Iñárritu, Szifron, Lubezki, Benicio del Toro, and CARTEL LAND Nab BAFTAs Noms

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced their 2016 nominees this morning at their headquarters in London. The Revenant by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu (pictured left) follows Carol and Bridges of Spies for most nominations, with eight total.

The Revenant was nominated for Best Film, Director, Leading Actor, Cinematography -the fourth BAFTA nomination for Mexican DP Emmanuel Lubezki, who has won three times-, Original Music, Editing, Make-Up & Hair and Sound.

The film is the story of legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is left on his own after a brutal bear attack to survive. Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant who betrayed and abandoned him.

This is not Iñárritu’s first time at the BAFTA’s. Last year his film Birdman received 10 nominations, which included nominations for Best Film, Director and Original Screenplay. He was also been previously nominated for his films Babel and Biutiful and he won Best Film Not in the English Language in 2002 with Amores Perros.

Also nominated is crowd-favorite and Academy Award nominee Wild Tales / Relatos salvajes (pictured right). Argentine director Damián Szifron’s black comedy is composed of six standalone shorts united by a common theme of violence and vengeance.

Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro has also nabbed a nomination Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film Sicario by Denis Villeneuve.

Mexican-American production Cartel Land received a nomination for Best Documentary. Filmmaker Matthew Heinemann immerses himself in the world of the cartel following Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor,” who leads the Autodefensas, a citizen uprising, against the violent Knights Templar drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the Michoacán region for years.

The 69th edition of the BAFTA Awards will take place on February 14, 2016 at the Royal Opera House in London.

Films from Argentina and Cuba at Museum of the Moving Image's First Look 2016

The Museum of the Moving Image will premiere three Latin American films as part of its 2016 edition of its First Look Festival, with the attendance of the filmmakers, and co-presented by Cinema Tropical. The films representing Latin America at this year’s selection are Jonathan Perel’s Toponymy / Toponimia (pictured left) from Argentina, Carlos M. Quintela’s La obra del siglo / The Project of the Century and Léa Rinaldi’s Esto es lo que hay / This Is What It Is, both from Cuba.

In 1974, shortly after Juan Peron’s return to power, the misleadingly named “Operation Independence” went into effect, resulting in the creation of rigidly designed villages in northern Argentina arranged to thwart guerilla resistance. In Perel’s masterful structuralist study Toponymy, made with no narration or dialogue, Jonathan Perel reveals the sinister politics behind the plan. “An elaborate memory puzzle whose dry, enigmatic humor would surely have tickled Perel's illustrious countryman Jose Luis Borges.” (Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter).

Quintela’s The Project of the Century (pictured right) is set in the provincial Cuban town of Juragua, the planned home of a Soviet-backed nuclear plant, that is now a ghost town with near-empty high-rise buildings. With starkly beautiful black-and-white compositions, a darkly comic family drama unfolds, intercut with archival TV footage celebrating the promise of the Communist era.

Rinaldi’s This Is What It Is is a vibrant film about Cuba’s leading hip-hop band, Los Aldeanos, captures the country’s complexity and contradictions. This is a rare music documentary that goes beyond its enthralling performances to take a close, candid look at the realities of daily life. Rinaldi’s vision, like the music she captures, is at once political and poetic.

The 2016 edition of First Look will take place January 8-24 in New York City.

Rotterdam Selects Latin American Titles

The International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced their 2016 lineup with no shortage of Latin American films. Of the eight films competing for the Hivos Tiger Award three are Latin American titles. Festival director Bero Beyer states that the Hivos Tiger Award seeks to, “offer the most innovative, original and challenging works.” All three films will be world premieres.

Felipe Guerrero’s Oscuro Animal (pictured left) is a production from Colombia, Argentina, The Netherlands, Germany and Greece. It tells the story of three women forced to flee their homes in a war torn region of Colombia.

La última tierra / The Last Land by Pablo Lamar hails from Paraguay, The Netherlands, Chile and Qatar. It tells the story of an elderly couple who have lived their lives on an isolated hill. Evangelina’s life has slowly been fading away, finally leaving Amancio utterly alone.

From Brazil and Portugal is Marília Rocha’s A Cidades Onde Envelheço / Where I Grow Old (pictured right). The film follows the daily life of a Portuguese 25 year-old who restarts life in Brazil.

The Bright Future main programme aims to highlight original, up-and-coming directors. Of the thirteen films competing for the Award four make their way from Latin America. Ana Cristina Barragán’s Ecuadorian-Mexican-Greek production, Alba, tells the story of an 11 year-old, who has to move to her estranged father’s when her mother has to be taken to the hospital.

Brazilian Animal político by Tião follows a cow who tries to convince herself she’s happy. One night as she experiences deep feelings of loneliness she decides to begin a journey of enlightenment.

From Mexico is Pacífico by Fernanda Romandía which centers around the characters involved in the construction of a house designed by architect Tadao Ando on the beaches of Puerto Escondido, Mexico.

Brazilian director Bernardo Britto is premiering Jacqueline (Argentine) (pictured left), his American production about a young French woman contacts a filmmaker to follow her whistleblowing activities from her remote, self-imposed political asylum in Argentina.

Tenemos la carne (pictured right) is a Mexican-French production by Emiliano Rocha Minter. After wandering a ruined city for years, two siblings find their way into one of the last remaining buildings. Inside, they find a man who will make them a dangerous offer.

Also premiering in the Bright Future programme is Mexican filmmaker Elisa Miller’s El placer es mío. Miller (Vete más lejos, Alicia) returns to fiction with this powerful drama about two lovebirds who take refuge in the apparent tranquility of his father’s country house. The Argentine film Las lindas by Melisa Liebenthal is a playful autobiographical reconstruction of young filmmaker Melisa Liebenthal coming of age, in which she tries to unravel some essential questions of life.

Two Latin American films are participating in the Highlights from 2015: the Argentinean film Toponimia by Jony Perel, the celebrated structural documentary on four villages in northern Argentina; the Puerto Rican film Las vacas con gafas by Alex Santiago Pérez, a lonely, eccentric painter is suffering from an illness that will turn him blind.

IFFR will take place January 27 - February 7, 2016 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

2015: Latin American Cinema in Review

Iñárritu

2015 was without any question, the year of Alejandro González Iñárritu. His film Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) was the big winner at the 87th edition of the Academy Awards with four statuettes, becoming the first production directed by a Latino filmmaker to win the top honors in the history of the Oscars.

The Mexican filmmaker was presented with three Oscars in total (as producer, director, and screenwriter). His feat arrived one year later after Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón won the Academy Award for Best Director, making it the second year in a row a Mexican national won the Oscar in the same category.

Not satisfied with all the accolades and critical acclaim that Birdman received, Iñárritu premiered his newest production one year after his previous one. The Revenant opened in New York and Los Angeles theaters on Christmas Day, and it immediately became one of the top contenders for the 88th edition of the Academy Awards. The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, had a solid opening weekend -with the best ever per theater average for any Iñárritu film- and it earned four Golden Globe nods. The Mexican filmmaker has become royalty in Hollywood.

The Year of Colombian Cinema

Colombian cinema rocked in 2015, having its most successful year ever. The country secured a place in several of the most important film festivals in the world and won major prizes. The South American country had a historic performance at the Cannes film festival, earning five major accolades at the French Riviera.

César Augusto Acevedo was the winner of the Caméra d’Or prize for his debut feature La tierra y la sombra / Land and Shade, making it the highest distinction ever won by a Colombian film, and was also presented with the France 4 Visionary Award, the SACD Award and Le Rail's d'Or prize. Ciro Guerra’s third feature film El abrazo de la serpiente / Embrace of the Serpent (pictured above) was the winner of the Art Cinema Award, the top prize for Best Film at the Directors’ Fortnight section. Guerra’s film was also awarded in numerous other festivals, it has been shortlisted for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Oscars, and it has also earned a Film Independent Spirit Award nod.

Some other notable Colombian titles that premiered in international festivals include José Luis Rugeles' Alias María, which participated at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section; Carlos Moreno’s Que viva la musica / Liveforever-based on the novel by Andrés Caicedo-which premiered at Sundance; Juan Paolo Laserna’s Las malas lenguas / Sweet and Vicious, which participated at the Los Angeles Film Festival; Luis Ospina’s epic documentary Todo comenzó for el fin / It All Started at the End, which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.

Josef Kubota Wladyka’ Manos Sucias which was nominated for Best First Feature Film and for Best Editing at this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards; and Óscar Ruiz Navia’s Los Hongos, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2014 and continued to travel throughout 2015. 

Colombia has created one of the most dynamic and comprehensive funding infrastructures in Latin America, combining government and private monies for local cinema. Hand in hand with the Minister of Culture and the non-profit agency Proimágenes, the number of film productions in the South America country has rocketed as well as audience attendance.

The First Latin American Golden Lion

Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas made history last September by winning the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, with his debut feature film Desde allá / From Afar. It became the first time that a Latin American production won the top honors at the Italian film festival, the longest running film event of its kind in the world, and the firstVenezuelan film to ever participate in the competition.

Starring Chilean actor Alfredo Castro (who is better known for his work with filmmaker Pablo Larraín) and the newcomer Luis Silva, the film tells the story of a wealthy middle-aged man who gets sexually involved with a young man from a street gang. The film was picked up for U.S. distribution by Strand Releasing.

The Coming of Age of Central American Cinema

2015 was an extraordinary year for Central American cinema, confirming once and for all its coming of age. The Guatemalan film Ixcanul, the debut feature film by Jayro Bustamante, made headlines last February not only by becoming the first Guatemalan film to ever participate in the official competition of the Berlin Film Festival, but also by winning the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize at the German competition, the most prestigious award ever received by a Central American film.

The film went on to win multiple prizes in different international film festivals, and was Guatemala’s submission to the Academy Awards. It will have a U.S. theatrical release this spring by the hand of Kino Lorber. More over, the short film La parka / The Reaper by Nicaraguan director Gabriel Serra Argüello was nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 87th Academy Awards, marking a first time for a filmmaker from Nicaragua to be nominated.

Other notable productions from Central America include the Costa Rican film Viaje (pictured right) by Paz Fábrega which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Panamanian documentary Invasión / Invasion by Abner Benaim which participated at SXSW and was Panama’s first submission to the Oscars ever, and the Salvadorian documentary Alborada by Paula Heredia, which premiered at the Havana Film Festival last December. Additionally, the Guatemalan-Mexican director Julio Hernández Cordón, one of the most prolific Latin American directors of his generation, earned critical acclaim with his most recent production Te prometo anarquía / I Promise You Anarchy.

In addition to the international recognition that some of the films from the region are getting, the local box office is also growing in most of the Central American countries. For example, in Costa Rica, Miguel Gómez’s Maikol Yordan de viaje perdido broke all-time records, becoming the top grossing film in the history of the country.

Gabriel Ripstein and Michel Franco’s Trifecta

The Mexican filmmakers Gabriel Ripstein and Michel Franco had an extraordinary year, wining major prizes at the Berlinale, Cannes and Venice. Ripstein -son of the renowned Mexican director Arturo Ripstein- premiered his debut feature 600 Miles, which was produced by Franco, as the opening film of the Panorama section at Berlin Film Festival, where it received the Best First Feature Award.

A few months later, Franco premiered his most recent film Chronic, produced by Ripstein, as the only Latin American director in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, wining the Best Screenplay Award. Both 600 Miles and Chronic starred the British actor Tim Roth. Franco and Ripstein were also producer and executive producer respectively, of Lorenzo Vigas’ From Afar, the Venezuelan film that won the Golden Lion, top prize of the Venice Film Festival.

Latin America Conquers Berlin and Venice

Latin American cinema took over the 2015 edition of the Berlinale, winning numerous awards, in addition to Ixcanul’s Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize and 600 Miles’ Best First Film Award, the Chilean films El club / The Club by Pablo Larraín (pictured right with actors Alfredo Castro and Roberto Farías) was awarded the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, and El botón de nácar / The Pearl Button by Patricio Guzmán was the recipient of the Silver Bear for Best Script.

Three Latin American films were also winners of the Teddy Award, presented to LGBT productions: Nasty Baby by Chilean director Sebastián Silva for Best Feature Film; the Uruguayan film El hombre nuevo / The New Man by Aldo Garay for Best Documentary, and the Chilean film San Cristóbal by Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo for Best Short Film.

In addition to Vigas' Golden Lion, two other Latin American filmmakers also won top prizes at the 72nd edition of the Venice Film Festival: the Argentinean director Pablo Trapero was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director for his drama El clan / The Clan, while the Brazilian film Boi Neon / Neon Bull by Gabriel Mascaro was presented with the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize.

In Memoriam

The very first day of 2015 started with the passing of the popular Cuban-born actress Ninón Sevilla, famous for her starring roles in the Mexican rumbera films. Other notable deaths of last year include Mexican actor Germán Robles -famous for his role in the classic horror film El Vampiro; Argentinean director/actor/writer Sergio Renán, director of La tregua / The Truce, the first Argentine film to get an Academy Award nomination; actress/director/producer/writer María Elena Velasco, the most successful woman in the history of Mexican cinema, better known for her comedian role as “La India María.”

2015 also witnessed the passing of Argentinean actors Juan Carlos Galván and Alejandro Alvarez; Brazilian actress Marília Pêra, the first South American actress ever honored in North America with a Best Actress Prize awarded by the National Society of Film Critics Awards for her role in Héctor Babenco’s Pixote; Mexican singer/actor José Ángel Espinosa 'Ferrusquilla’; and Cuban actress Alina Rodríguez of Conducta.

The Best of the Rest

Brazilian actresses Regina Casé and Camila Márdila shared the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for their work on Anna Muylaert’s Que Horas Ela Volta? / The Second Mother. The debut feature films Videofilia (y otros síndromes virales) / Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes) by Juan Daniel F. Molero and La obra del siglo / The Project of the Century by Carlos M. Quintela became the first Peruvian and Cuban films respectively, to ever win the Tiger Award for Best Film at the Rotterdam Film Festival.

The debut feature by Marcia Tambutti Allende mi abuelo Allende / Beyond My Grandfather Allende was the winner of the first L’Oeil d’Or prize for Best Documentary Film at the Cannes Film Festival, and La patota / Paulina, the sophomore film by Santiago Mitre, was awarded with the top prize at the Critics’ Week in Cannes.

Pablo Trapero’s El clan / The Clan broke box office records in Argentina, becoming the local production with the best opening ever, and the comedy Asu Mare 2 by Ricardo Maldonado became the highest grossing Peruvian film ever. The Mexican documentary Los reyes del pueblo que no existe / Kings of Nowhere by Betzabé García won the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Documentary (ex aequo) at the Full Frame Film Festival, the Audience Award at SXSW, and nabbed a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Debut Feature Film in this year’s Cinema Eye Nonfiction Film Awards.

2015 REPORT:

Year in Review: The 2015 Top Grossing Latino Films in the U.S.

Year in Review: The Top Grossing Latin American Films of 2015

Year in Review: The 2015 Top Grossing Latino Films in the U.S.

In 2015, Pantelion films -the venture between Lionsgate Entertainment and Grupo Televisa- held its reign as the leading distributor of Latino cinema in the United States with four titles in the list of top grossing Latino films of the year.

The number one spot went to the production The 33 about the famous Chilean miners rescue in 2010. Directed by Mexican director Patricia Riggen, the film had an international cast including Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santori, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kate del Castillo, Juliette Binoche, and Gabriel Byrne.

Complete list of top grossing Latino films of 2014:

1.  The 33 (Patricia Riggen, U.S./Chile, Warner), $11,944,890

2.  Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos (Gabriel and Rodolfo Riva Palacio, Mexico, Pantelion), $9,080,818

3.  A la Mala (Pitipol Ybarra, Mexico, Pantelion), $3,629,842

4.  Spare Parts (Sean McNamara, U.S., Pantelion), $3,618,912

5.  Wild Tales (Damián Szifron, Argentina, Sony Pictures Classics), $3,106,530

6.  Ladrones (Joe Menendez, Dominican Republic/U.S., Pantelion), $3,063,505

7.  The Salt of the Earth (Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Brazil/France, Sony Pictures Classics), $1,343,349

8.  Cartel Land (Matthew U.S./Mexico, The Orchard), $704,352

9.  The Second Mother (Anna Muylaert, Brazil, Oscilloscope Laboratories), $376,986

10. Buen Día Ramón (Jorge Ramírez-Suárez, Mexico, 20th Century Fox), $154,356

Source: Boxofficemojo.com. For practical and informative reasons, films made in the U.S. and abroad were also considered for this list.

Year in Review: The Top Grossing Latin American Films of 2015

2015 saw the continuation of the growth of the box office in several Latin American countries, some of which witnessed some record-breaking films such a Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, and Venezuela. Check out the list of the top grossing Latin American films in 15 countries:

Argentina

The big news at the Argentinean box office in 2015 was Pablo Trapero’s crime drama El clan / The Clan. The film broke all-time records in its opening weekend at the local box office surpassing last year’s Relatos Wild Tales by Damian Szifron. The Argentinean candidate to the Oscars was seen by 2.6 million spectators locally and was sold to numerous territories worldwide. It will open in U.S. in February this year by the hand of 20th Century Fox. Starring Guillermo Francella, The Clan is based on the true story of a patriarch who presides over a seemingly normal middle-class family that trafficked in the kidnapping, ransoming and murder of the wealthy.

Bolivia

The epic movie Boquerón by Tonchy Antezana was the top grossing Bolivian film of 2015. The film tells the story of four young Bolivians from different social classes and regions, that defend Boquerón-a disputed territory between Bolivia and Paraguay- during a battle in 1932. The film was seen by 21,000 people.

Brazil

The comedy Loucas pra Casar by Roberto Santucci was the most popular movie in Brazil as it was seen by 3.7 million people. Starring Ingrid Guimarães, Tatá Werneck and Suzana Pires, the film follows Malu, a 40 year-old woman who works as a secretary for Samuel, the man of her life. As they’ve been together for three years, she impatiently waits for marriage proposal. Brazil saw an increase in the local box office, as it had 166 million spectators, 7% more than in 2014.

Chile

The drama El bosque de Karadima by Matías Lira was the most popular Chilean film of the year. Based on the sexual abuse by priest Fernando Karadima between the 1980s and 2000, the film stars Benjamín Vicuna and Pedro Campos. It was seen by 312,000 people in its theatrical run, and it inspired a television series based on its success.

Colombia

The highest grossing Colombian film at the local box office was the documentary film Colombia, magia salvaje / Colombia, Wild Magic directed by the British filmmaker Mike Slee. The movie, a journey through all the corners of the South American country showcasing its unparalleled diversity and natural splendor, was seen by 2.2 million people in its local theatrical run. The sequel comedy movie Uno al año no hace daño 2 by Juan Camilo Pinzón was just released on Christmas day and it’s very likely that it will become the top grossing Colombian film of 2016, as it topped Star Wars at the local box office.

Costa Rica

Miguel Gómez’s Maikol Yordan de viaje perdido became the highest grossing film ever in Costa Rica with 772,000 spectators. The film was released on December 18, 2014 but continued to roar at the local box office during the first half of this year. 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.

Dominican Republic

The comedy film Tubérculo gourmet by Archie López was the top grossing Dominican film of the year. It tells the story of Tubérculo and Tirson, who have been childhood friends, but their relationship abruptly ends because of a misunderstanding. Twenty years and lots of food after, an unexpected circumstance brings them together, but both will try everything not forgive each other.

Guatemala

Ixcanul by Jayro Bustamante was the most popular Guatemalan film of the year with 26,000 spectators in its local theatrical run. The film, winner of the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize at the Berlin film festival tell the story of Maria, a Mayan teenager who lives and works with her parents on a coffee plantation on the foothills of an active volcano. Although she dreams of going to the big city, Maya’s condition as an indigenous woman does not permit her to change her destiny – and an arranged wedding is waiting for her. When a snake bite forces her to go out into the modern world, her life is saved — but at steep price. The film will be released in U.S. theaters this spring by Kino Lobber.

Honduras

The Christmas comedy Una loca navidad catracha by Carlos Membreo and Gerson Ortega was the top grossing Honduran film in 2015. The movie was seen by over 90,000 people.

Mexico

The top grossing in Mexico was the animated film Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos by Gabriel and Rodolfo Riva Palacio -the third and last part of a trilogy composed by Una Película de Huevos (2006) and Otra Película de Huevos y un Pollo (2009). The film earned the equivalent of approximately $9.7 million USD and was seen by 4.1 million people. Those impressive numbers made the animated film become one of the top grossing Mexican films of all-time. Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos was also released in the United States by Pantalion earning almost as much money in the American box office.

Panama

The comic morality tale Kenke by Enrique Pérez Him was the favorite Panamanian film at the local box office. Kenke (a popular term for marihuana in the Central American country) tells the story of Joshua, a successful young professional, who accepts his family’s challenge to draw his cousin away from marijuana. Yet nobody knows that he is also a heavy user. Together, Joshua and Kenny, face a society governed by double standards and other addictions.

Paraguay

In Paraguay, the biopic Mangoré por amor al arte by Chilean director Luis Vera was the top grossing local film at the box office. The film, starring by Mexican actor Damián Alcázar is based on the life of famed guitarist Agustín Barrios Manger. The film was seen by over 11,000 people in Paraguay.

Peru

Comedian Carlos Alcántara remains at the top of the box office in Peru. Not only he starred in the most popular film of the year for the third time in a row, but his most recent film Asu Mare 2 became the highest grossing Peruvian film of all time. The sequel movie directed by Ricardo Maldonado had been seen by 3 million people in the South American country landing in the number one spot of the local box office surpassing Fast and Furious 7, The Avengers and Minions.

Uruguay

German Tejeira’s Una noche sin luna / A Moonless Night topped the box office as the most popular Uruguayan film of the year. The film, which was seen by 7,000 people, follows three lonely people who travel who to a small town in the Uruguayan countryside on New Year's Eve, to get a chance to turn around their destiny.

Venezuela

In Venezuela, the film Fuera del aire by Héctor Palma and Antonio Martín made the headlines by becoming the highest grossing Venezuela documentary in the history of the country having been seen by 280,000 people. The film documents the last days of the popular late night show Chataing TV hosted by Luis Chatting, which was pulled off the air reportedly by political pressure.