La Jaula de Oro" by writer-director Diego Quemada-Diez; "We've Got to Get Out of this Place" from producer Brian Udovich and director Zeke Hawkins; and "Machsom" by director Bayard Outerbridge. The complete AFI Fest 2013 program includes...
- 10/22/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Diego Quemada-Díez's La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Cage), Mexico's official submission for the upcoming Goya Awards, premiered in the country during the third day of activities at the Morelia Film Festival 2013. I watched it early in the morning and sat down to discuss it with Quemada-Díez some hours later. The press junkets happened before the red carpet so each individual interview lasted no more than five minutes, enough time for Quemada-Díez to share the opinion of one British cinema legend towards his debut film. Twitch: You have worked with three important directors for the social realism cinema: Ken Loach, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Fernando Meirelles. Did that experience influenced you and The Golden Cage? Diego Quemada-Díez: Well, I needed to work. I was...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 10/21/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Chicago – The 2013 49th Annual Chicago International Film Festival and Michael Kutza – Festival Founder and Artistic Director – announced the competition award winners at a ceremony in the ‘W’ Hotel City Center on October 18th. The Gold Hugo for Best Film went to “My Sweet Pepper Land,” from Iraq, France and Germany.
Kutza made the announcements along with Mimi Plauché, Head of Programming, Programmers Alex Kopecky and Penny Bartlett, plus members of the various juries who worked evaluating the competition. The W Hotel City Center is near Chicago’s financial district and the Sears (now Willis) Tower. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
’My Sweet Pepper Land’
Photo Credit: © Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo for Best Film: “My Sweet Pepper Land” (Iraq/France/Germany), directed by Hiner Saleem
The Silver Hugo – Special Jury Prize: “The Verdict...
Kutza made the announcements along with Mimi Plauché, Head of Programming, Programmers Alex Kopecky and Penny Bartlett, plus members of the various juries who worked evaluating the competition. The W Hotel City Center is near Chicago’s financial district and the Sears (now Willis) Tower. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
’My Sweet Pepper Land’
Photo Credit: © Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo for Best Film: “My Sweet Pepper Land” (Iraq/France/Germany), directed by Hiner Saleem
The Silver Hugo – Special Jury Prize: “The Verdict...
- 10/20/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
A young girl walks into a derelict public bathroom marked “Damas” in someone's handwriting. She looks to herself in the mirror for courage and begins to cut her hair, tape over her breasts and put a baseball cap on. A young boy leaves his aluminum shack of a home with nothing but a backpack. He goes to a garbage dump site, walks over to his friend who works there, and the two of them walk off together. Not a word has been spoken so far in Diego Quemada-Diez's "La Jaula De Oro" ("The Golden Cage") but the level of investment is already palpable. A sure sign of capable filmmaking if there ever was one, Diez makes his film feature debut as a director but is no stranger to the filmmaking process. He represents a great example of what someone can learn and get inspired by when working on professional film sets,...
- 10/15/2013
- by Nikola Grozdanovic
- The Playlist
The 9th Zurich Film Festival wrapped over the weekend in Switzerland with a closing awards ceremony where films from Mexico, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland all prevailed. The jury for the International Feature Film competition, led by "World War Z" filmmaker Marc Forster (who's Swiss), awarded the Golden Eye for Best Film to "La Jaula de Oro," from Mexican filmmaker Diego Quemada-Diez. They gave a Special Mention to Michael B. Jordan, star of "Fruitvale Station." The documentary jury awarded Denmark's Kaspar Astrup Schroeder with the Golden Eye for best documentary for "Lej En Familie A/S." Pakistan's "These Birds Walk" was singled out for a Special Mention. Below find a list of the event's other winners: Golden Eye for Best Film in the German-Language Feature Film Competition: "Finsterworld," Frauke Finsterwalder Golden Eye for Best Film in the Documentary Film Germany, Austria, Swizerland Competiton: "Neuland," Anna Thommen Svfj Critics Choice Award: "Finsterworld,...
- 10/7/2013
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
La Jaula De Oro (The Golden Cage), a road movie from Mexican director Diego Quemada-Diez about teenage Guatemalan immigrants trying to make it to the U.S., won the Golden Eye for best film at the 9th Zurich international film festival. The jury, headed by Swiss-born director Marc Forster (World War Z) and including Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo (Prisoners), directors Andrew Dominik (Killing Them Softly) and Thomas Imbach (Day is Done) and producers Stacey Sher (Django Unchained) and Guneet Monga (Lunchbox) also gave a special mention to actor Michael B. Jordon for his starring role playing Oscar
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- 10/6/2013
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Attendance up 22%; festival director Karl Spoerri talks about Zurich’s potential as a film finance hub.
The Zurich Film Festival’s ninth edition has given its Golden Eye for best international film to The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) from Mexico’s Diego Quemada-Diez. The jury gave a special mention to actor Michael B Jordan in Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station.
The International Documentary Film winner was Danish director Kaspar Astrup Schroeder’s Rent A Family Inc. (Lej En Familie A/S). A special mention went to Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq’s These Birds Walk from Pakistan.
The German-language competition awards went to Frauke Finsterwalder’s German feature Finsterworld and Anna Thommen’s Swiss documentary Neuland. A special mention went to Die Frau Die Sich Traut by Marc Rensing for feature and to Sabine Lidl’s Nan Goldin – I Remember Your Face for documentary.
Each of the awards comes with a $22,050 (CHF20,000) cash prize and...
The Zurich Film Festival’s ninth edition has given its Golden Eye for best international film to The Golden Cage (La Jaula De Oro) from Mexico’s Diego Quemada-Diez. The jury gave a special mention to actor Michael B Jordan in Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station.
The International Documentary Film winner was Danish director Kaspar Astrup Schroeder’s Rent A Family Inc. (Lej En Familie A/S). A special mention went to Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq’s These Birds Walk from Pakistan.
The German-language competition awards went to Frauke Finsterwalder’s German feature Finsterworld and Anna Thommen’s Swiss documentary Neuland. A special mention went to Die Frau Die Sich Traut by Marc Rensing for feature and to Sabine Lidl’s Nan Goldin – I Remember Your Face for documentary.
Each of the awards comes with a $22,050 (CHF20,000) cash prize and...
- 10/6/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Title: La jaula de oro (The Golden Cage) Director: Diego Quemada-Diez Starring: Brandon Lopez, Rodolfo Domínguez, Karen Martínez, Carlos Chajón. This movie is not a documentary, but the fiction was inspired by the real state of things. A contemporary and tragic odyssey of immigrants escaping from their native land. As audiences empathise with these characters and detach from bourgeoise every day lives they realise how lucky they are, despite the difficulties caused by the current crisis. Juan, Sara and Samuel are three adolescents from Guatemala, who try to reach the United States in pursuit of a better life. Along the way they meet Chauk, a native from Chipas who doesn’t [ Read More ]
The post La jaula de oro (The Golden Cage) appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post La jaula de oro (The Golden Cage) appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/5/2013
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
St. Petersburg, Russia – The second St. Petersburg International Film Festival (Sept. 13-22) closed on Sunday night at the Aurora Cinema, the festival’s main venue, located on Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s main thoroughfare. The main competition jury, headed up by Russian film director, screenwriter and producer Sergei Bodrov (Prisoner of the Caucasus, Mongol), awarded the festival’s Best Film award to Mexican cinematographer-turned-director Diego Quemada-Diez’s film The Golden Cage (La jaula de oro). The other jury members included Tribeca Film Festival head Geoffrey Gilmore, European Film Academy director Marion Doring, Latvian film director Juris Poskus and Swiss
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- 9/25/2013
- by Kirill Galetski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Anton Bormatov’s social drama Kicking In taken out of competition over “human rights” issues.
Russian football hooligan film Kicking In (Okolofutbola) was excluded from consideration by the jury of the the Saint-Petersburg International Film Festival (Spiff), it has emerged.
The second edition of the festival ended last night [Sept 22] with the declaration from jury president Sergei Bodrov.
The international jury refused to consider Anton Bormatov’s social drama based on real events in the world of football hooligans because of the authors’ position which was “not in line with modern European humanistic values and human rights”.
The festival had organised a sidebar - “Section 22 frames” - dedicated to films about football and one commentator asked why Bormatov’s film hadn’t been shown here. The film was produced by the Saint-Petersburg-based producer Sergei Selyanov of Ctb, who was in Moscow at the same time for the film’s premiere in the October cinema.
Kicking In will...
Russian football hooligan film Kicking In (Okolofutbola) was excluded from consideration by the jury of the the Saint-Petersburg International Film Festival (Spiff), it has emerged.
The second edition of the festival ended last night [Sept 22] with the declaration from jury president Sergei Bodrov.
The international jury refused to consider Anton Bormatov’s social drama based on real events in the world of football hooligans because of the authors’ position which was “not in line with modern European humanistic values and human rights”.
The festival had organised a sidebar - “Section 22 frames” - dedicated to films about football and one commentator asked why Bormatov’s film hadn’t been shown here. The film was produced by the Saint-Petersburg-based producer Sergei Selyanov of Ctb, who was in Moscow at the same time for the film’s premiere in the October cinema.
Kicking In will...
- 9/23/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
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