Palm Springs to Premiere Six Latin American Films

The Palm Springs International Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 25th annual edition, to run from January 3-13 in Southern California's venerable resort town. Among the diverse selection of international films, works from Chile, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Mexico will have their U.S. or North American premieres following runs in festivals such as Locarno and the Directors Fortnight at Cannes.

Latin American films with premiere status are: The Summer of Flying Fish / El verano de los peces voladores (pictured) by Marcela Said and Root / Raíz by Matías Rojas Valencia from Chile, Roa by Andrés Baiz from Colombia, The Mute / El mudo by Daniel and Diego Vega from Peru, Tattoo / Tatuagem by Hilton Lacerda from Brazil, and The Searches / Las búsquedas by José Luis Valle from Mexico.

Among the already premiered titles that will be continuing their festival runs at Palm Springs, renowned Brazilian director Bruno Barretto's Reaching for the Moon will also be screening at the festival after its U.S. premiere at the 2013 edition of the Tribeca Film Festival. 

THE SPACE BETWEEN THINGS Is Named Best Peruvian Film of the Year

The Peruvian Motion Picture Press Association (Asociación Peruana de Prensa Cinematográfica, APRECI) named Raúl del Busto's El espacio entre las cosas / The Space Between Things (pictured) as Best Peruvian Film of the Year. 

Starring Natalia Pena, Fernando Escribens, Ricardo Sandi and Fernando Vílchez, the film is about a director that is preparing his new film, a crime thriller whose main character is a detective by the name of Glauber Maldonado. Mysterious events will convert the the lives of the detective and the filmmaker into a fuzzy journey between reality and hallucination.

The Space Between Things is del Bustó's sophomore film, after his 2005 feature film debut Detrás del mar. The film won a Special Jury Mention at the past edition of the Independent Lima Film Fest.

Previous APRECI winners include Omar Forero's Chicama (2012), Rosario García-Montero's Las malas intenciones / The Bad Intentions (2011), Héctor Gálvez's Paraíso (2010), and Claudia Llosa's La teta asustada / The Milk of Sorrow (2009).

Oscar Snubs Latin America

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences just announced its nine-film short list that will contend for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language category. In a surprising move, no Latin American film made it to the list, not even Chilean favorite Gloria (pictured) by Sebastián Lelio which had been included in many Oscars predictions.

The final nine films that made the cut are Belgium's The Broken Circle Breakdown, Bosnia and Herzegovina's An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, Cambodia's The Missing Picture, Denmark's The Hunt, Germany's Two Lives, Hong Kong's The Grandmaster, Hungary's The Notebook, Italy 's The Great Beauty and Palestina's Omar. The final nominations will be announced on January 16, 2014.

In total, nine Latin American film had submitted candidates to this year's Academy Awards. In addition to the Chilean film Gloria, the other Latin American candidates were Brazil's Neighboring Sounds, Colombia's La Playa DC, Dominican Republic's Who's the Boss?, Ecuador's Porcelain Horse, Mexico's Heli, Peru's The Cleaner, Uruguay's Anina and Venezuela's Breach in the Silence.

The Oscars have had a very timid relationship with Mexico. Only two Latin American films have won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, both from Argentina: La historia oficial / The Official Story by Luis Puenzo in 1985, and El secreto de sus ojos / The Secret in their Eyes by Juan José Campanella in 2009. At eight, Mexico is the country with the most nominations but no wins.

Independent Lens to Showcase Two Latino Docs

PBS has announced the Winter/Spring 2014 lineup for its celebrated Independent Lens' documentary series, which will feature two works by Latino filmmakers in the United States: Las Marthas (pictured) by Cristina Ibarra and The State of Arizona by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini.

Las Marthas explores the unique Laredo, Texas celebration in honor of George Washington, where society daughters, most of them Mexican American, debut in elaborate colonial gowns representing iconic figures from America's revolutionary history. The film follows two of the young debutantes as they prepare for this extraordinary rite of passage. Las Marthas premieres Monday, February 17.

The turbulent battle over illegal immigration in Arizona that came to a head with Senate Bill 1070 frames The State of Arizona, a riveting documentary that tracks multiple perspectives — activists, politicians, Latino immigrants, controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio, ranchers, and others — as America eyes the results. The film will have its broadcast premiere on Monday, January 27.

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THE GERMAN DOCTOR Sweeps Argentina's Premios Sur

Argentina's Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences concluded the eighth edition of its Premios Sur last week, recognizing the most outstanding films made within the country's booming national industry over the last year.

Lucía Puenzo's The German Doctor / Wakolda (pictured) topped this list with 10 prizes, including Best Picture, Director, Editing, Art Direction and several acting prizes. Recently awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Havana Film Festival, The German Doctor is competing as Argentina's official entry for the Foreign Language Oscar category.

Trailing behind Wakolda in second place, the film Metegol / Foosball by Juan José Campanella picked up four prizes in the categories of Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound and Original Music. Daniel Gimelberg's Antes won in the category of Best First Film, José Luis Garcia's La chica del sur / The Girl from the South picked up the Best Documentary award and La reconstrucción, by Juan Taratuto won Best Original Screenplay.

In a resounding upset, Tesis sobre un homicidio, by Hernán Goldfrid won none of the 10 categories for which it was nominated.

Toronto Film Critics Select NEIGHBORING SOUNDS as Best First Feature

The Toronto Film Critics Association announced their 2013 awards last night, and Brazilian film Neighboring Sounds (pictured) by Kleber Mendonça Filho was selected as Best First Feature.

"To get this recognition from the Toronto Film Critics Association is something I respect and appreciate, from a city where I know cinema plays such an important part. To me, as a foreign observer of Canada, Toronto also spells out 'CRONENBERG,' whose films made me want to make films," said Mendonça Filho in a statement. 

Neighboring Sounds won the prize for Best Film at last year's Cinema Tropical Awards and is Brazil's official entry for the upcoming 86th Academy Awards. The film is centered on a quiet city block in the coastal city of Recife, ruled by an aging patriarch and his sons, a recent spate of petty crime has rattled the nerves of the well-to-do residents. When a mysterious security firm is brought in to watch over the neighborhood, it sparks the fears and anxieties of a divided society still haunted by its past.

The Toronto Film Critic Association also awarded Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón for Best Director for his most recent film Gravity.