Icarus Films has announced the North American theatrical release of the engrossing feature-length documentary film Gringo Trails (pictured) by anthropologist Pegi Vail and produced by Dominican-American filmmaker Melvin Estrella.
Winner of the Special Jury Award at the Visions of Nature/Voices of Nature Environmental Film Festival, a favorite at the Margaret Mead Film Festival where it played to sold-out crowds, and an official selection at numerous festivals around the world, Vail’s debut feature film opens for its theatrical premiere engagement on Thursday, September 4th at Cinema Village in New York City, and on Friday, September 12th at Facets Cinémathèque in Chicago, followed by other cities across the U.S.
Hailed as “required viewing for all thoughtful travelers” (Condé Nast Traveler), Gringo Trails raises urgent questions about one of the most powerful globalizing forces of our time: tourism. The film follows stories along the well‐-worn western travelers’ route—the ‘gringo trail’—through South America, Africa, and Asia, revealing the complex relationships host countries hungry for financial security and the tourists who provide it in their quest for “authentic” experiences.
Are tourists destroying the planet-or saving it? How do travelers change the remote places they visit, and how are they changed? From the Bolivian jungle to the party beaches of Thailand, and from the deserts of Timbuktu, Mali to the breathtaking beauty of Bhutan, Gringo Trails traces stories over 30 years to show the unanticipated impact of tourism on cultures, economies, and the environment.
Co-producer and director of photography Melvin Estrella has worked in numerous capacities within the independent film arena as well as within commercial, television, and non-profit production. He shot and produced the documentary, The Dodgers Sym-Phony and is the director of photography on the documentary-in-progress Wall Street in the Black. His short film Firebird premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center during the New York Indian Film Festival. He serves on the curatorial committee for The Moth.
The Toronto Film Festival announced today the last batch of films for its 2014 edition, which includes several Latin American titles. The Discovery section of the festival will feature the world premiere of the Chilean film I Am Not Lorena / No soy Lorena by Isidora Marras; the Brazilian film Obra by Gregorio Graziosi; and the Peruvian film The Vanished Elephant / El elefante desaparecido by Javier Fuentes-León.
In I Am Not Lorena (pictured right), fraudulent charges aimed at a certain “Lorena Ruiz” begin to plague Olivia, who descends into the dark labyrinth of the Chilean payment collection system to confront the unknown woman. In the São Paulo-based Obra, a young architect discovers a clandestine cemetery while walking through the worksite of his first important project. As terrible memories float back, he must struggle with his conscience and question his own heritage. 
La Salada depicts the experience of new immigrants in Argentina told through three stories that take place in La Salada —the largest informal market in Argentina, and Los Hongos —the second feature from Colombian director Oscar Ruiz Navia (Crab Trap) follows two young street artists as they explore the vibrant and exciting milieu of the director’s hometown of Cali. 
Anthology Film Archives has announced the New York theatrical premiere run of the award-winning Mexican documentary film The Naked Room / El cuarto desnudo (pictured) by Spanish-born director Nuria Ibáñez. The film, which was the winner of the Best Documentary award at the Morelia Film Festival, is distributed in the U.S. by Magic Lantern Films. Hailed by Variety as "a haunting exploration of mental illness in children," The Naked Room opens Friday, August 29th.
Among the most immensely powerful, exquisitely sensitive, and formally inspired documentary films in recent memory, The Naked Room takes place entirely within the confines of a pediatric therapist’s office in a Mexico City hospital, observing the initial consultations of a succession of deeply troubled kids, and brilliantly transforming this constricted space into a microcosm vast in its metaphorical dimensions.
Franco Lolli's debut feature film Gente de Bien from Colombia was the top winner at the 18th edition of the Lima Film Festival receiving the award for Best Film. 
Navajazo (pictured), the directorial feature debut by Mexican director Ricardo Silva (pictured below right) was the winner of the Golden Leopard award for Best Film in the Filmmakers of the Present competition at the 2014 edition of the Locarno Film Festival.
The Colombian film Los Hongos by director Oscar Ruiz Navia was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the Filmmakers of the Present competition. Two other Latin American films received Special Mention in two separate sections of the festival: the Brazilian film August Winds / Ventos de Agosto by Gabriel Also in the main competition, and Chilean short film Muerte blanca by Roberto Collío in the Pardi di domani international competition.
The Morelia Film Festival has announced the lineup for the official competition of its 12th edition. The Mexican Feature Film Section will see the national premieres of Los ausentes / The Absent (pictured left) by Nicolás Pereda, Carmín Tropical by Rigoberto Perezcano, El comienzo del tiempo by Bernardo Arellano, Sand Dollars / Dólares de arena (pictured below right) by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, Güeros by Alonso Ruizpalacios, and I Am Happiness on Earth / Yo soy la felicidad de este mundo by Julián Hernández, among others.
In the Mexican Documentary Feature Film section, Morelia will showcase Muerte en Arizona / Death in Arizona by Tin Dirdamal, Chuy, El hombre lobo / Chuy, the Wolf Man by Eva Aridjis, La hora de la siesta / The Naptime by Carolina Plat, Bering, equilibrio y resistencia by Lourdes Grobet, and Café by Hatuey Viveros, among others.
