Variance Films and Syndicado have announced the U.S. theatrical premiere run of Elena (pictured), Brazilian director Petra Costa’s luminous and deeply emotional documentary journey in search of her long-lost sister. Executive produced by Academy Award nominees Tim Robbins and Fernando Meirelles (City of God), Costa’s feature debut is the recipient of several top international festival awards and ranks as one of the most successful documentaries of all time in Brazil.
Elena, hailed as a "haunting visual essay (that) interweaves its various fragments like gestures in a modern dance" (Ronnie Scheib, Variety) will open on Friday, May 30 at New York’s IFC Center before expanding to Los Angeles and additional cities in the US and Canada beginning June 13.
The film tells the story of Elena, a young Brazilian woman, moved to New York with the same dream her mother had: to become a film actress. She left behind a childhood spent in hiding during the years of the military dictatorship. She also left Petra, her beloved seven-year-old sister. Over time, Elena’s calls and letters home trailed off, until one day they stopped entirely.
Years later, Petra also becomes an actress and heads to New York in search of her destiny, but also in search of her troubled sister. She remembers and imagines Elena through home movies, letters, a diary, and dreamlike sequences full of longing. As she tries to unravel the mystery of her sister, their stories overlap and begin to blur, challenging us to discover truths about forgiveness, loss, catharsis, and love.
Watch the trailer:
In the April 2014 edition of TropicalFRONT on Intelatin Cloudcast features a dialogue on Latin American film with Carlos Gutiérrez of Cinema Tropical, a report from México on Luis Buñuel 1949, an interview with Christine Davila of Ambulante California, a feature on the life story of Nicholas González to support our film of the month, Water & Power by Richard Montoya. Intelatin's VOD pick of the month is Colombian film The Colors of the Mountains by Carlos César Arbeláez. Music performed by Fabiano do Nascimento.
Argentina will have a record-breaking presence at the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, as the Film festival has announced a fourth Argentinean title that will be premiering at the French Riviera. El ardor / The Ardor (pictured), the third feature film by Pablo Frendik, will be screened out of competition in the official selection.
The Colombian film Mateo (pictured), the feature debut by María Gamboa was the winner of Best Narrative Feature at the 17th edition of the Cine Las Americas Film Festival, which ended last night. Gamboa's French co-production film was also the winner of the Audience Award in the narrative competition.
The winner of the Best Documentary Award was Roque Dalton, ¡fusilemos la noche! / Roque Dalton, Let's Shoot the Night! by Tina Leisch, and Austrian-Salvadorean-Cuban co-production about the Salvadorean acclaimed poet. The Peruvian-Spanish documentary film Sigo siendo (Kachkaniraqmi) / I’m Still by Javier Corcuera was awarded with the Audience Award in the documentary competition. 
The Mexican actor Gael García Bernal (pictured) has been selected as a jury member of the 67th edition of the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival, it was announced today. The eight-member jury headed by New Zealander director Jane Campion will chose the Palm d'Or winner among the 18 films in competition. 
It is the second time that García Bernal is selected as a jury member at Cannes. In 2010 he was the president of the Camera d'Or jury, which awards the prize for Best First Film at the French festival.
The Colombian-American film Manos Sucias by Josef Wladyka and the Mexican film Güeros by Alonso Ruizpalacios were among the winners of the 13th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, as it was announced this evening. 
Mexican director Ruizpalacios received a Special Jury Mention for Best Narrative Director for his debut feature film Güeros. The film's Director of Photography Damián García was presented with the award for Best Cinematography in a Narrative Feature Film. The jury composed by Lake Bell, Steve Conrad, Brat Freundlich, Catherine Hardwicke and Ben Younger said that "The film perfectly captured the energy and hope of the youth in its nation’s capital." The award comes with a cash prize of $5,000 and $50,000 in post-production services.
