FOUND MEMORIES and DROUGHT Win Lima

The Brazilian film Found Memories / Historias que só existem quando lembradas (pictured) by Júlia Murat was awarded the top prize for Best Feature Film at the 16th edition of the Lima Film Festival, which took place August 3-11 at the Peruvian capital. The Special Jury Prize went to the Colombian film La Sirga by William Vega, while the jury gave Special Mention to the Peruvian film Chicama by Omar Forero. The prize for Best Director went to Carlos Reygadas for his Post Tenebras Lux.

The jury was comprised by Venezuelan director Fina Torres, Argentinean director Ana Katz, Mexican actress Angélica Aragón, Brazilian film critic José Carlos Avelar and Peruvian actor Salvador del Solar. The jury gave the award for the Best First Film to both the Colombian film La playa / The Beach by Juan Andrés Arango and the Mexican film La Cebra by Fernando León.

The prize for Best Documentary was awarded to the Mexican film Drought / Cuates de Australia by Everardo González, and the jury gave a Special Mention to the Chilean film Hija by María Paz González.

Other prizes given this evening included the Audience Award to Ian Padrón's Habanastation from Cuba, the International Federation of Film Critics Award to Santiago Mitre's El Estudiante from Argentina, the Best Peruvian Film award to Omar Forero's Chicama, and the Best Peruvian First Film award to Joel Calero's El Cielo Oscuro. Additionally the Peruvian Association of Film Critics gave the APRECI award to Carlos Reygadas' Post Tenebras Lux.

Patricia Riggen's GIRL IN PROGRESS Tops Imagen Awards

Patricia's Riggen's feature film Girl in Progress was the big winner at the 27th edition of the Imagen Awards which were given out last night at a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The film released by Pantelion Films received three prizes for Best Film, Best Director and for 16-year-old Cierra Ramírez for Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film.

Other winners include Lou Diamond Phillips for Best Actor in a Feature Film for his performance on Filly Brown; Gina Rodriguez for Best Actress in the same film; and Diego Luna for Best Supporting Actor in Casa de mi Padre. HBO Latino's Habla Texas won the prize for Best Documentary for Film/Television.

The Imagen Awards, which are given by the Imagen Foundation, aim to recognize and reward positive portrayals of Latinos in all forms of media, as well to encourage and recognize the achievements of Latinos in the entertainment and communications industries.

Mexican Director Pedro González-Rubio Wins Golden Leopard at Locarno

Mexican director Pedro González-Rubio (pictured) won the Golden Leopard Award for his new feature film Inori in the Cinesti del Presenti (Filmmakers of the Present) competition at the 65th edition of the Locarno Film Festival which came to a close today in Switzerland.

González-Rubio film, which was made in Japan and produced by a special program of the Nara International Film Festival, tells the story of Kannogawa, a small mountain community in Japan, where the laws of nature have changed what used to be a lively town. While the younger generations have left for bigger cities, the few remaining inhabitants perform their everyday activities on their history and the cycles of life.

Born in 1976, Pedro González-Rubio studied film at the London Film School. His previous film credits include Toro Negro (2005, co-directed with Carlos Armella), and Alamar (2009), which won the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The Golden Leopard Award / George Foundation Prize for Best Film in the Cineasti del Presenti section comes with a cash prize of 40,000 swiss francs (about $40,000 USD) to be equally shared between the director and the producer.

Additionally, the Colombian short film Los retratos / Portraits by Iván D. Gaona won a special mention in the Pardi di Domani (Leopards of Tomorrow) competition at the Swiss Festival that ran August 1-11.

San Sebastian Announces Latin American Films in Competition

The San Sebastian Film Festival has announced the 12 films participating in the Horizontes Latinos section competing for a cash prize of  €35,000, including works from filmmakers from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia. Most of these selections have competed or have been presented throughout renowned film festivals, but will have their Spanish premiere in the 60th edition of the festival.

From Argentina comes Infancia clandestina, directed by Benjamín Ávila, his debut feature film which was awarded the Cine en Construcción from Premio Casa de America in 2011. And was presented at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight . The poignant story about a boy learning how to survive in a world of false passports and the continuous need to remain hidden, inaugurates the festival. Aquí y Alla, directed by Antonio Méndez Esparza, debuts his Mexican/Spain and American collaboration, which won the top prize at Cannes' Critics' Week award. It tells the story of Pedro, a married man with two daughters who tries to earn a living with his musical group upon his return to Mexico.

Director Alicia Cano presents her Uruguayan-German production of the film, El Bella Vista, a documentary that traces the history of a small town in Uruguay. As a place that began as a soccer club, it later turned into a brothel where transvestites roamed the streets and much later a Catholic chapel due to pressure from the conservations society. La demora / Delay from Mexican-Uruguayan director Rodrigo Plá, was presented during the Berlin Film Festival and examines a woman’s relationship with her father, an 80 year old man and victim to memory loss.

Winner at Cannes' Un Certain Regard, the Mexican film After Lucía / Después de Lucía (pictured) directed by Michel Franco focuses on a teenager bullied by classmates whose silence will only ensure terrible consequences. Brazilian director Marcelo Gomes presents Era uma Verónica / Once Upon a Time Veronica, which was originally screened at San Sebastian last year, as part of Cine en construcción deals with Verónica , a 26 year old who tries to fulfill her father’s last request: to find the love of her life.

Joven y alocada / Young and Wild by Chilean director Marialy Rivas was also screened during last year’s Cine en Construcción, won this year’s “Best Screenplay” in the category of World Cinema in the Sundance Film Festival, and was selected for the  Generation section in the Berlin Film Festival. Joven y alocada is the portrait of a rebellious 17 year old in a strict evangelical family who finds an enormous obstacle in her quest to follow the “right road.” From acclaimed director Carlos Reygadas is Post Tenebras Lux (pictured), which competed as an Official Selection during the Cannes Film Festival and won the prize for Best Director, a film about the life of Juan and his family who live in a world where both their suffering and pain is either complimentary or against one another.

The Colombian film La Playa, directed by Juan Andrés Arango, competed in the category of Un Certain Regard at Cannes, as well as Cine en construcción as a work-in-progress. It is the story of Tomás, whose journey to find his younger brother in Bogotá, will force him to face his fears and the pain of the past.

Salsipuedes by Mariano Luque from Argentina, a selection in Toulouse, Cannes and BAFICI film festivals, is about a Carmen and her husband Rafa’s camping trip and his inability to enjoy it.

William Vega's La Sirga, which also participated in Directors' Fortnight in Cannes and was awarded in Toulouse, is the story of Alicia, a woman who has lost everything and decides to go in search of her Uncle Óscar's hostel in the laguna La Concha. Finally the Argentinean film, El Último Elvis by Armando Bo tells of a man who believes he is the reincarnation of Elvis and must choose between his family or his dreams. 

In addition to these 12 titles, the festival announced that the Argentinean director Carlos Sorín will be participating in the Official Competition with his most recent film Días de pesca / Fishing Days, about a 50-year-old alcoholic who takes up a hobby and decides to go fishing in a small town where is estranged daughter lives. It is the fourth time that Sorín participates in the Spanish festival.

The festival celebrating its 60th edition, will take place from September 21-29, and will be held in San Sebastian, Spain. 

In Memoriam: Chavela Vargas and Film

Costa Rican-born Mexican legendary singer Chavela Vargas died today due to respiratory and heart complications at the age of 93 at a hospital in the city of Cuernavaca. The famed ranchera singer, born Isabel Vargas Lizano, was a Mexican icon that defied stereotypes. She recorded over 80 albums performing in the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2003.

Chavela Vargas had a limited yet influential relationship with cinema, largely in part to her friendship to Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar. “I don’t think there is a stage big enough in this world for Chavela,” once wrote the filmmaker who played a fundamental role for her to gain international recognition.

Chavela Vargas debuted in film with a small role in José Bolaños' La Soldadera / The Female Soldier (1967) starring Silvia Pinal. She also worked with German filmmaker Werner Herzog in his 1991 film Scream of Stone / Cerro Torre: Schrei aus Stein, starring Donald Sutherland and Vittorio Mezzogiorno, in which she plays an elderly native woman called Indianerin.

Almodóvar featured songs performed by Chavela Vargas in some of his films including “Luz de Luna” in Kika (1993); “En el último trago” in The Flower of My Secret / La Flor de mi secreto (1995); and “Somos” in Live Flesh / Carne Trémula (1997). 

In 2002 Chavela Vargas was featured in Julie Taymor’s Frida, the biopic of the iconic Mexican painter played by Salma Hayek. Vargas is not only featured in the film’s soundtrack with the songs “La Llorona” and “Paloma negra”, but also has a cameo role as La Pelona, singing “La Llorona.”

Alejandro González Iñárritu featured the Vargas’ song “Tú me acostumbraste” in the soundtrack of his 2006 film Babel; while Sebastián Cordero featured her song “Sombras” in his 2009 film Rabia / Rage; and her song “Simples cosas” was included in the 2008 documentary feature film Los que se quedan / Those Who Remain by Carlos Haggerman and Juan Carlos Rulfo.

She was also prominently featured in Beto Gómez’s documentary Hasta el último trago corazón / Till the Last Drop... My Love! (2005), about some of Mexico's most renowned female performers. Her last last participation in film was in Salvando al soldado Pérez / Saving Private Pérez (2011), also directed by Gómez, performing the song “Corazón negro.”

Chavela Vargas in Frida (Julie Taymor, US, 2002):

Chavela Vargas in Kika (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 1995):

Chavela Vargas in Hasta el último trago corazón / Till the Last Drop... My Love! (Beto Gómez, Mexico, 2005):

Everardo González's Doc DROUGHT Gets NYC and LA Theatrical Run

Drought / Cuates de Australia (pictured) the award-winning documentary by Mexican director Everardo González will have a theatrical premiere run in New York City and in Los Angeles this August as part of the 2012 edition of the annual DocuWeeks Theatrical Documentary Showcase presented by the International Documentary Association.

Hailed as a "poetic portrait of a town withstanding terrible hardships, (...) Drought ranks with the best of recent Latin American nonfiction" by Variety's Robert Koehler, the film opens for a week on Friday, August 10 at the IFC Center in New York City, and on Friday, August 17 also for a week at the Laemmle Noho 7 in Los Angeles. González will be present on both cities for Q&A sessions at select screenings. 

Winner of the prizes for Best Documentary at both the Los Angeles and the Guadalajara Film Festivals, González’s fourth feature documentary tells the story of the residents from the communal land of Cuates de Australia in the northern part of Mexico that annually perform a massive exodus searching for water during the drought. During this exile, men, women, elders, and children wait for the first drops of water to return to their lands, a metaphor of a small town that hides from death.