Cinema Tropical AWARDS Announces Jury and Nominating Committee for 3rd Edition

Cinema Tropical has announced the members of the Nominating Committee and the six members of the Jury for the third annual edition of the Cinema Tropical AWARDS, honoring the best of Latin American film production of the year, which will take place on Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at The New York Times headquarters in midtown Manhattan in New York City.

A total of 14 film professionals from Latin America, Europe, the US, and Canada have been invited to participate in the Nominating Committee. Each member has nominated films in five different categories: Best Feature Film, Best Director (Feature Film), Best Documentary, Best Director (Documentary), and Best First Film.

The jury will select the final five nominees in each of the categories, which will be announced the week of December 10, as well as the winners.

The Cinema Tropical AWARDS were created in 2010 to honor excellence in Latin American filmmaking, and it is the only international award entirely dedicated to honoring the artistry of recent Latin American cinema. In its inaugural year, the Awards were given to the Ten Best Latin American Films of the Aughts.
 

 NOMINATING COMMITTEE

- Isabel Arrate Fernandez, IDFA, The Netherlands   
- Hugo Chaparro, film critic, Colombia
- Lucile De Calan, programmer, Biarritz Latin American Film Festival, France
- Denis de la Roca, programmer, Abu Dhabi Film Festival
- Mara Fortes, programmer, Morelia Film Festival   
- Erick Gonzalez, programmer, Valdivia Film Festival, Chile
- Elías Jiménez, director, Festival Ícaro, Guatemala
- Roger Alan Koza, film critic and programmer, Filmfest Hamburg, FICUNAM, Mexico
- Janneke Langelaan, Hubert Bals Fund, The Netherlands
- Diego Lerer, film critic, Argentina
- Rosa Martinez Rivero, film producer, Argentina
- Christian Sida-Valenzuela, director, Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
- Hebe Tabachnik, programmer, Los Angeles and Palm Springs Film Festivals
- Sergio Wolf, film programmer, Argentina

FICTION JURY

Dennis Lim writes about film and popular culture for various publications including The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He is the founding editor of Moving Image Source, the online publication and research resource of the Museum of the Moving Image and was formerly the film editor of The Village Voice. His work has also appeared in The Believer, The Oxford American, Blender, Spin, Espous, Indiewire, New York Daily News, The Independent on Sunday, The Guardian, and the film quarterly Cinema Scope, where he is a contributing editor. A member of the National Society of Film Critics and the editor of The Village Voice Film Guide (2006), he has served as a member of the New York Film Festival selection committee and he teaches in the Cultural Reporting and Criticism graduate program a New York University.

Matías Piñeiro is a filmmaker and professor at the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires. His first feature-length work, El hombre robado / The Stolen Man (2007), won awards at the Jeonju International Film Festival and at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival. In 2009, his second feature, Todos mienten / They All Lie, premiered at BAFICI (Buenos Aires Festival International de Cine Independiente), where it won two awards. It also won a prize at the Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine. In 2010, he was selected—along with James Benning and Denis Côté—to screen his third film, Rosalinda at the 11th Jeonju Digital Project. Piñeiro recently premiered his most recent film, Viola, at the Toronto Film Festival, and it's slated for a US release in 2013. He earned a filmmaking degree from Universidad del Cine. His award-winning films have been screened around the world, including at Anthology Film Archives, Festival des 3 Continents, the Festival del film Locarno, the London Film Festival, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, the Museum of Modern Art, Rencontré Cinémas d’Amerique Latine de Toulouse, and the Viennale.

Frida Torresblanco served as a producer in Spain working on film including The Dancer Upstairs, directed by John Malkovich and starring Javier Bardem, as well as Susan Seidelman’s Gaudi Afternoon. She moved to New York City in 2002 to launch and lead Alfonso Cuaron’s film production company, Esperanto, where she served as Executive Producer and Creative On-Set Producer for The Assassination of Richard Nixon (directed by Niels Mueller, starring Sean Penn), among others. In 2006, Frida joined Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro to produce El laberinto del Fauno / Pan’s Labyrinth (Three Oscars & another three Oscar nominations; three wins & five BAFTA nominations; a nomination for the Palm d’Or and a Golden Globe). The Hollywood Reporter named Frida one of the 50 most powerful Latinos in Hollywood. She also produced Rudo y Cursi (directed by Carlos Cuarón, starring Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna). In 2010, Frida launched her new film production company, Braven Films, with partners Eric Laufer and Giovanna Randall. Her next project, Magic Magic, produced through Braven Films, will star Michael Cera, Juno Temple and Emily Browning.

DOCUMENTARY JURY

Ryan Harrington is the Director of Documentary Programs at the Tribeca Film Institute where he oversees the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, the TFI Documentary Fund, Tribeca All Access documentary program and the Latin America Media Arts Fund while developing other initiatives and programs that support non-fiction filmmaking. Recent TFI successes include Give Up Tomorrow, If a Tree Falls, The Redemption of General Butt Naked, The Oath, Enemies of the People, Marathon Boy and Donor Unknown. Independently he is currently working on the feature doc Hungry in America, with filmmakers Kristi Jacobson & Lori Silverbush and Participant Media, that explores why so many people in the USA go without food, and what can be done about it. Harrington managed production for A&E IndieFilms, the theatrical documentary arm of the A&E Network, for four years. Throughout his time there he championed the Oscar-nominated films Murderball and Jesus Camp, and the Sundance hits My Kid Could Paint That and American Teen. 

Paula Heredia is a director and editor based in New York. She was awarded an Emmy for the HBO documentary In Memoriam, NYC 9/11/01, and an ACE Eddie Award for the acclaimed documentary Unzipped. Her directorial work includes the documentaries George Plimpton and the Paris Review, Ralph Gibson, and The Couple in the Cage. Her dramatic work includes Having a Baby, Tras La Ventana, Slings and Arrows, and La Cena de Matrimonio. Her short film La Pájara Pinta premiered at the Lincoln Center Film Society LatinBeat Film Festival. Heredia’s editorial work can be seen in the HBO feature-length documentary Addiction, which received the 2007 Emmy Governors Award, and Alive Day Memories—Home from Iraq, executive produced by James Gandolfini for HBO. Her new edit, The Art of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not for Sale and Jacques D'Ambois in China, will air on HBO this summer. Other editorial credits include: Modulations Cinema for the Ear, The Vagina Monologues, Finding Christa and Free Tibet. Paula’s work and creative process is featured in the book: The Art of the Documentary by Megan Cunningham. With partner Larry Garvin, she co-founded Heredia Pictures, heads the international committee of New York Women in Film and Television and serves on the board of advisors of Tribeca All Access and Clementina, Inc.

Chi-hui Yang is a film programmer, lecturer and writer based in New York. As a guest curator, Yang has presented film and video series at film festivals and events internationally, including MoMA's Documentary Fortnight, Robert Flaherty Film Seminar (“The Age of Migration”), Seattle International Film Festival, Washington D.C. International Film Festival and Barcelona Asian Film Festival. From 2000-2010 he was the Director and Programmer of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the largest showcase of its kind in the US.  Yang is also the programmer of “Cinema Asian America,” a new On-Demand service offered by Comcast and currently a Visiting Scholar at New York University’s Asian/Pacific/American Institute.

Strand Releasing Takes US Rights to Reygadas' POST TENEBRAS LUX

Strand Releasing announced today that it has acquired all the US rights for the Mexican film Post Tenebras Lux, directed by Carlos Reygadas. The film had its world premiere at Cannes' official competition last May where it won the prize for Best Director, and it was just theatrically released in Mexico this past weekend.

The film is set for a release at Film Forum in New York City in May, followed by a roll-out in other cities in the U.S. The deal was negotiated between Jon Gerrans from Stand Releasing and Fiorella Moretti from Mantarraya.

Chilean Film Wins Top Prize at Viña del Mar

The Chilean documentary film Pena de muerte / Death Penalty by Tevo Díaz was awarded the prize for Best Film at the 24th edition of the Viña del Mar Film Festival which ran November 19-24 in the coastal Chilean city. The film receives a cash prize of $6,000 USD. The prize for Best Director with a cash prize of $4,000 went to the Brazilian filmmakers Maíra Bühler and Matias Mariani for their production Ela sonhou que eu morri / She Dreamed that I Died.

The Chilean film Las cosas como son / Things the Way They Are by Fernando Lavanderos, which just won the prize for Best Latin American Film at the Mar del Plata Film Festival, received the Special Jury Prize. The Argentinean film El Tramo by Juan Hendel received a Special Mention from the jury, while the Mexican documentary film Gimme the Power by Olallo Rubio won the Audience Award.

INFANCIA CLANDESTINA Wins at Huelva

Infancia Clandestina / Clandestine Childhood (pictured) the debut feature film by Argentine filmmaker Benjamín Ávila received the top prize as Best Film at the 38th edition of the Huelva Ibero American Film Festival which was held November 18-24 in Spain.

Based on Avila's own upbringing, Argentina's official Oscar selection for Foreign Film Oscar is an original take on the country's 1976-1983 Dirty War, portraying the warm family life of two resistance fighters, seen by their 12-year-old son.

Two Mexican films were also awarded, Enrique Rivero's Mai Morire received the Special Jury Prize while Fecha de caducidad / Expiration Date by Kenya Márquez was awarded for Best Director.

The acting prizes went to Pablo Pinto for Best Actor for his performance in the Argentinean film De martes a martes / From Tuesday to Tuesday by Gustavo Triviño, and to Alicia Rodríguez for Best Actress for her performance in the Chilean film Joven y alocada / Young and Wild by Marialy Rivas. Triviño also won the prize for Best New Director. 

The screenplay award went to Martín Salinas for the Argentine comedy Ni un hombre más which he also directed, and the Best Cinematography prize went to the Brazilian film O Palhaço / The Clown by Selton Mello, which also received the Audience Award.

According to the news website Noticine.com, the festival lost more half of its funding due to the difficult economical context in Spain, which resulted in a decrease in number of selected films and special guests. 

Hernán Jiménez's EL REGRESO Wins Icaro Film Fest

The Costa Rican film El regreso / The Return (pictured) by Hernán Jiménez was the big winner at the 15th edition of the Icaro Film Festival focused on Central American cinema, which was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Jiménez's debut feature was awarded the prizes for Best Film, Best Actor and Best Actress.

The film tells the story of Antonio, played by Hernán Jiménez himself, who after a decade abroad returns to Costa Rica for a short visit. Unable to run away as usual, he is confronted with everything he has desperately struggled to put in the past: a broken family, an ailing father, a violent country and long lost friends.

Acclaimed Guatemala filmmaker Julio Hernández Cordón received the prize for Best Director for both of his feature films that were screened at the festival: Polvo / Dust and Hasta el sol tiene manchas / Even the Sun Has Spots. The prize for Best Screenplay was awarded to the Costa Rican film Tres Marías by Francisco González. Other Costa Rican film, the documentary feature Ergonomía para Diana / Ergonomy for Diana by Marcos Machado received a Special Jury Mention.

The award for Best Short Film was presented to Nicté by Andrea Dardón from Guatemala, while the award for Best Experimental Short was presented to the Nicaraguan short film El Globo de Ninette by Jeonathan Aguilar.

Mar del Plata Announces Winners

The Chilean film Las cosas como son / Things the Way they Are (pictured) by Fernando Lavanderos was the winner of the prize for Best Latin American Film at the 27th edition of the Mar del Plata Film Festival, which took ran November 17-25 at the coastal Argentinean city.

Lavanderos' sophomore film follows Jerónimo, an antisocial guy who rents out rooms to foreign people and goes through their belongings. An attractive Scandinavian girl arrives to his house, and he falls for her. But just when it seems he’s won her over, he starts to get suspicious. She is hiding something in the house, something that raises Jerónimo’s worst fears.

The jury gave two Special Mentions to Alicia Cano's El Bella Vista from Uruguay and Carlos Reygadas' Post Tenebras Lux from Mexico. Reality 2.0 by Víctor Orozco Ramírez from Mexico received the prize for Best Latin American Short Film, and Amir Admoni's Linear from Brazil receives a Special Jury Mention in the same category.

In the Argentinean competition, the prize for Best Film went to Hermanos de sangre / Blood Brothers by Daniel de la Vega. José Celestino Campusano was awarded the Best Director prize for his film Fango. Pablo Gonzalo Pérez's Ojos / Eyes was selected as Best Argentinean Short Film, and Geraldine Barón received the prize for Best Director of Short Film for her film Hotel Y.