Argentine Film Wins Newcomer Award at Munich Film Fest

The Argentinean film, Abrir puertas y ventanas / Back to Stay (pictured) by Milagros Mumenthaler has been awarded the CineVision prize for Best Newcomer Film at this year’s Munich Film Festival.

Premiering in competition at the Locarno Film Festival last year and winning the Golden Leopard for Best film, Mumenthaler's debut feature portrays three young sisters adjusting to the absence of their recently deceased grandmother. The story captures the complications of sibling dynamics as the three girls cope with the pangs of mourning, the transition of female adolescence to adulthood, all while attempting to, unsuccessfully, reach out to one another.

Courtesy of the German production/distribution company Senator Film, the CineVision award is comprised of 12,000 Euros (about $15,000 USD) and is given to the best first or second film by a director screening at the Munich film Festival. The award will be presented to Caroline Daube of the Match Factory, who is handling sales for the film worldwide, at a ceremony in Munich by Tania Reichert-Facilides, the production executive for Senator.

Mexican Filmmaker Alfredo Joskowicz Dies

Mexican director and film official Alejandro Joskowicz (pictured) died today in Mexico City from leukemia at age 74. Of Polish background, Joskowicz studied film at the Centro de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC) of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Crates was his debut feature film in 1970, which was followed by El cambio (1971), Meridiano 100 (1974), Constelaciones (1979), El caballito volador (1981), and Playa azul (1992).

Joskowicz also had a fruitful career as a film professor, not only teaching in both of Mexico's leading film schools, CUEC and Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC), but also becoming director of both academic institutions. He was director of CCC between 1977 and 1982, and director of CUEC between 1989 and 1993.

He was also director of the Azteca Studios between 1983 and 1985, director of the Churubusco Studios between 1997 and 2000, and director of the Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE) between 2000 and 2006.

Earlier this year Joscowicz was awarded the Silver Mayahuel at the 27th edition of the Guadalajara Film Festival, and just a month ago he received the Golden Ariel at the 54th edition of the annual Mexican national film prize.

Prizes for Latin American Cinema in Edinburgh and Moscow

This past weekend two Latin American films received prizes in two different European Film Festivals: the Mexican film Fecha de caducidad / Expiration Date (pictured) in Moscow and the Argentine film Papirosen at Edinburgh.

Kenya Marquez's Fecha de caducidad / Expiration Date was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the 34th edition of the Moscow Film Festival that took place in the Russian capital between June 21-30. Márquez's debut feature is a funny and suspenseful black comedy of shifting viewpoints starring Damián Alcazar.

Gaston Solnicki's Papirosen received a Special Mention in the the 66th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival that took place June 20  - July 1. On the film, the jury said: “Papirosen is a real paradigm for why cinema remains relevant. There is beauty, pain and urgency in this film. For humanity to survive, the world must not forget. This film tells us that the greatest struggle of man is the struggle for the truth.”

DocuWeeks 2012 Will Feature Five Latin American-Themed Docs

The International Documentary Association has announced the lineup for the 16th edition of its annual DocuWeeks screening series to take place between August 3 and 23 at the IFC Center in New York City, and between August 10 and 30 at the Laemmle NoHo 7 in Los Angeles. This year's lineup includes 17 feature films and 11 shorts from 19 countries including five feature films with a focus on Mexico, Brazil Colombia, and Haiti.

From Mexico, DocuWeeks will feature Everardo González's Cuates de Australia / Drought (pictured) the story of a cattle-ranching community in northeastern Mexico that annually performs a massive exodus to look for water during drought. González's film just won few days ago the prize for Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Also from Mexico, Jardín en el mar / Garden in the Sea by Thomas Riedelsheimeris a documentary about art, landscape and environment. The film follows Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias as she creates a commission underwater sculpture in the Sea of Cortez.

Tejiendo sabiduría / We Women Warriors by Nicole Karsin follows three native women caught in the crossfire of Colombia's warfare, who use nonviolent resistance to defend their peoples' survival. Without Net (pictured) by Kelly J. Richardson tells the story of Djeferson, Bárbara, Rayana and Platini who live in a drug-controlled slum of Rio de Janeiro. When a big-top circus tent suddenly appears in a nearby parking lot, they decide to take a chance.

And from Haiti, Patrick Shen's La Source follows a Haitian Princeton janitor who after the devastating 2010 earthquake seeks the support of the privileged community he serves every day and sacrifices everything to revive his lifelong dream to bring what is most fundamental to his village's survival: clean water.
 

Bichir, Luna, and García Invited as New Academy Members

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that it has invited 176 film professionals as new members of the Academy, including Mexican actors Demian Bichir and Diego Luna, as well as Colombian-born filmmaker Rodrigo García.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Academy voters are less diverse than the moviegoing public and nearly 94% of the approximately 6,000 members are Caucasian and 77% male. With Latinos making up less than 2% Academy, President Tom Sherak and Chief Executive Dawn Hudson have made diversifying a priority for the organization.

Demian Bichir was nominated for an Oscar this year, for Best Actor for his leading role in A Better Life. Neither Diego Luna nor Rodrigo García have been directly nominated for an Oscar, yet both have worked in films that have been nominated; Luna in Alfonso Cuarón's Y Tu Mamá También which got nominated for Best Original Screenplay; and Rodrigo García has directed two actresses to Oscar nominations: Glenn Close and Janet McTeer, both for Albert Nobb.

Bichir, Luna, and García will be joining other Latin American film professionals that are members of the Academy such as Argentine director Juan Campanella, Peruvian director Claudia Llosa, and Mexican actress Salma Hayek. As Academy members, they gain the opportunity of Oscar voting privileges. New members will be welcomed at a reception in September.
 

DEMO Named Best Peruvian Film at the Lima Independent Film Fest

The film Demo (pictured) by Miguel Vargas was named Best Peruvian Film in the national competition of the second edition of the Lima Independent Film Festival, which took place from June 16 to 24, 2012. The film tells the story of a former hit man, who pressured by his financial needs, must return to his old ways.

In the same category, the jury decided to give a Special Mention to the experimental film En el 93 by Carlos Benvenuto, while the international competition jury decided to give a Special Mention to the Peruvian experimental documentary  film El epitafio no me importa by Alberto Angulo.

Additionally, the Peruvian Association of Film Critics awarded Omar Forero's El Ordenador / The Computer, the APRECI prize as the Best Peruvian Film of the festival. In this film, a poster present in the beginning indicates that the principal character of the film “knows that he is going to die.” What follows is the objective vision of his journey in what little life he has left to live. APRECI’s statement says, “The direction of Forero fits well with the style of acclaimed contemporary Latin American filmmakers, like Argentinian Lisandro Alonso in Los Muertos, or Mexican Carlos Reygadas in Japón.”

The announcement and awards ceremony of the winners of the Festival de Cine Lima Independiente 2012 took place last Sunday in the Centro Cultural de la Universidad Cayetano Heredia in Miraflores.