Ninón Sevilla Dies

Cuban-born actress Ninón Sevilla (pictured) died today in Mexico City at the age of 93. Born in Havana on November 10, 1921, she was very popular during the golden age of Mexican cinema, and was considered one of the leading stars of the Rumberas film -a musical film genre mainly set in nightclubs to sensual moves. She worked with some of the most renowned Mexican directors at the time including Emilio "El Indio" Fernández, Julio Bracho, Alberto Gout, and Gilberto Martínez Solares.

Sevilla started her entertainment career dancing in cabarets and night clubs in Cuba. In 1946 she arrived in Mexico and made her film debut that same year in Carita de cielo directed by José Díaz Morales. It was with director Alberto Gout that Ninón Sevilla made her most popular films including the Aventurera (1949, pictured right), Sensualidad (1950), Mujeres sacrificadas (1952), No niego mi pasado (1952) and Aventura en Río (1953).

Nicknamed "The Golden Venus," Sevilla gained international popularity. In 1954, the young François Truffaut wrote in Cahiers du Cinema (under the pseudonym Robert Lacheney): "From now on we must take note of Ninón Sevllla, no matter how little we may be concerned with feminine gestures on the screen or elsewhere. From her inflamed look to her fiery mouth, everything is heightened in Ninón (her forehead, her lashes, her noses, her upper lip, her throat, her voice)."

In 1981 the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences gave her the Ariel Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Noche de carnaval / Carnival Night directed by Mario Hernández.

Aventurera is Sevilla's most popular work in the United States. The film was re-released to a big success at Film Forum in New York City in 1996. Variety described the leading actress as "a cross between Rita Hayworth and Carmen Miranda." Sevilla continued working in soap operas in Mexican television.

MAIKOL YORDAN Becomes the Top Grossing Film in Costa Rica Ever

[January 27, 2015 UPDATE] And Maikol Yordan did it. This past weekend the Central American comedy film directed by Miguel Gómez and the troupe La Media Docena became the most successful film in the history of Costa Rican box office. The film has been seen over 550,000 spectators since its theatrical opening five weeks ago.

Maikol Yordan de viaje perdido left behind the American blockbusters Ice Age 4 and Despicable Me 2, which were at the top of the chart.

[January 14, 2015 UPDATE] Miguel Gómez's Maikol Yordan de viaje perdido continues it's groundbreaking theatrical run in Costa Rica becoming one of the top grossing films of all time in the Central American country.

On Sunday, January 5, the film entered the list of top ten of grossing films in the history of the Costa Rican box office, and it is now with 401,196 spectators in the sixth place of the list. It is expected that film will surpass James Cameron's Avatar which is currently on the number five spot in the next few days.

[December 29, 2014] The comedy Maikol Yordan de viaje perdido (pictured) by Miguel Gómez is making history as the top grossing Costa Rican film ever, just 11 days after its theatrical opening. The film has been seen by over 170,000 people since it opened on December 18, surpassing the 2009 film Gestación by Esteban Ramírez at the box office, which was seen by 131,600 spectators.

Starring Mario Chacón as the title character of Maikol Yordan, and produced by the comedy troupe La Media Docena, the film follows a humble, good-natured man whose greatest desire is to get a job that will help raise his family, composed of eight children and his wife. At the risk of losing his farm, he desperately starts looking for a job to no success. When he's about to loose his land to the evil Malavassi (played by Mexican comedian Adal Ramones), a radio contest offering a trip to Europe as its top prize will change his fate.

Argentina and Venezuela Get Shortlisted for the Oscars

The Argentinean film Relatos Salvajes / Wild Tales by Damian Szifrón and the Venezuelan film El libertador / The Liberator (pictured) by Alberto Arvelo were the two Latin American films shortlisted for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film competition, it was announced today. The Oscar shorlist includes nine international titles, and the final nominees will be announced January 15, 2015.

Inequality, injustice and the demands of the world we live in cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. Szifrón's Wild Tales (pictured below) is a movie about those people.

Vulnerable in the face of a reality that shifts and suddenly turns unpredictable, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line that divides civilization and barbarism. A lover's betrayal, a return to a repressed past and the violence woven into everyday encounters drive the characters to madness as they cede to the undeniable pleasure of losing control. The film, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, will open in U.S. theaters on February 20, 2015.

The Liberator is an epic film about Simón Bolívar, who fought over 100 battles against the Spanish Empire in South America. He rode over 70,000 miles on horseback. His military campaigns covered twice the territory of Alexander the Great.
 His army never conquered -
 it liberated. Starring Édgar Ramírez, with a soundtrack by Gustavo Dudamel, the film was released this fall in the U.S. by the hand of the Cohen Media Group.

Argentina has received six Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, and has won twice in that category, the most recent was in 2009 with Juan José Campanella's El secreto en sus ojos / The Secret in Their Eyes. If The Libertator gets a nomination it will mark the first time for a Venezuelan film.

The 87th Academy Awards will be presented on February 22, at Los Angeles, California.

Guatemalan Film to Compete at Berlinale For the First Time Ever

Jayro Bustamante's directorial debut Ixcanul (pictured) will become the first Guatemalan film to ever  participate in the official competition of the Berlinale, it was announced today by the German festival as it announced the first titles selected for its main competition.

Starring María Mercedes Coroy, María Telón, Manuel Antún, Justo Lorenzo, and Marvin Coroy, and inspired by true events the film follows a 17-year-old Kaqchiqel girl living in a village in the foothills of a volcano, who faces an arranged marriage with the overseer of the local lands. But she falls under the spell of Pepe, a young plantation worker who enthralls her with talk of emigrating to the U.S. When Pepe leaves alone, he also leaves Maria pregnant. Shamed and ostracized, after her family’s eviction, Maria is driven to ever more desperate measures.

Other title announced for the Berlinale's competition was the film Eisenstein in Guanajuato by the British filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and produced by The Netherlands, Mexico, Belgium, and Finland. The film, having its world premiere, follows Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein in his trip to Mexico, which appears as to have been pivotal for his life and his career.

Additionally, the Berlin Film Festival also announced today the first 19 titles for its Panorama section which only features one Latin American title, the documentary film El hombre nuevo / The New Man (pictured right) by Aldo Garay. The Uruguayan-Chilean-Nicaraguan co-production follows Roberto, a boy from Nicaragua, finds himself with foster parents in Uruguay. When he decides to change his gender, he is confronted with the limits of tolerance in leftist society.

The 65th edition of the Berlin Film Festival will take place February 5-15 in Germany.

CONDUCTA Tops Havana Film Fest

The Cuban film Conducta / Behavior (pictured) by Ernesto Daranas was the winner of the top prize for Best Film at the 36th edition of the Havana Film Festival, it was announced this evening.

In Darana's second feature film, life isn’t easy for 11-year-old Chala. When he isn’t getting into trouble at school for his violent behaviour, or with the police for raising fighting dogs, he has to contend with an alcoholic mother who spends her nights hustling in Havana’s nightclubs. Chala has one person on his side: his teacher, Carmela, who absolutely believes that no child is a lost cause. But when Carmela falls ill, Chala himself is in danger of falling through the cracks of an unforgiving system, in this heartfelt, clear-eyed drama.

Armando Valdés, who plays the 11-year old protagonist of Conducta, won the Best Actor award for his performance of Chala. Daranas' film had been previously selected as Cuba's submission to this edition of the Academy Awards. The Colombian film Tierra en la lengua / Dust in the Tongue by Rubén Mendoza was awarded with a Special Jury Mention for Best Film.

Argentinean filmmaker Damián Szifron was awarded the prize for Best Director for his film Relatos salvajes / Wild Tales, which was also awarded for Best Editing. Gerald Chaplin won the prize for Best Actress for her performance in the Dominican film Dólares de arena / Sand Dollars by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas.

The Ecuadorean film La muerte de Jaime Roldós / The Death of Jaime Roldós by Manolo Sarmiento and Lisandra I. Rivera was the winner of the Coral Award for Best Documentary. The Coral Award for Best First Film was presented to the Mexican film Güeros by Alonos Ruizpalacio, while the Cuban film Vestido de novia by Marylin Soraya received an Honorable Mention in the same category.

The 36th edition of the Havana Film Festival took place December 4-14 in Cuba.

González Iñárritu's BIRDMAN Leads Golden Globes Nominations

Birdman by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñarritu's leads the nominations for the 72nd annual edition of the Golden Globes, it was announced this morning. Birdman received seven Golden Globe nominations including for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) and Best Director.

González Iñarritu was also nominated for Best Screenplay along with Argentinean scriptwriters Nicolás Giacobone and Armando Bo, and Alexander Dinelaris. Mexican jazz musician Antonio Sánchez also earned a nomination for Best Original Score

It is not the first time González Iñárritu has been nominated for the Golden Globes, he won the award for Best Motion Picture (Drama) for Babel in 2007. Last year Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón received the Golden Globe for Best Director for Gravity.

Other Latino nominees include The Book of Life directed by Mexican filmmaker Jorge Gutiérrez and produced by Guillermo del Toro got nominated for Best Animated Feature; and Gina Rodriguez who's nominated for Best Actress (TV Comedy) for her work in Jane the Virgin.

The winners of the 72nd Golden Globes, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, will be announced on January 11 at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, California.