Venezuelan Film EL RUMOR DE LAS PIEDRAS Wins NY Latino Film Fest

The New York International Film Festival announced the winner of its 2012 edition which ran August 13-19. The Venezuelan film The Rumble of the Stones / El rumor de las piedras (pictured) by Alejandro Bellame Palacios won the prizes for Best International Feature and Best Director, each award comes with a cash prize of $5,000 and $1,000 respectively.

The film tells the story of Delia, a single mother who struggles to raise her sons, William and Santiago, in a shantytown of Caracas, but it seems that everyday they slip farther away from her and closer to a life of crime and delinquency.

Under my Mails by Arí Maniel Cruz which tells the story of a Puerto Rican woman who works in a nail salon and who becomes intrigued by the violent sexual practices of her new neighbors, was awarded the prize for Best Domestic Feature. The award also comes with a $5,000 cash prize. The prize for Best Documentary was awarded to Daniel Fridell's El Médico: The Cubatón Story, a Cuba-Swedish production while the prize for Best Short was awarded to the Peruvian-American production Pescadora by Enrique García and Ahna Terpstra

"This year's festival line up was outstanding in its quality and range of diversity," said Calixto Chinchilla, NYILFF Founder and Co-Executive Director. "We hope to continue to bring the highest quality films and stories to the New York community."

NYFF Includes Three Chilean Filmmakers in its Lineup

In an unprecedented selection, three Chilean filmmakers have been invited to participate in the official lineup of the 50th anniversary edition of the New York Film Festival (NYFF) presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Films by Pablo Larráin, Valeria Sarmiento, and the late Raúl Ruiz, will be participating in this year's festival which runs September 28 through October14.

From universally acclaimed to promising newcomers, Selection Committee Chair and Program Director Richard Peña has stated, “The films making up the main slate of this year's NYFF, have in common a general quality of fearlessness" that unites otherwise very disparate works.”

Pablo Larraín will present his most recent feature No (pictured), starring Mexican actor Gael García Bernal. The film tells the story of ad-man Rene Saavedra has spent his life pushing soft drinks and soap and suddenly sets out to sell Chileans on democracy and freedom during Pinochet’s reign.

With the loss of director Raúl Ruiz lies emerges his last cherished masterpiece, La Noche de enfrente / Night Across the Street. A moving mediation on one man’s mortality as he narrates several tales from his childhood, guiding the audience through tales of private and public, historical and mythic, the here and beyond, is also a brilliant summation of this illustrious director’s career. 

Valeria Sarmiento, the wife of the late Ruiz, will be presenting the intimate epic Lines of Wellington / Linhas de Wellington (pictured right), a French-Portuguese co-production. Passionate romance, brutal treachery, and selfless nobility are set against the background of Napoleon's invasion of Portugal in Sarmiento's most recent film starring John Malkovich, Mathieu Amalric and Marisa Paredes.

The New York Film Festival will also feature the winner of the Grand Prize at this year’s Critics Week in Cannes, Antonio Esparza’s Aquí y Allá / Here and There. This is the story about a man who returns home to Mexico after years of working in the U.S., finding the adjustment exceedingly difficult. The distance between he and his daughters, scarce job opportunities and the temptation of heading back to the U.S. make this a film that goes way beyond cliché and stereotype.

Completing the Latino participation at this year's festival is the Spanish-Argentinean film The Dead Man and Being Happy / El muerto y ser feliz by Javier Rebollp. The playful and unexpectedly moving reverie on love, death and the open road follows a dying hitman and a mysterious femme fatale set off on an oddball journey through Argentina's interior. 

Kino Lorber Acquires Chilean Film VIOLETA WENT TO HEAVEN

Kino Lorber Inc. announced today the acquisition of the North American rights to the Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Jury Prize winner, Violeta Went to Heaven / Violeta se fue a los cielos (pictured), directed by Andrés Wood. The biopic of legendary musician and poet, Violeta Parra, details the evolution of an iconic woman, from her struggles as an impoverished child to her fame as an international sensation.

Directed by Wood (Machuca, Football Stories), the film follows many of Parra’s political struggles including her constant efforts in protecting indigenous cultures, as seen in one of her most famous song’s "La Carta." This story blended with magical realism and drama illustrates the ups and downs of this incredible artist who continues to be revered through her signature song, "Gracias a la Vida" by musicians around the world.

Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber stated that "Violeta inspired us at its first screening at Sundance." "Although she is not a household name here, her story is poignantly universal and enhanced by her phenomenal music throughout.”

This week, the film premieres in New York City at the Latinbeat Film Festival, organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Kino Lorber is also planning a nationwide theatrical release during November/December 2012 as well as VOD and theatrical expansion.

FOUND MEMORIES and DROUGHT Win Lima

The Brazilian film Found Memories / Historias que só existem quando lembradas (pictured) by Júlia Murat was awarded the top prize for Best Feature Film at the 16th edition of the Lima Film Festival, which took place August 3-11 at the Peruvian capital. The Special Jury Prize went to the Colombian film La Sirga by William Vega, while the jury gave Special Mention to the Peruvian film Chicama by Omar Forero. The prize for Best Director went to Carlos Reygadas for his Post Tenebras Lux.

The jury was comprised by Venezuelan director Fina Torres, Argentinean director Ana Katz, Mexican actress Angélica Aragón, Brazilian film critic José Carlos Avelar and Peruvian actor Salvador del Solar. The jury gave the award for the Best First Film to both the Colombian film La playa / The Beach by Juan Andrés Arango and the Mexican film La Cebra by Fernando León.

The prize for Best Documentary was awarded to the Mexican film Drought / Cuates de Australia by Everardo González, and the jury gave a Special Mention to the Chilean film Hija by María Paz González.

Other prizes given this evening included the Audience Award to Ian Padrón's Habanastation from Cuba, the International Federation of Film Critics Award to Santiago Mitre's El Estudiante from Argentina, the Best Peruvian Film award to Omar Forero's Chicama, and the Best Peruvian First Film award to Joel Calero's El Cielo Oscuro. Additionally the Peruvian Association of Film Critics gave the APRECI award to Carlos Reygadas' Post Tenebras Lux.

Patricia Riggen's GIRL IN PROGRESS Tops Imagen Awards

Patricia's Riggen's feature film Girl in Progress was the big winner at the 27th edition of the Imagen Awards which were given out last night at a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The film released by Pantelion Films received three prizes for Best Film, Best Director and for 16-year-old Cierra Ramírez for Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film.

Other winners include Lou Diamond Phillips for Best Actor in a Feature Film for his performance on Filly Brown; Gina Rodriguez for Best Actress in the same film; and Diego Luna for Best Supporting Actor in Casa de mi Padre. HBO Latino's Habla Texas won the prize for Best Documentary for Film/Television.

The Imagen Awards, which are given by the Imagen Foundation, aim to recognize and reward positive portrayals of Latinos in all forms of media, as well to encourage and recognize the achievements of Latinos in the entertainment and communications industries.

Mexican Director Pedro González-Rubio Wins Golden Leopard at Locarno

Mexican director Pedro González-Rubio (pictured) won the Golden Leopard Award for his new feature film Inori in the Cinesti del Presenti (Filmmakers of the Present) competition at the 65th edition of the Locarno Film Festival which came to a close today in Switzerland.

González-Rubio film, which was made in Japan and produced by a special program of the Nara International Film Festival, tells the story of Kannogawa, a small mountain community in Japan, where the laws of nature have changed what used to be a lively town. While the younger generations have left for bigger cities, the few remaining inhabitants perform their everyday activities on their history and the cycles of life.

Born in 1976, Pedro González-Rubio studied film at the London Film School. His previous film credits include Toro Negro (2005, co-directed with Carlos Armella), and Alamar (2009), which won the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The Golden Leopard Award / George Foundation Prize for Best Film in the Cineasti del Presenti section comes with a cash prize of 40,000 swiss francs (about $40,000 USD) to be equally shared between the director and the producer.

Additionally, the Colombian short film Los retratos / Portraits by Iván D. Gaona won a special mention in the Pardi di Domani (Leopards of Tomorrow) competition at the Swiss Festival that ran August 1-11.