Santiago Mitre's PAULINA Wins Cannes Critics' Week

The Argentinean film Paulina / La Patota, the second feature film by Santiago Mitre (El Estudiante) has won the top prize at the 54th annual edition of the International Critics’ Week, Cannes’ parallel competitive section. The Nespresso Grand Prize is awarded by the Critics’ Week Jury to one of the seven feature films in competition, and it comes with a cash prize of 10,000 euros.

Starring Dolores Fonzi in the title tole, and Oscar Martínez and Esteban Lamothe the film tells the story of Paulina, 28, who gives up a brilliant lawyer’s career, in order to dedicate herself to teaching in a depressed region in Argentina. In a rough environment, she sticks to her teaching mission and to her political engagement, accepting to sacrifice her boyfriend and the trust of her father, a powerful local judge. Upon her arrival, she is violently assaulted by a gang of young people, some of them being her own students. Despite the trauma and the inability to understand, Paulina will strive to stand for her convictions.

Paulina is a remake of the 1961 Argentinean film La Patota by Daniel Tinayre.

Recent Latin American Critics’ Week winners includes the the US/Mexican co-production Aquí y Allá by Antonio Méndesz Esparza (2012), the Argentinean film XXY by Lucía Puenzo (2007), and Amores Perros by Alejandro González Iñárritu (2000).

Additionally the Colombian film La tierra y la sombra / Land and Shade, the debut feature by César Augusto Acevedo was awarded with the France 4 Visionary Award for Best Emerging Director, and the SACD Award, both accolades come with a cash prize of 4,000 euros each.

The 54th edition of the International Critics’ Week took place May 14-22 at Cannes, France.

Manolo Caro’s ELVIRA, I’D GIVE YOU MY LIFE… To Have its International Premiere at the LA Film Fest

The comedy film Elvira, I’d Give You My Life, But I’m Using It / Elvira, te daría mi vida, pero la estoy usando by Mexican writer-director Manolo Caro will have its International Premiere in the World Fiction Competition at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival, taking place June 10-18. This film marks the international breakout for the young yet accomplished film and theater director, whose deft comedies have enjoyed significant box office success at home.

In Caro’s third feature film, Elvira’s husband goes out to buy a pack of cigarettes, and never comes back. The 40-year-old mother of two young children frantically hunts for clues. Erratically taking things into her own hands, Elvira turns into an amateur sleuth on a relentless and hysterical quest to discover what happened. As Elvira begins to unravel secrets about the husband she thought she knew, her own repressed identity begins to unravel before her.

Emmy nominated actress Cecilia Suárez shines in the title role of this delightfully rare, physical and emotional comedy. She’s joined by a cast of leading popular and established actors including Luis Gerardo Méndez, co-star of the record-breaking Nosotros los Nobles and last year’s Mexican Academy Award entry Cantinflas; accomplished Spanish actor Carlos Bardem (Days of Grace and Escobar: Paradise Lost); and Colombian actress Angie Cepeda, who stars in the forthcoming Wild Horses directed by Robert Duvall.

Shot on location in Mexico City and Acapulco, Elvira, I’d Give You My Life, But I’m Using It had its world premiere at the Morelia Film Festival, and played successfully at the Riviera Maya Film Festival recently. It will open in theaters in Mexico this August. With a charming vivacity, resplendent cinematography and a talented cast with impeccable comedic timing, the film offers international audiences a great introduction to Caro, a director to watch.

Film Forum to Present Retrospective on Master Mexican DP Gabriel Figueroa

From June 5 -18, Film Forum—in association with Fundación Televisa, El Museo del Barrio, Cinema Tropical, and the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York—will present a two-week retrospective paying tribute to the great Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa (1907-1997), featuring 19 of the most representative feature films in which he collaborated with acclaimed Mexican directors Emilio Fernández, Luis Buñuel, Roberto Gavaldón, Julio Bracho, Carlos Velo, and his collaboration with Hollywood directors Don Siegel, John Ford, and John Huston.

Other national cinemas like Italy and Japan had a Big Three, but they were always directors. Mexico alone had a Big Four: stars Pedro Armendáriz and Dolores del Río, director Emilio Fernández, and Director of Photography Figueroa. Influenced by Eisenstein’s ¡Que Viva México!, and taught by Citizen Kane’s Gregg Toland, Figueroa worked with every luminary at home — including directors Fernández, Roberto Gavaldón, and Luis Buñuel— and internationally with John Huston, John Ford, Don Siegel, and Clint Eastwood.

Often counted as Mexico’s fourth great muralist along with Rivera, Siqueiros, and Orozco, Figueroa was nominated for the Ariel Award (Mexico’s Oscars) for Best Cinematography every year from 1946 to 1954, 11 nominations overall, winning seven times (once against himself). No cameraman has ever dominated a national cinema as he did or created so majestic and instantly recognizable an image of it.

The film series "Gabriel Figueroa" is presented in conjunction with the exhibition “Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa—Art and Film” currently on view at El Museo del Barrio through June 27, 2015.  The retrospective will feature some cherished screen classics including María Candelaria (1943), Los Olvidados (1950), Macario (1959), Victims of Sin / Víctimas del pecado (1951), Salón México (1949), and The Night of Iguana (1964), which earned Figueroa an Oscar nomination for his stunning black and white photography.

The retrospective will also feature some rarely screened film such as Hidden River / Río escondido (1947, pictured above), Pueblerina (1948), and Autumn Days / Días de otoño (1962).

“Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa—Art and Film” was organized by Televisa Foundation. In New York City, the exhibition is co-presented by El Museo del Barrio and is generously supported by Televisa Foundation, and Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (Conaculta). Generous funding has been provided by Corporate and Exhibition Benefactors, MetLife Foundation and Tony Bechara. Additional support has been provided by Mexico Tourism Board, The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, Mex-Am Cultural Foundation Inc. and the Círculo de Coleccionistas at El Museo del Barrio. With Public Support from Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the New York City Council.

The “Gabriel Figueroa” film series is presented by Film Forum in association with Fundación Televisa, El Museo del Barrio, Cinema Tropical, and the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York. Additional support provided by Filmoteca de la UNAM, the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation, and the Consulate General of Mexico in New York.

Characters in Search of an Auteur: Martín Rejtman Discusses TWO SHOTS FIRED

By Pedro Segura Bernal (@pedroemilio)

On the occasion of the release of Martín Rejtman’s latest film Two Shots Fired / Dos disparos at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City, Pedro Segura spoke to the Argentinean writer and director about the making of the film, the importance of humor, and being a pupil in the filmmaking process.

What was the gestation of Two Shots Fired?

The process of writing my scripts is always very long and complicated. Actually, they begin in different ways. Suddenly, ideas begin to reveal something of a plot and then the story appears. In this case, one of the ideas is undoubtedly the opening sequence of the movie, where the guy shoots himself twice and survives. That's something a friend told me about a guy who did it and survived. From that situation, the film began.

I started thinking and wishing that the development was going to be something totally different from the rest of my films: a film without humor. Which I think now is stupid because I would hate a film without humor. I hate everything without humor. I think humor is what allows us to be alert, something that takes us away from things and allows us to survive. Without it, we cannot be even minimally critical. But in the end, I failed a that. Though it’s a successful failure, paradoxically. Because now I see it would be a mistake to bury the humor of what I do.

How do you assemble all the elements that one usually finds in your films?

I begin without an established framework in mind. What I have are rather situations or characters, which are generally developed in situations. This becomes the breakthrough point, and then a frame appears. It’s quite organic. I don’t have a plot that needs to be filled with situations or dialogue or scenes—they just start to develop.

Two Shots Fired follows a variety of characters with a range of different ages... And if one analyzes your films, growth in characters is a common theme. Is that linked to
personal aging or is it a mere coincidence?

It's something very personal. In my previous films there was a generation gap. Rapado: post-adolescents. After that they are around their 30s, then 40s. When I recognized the pattern, I thought about integrating all these generations into one film. In Two Shots Fired, the protagonists are a family. It works differently. Before, there was a leading figure and some satellite characters—their stories circling the main character. Now, with three protagonists, there are many more satellites, which requires many more open and dispersed stories. It’s very close to the last short story I wrote. I suppose that aging has to do with it, as my stories are quite personal.

What is your approach for creating a short story or a movie?

They are very different. In literature things flow more, they are more continuous. In film it’s more fragmentary. I am aware how all these situations tend to be structured in a frame. Structure in film, I think, is more important than in text.

Do you consider the existence of a “Rejtmanian universe" ... where the characters in your books and your films converge and intersect?
Human experiences are limited. There comes a time when the elements begin to mix; there are many elements that repeat. In this movie I saw myself doing shots where I thought, "I have already done this shot in another film." The way I shot the kitchen in Two Shots Fired is the same way I shot a kitchen in Silvia Prieto. But in how many ways can you shoot a kitchen? I like medium shots, and that limits me in filming certain things in certain ways.

Looking back to when you filmed Rapado, how much has changed from early Rejtman to nowadays?

For myself, as a filmmaker, I don’t see much difference. I filmed Two Shots Fired in a very similar way to my first film. I always try to build my team with new people. This means constant learning about how to relate and understand each other as a team and as actors. It puts me in the role of a pupil. I remade the film a lot of times—the staging, everything. Tests and scripts. The group studied the recorder for months for the playbacks. But at the time of the staging, I had no idea. Everything was kind of spontaneous. Every day was a challenge. In Rapado, I prepared much more but because I had less confidence.

What did you enjoy most in working on Two Shots Fired?

The sound editing. Everything is done there and I really enjoy sound in general. I love it and am a little obsessive about it. It’s a stage where nothing can go wrong. It’s also a great time to edit; you can individually enjoy all the elements of a film. There’s always this big underlying stress, a perpetual sense that something can go wrong. Each element of a movie is complicated. For example: Mariano, the protagonist, had to learn to swim. Of the characters who drive onscreen, none of them knew how, and the guy on the bike, he had to learn to ride it. Same with the recorder players. Everything was complicated and difficult.

How do you see the film now, months after it premiered?

I don’t watch my films again. I have only seen it twice: once in Toronto and once in Locarno. The film is over. We must continue to other things, what follows. I have to think a bit about it, but I have to move on. Like my characters, who are not very thoughtful, I'm the same. Even I’m a little less than them. Really, I don’t like to think about my finished films very much.

Will we have to wait long for a new film by Martín Rejtman?

Currently I'm working on the screenplay for my next film, which I hope to finish soon. I have lots of trips nowadays. I hope it doesn’t get too complicated. I have to learn to write while traveling.

Surely, there will be many jokes about airports.

I hope not. [Laughs]

Interview originally published in Spanish at ButacaAncha.com

CLIMAS Wins at Austin's Cine Las Americas

Peruvian/Colombian co-production Climas (pictured left and below right) by Enrica Pérez took home the Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 18th edition of Cine Las Américas Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Climas follows three women of different ages, origins and regions of Peru. Eva, a young girl from the Amazonian jungle struggles with a forbidden relationship with her uncle. Victoria, a wealthy socialite from Lima, holds in a terrible secret which renders her life as grey and melancholy as the city she lives in and Zoraida, an elder peasant who resides in an impoverished village in the Andean Mountains faces the unexpected return of her estranged son. The three unconnected women, regions and ways of life shape the different geographies, societies and cultures of the same fragmented country, Peru.

Pérez was born in Lima and studied Communications at the University of Lima. She obtained her Masters Degree in Film Direction at Columbia University in New York City. Climas marks Pérez’s feature debut.

Other winners included the Paraguayan-French-Italian documentary Power and Impotence: A Drama in 3 Acts / Poder e impotencia, un drama en 3 actos for Best Documentary Feature. Anna Recalde Miranda’s documentary intimately follows Former President of Paraguay, Fernando Lugo, in his team’s hopes and disappointments until their fall from power.

Spanish-Cuban film, Hotel Nueva Isla, won Best Cinematography in the Documentary section. Directors Irene Gutierrez and Javier Labrador create a portrait of Jorge of those still living in the ruined Old Havana Hotel. The only thing that keeps Jorge going is his theory that the former owners of the Hotel left valuable objects before fleeing with the onset of the Cuban Revolution.

The Cine Las Americas Festival is a five-day festival in April which screened ninety-five films from twenty-eight different countries. The festival’s mission is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by education and entertainment in the diverse Central Texas community through film and media arts. This year’s top winners not only hailed from three different Latin America countries but are all women.

The 18th edition of the Cine Las Americas Festival took place April 22-26 in Austin, Texas.

LA Film Fest to Showcase Films From Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Peru

The Los Angeles Film Festival has announced the official selection for its 21st edition, which includes titles from Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, and Peru, amongst its 74 selected feature films.

The U.S. Fiction Competition -a new section for this edition- will feature the world premiere of the US-Colombian co-production film Bastards y Diablos (pictured left) by A.D. Freese, USA/Colombia, and Puerto Ricans in Paris by Ian Edelman.

Starring Madeline Merritt, Juanita Arias, and Andrew Perez, Bastards y Diablos tells the story of two estranged half-brothers who adventure together through Colombia to fulfill their dead father's will and connect with their family, their father's homeland, and ultimately, each other.

Puerto Ricans in Paris, starring Rosario Dawson, Miriam Shor, Rosie Perez and Luis Guzmán, follows two Puerto Rican NYPD detectives head to Paris to track down a stolen handbag.

The World Fiction Competition will feature the world premiere of the Colombian film Las malas lenguas / Sweet and Vicious by Juan Paulo Laserna; as well as the international premieres of the Mexican comedy Elvira, te daría mi vida, pero la estoy usando / Elvira, I’d Give You My Life But I’m Using It (pictured right) by Manolo Caro, and the Cuban film Sin alas / Without Wings by Ben Chace.

The Buzz section of the festival will screen the Peruvian film The Vanished Elephant by Javier Fuentes León, and the US/Haiti co-production Sweet Micky for President by Ben Patterson.

The 21st edition of the LA Film Festival, presented by Film Independent, will take place June 10-18 at downtown's LA Live in California.