Matías Piñeiro and Sebastián Silva: VIOLA vs. CRYSTAL FAIRY

In an unusual yet happy coincidence, two films by two of the most exciting young South American filmmakers will be opening in New York theaters this coming Friday, July 12.

Cinema Guild will be releasing Viola by Argentinean director Matías Piñeiro (pictured right) at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Elinon Bunin Munroe Film Center, and IFC Films will be releasing Crystal Fairy by Chilean director Sebastián Silva (pictured left) at the IFC Center (it will also open at the Nuart Theater in LA).

TropicalFRONT decided that this fortunate coincidence merited a comparison of these two talented filmmakers, both of whom call New York City home, and whose new films are both named after their leading female characters.

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Matías Piñeiro	Sebastián Silva
Place of Birth:   Buenos Aires, Argentina	Place of Birth:   Santiago, Chile
Age:   31	Age:   34
Astrological sign:   Taurus	Astrological sign:   Aries
Place of Residence:   East Village, Manhattan	Place of Residence:   Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Studied film at:   Universidad del Cine	Studied film at:   Escuela de Cine de Chile and animation in Montreal.
Year of directorial debut:   2007	Year of directorial debut:   2007
Filmography:   El hombre robado / The Stolen Man (2007); Todos mienten   / They All Lie (2009); Rosalinda (2010); Viola (2012)	Filmography:   La vida me mata / Life Kills Me (2007); La nana / The Maid   (2009); Gatos viejos /  Old Cats (co-directed with Pedro   Peirano, 2010); Crystal Fairy (2013); Magic Magic (2013)
Number of shooting days for his newest film:   10	Number of shooting days for his newest film:   12
What the New York Times' Manohla Dargis says:   Viola is "wonderfully inventive... A triumph of narrative   imagination and bottom-line ingenuity."	What the New York Times' Manohla Dargis says:   Crystal Fairy was "one of the best films at this year's   Sundance Film Festival."
Where else can you see his work:   The Film Society of Lincoln Center is doing a retrospective   of Piñeiro this weekend.	Where else can you see his work:   Magic Magic will be released on DVD August 6th; MoMA will   present a one-week theatrical run of Old Cats August 20-26.
What he is currently working on:   The Princess of France, the third installment in his   Shakespearan project to be shoot in Argentina this August.	What he is currently working on:   Nasty Baby, about a gay couple trying to impregnate their   friend, a straight woman. The film, starring Silva himself,   will be shoot in Fort Greene this summer.