Costa Rican film Por las plumas / All About the Feathers (pictured), the directorial debut by Neto Villalobos, will have its world premiere at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, marking the first time a film from the Central American country is featured in the festival. The film, about a security guard who wants to get into the cockfighting game buys, befriends, and becomes inseparable from his rooster protégé Rocky, will be playing at the 'Discoveries' section of the festival, as it was announced today.
"We are very happy and proud. It is the first time a Costa Rican film participates in such big showcase and stands out in the North American festivals and markets. We think the will open the way for other films in the region", says María Lourdes Cortés, director of Cinergia, the prestigious and influential Central American film fund that supported Villalobos' film. "Besides, being a film that has roots in a local story, of something that we might think banal -someone's wish to own a rooster-, means that our stories can reach very large audiences", she adds.
Other Latin American films selected for the 'Discoveries' section are the Mexican films Los insólitos peces gato / The Amazing Catfish, the directorial debut by Claudia Sainte-Luce and Paraíso / Paradise, Mariana Chenillo's follow up film to her acclaimed Cinco días sin Nora / Nora's Will; the Chilean film El verano de los peces voladores / The Summer of Flying Fish by Marcela Said; and the world premiere of the Uruguayan film El lugar del hijo / The Militant by Manolo Nieto Zas (The Dog Pound).
The 2013 edition of the Toronto Film Festival will take place September 5 - 15 in Canada.
In the August edition of TropicalFRONT on Intelatin Cloudcast, Sergio Muñoz and Carlos A. Gutiérrez talk about Alfonso Cuarón and his upcoming film Gravity; the New York theatrical releases of the Argentinean film El Estudiante by Santiago Mitre at The Museum of Modern Art and the Mexican film Los últimos cristeros / The Last Christeros by Matías Meyer at Anthology Film Archives. Plus a Q&A with Hannah Fidell, Lindsay Burdge and Will Brittain for A Teacher and an essay on La Sirga by William Vega. The music for this episode was performed by Viva La Muerte and Lila Downs. The broadcast aired on 8/15/13 on KKJZ 88.1 FM HD3 and KBeach.org
Chilean film Gloria (pictured) by Sebastián Lelio has been selected as part of the main slate at the 51th edition of the New York Film Festival, the Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today. A wise, funny, liberating movie from Chile, about a middle-aged woman (played by Paulina García) who finds romance but whose new partner finds it painfully difficult to abandon his old habits. The Chilean film, which is distributed in the U.S. by Roadside Attractions, is the only Latin American film in this year's main slate which features 35 films.
Heli (pictured), the third feature film by Mexican director Amat Escalante was awarded the top prize at the 17th edition of the Lima Film Festival, which ran August 9-17 in Peru. The film, winner of the prize for Best Director at Cannes, tells the story of Estela, a 12 year old girl who has just fallen crazy in love with a young police cadet who wants to run away with her and get married. Trying to achieve this dream, her family will have to live the violence that is devastating the region.
The winners of the 28th edition of the annual Imagen Awards, honoring positive portrayals of Latinos and Latino culture in entertainment, were announced last tonight at a dinner ceremony held in the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The film Bless Me Ultima by Carl Franklin was the big winner of the night winning the prizes for Best Feature Film, and its leading actors Miriam Colon and Luke Ganalon received the prizes for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively.
Cinema Tropical presents the U.S. Theatrical premiere of Los últimos cristeros / The Last Christeros (pictured) by Matías Meyer, a highly unusual historical film that takes a meditative, nearly non-narrative approach to portraying the experiences of those who continued to resist the Mexican government’s anti-Christian (especially anti-Roman Catholic) persecution, even following the official end of the Cristero War in 1929. The film opens on Friday, August 30 for a one-week exclusive engagement at Anthology Film Archives in New York City.
Winner of the Cinema Tropical Award for Best Director, this third feature by Meyer (following Wadley and El calambre / The Cramp) decisively establishes him as one of the most gifted of young Mexican filmmakers, and represents a striking combination of minimalist cinema and historical depiction. Based on Antonio Estrada’s acclaimed novel Rescoldo, The Last Christeros was nominated for eight Ariel Awards, Mexico’s national film prize, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
