The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art announced its full New Directors/New Films lineup yesterday, featuring 27 features and 10 shorts. New Directors/New Films strives to discover new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent. This year’s edition brings four titles from the Latin American region.
The Spanish-French-Uruguayan production The Apostate / El apóstata (pictured left) by Uruguayan filmmaker Federico Veiroj will be showcased, which won the FIPRESCI Prize and Special Mention of the Jury at San Sebastián International Film Festival last year. The Apostate observes a young Spaniard’s maddening efforts to abandon the Catholic Church. Channeling his spiritual forebear, Luis Buñuel, Veiroj brings gentle irony with wry humor and deep conviction.
Kill Me Please / Mate-me por favor (pictured right) from Brazil by Anita Rocha da Silveira is the filmmaker’s debut feature. The film takes place in Barra da Tijuca, the West Side Zone of Rio de Janeiro where a wave of murderers plague the area. Bia, a fifteen year old girl, who has an encounter with death finds herself doing anything to make sure she's alive. The film premiered last fall at Venice Film Festival and will have its U.S. premiere at SXSW before it hits New Directors/New Films.
Also from Brazil, Gabriel Mascaro’s acclaimed Neon Bull / Boi Neon (pictured below) will screen. The film has won numerous awards including, Venice Horizons Award - Special Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival, Platform Prize - Honorable Mention at TIFF and Best Film, Screenplay and Cinematography at Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. Neon Bull follows handsome cowboy Iremar as he travels around to work at vaquejada rodeos, a Brazilian variation on the sport in which two men on horseback attempt to bring a bull down by its tail. Iremar dreams of becoming a fashion designer, creating flamboyant outfits for his co-worker, single mother Galega.
Receiving its New York premiere is Mexican-German production I Promise You Anarchy / Te prometo anarquía by Julio Hernández Cordón. The film follows two skaters, Miguel and Johnny, who sell their own blood for the ER black market for easy money until a big transaction ends up bad for everyone involved.
The 45th annual New Directors/New Films will take place March 16-27 in New York City.
