Twenty-nine films from twelve countries have been nominated in the sixth annual edition of the Cinema Tropical Awards, honoring the best of Latin American cinema of the year in six different categories: Best Feature Film; Best Documentary Film; Best Director, Feature Film; Best Director, Documentary Film; Best First Film; and Best U.S. Latino Film.
The five films competing for the Cinema Tropical Award for Best Feature Film of the Year are: The Club by Pablo Larraín (Chile), Jauja by Lisandro Alonso (Argentina), Los Hongos by Oscar Ruiz Navia (Colombia), The Princess of France by Matías Piñeiro (Argentina), and White Out, Black In by Adirley Queirós (Brazil).
The five nominees for Best U.S. Latino Film of the Year are: The Book of Life by Jorge Gutierrez, East Side Sushi by Anthony Lucero, Mala Mala by Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and We Like It Like That by Mathew Ramirez Warren.
The winners of the 6th Annual Cinema Tropical Awards will be announced at a special evening ceremony at The New York Times Company headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, January 20, 2016. The winning films will be showcased as part of the Cinema Tropical Festival at Museum of the Moving Image, February 25-28, 2016, celebrating the organization’s 15th anniversary.
The candidates were culled from a comprehensive list of films created by a nominating committee composed of 12 film professionals from Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. All the films under consideration had a minimum of 60 minutes in length and premiered between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015.
Complete List of Nominations:
Best Feature Film
• "The Club"/ "El club" (Pablo Larraín, Chile, 2015)
• "Jauja" (Lisandro Alonso, Argentina, 2014)
• "Los Hongos" (Óscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia, 2014)
• "The Princess of France" / "La princesa de Francia" (Matías Piñeiro, Argentina/USA, 2014)
• "White Out, Black In" / "Branco Sai, Petro Fica" (Adirley Queirós, Brazil, 2014)
Best Director, Feature Film
• Nicolás Pereda, "The Absent" / "Los ausentes" (Mexico, 2014)
• Gabriel Mascaro, "August Winds" / "Ventos de Agosto" (Brazil, 2014)
• Pablo Larraín, "The Club" / "El club" (Chile, 2015)
• Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, "Sand Dollars" / "Dólares de arena" (Dominican Republic/Mexico/Argentina, 2014)
• Paz Fábrega, "Viaje" (Costa Rica, 2015)
Best First Film
• "600 Miles" (Gabriel Ripstein, Mexico, 2015)
• "The Fire" / "El incendio" (Juan Schnitman, Argentina, 2015)
• "Ixcanul" (Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala, 2015)
• "She Comes Back on Thursday" / "Ela Volta Na Quinta" (Andrés Novais Oliveira, Brazil, 2014)
• "Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes)" / "Videofilia (y otros síndromes virales)" (Juan Daniel F. Molero, Peru, 2015)
Best Documentary Film
• "A Committee Chronicle" / "Crónica de un comité" (José Luis Sepúlveda and Carolina Adriazola, Chile, 2014)
• "Identification Photos" / "Retratos de Identificaçao" (Anita Leandro, Brazil, 2014)
• "Invasion" / "Invasión" (Abner Benaim, Panama, 2014)
• "Last Conversations" / "Últimas Conversas" (Eduardo Coutinho, Brazil,2015)
• "Monte Adentro" (Nicolás Macario Alonso, Colombia/Argentina, 2014)
Best Director, Documentary Film
• Maíra Bühler and Matias Mariani, "I Touched All Your Stuff"/ "A Vida Privada dos Hipopótamos" (Brazil, 2014)
• Karina García Casanova, "Juanicas" (Mexico, 2014)
• Betzabé García, "Kings of Nowhere"/ "Los reyes del pueblo que no existe" (Mexico, 2015)
• Aldo Garay, "The New Man" / "El hombre nuevo" (Uruguay, 2015)
• Christopher Murray, "Propaganda" (Chile, 2014)
Best U.S. Latino Film
• "The Book of Life" (Jorge Gutierrez, USA, 2014)
• "East Side Sushi" (Anthony Lucero, USA, 2014)
• "Mala Mala" (Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles, USA/Puerto Rico, 2014)
• "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon USA, 2015)
• "We Like It Like That" (Mathew Ramirez Warren, USA, 2015)
2015 Jury: Amalia Córdova, film programmer and scholar; Aaron Cutler, film critic and programmer; Paul Dallas, film critic; Vanessa Erazo, Film Editor, Remezcla; Michelle Farrell, film scholar; Sandra Kogut, filmmaker; Dominic Davis, film programmer, Rooftop Films; David Schwartz, Chief Curator, Museum of the Moving Image; Diana Vargas, Artistic Director, Havana Film Festival New York.
2015 Nominating Committee: Fábio Andrade, Revista Cinética, Brazil; Juan Pablo Bastarrachea, Cine Tonalá, Mexico; Consuelo Castillo, Doctv Latinoamérica, Colombia; Fernando del Razo, Riviera Maya Film Festival, Mexico; Vanessa Erazo, Film Editor, Remezcla, USA; Luis Gonzalez Zaffaroni, DocMontevideo, Uruguay; James Lattimer, Berlinale's Forum, Germany; Alicia Morales, Lima Film Festival, Peru; Joel Poblete. Sanfic, Chile; Andrea Stavenhagen, San Sebastian Film Festival, Spain; Charles Tesson, Critics' Week, Cannes, France; Raúl Niño Zambrano, International Documentary Film Festival - Idfa, Netherlands.
The five films competing for the Cinema Tropical Award for Best Feature Film of the Year are: The Club by Pablo Larraín (Chile), Jauja by Lisandro Alonso (Argentina), Los Hongos by Oscar Ruiz Navia (Colombia), The Princess of France by Matías Piñeiro (Argentina), and White Out, Black In by Adirley Queirós (Brazil).
The five nominees for Best U.S. Latino Film of the Year are: The Book of Life by Jorge Gutierrez, East Side Sushi by Anthony Lucero, Mala Mala by Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and We Like It Like That by Mathew Ramirez Warren.
The winners of the 6th Annual Cinema Tropical Awards will be announced at a special evening ceremony at The New York Times Company headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, January 20, 2016. The winning films will be showcased as part of the Cinema Tropical Festival at Museum of the Moving Image, February 25-28, 2016, celebrating the organization’s 15th anniversary.
The candidates were culled from a comprehensive list of films created by a nominating committee composed of 12 film professionals from Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. All the films under consideration had a minimum of 60 minutes in length and premiered between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015.
Complete List of Nominations:
Best Feature Film
• "The Club"/ "El club" (Pablo Larraín, Chile, 2015)
• "Jauja" (Lisandro Alonso, Argentina, 2014)
• "Los Hongos" (Óscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia, 2014)
• "The Princess of France" / "La princesa de Francia" (Matías Piñeiro, Argentina/USA, 2014)
• "White Out, Black In" / "Branco Sai, Petro Fica" (Adirley Queirós, Brazil, 2014)
Best Director, Feature Film
• Nicolás Pereda, "The Absent" / "Los ausentes" (Mexico, 2014)
• Gabriel Mascaro, "August Winds" / "Ventos de Agosto" (Brazil, 2014)
• Pablo Larraín, "The Club" / "El club" (Chile, 2015)
• Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, "Sand Dollars" / "Dólares de arena" (Dominican Republic/Mexico/Argentina, 2014)
• Paz Fábrega, "Viaje" (Costa Rica, 2015)
Best First Film
• "600 Miles" (Gabriel Ripstein, Mexico, 2015)
• "The Fire" / "El incendio" (Juan Schnitman, Argentina, 2015)
• "Ixcanul" (Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala, 2015)
• "She Comes Back on Thursday" / "Ela Volta Na Quinta" (Andrés Novais Oliveira, Brazil, 2014)
• "Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes)" / "Videofilia (y otros síndromes virales)" (Juan Daniel F. Molero, Peru, 2015)
Best Documentary Film
• "A Committee Chronicle" / "Crónica de un comité" (José Luis Sepúlveda and Carolina Adriazola, Chile, 2014)
• "Identification Photos" / "Retratos de Identificaçao" (Anita Leandro, Brazil, 2014)
• "Invasion" / "Invasión" (Abner Benaim, Panama, 2014)
• "Last Conversations" / "Últimas Conversas" (Eduardo Coutinho, Brazil,2015)
• "Monte Adentro" (Nicolás Macario Alonso, Colombia/Argentina, 2014)
Best Director, Documentary Film
• Maíra Bühler and Matias Mariani, "I Touched All Your Stuff"/ "A Vida Privada dos Hipopótamos" (Brazil, 2014)
• Karina García Casanova, "Juanicas" (Mexico, 2014)
• Betzabé García, "Kings of Nowhere"/ "Los reyes del pueblo que no existe" (Mexico, 2015)
• Aldo Garay, "The New Man" / "El hombre nuevo" (Uruguay, 2015)
• Christopher Murray, "Propaganda" (Chile, 2014)
Best U.S. Latino Film
• "The Book of Life" (Jorge Gutierrez, USA, 2014)
• "East Side Sushi" (Anthony Lucero, USA, 2014)
• "Mala Mala" (Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles, USA/Puerto Rico, 2014)
• "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon USA, 2015)
• "We Like It Like That" (Mathew Ramirez Warren, USA, 2015)
2015 Jury: Amalia Córdova, film programmer and scholar; Aaron Cutler, film critic and programmer; Paul Dallas, film critic; Vanessa Erazo, Film Editor, Remezcla; Michelle Farrell, film scholar; Sandra Kogut, filmmaker; Dominic Davis, film programmer, Rooftop Films; David Schwartz, Chief Curator, Museum of the Moving Image; Diana Vargas, Artistic Director, Havana Film Festival New York.
2015 Nominating Committee: Fábio Andrade, Revista Cinética, Brazil; Juan Pablo Bastarrachea, Cine Tonalá, Mexico; Consuelo Castillo, Doctv Latinoamérica, Colombia; Fernando del Razo, Riviera Maya Film Festival, Mexico; Vanessa Erazo, Film Editor, Remezcla, USA; Luis Gonzalez Zaffaroni, DocMontevideo, Uruguay; James Lattimer, Berlinale's Forum, Germany; Alicia Morales, Lima Film Festival, Peru; Joel Poblete. Sanfic, Chile; Andrea Stavenhagen, San Sebastian Film Festival, Spain; Charles Tesson, Critics' Week, Cannes, France; Raúl Niño Zambrano, International Documentary Film Festival - Idfa, Netherlands.
- 12/27/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Following the unveling of the Official Selection, news from the Cannes Film Festival (May 13-24) continues to arrive. The prestigious Critics' Week –aimed at discovering the world's most interesting directors– announced the list of films to be included in the 54th edition of this event, one of the Festival's most important, along with the Directors' Fortnight.
The big news for Colombia is the selection of director/screenwriter César Augusto Acevedo's first film, "La Tierra y la Sombra" (Land and Shade), one of the seven feature films chosen to compete from among 1,100 submissions from around the world. The film was produced by Jorge Forero, Paola Pérez Nieto and Diana Bustamante, partners and founding members of Burning Blue, the production company responsible for some of the most internationally recognized films to come out of Colombia in recent years ("El vuelco del Cangrejo," "La Playa D.C," "La Sirga," "Solecito," "Los Hongos," "Climas," "Refugiado," and many others).
In "La Tierra y la Sombra," a woman refuses to give up the land she has fought to defend all her life; a son is incapable of leaving his mother, to the point of risking his own life; a father must confront past mistakes in order to recover the loved ones he abandoned; a brave wife fights to save her family; and a child grows up in the midst of devastation. Staged in a family microcosm –a tiny house and a tree surrounded by a formidable sugar cane filed–, the film presents the final days of these characters intent on repairing the fragile ties that bind them as they face their own imminent demise in the overwhelming wake of progress. Out of this situation comes a cruel story, densely populated with metaphors and allegories for culture, the fatality of alienation and oblivion, the fragility of memory, the inevitability of family breakdown, and the solitude it provokes.
The film was produced by Burning Blue (Colombia) in co-production with Ciné-Sud Promotion (France), Tokapi Films (Holland), Rampante Films (Chile), and Preta Portê Filmes (Brazil). In addition to director/screenwriter Cesar Acevedo, the film's crew included cinematographer Mateo Guzmán; editor Miguel Schverdfinger; art director Marcela Gómez; actor trainer Fátima Toledo; and soundman Felipe Rayo. The film stars Haimer Leal as Alfonso; Hilda Ruiz as Alicia; Edison Raigosa as Alfonso's and Alicia's son Gerardo; Marleyda Soto as Gerardo's wife Esperanza; and Felipe Cárdenas as Gerardo's and Esperanza's son Manuel.
According to César Acevedo: "The idea for this film was born of personal pain. At the time I began writing the screenplay my mother was dead, my father was a ghost, and given my inability to generate memories, they seemed completely lost to me. Thus arose my need to make a film that would allow me to recover the two most important people in my life, using the language of film. What I intended at the time was a reflection on our lives together, and what they might have been, based on the most private, the most important elements of this relationship. I believed that only by returning to my roots would I be able to face what I'd forgotten. This led to my decision to create a microcosm consisting of a small house and a tree, where I could somehow be reunited with those I loved most."
That was just the beginning, however, and the film couldn't remain tied to this initial concept with time tugging it in another direction. Acevedo continues: "As I began writing the screenplay I realized that the house was inhabited by ghosts, who drifted through the rooms, incapable of speech, unrecognizable to each other. It took a long time to accept that what I was trying to accomplish was impossible, simply because everything I was looking for had disappeared with them. So I distanced myself from the original intention with the sole purpose of better developing my characters and the film's conflict and the idea arose of telling the story of a dysfunctional family's attempt to repair the ties that bind them, just before being separated for good. Not only are they forced to confront the feelings of others, but, more challenging still, they discover feelings they never knew existed, or never suspected they harbored. "
Burning Blue: Spearheading the Internationalization of Colombian Cinema
After participating in the 65th Berlin Film Festival's Forum less than two months ago with Jorge Forero's film "Violence," Burning Blue is proud to announces the inclusion of "La Tierra y la Sombra" in the Cannes Festival's Critics' Week. This selection confirms Burning Blue's role as key Colombian representative in major film events around the world.
Burning Blue's efforts to produce daring films focusing on the value and power of stories, and construction of self-sustaining formats to achieve significant results internationally, allowing Colombian films to be seen worldwide, are examples of the creativity and innovation in Latin America productions and prove that Burning Blue has succeeded in asserting itself in a depressed market with a new vision that provides transcendent stories.
The successful start-up of a co-production model allowing films to work with partners in France, Germany, Poland and Holland –not to mention Latin America, where they have co-produced with Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brazil; the presence of the company's films in more than 200 festivals, with commercial releases in countries like the Us, Greece, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Eastern Europe, and several African nations (as well as co-producing countries); an the company's presence at the Cannes Film Festival in four consecutive years (co-producers of Argentine director Diego Lerman's "Refugiado" in 2014; co-producers of Oscar Ruíz Navia's short film "Solecito" at the 2013 Director's Fortnight; and producers of William Vega's "La Sirga" and Juan Andrés Arango's "La Playa D.C." included in the 2012 Director's Fortnight and Certain Regard sections, respectively) make Burning Blue Colombia's most visible presence on the global film market.
Although Burning Blue has achieved major recognition for its films on the international market, the company aspires, above all, to participate in the creation of films by and for Colombians and, in even more romantically ambitious terms, the creation of Latin American cinema for the Latin American subcontinent. The stories told, therefore, speak profoundly of the continent's many different peoples and uncover the traditions, imagery, dreams, desires, fears and problems facing these richly diverse, passionate, and complex cultures. To this end, Burning Blue hopes to harness the favorable international attention garnered to date to continually ignite local interest, using international platforms as a springboard to its natural audience: Colombia.
Burning Blue, led by Diana Bustamante, Jorge Forero and Paola Pérez Nieto, is currently developing the feature films "Asilo" (Jaime Osorio Márquez), in co-production with Rhayuela Cine, "Desobsesión" (Jorge Navas), and the co-production "Niño Nadie" (Fernando Guzzoni), produced for Chile's Rampante Films.
Diana Bustamante produced Ciro Guerra's "Los Viajes del Viento" (included in the 2009 Cannes Festival's Certain Regard section) and Oscar Ruiz Navia's "El vuelco del cangrejo" (2009 Toronto Film Festival premiere and Fripresci Award at the 2010 Berlinale Festival and Forum). She also designed and managed Caracol Television's film department from 2008 to 2012, taking more than 20 Colombian feature films from the financing to final promotion stages. She recently became the artistic director of the Cartagena International Film Festival (Ficci), contributing to the success of the festival's 55th edition last March, and is currently working on the 2016 festival.
"La Tierra y la Sombra" - Nothing But Success
The process of creating and financing "La Tierra y la Sombra" allowed the film to mature with assistance from specialists, tutors, and evaluation committees at a number of national and international institutions and festivals, each of them helping to move the film towards its world premiere at the upcoming Cannes Festival.
During the project's development stage it won a development grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund in 2009 and was selected the following year to participate in the Pitch Workshop at Colombia's Cali Film Festival. The project also took part in the Ibero-American Films Crossing Borders event at the 2010 Havana Film Festival and the 2012 Ibero-American Co-Production Meeting at the Huelva Film Festival in Spain.
It was, however, in 2013 that the project became a reality, winning at the Cartagena International Film Festival's Co-Production Meeting, which made it possible to attend the Cannes Marché Du Film. The film went on to win a Casa de las Américas Film Project Development grant from the Carolina Foundation and a production grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund. Also in 2013, the Hubert Bals Fund awarded the project a development grant and the San Sebastian Film Festival selected it for the Co-Production Forum.
The final push came in 2014 when the project was invited to participate in Boost! at the Rotterdam Film Festival in Holland and received production grants from both the Ibermedia and Hubert Bals Funds. Shooting took place in late 2014 with post-production following in early 2015 and, finally, the film's submission, in the company of another 1,100 feature films, to the Cannes Festival.
The big news for Colombia is the selection of director/screenwriter César Augusto Acevedo's first film, "La Tierra y la Sombra" (Land and Shade), one of the seven feature films chosen to compete from among 1,100 submissions from around the world. The film was produced by Jorge Forero, Paola Pérez Nieto and Diana Bustamante, partners and founding members of Burning Blue, the production company responsible for some of the most internationally recognized films to come out of Colombia in recent years ("El vuelco del Cangrejo," "La Playa D.C," "La Sirga," "Solecito," "Los Hongos," "Climas," "Refugiado," and many others).
In "La Tierra y la Sombra," a woman refuses to give up the land she has fought to defend all her life; a son is incapable of leaving his mother, to the point of risking his own life; a father must confront past mistakes in order to recover the loved ones he abandoned; a brave wife fights to save her family; and a child grows up in the midst of devastation. Staged in a family microcosm –a tiny house and a tree surrounded by a formidable sugar cane filed–, the film presents the final days of these characters intent on repairing the fragile ties that bind them as they face their own imminent demise in the overwhelming wake of progress. Out of this situation comes a cruel story, densely populated with metaphors and allegories for culture, the fatality of alienation and oblivion, the fragility of memory, the inevitability of family breakdown, and the solitude it provokes.
The film was produced by Burning Blue (Colombia) in co-production with Ciné-Sud Promotion (France), Tokapi Films (Holland), Rampante Films (Chile), and Preta Portê Filmes (Brazil). In addition to director/screenwriter Cesar Acevedo, the film's crew included cinematographer Mateo Guzmán; editor Miguel Schverdfinger; art director Marcela Gómez; actor trainer Fátima Toledo; and soundman Felipe Rayo. The film stars Haimer Leal as Alfonso; Hilda Ruiz as Alicia; Edison Raigosa as Alfonso's and Alicia's son Gerardo; Marleyda Soto as Gerardo's wife Esperanza; and Felipe Cárdenas as Gerardo's and Esperanza's son Manuel.
According to César Acevedo: "The idea for this film was born of personal pain. At the time I began writing the screenplay my mother was dead, my father was a ghost, and given my inability to generate memories, they seemed completely lost to me. Thus arose my need to make a film that would allow me to recover the two most important people in my life, using the language of film. What I intended at the time was a reflection on our lives together, and what they might have been, based on the most private, the most important elements of this relationship. I believed that only by returning to my roots would I be able to face what I'd forgotten. This led to my decision to create a microcosm consisting of a small house and a tree, where I could somehow be reunited with those I loved most."
That was just the beginning, however, and the film couldn't remain tied to this initial concept with time tugging it in another direction. Acevedo continues: "As I began writing the screenplay I realized that the house was inhabited by ghosts, who drifted through the rooms, incapable of speech, unrecognizable to each other. It took a long time to accept that what I was trying to accomplish was impossible, simply because everything I was looking for had disappeared with them. So I distanced myself from the original intention with the sole purpose of better developing my characters and the film's conflict and the idea arose of telling the story of a dysfunctional family's attempt to repair the ties that bind them, just before being separated for good. Not only are they forced to confront the feelings of others, but, more challenging still, they discover feelings they never knew existed, or never suspected they harbored. "
Burning Blue: Spearheading the Internationalization of Colombian Cinema
After participating in the 65th Berlin Film Festival's Forum less than two months ago with Jorge Forero's film "Violence," Burning Blue is proud to announces the inclusion of "La Tierra y la Sombra" in the Cannes Festival's Critics' Week. This selection confirms Burning Blue's role as key Colombian representative in major film events around the world.
Burning Blue's efforts to produce daring films focusing on the value and power of stories, and construction of self-sustaining formats to achieve significant results internationally, allowing Colombian films to be seen worldwide, are examples of the creativity and innovation in Latin America productions and prove that Burning Blue has succeeded in asserting itself in a depressed market with a new vision that provides transcendent stories.
The successful start-up of a co-production model allowing films to work with partners in France, Germany, Poland and Holland –not to mention Latin America, where they have co-produced with Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brazil; the presence of the company's films in more than 200 festivals, with commercial releases in countries like the Us, Greece, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Eastern Europe, and several African nations (as well as co-producing countries); an the company's presence at the Cannes Film Festival in four consecutive years (co-producers of Argentine director Diego Lerman's "Refugiado" in 2014; co-producers of Oscar Ruíz Navia's short film "Solecito" at the 2013 Director's Fortnight; and producers of William Vega's "La Sirga" and Juan Andrés Arango's "La Playa D.C." included in the 2012 Director's Fortnight and Certain Regard sections, respectively) make Burning Blue Colombia's most visible presence on the global film market.
Although Burning Blue has achieved major recognition for its films on the international market, the company aspires, above all, to participate in the creation of films by and for Colombians and, in even more romantically ambitious terms, the creation of Latin American cinema for the Latin American subcontinent. The stories told, therefore, speak profoundly of the continent's many different peoples and uncover the traditions, imagery, dreams, desires, fears and problems facing these richly diverse, passionate, and complex cultures. To this end, Burning Blue hopes to harness the favorable international attention garnered to date to continually ignite local interest, using international platforms as a springboard to its natural audience: Colombia.
Burning Blue, led by Diana Bustamante, Jorge Forero and Paola Pérez Nieto, is currently developing the feature films "Asilo" (Jaime Osorio Márquez), in co-production with Rhayuela Cine, "Desobsesión" (Jorge Navas), and the co-production "Niño Nadie" (Fernando Guzzoni), produced for Chile's Rampante Films.
Diana Bustamante produced Ciro Guerra's "Los Viajes del Viento" (included in the 2009 Cannes Festival's Certain Regard section) and Oscar Ruiz Navia's "El vuelco del cangrejo" (2009 Toronto Film Festival premiere and Fripresci Award at the 2010 Berlinale Festival and Forum). She also designed and managed Caracol Television's film department from 2008 to 2012, taking more than 20 Colombian feature films from the financing to final promotion stages. She recently became the artistic director of the Cartagena International Film Festival (Ficci), contributing to the success of the festival's 55th edition last March, and is currently working on the 2016 festival.
"La Tierra y la Sombra" - Nothing But Success
The process of creating and financing "La Tierra y la Sombra" allowed the film to mature with assistance from specialists, tutors, and evaluation committees at a number of national and international institutions and festivals, each of them helping to move the film towards its world premiere at the upcoming Cannes Festival.
During the project's development stage it won a development grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund in 2009 and was selected the following year to participate in the Pitch Workshop at Colombia's Cali Film Festival. The project also took part in the Ibero-American Films Crossing Borders event at the 2010 Havana Film Festival and the 2012 Ibero-American Co-Production Meeting at the Huelva Film Festival in Spain.
It was, however, in 2013 that the project became a reality, winning at the Cartagena International Film Festival's Co-Production Meeting, which made it possible to attend the Cannes Marché Du Film. The film went on to win a Casa de las Américas Film Project Development grant from the Carolina Foundation and a production grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund. Also in 2013, the Hubert Bals Fund awarded the project a development grant and the San Sebastian Film Festival selected it for the Co-Production Forum.
The final push came in 2014 when the project was invited to participate in Boost! at the Rotterdam Film Festival in Holland and received production grants from both the Ibermedia and Hubert Bals Funds. Shooting took place in late 2014 with post-production following in early 2015 and, finally, the film's submission, in the company of another 1,100 feature films, to the Cannes Festival.
- 4/27/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Screening as part of the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 44th New Directors/New Films (Nd/Nf) festival (March 18-29) in NYC is "Los Hongos," from Colombian director Oscar Ruiz Navia, his second feature which follows 2 young street artists as they explore the vibrant and exciting milieu of the director’s hometown of Cali. Every night after work, Roberto makes graffiti on different walls of his neighborhood on the east of Cali. One day he loses his job because he steals several cans of paint, using them to create a large mural on the lot next to his house. Without a dime to help his mother, he crosses the city looking for...
- 3/19/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Alexander Skarsgård and Kristen Wiig in Marielle Heller's The Diary Of A Teenage Girl
Stevan Riley's Listen To Me Marlon, Simone Rapisarda Casanova's The Creation Of Meaning (La Creazione Di Significato), Lukas Valenta Rinner's Parabellum, and Goodnight Mommy directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz are films to look out for.
Bas Devos (Violet); Stéphane Lafleur (Tu Dors Nicole); Shim Sung-bo (Haemoo); Kornél Mundruczó (White God); Britni West (Tired Moonlight); Darhad Erdenibulag (K); Naji Abu Nowar (Theeb); Bill Ross and Turner Ross (Western); Yohei Suzuki (Ow); Nadav Lapid (The Kindergarten Teacher); Benjamin Crotty (Fort Buchanan); Laura Citarella and Verónica Llinás (Dog Lady); Salomé Alexi (Line Of Credit); Chaitanya Tamhane (Court); Sarah Leonor (The Great Man); Charles Poekel (Christmas, Again); Oscar Ruiz Navia (Los Hongos) are filmmakers scheduled to participate in post-screening Q&As.
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 44th...
Stevan Riley's Listen To Me Marlon, Simone Rapisarda Casanova's The Creation Of Meaning (La Creazione Di Significato), Lukas Valenta Rinner's Parabellum, and Goodnight Mommy directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz are films to look out for.
Bas Devos (Violet); Stéphane Lafleur (Tu Dors Nicole); Shim Sung-bo (Haemoo); Kornél Mundruczó (White God); Britni West (Tired Moonlight); Darhad Erdenibulag (K); Naji Abu Nowar (Theeb); Bill Ross and Turner Ross (Western); Yohei Suzuki (Ow); Nadav Lapid (The Kindergarten Teacher); Benjamin Crotty (Fort Buchanan); Laura Citarella and Verónica Llinás (Dog Lady); Salomé Alexi (Line Of Credit); Chaitanya Tamhane (Court); Sarah Leonor (The Great Man); Charles Poekel (Christmas, Again); Oscar Ruiz Navia (Los Hongos) are filmmakers scheduled to participate in post-screening Q&As.
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 44th...
- 3/15/2015
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
It’s a thrill to see two out of three of the CineMart Awards are to filmmakers we are tracking: “Luxembourg” by Myroslav Slaboshptyskly from Ukraine and Cuba’s Claudia Calvino and Carlos Lechuga's “Santa y Delfin” won the inaugural Wouter Barendrecht Award. Best unpublished screenplay prize was awarded to the team this past December at Havana’s Festival de Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano. The Ukrainian-German production to be produced by Miff’s Business Square founder Anna Katchko, “Luxembourg”, was awarded the €7,000 Arte International Prize after winning the Sundance Aj+ sponsored Global Filmmaking Award of Us $10,000.
The project has a budget of €1.5 million and is half financed by the Ukrainean State Film Agency. It received a grant from Hubert Bals Fund earlier and will be at Berlin’s Efm Coproduction Market next week. This U.K.-German-French coproduction is being sold internationally by Ultra Violet who sold writer-director Myroslav Slaboshptyskly’s first film “The Tribe” to 35 territories. Myroslav and I spoke at Sundance and he gave me a link to his short “Nuclear Waste” which is a pilot for this film, shot in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and awarded the Silver Leopard of Tomorrow at the Locarno Film Festival and showed at many festivals.
CineMart 2015 awards were announced recently, marking the close of the 32nd edition of the co-production market. Dutch/French/Belgian production “Tonic Immobility” was awarded the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000, which is given to a project presented by a European producer.
CineMart selected 24 international projects to participate in the four day event which has been one of the most successful in recent years. A panel discussion to launch Iffr’s new VoD initiative, Tiger Release, was well attended with several filmmakers now in discussion with the Iffr team on releasing their new films via this platform. Multiple conferences and panels covering topics ranging from “Making the most of a film festival” to “The Director-Producer Partnership” were held in front of packed audiences who were invited to be involved in the debates and receive advice. The "Creative Europe Day" on Tuesday, January 27th which offered advice and guidance on creating beyond the boundaries of Europe proved one of the highlights of Iffr 2015.
On making the announcement Head of Industry & CineMart, Marit van den Elshout commented “The quality of our line-up this year is something the whole team is very proud of - so many standout projects with talented teams behind them, the award winners exemplify this. We hosted multiple extremely well attended panels and conversations, experienced great success with the launch of Tiger Release and the enthusiasm with which our Creative Europe day was received all adds up to one of the strongest CineMart’s in a long time. ”
This year’s Eurimages Co-Production Development Award winner, “Tonic Immobility” by Nathalie Teirlinck, (The Netherlands, France, Belgium), is a Bart van Langendonck, Xavier Rombaut, Savage Film production. It tells the story of Alice, an escort who abandons her baby son Robin. Unexpectedly, seven years later Alice is reunited with the boy and they must find a way to co-exist while Alice is confronted with the fact that true emotions can't be controlled and that intimacy can lead to vulnerability. On the Jury’s decision Dorien van de Pas commented “ The award is being given to a project from a multitalented first time feature director who will tell a very emotional, universal story. His short films demonstrate a strong visual style in combination with a great focus on sound. ”
The Arte International Prize winner “Luxembourg”, (Ukraine, Germany) by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, and produced by Anna Katchko with Tandem Production is a film noir with touches of a western. A great project by a very talented director, stunningly set up for a strong and cinematic story. On presenting the award Annamaria Lodato commented. “This year the Arte International Prize is awarded to a talented, daring and radical director. He is preparing a film that explores a world unknown to most of us: today’s Chernobyl. Far from being a ‘disaster film’, it is a story about living in the Chernobyl zone, a world with its own rules, an almost primitive community that the director knows from the inside. ”
The Wouter Barendrecht Award winner “Santa y Delfin” (Cuba), by Carlos Lechuga is produced by Claudia Calvino and Producciones de la 5ta Avenida. Cuba, homosexuality, censorship, working class and intellectuals, a young talented director and a real story - real potential for a hit project.
On presenting the award Managing Director of Fortissimo Films, Nelleke Driessen commented “The Wouter Barendrecht Foundation (Wbf) encourages the work of talented young filmmakers, we encourage daring films, films that oppose social conventions, with a large urgency. There were 8 films eligible for this award, but in the end only one can win and 'Santa y Delfin' stood out amongst all - if Wouter were here he would be thrilled with the choice. ”
CineMart Selected Projects
"A Shining Flaw" by Erwin Olaf
Eyeworks Film & TV Drama, Netherlands
"Cobain" by Nanouk Leopold
Circe Films/Waterland Film, Netherlands
"Vita & Virginia" by Sacha Polak
Mirror Productions/Viking Film, United Kingdom/Netherlands
"Tonic Immobility" by Nathalie Teirlinck
Savage Film/Ctm Pictures, Belgium/France/Netherlands
"The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea" by Syllas Tzoumerkas
Homemade Films/Prpl, Greece/Netherlands
"Angel" by Koen Mortier
Czar Film/Tobina Films/Anonymes Films, Belgium/Senegal/France
"Ceux qui travaillent" by Antoine Russbach
Box Productions, Switzerland
"Cunningham" by Alla Kovgan
Arsam International/Chance Operations, France/USA
"La Fille de l’Estuaire" by Gaëlle Denis
Life to Live Films, United Kingdom/France
"Holiday" by Isabella Eklöf
Dharmafilm/Beofilm, Denmark
"Luxembourg" by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy
Tandem Production/Garmata Film, Ukraine/Germany
"Bat, Butterfly, Moth" by Sergio Caballero
Corte y Confección de Películas/Am Films, Spain
"The Gray Beyond" by Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Jirafa Films/Wa Entertainment, Chile/Japan
"Only the Dead Have Seen the End of the War" by Khavn
Kamias Overground, Philippines
"Rojo" by Benjamin Naishtat
Pucará Cine, Argentina
"La Barracuda" by Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin
Small Drama/Hot Metal Films/Blue Suitcase Productions, USA
"Boyfriend" by Ashim Ahluwalia
Future East Film, India
"Gabriel and the Mountain" by Fellipe Barbosa
TvZero/Gamarosa Filmes, Brazil
"Los Delincuentes" by Rodrigo Moreno
Compañía Amateur/Rizoma, Argentina
"Santa y Delfín" by Carlos Lechuga
Producciones de la 5ta Avenida, Cuba
"Kodokushi" by Janus Victoria
Paperheart, Philippines/Malaysia/Japan
Art:Film projects "Cactus Flower" by Hala Elkoussy
Transit Films, Egypt
"Hurrah, Wir Leben Noch" by Agnieszka Polska
Kijora Anna Gawlita/Museum of Modern Art Poland, Poland/Germany
"Mr Sing Sing" by Phil Collins
Shady Lane Productions, Germany/USA
Audience Awards Winners
The awards, as voted for by the public audience attending the Festival, were announced this evening at the Iffr 2015 Closing Night Ceremony, hosted by Festival Director, Rutger Wolfson and Managing Director, Janneke Staarink. James Napier Robertson was awarded the Iffr Audience Award 2015 of €10,000 for his film "The Dark Horse." The award is Napier’s second of the Festival following the MovieZone Iffr Award which was presented on Friday, January 30th at the Iffr Awards Ceremony. The Hubert Bals Fund Dioraphte Award, also of €10,000, presented to the most popular film which received support from the Hubert Bals Fund (Hbf) went to Oscar Ruiz Navia for "Los Hongos," an autobiographical drama centering on the youth culture of Cali, Colombia.
Read More - Toronto Review: Cliff Curtis is a Fallen Champion Turned Mentor in "The Dark Horse"
On the announcement of the Iffr Audience Award 2015 Wolfson commented “The audiences who come from all over the Netherlands and around the world to participate in the Festival and explore our diverse, thought provoking programme are integral to Iffr. It would not be the special Festival it is without them so we would like to thank all who joined us in celebrating cinema this year and of course congratulations to James who created a wonderful, personal film.”
On the announcement of the Hubert Bals Fund Dioraphte Award, Manager of the Hubert Bals Fund, Iwana Chronis commented “I am thrilled with the reception the Hbf supported films received throughout the twelve days of the Festival. Oscar Ruiz Navia is a talented filmmaker with a long and successful career ahead of him, this recognition is fully deserved, we are so pleased to have been a part of helping getting this film to the big screen .”
A highly acclaimed drama, "The Dark Horse" tells the true and moving story of Genesis Potini, who fought for the future of disadvantaged children in New Zealand until his death in 2011. In spite of his own bipolar disorder, he taught them to play chess and fight for opportunities. "The Dark Horse" is both amusing and raw, and above all intensely moving. Born in New Zealand, director James Napier Robertson made a name for himself in the world of television before switching to cinema. He appeared as an actor in the series "The Tribe" and "Shortland Street." He directed his first feature film "I’m Not Harry Jenson" in 2009.
Directed by Oscar Ruiz Navia, "Los Hongos" is an autobiographically inspired drama based around two skater friends who are at the heart of the colorful, noisy street and youth culture of Cali, Colombia. With a warm heart, Ruiz tells the story of Ras and Calvin, who are looking for their own voice, a stage and of course freedom, love and fun. Born in Colombia, Oscar Ruiz Navia’s debut film "Crab Trap" won a Fipresci Award at the Berlinale in 2010. Prior to that he was focused on the development and production of independent cinema in Colombia and founded the production company Contravia Films having previously studied Social Communications and Journalism.
Top 5 Audience Award Iffr 2015
"The Dark Horse" "The Farewell Party" "Loin des Hommes" "La Vie de Jean-Marie" "Alice Cares" Top 5 Hbf Dioraphte Award 2015
"Los Hongos" "La Mujer de los Perros" (Dog Lady) "Nn" "Court" "The Tribe" The full list can be found on the Festival's website:
www.iffr.com/professionals/iffr-2015/iffr-audience-award-2015...
The project has a budget of €1.5 million and is half financed by the Ukrainean State Film Agency. It received a grant from Hubert Bals Fund earlier and will be at Berlin’s Efm Coproduction Market next week. This U.K.-German-French coproduction is being sold internationally by Ultra Violet who sold writer-director Myroslav Slaboshptyskly’s first film “The Tribe” to 35 territories. Myroslav and I spoke at Sundance and he gave me a link to his short “Nuclear Waste” which is a pilot for this film, shot in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and awarded the Silver Leopard of Tomorrow at the Locarno Film Festival and showed at many festivals.
CineMart 2015 awards were announced recently, marking the close of the 32nd edition of the co-production market. Dutch/French/Belgian production “Tonic Immobility” was awarded the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000, which is given to a project presented by a European producer.
CineMart selected 24 international projects to participate in the four day event which has been one of the most successful in recent years. A panel discussion to launch Iffr’s new VoD initiative, Tiger Release, was well attended with several filmmakers now in discussion with the Iffr team on releasing their new films via this platform. Multiple conferences and panels covering topics ranging from “Making the most of a film festival” to “The Director-Producer Partnership” were held in front of packed audiences who were invited to be involved in the debates and receive advice. The "Creative Europe Day" on Tuesday, January 27th which offered advice and guidance on creating beyond the boundaries of Europe proved one of the highlights of Iffr 2015.
On making the announcement Head of Industry & CineMart, Marit van den Elshout commented “The quality of our line-up this year is something the whole team is very proud of - so many standout projects with talented teams behind them, the award winners exemplify this. We hosted multiple extremely well attended panels and conversations, experienced great success with the launch of Tiger Release and the enthusiasm with which our Creative Europe day was received all adds up to one of the strongest CineMart’s in a long time. ”
This year’s Eurimages Co-Production Development Award winner, “Tonic Immobility” by Nathalie Teirlinck, (The Netherlands, France, Belgium), is a Bart van Langendonck, Xavier Rombaut, Savage Film production. It tells the story of Alice, an escort who abandons her baby son Robin. Unexpectedly, seven years later Alice is reunited with the boy and they must find a way to co-exist while Alice is confronted with the fact that true emotions can't be controlled and that intimacy can lead to vulnerability. On the Jury’s decision Dorien van de Pas commented “ The award is being given to a project from a multitalented first time feature director who will tell a very emotional, universal story. His short films demonstrate a strong visual style in combination with a great focus on sound. ”
The Arte International Prize winner “Luxembourg”, (Ukraine, Germany) by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, and produced by Anna Katchko with Tandem Production is a film noir with touches of a western. A great project by a very talented director, stunningly set up for a strong and cinematic story. On presenting the award Annamaria Lodato commented. “This year the Arte International Prize is awarded to a talented, daring and radical director. He is preparing a film that explores a world unknown to most of us: today’s Chernobyl. Far from being a ‘disaster film’, it is a story about living in the Chernobyl zone, a world with its own rules, an almost primitive community that the director knows from the inside. ”
The Wouter Barendrecht Award winner “Santa y Delfin” (Cuba), by Carlos Lechuga is produced by Claudia Calvino and Producciones de la 5ta Avenida. Cuba, homosexuality, censorship, working class and intellectuals, a young talented director and a real story - real potential for a hit project.
On presenting the award Managing Director of Fortissimo Films, Nelleke Driessen commented “The Wouter Barendrecht Foundation (Wbf) encourages the work of talented young filmmakers, we encourage daring films, films that oppose social conventions, with a large urgency. There were 8 films eligible for this award, but in the end only one can win and 'Santa y Delfin' stood out amongst all - if Wouter were here he would be thrilled with the choice. ”
CineMart Selected Projects
"A Shining Flaw" by Erwin Olaf
Eyeworks Film & TV Drama, Netherlands
"Cobain" by Nanouk Leopold
Circe Films/Waterland Film, Netherlands
"Vita & Virginia" by Sacha Polak
Mirror Productions/Viking Film, United Kingdom/Netherlands
"Tonic Immobility" by Nathalie Teirlinck
Savage Film/Ctm Pictures, Belgium/France/Netherlands
"The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea" by Syllas Tzoumerkas
Homemade Films/Prpl, Greece/Netherlands
"Angel" by Koen Mortier
Czar Film/Tobina Films/Anonymes Films, Belgium/Senegal/France
"Ceux qui travaillent" by Antoine Russbach
Box Productions, Switzerland
"Cunningham" by Alla Kovgan
Arsam International/Chance Operations, France/USA
"La Fille de l’Estuaire" by Gaëlle Denis
Life to Live Films, United Kingdom/France
"Holiday" by Isabella Eklöf
Dharmafilm/Beofilm, Denmark
"Luxembourg" by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy
Tandem Production/Garmata Film, Ukraine/Germany
"Bat, Butterfly, Moth" by Sergio Caballero
Corte y Confección de Películas/Am Films, Spain
"The Gray Beyond" by Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Jirafa Films/Wa Entertainment, Chile/Japan
"Only the Dead Have Seen the End of the War" by Khavn
Kamias Overground, Philippines
"Rojo" by Benjamin Naishtat
Pucará Cine, Argentina
"La Barracuda" by Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin
Small Drama/Hot Metal Films/Blue Suitcase Productions, USA
"Boyfriend" by Ashim Ahluwalia
Future East Film, India
"Gabriel and the Mountain" by Fellipe Barbosa
TvZero/Gamarosa Filmes, Brazil
"Los Delincuentes" by Rodrigo Moreno
Compañía Amateur/Rizoma, Argentina
"Santa y Delfín" by Carlos Lechuga
Producciones de la 5ta Avenida, Cuba
"Kodokushi" by Janus Victoria
Paperheart, Philippines/Malaysia/Japan
Art:Film projects "Cactus Flower" by Hala Elkoussy
Transit Films, Egypt
"Hurrah, Wir Leben Noch" by Agnieszka Polska
Kijora Anna Gawlita/Museum of Modern Art Poland, Poland/Germany
"Mr Sing Sing" by Phil Collins
Shady Lane Productions, Germany/USA
Audience Awards Winners
The awards, as voted for by the public audience attending the Festival, were announced this evening at the Iffr 2015 Closing Night Ceremony, hosted by Festival Director, Rutger Wolfson and Managing Director, Janneke Staarink. James Napier Robertson was awarded the Iffr Audience Award 2015 of €10,000 for his film "The Dark Horse." The award is Napier’s second of the Festival following the MovieZone Iffr Award which was presented on Friday, January 30th at the Iffr Awards Ceremony. The Hubert Bals Fund Dioraphte Award, also of €10,000, presented to the most popular film which received support from the Hubert Bals Fund (Hbf) went to Oscar Ruiz Navia for "Los Hongos," an autobiographical drama centering on the youth culture of Cali, Colombia.
Read More - Toronto Review: Cliff Curtis is a Fallen Champion Turned Mentor in "The Dark Horse"
On the announcement of the Iffr Audience Award 2015 Wolfson commented “The audiences who come from all over the Netherlands and around the world to participate in the Festival and explore our diverse, thought provoking programme are integral to Iffr. It would not be the special Festival it is without them so we would like to thank all who joined us in celebrating cinema this year and of course congratulations to James who created a wonderful, personal film.”
On the announcement of the Hubert Bals Fund Dioraphte Award, Manager of the Hubert Bals Fund, Iwana Chronis commented “I am thrilled with the reception the Hbf supported films received throughout the twelve days of the Festival. Oscar Ruiz Navia is a talented filmmaker with a long and successful career ahead of him, this recognition is fully deserved, we are so pleased to have been a part of helping getting this film to the big screen .”
A highly acclaimed drama, "The Dark Horse" tells the true and moving story of Genesis Potini, who fought for the future of disadvantaged children in New Zealand until his death in 2011. In spite of his own bipolar disorder, he taught them to play chess and fight for opportunities. "The Dark Horse" is both amusing and raw, and above all intensely moving. Born in New Zealand, director James Napier Robertson made a name for himself in the world of television before switching to cinema. He appeared as an actor in the series "The Tribe" and "Shortland Street." He directed his first feature film "I’m Not Harry Jenson" in 2009.
Directed by Oscar Ruiz Navia, "Los Hongos" is an autobiographically inspired drama based around two skater friends who are at the heart of the colorful, noisy street and youth culture of Cali, Colombia. With a warm heart, Ruiz tells the story of Ras and Calvin, who are looking for their own voice, a stage and of course freedom, love and fun. Born in Colombia, Oscar Ruiz Navia’s debut film "Crab Trap" won a Fipresci Award at the Berlinale in 2010. Prior to that he was focused on the development and production of independent cinema in Colombia and founded the production company Contravia Films having previously studied Social Communications and Journalism.
Top 5 Audience Award Iffr 2015
"The Dark Horse" "The Farewell Party" "Loin des Hommes" "La Vie de Jean-Marie" "Alice Cares" Top 5 Hbf Dioraphte Award 2015
"Los Hongos" "La Mujer de los Perros" (Dog Lady) "Nn" "Court" "The Tribe" The full list can be found on the Festival's website:
www.iffr.com/professionals/iffr-2015/iffr-audience-award-2015...
- 2/5/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Iffr also reveals other award winners including the audience prize.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) unveiled the three winners of the Hivos Tiger Award Competition at an awards ceremony hosted by outgoing festival director Rutger Wolfson.
The films, which each received a cash prize of €15,000 ($17,000), were La Obra Del Siglo by Carlos M. Quintela (Cuba), Vanishing Point by Jakrawal Nilthamrong (Thailand) and Videophilia (And Other Viral Syndromes) by Juan Daniel F. Molero (Peru).
The competition jury was comprised of writer, director and producer Rolf de Heer, producer Ichiyama Shozo, director Maja Miloš, art photographer and director of Spanish Film Archive Jose Maria Prado Garcia and actress Johanna ter Steege.
On making their decision, the jury said: “In dealing with both living and broken dreams, La Obra Del Siglo confronts themes both intimate and epic. With its wonderful performances, with its humour and poignancy and boldness of execution, the film resonates with history.
”Vanishing Point combines...
International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) unveiled the three winners of the Hivos Tiger Award Competition at an awards ceremony hosted by outgoing festival director Rutger Wolfson.
The films, which each received a cash prize of €15,000 ($17,000), were La Obra Del Siglo by Carlos M. Quintela (Cuba), Vanishing Point by Jakrawal Nilthamrong (Thailand) and Videophilia (And Other Viral Syndromes) by Juan Daniel F. Molero (Peru).
The competition jury was comprised of writer, director and producer Rolf de Heer, producer Ichiyama Shozo, director Maja Miloš, art photographer and director of Spanish Film Archive Jose Maria Prado Garcia and actress Johanna ter Steege.
On making their decision, the jury said: “In dealing with both living and broken dreams, La Obra Del Siglo confronts themes both intimate and epic. With its wonderful performances, with its humour and poignancy and boldness of execution, the film resonates with history.
”Vanishing Point combines...
- 2/2/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Iffr reveals Big Screen Awards nominees and the complete line-up for its Bright Future and Spectrum strands, including world premieres from the Us, China and the Netherlands.
Second Coming, starring Idris Elba and Nadine Marshall, has been named as one of 10 films up for the Big Screen Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) (Jan 21 - Feb 1).
The UK film, written and directed by Debbie Tucker Green, will be vying for a prize of €10,000 ($12,000) awarded specifically to support theatrical distribution of the film in The Netherlands
The 10 nominees are from Iffr’s Bright Future and Spectrum programmes with the winner chosen by a specially selected audience jury. Other titles include Lisandro Alonso’s Cannes Fipresci winner Jauja and Carlos Vermut’s San Sebastian winner Magical Girl.
The nominees are:
I Swear I’ll Leave This Town, Danial AragãoJauja, Lisandro AlonsoKey House Mirror, Michael NoerThe Lesson, Kristina Grozeva, Petar ValchanovMagical Girl, Carlos VermutA...
Second Coming, starring Idris Elba and Nadine Marshall, has been named as one of 10 films up for the Big Screen Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) (Jan 21 - Feb 1).
The UK film, written and directed by Debbie Tucker Green, will be vying for a prize of €10,000 ($12,000) awarded specifically to support theatrical distribution of the film in The Netherlands
The 10 nominees are from Iffr’s Bright Future and Spectrum programmes with the winner chosen by a specially selected audience jury. Other titles include Lisandro Alonso’s Cannes Fipresci winner Jauja and Carlos Vermut’s San Sebastian winner Magical Girl.
The nominees are:
I Swear I’ll Leave This Town, Danial AragãoJauja, Lisandro AlonsoKey House Mirror, Michael NoerThe Lesson, Kristina Grozeva, Petar ValchanovMagical Girl, Carlos VermutA...
- 1/7/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Los Hongos
Directed by Oscar Ruiz Navia
Written by Marietta von Hausswolff von Baumgarten
France | Germany | Argentina | Colombia, 2014
In Colombia’s urban jungle Santiago de Cali, whose barrios buzz with optimism for an upcoming election and a desire to express unity with the rest of the world, two friends from very different backgrounds are trying to get the message out the only way that they know how: through street art. Like a love letter to his hometown, Oscar Ruiz Navia’s second feature, Los Hongos, provides a snapshot of present-day Colombia, exploring issues of religion, love, art and class through the unclouded eyes of the young protagonists.
Ras (Jovan Alexis Marquinez) lives in a one-room apartment with his devout Christian single mother, losing his short-lived construction job for stealing paint. Calvin (Calvin Buenaventura Tascón), an art student, divides his time between his former singing sensation father and ailing grandmother. The...
Directed by Oscar Ruiz Navia
Written by Marietta von Hausswolff von Baumgarten
France | Germany | Argentina | Colombia, 2014
In Colombia’s urban jungle Santiago de Cali, whose barrios buzz with optimism for an upcoming election and a desire to express unity with the rest of the world, two friends from very different backgrounds are trying to get the message out the only way that they know how: through street art. Like a love letter to his hometown, Oscar Ruiz Navia’s second feature, Los Hongos, provides a snapshot of present-day Colombia, exploring issues of religion, love, art and class through the unclouded eyes of the young protagonists.
Ras (Jovan Alexis Marquinez) lives in a one-room apartment with his devout Christian single mother, losing his short-lived construction job for stealing paint. Calvin (Calvin Buenaventura Tascón), an art student, divides his time between his former singing sensation father and ailing grandmother. The...
- 10/28/2014
- by Misa Shikuma
- SoundOnSight
World premieres from Goupil, Li, De La Cruz, Yeo, Yoshida and more.Scroll down for Competition line-up
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) (Oct 23-31) has announced the rest of its line-up with a Competition selection that includes world premieres such as Romain Goupil’s French film The Days Come and Li Ruijun’s Chinese film River Road.
The other world premieres in Competition will be: Filipino maverick Khavn De La Cruz‘s Ruined Heart - Another Love Story Between A Criminal & A Whore; Malaysian producer of Cannes title Tiger Factory, Edmund Yeo’s feature directorial debut River Of Exploding Durians, and the previously announced single Japanese film in Competition, Pale Moon, directed by Daihachi Yoshida.
Claudio Noce’s Italian film Ice Forest will make an international premiere in Competition.
Tiff Programming director Yoshi Yatabe explained the selection was made on three criteria: “an unswerving focus on depicting humanity”, “diversity” and “auteurism”.
He said, “To sum up...
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) (Oct 23-31) has announced the rest of its line-up with a Competition selection that includes world premieres such as Romain Goupil’s French film The Days Come and Li Ruijun’s Chinese film River Road.
The other world premieres in Competition will be: Filipino maverick Khavn De La Cruz‘s Ruined Heart - Another Love Story Between A Criminal & A Whore; Malaysian producer of Cannes title Tiger Factory, Edmund Yeo’s feature directorial debut River Of Exploding Durians, and the previously announced single Japanese film in Competition, Pale Moon, directed by Daihachi Yoshida.
Claudio Noce’s Italian film Ice Forest will make an international premiere in Competition.
Tiff Programming director Yoshi Yatabe explained the selection was made on three criteria: “an unswerving focus on depicting humanity”, “diversity” and “auteurism”.
He said, “To sum up...
- 9/30/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Coverage of International Sales Agents (ISAs) has resumed for the Toronto International Film Festival. This segment covers inspirational companies that have officially selected films in the festival. SydneysBuzz features ISAs, as they play an instrumental and necessary role in helping filmmakers to share their visions and voices with the world.
FiGa Films is based in Los Angeles, California and focuses on sharing current Latin American cinema with the world. It has two world premiers at Tiff this year, including "Sand Dollars" and "Obra". It will also be the North American premier of FiGa's "Los Hongos".
More About FiGa's films at Tiff:
"Sand Dollars", by Laura Amelia Guzman
Every afternoon Noelí, a young Dominican girl, goes to the beaches at Las Terrenas. Along with her boyfriend, they look for ways to make a living at the expense of one of the hundreds of tourists that wander the beach.
As people parade through her life, Noelí has a steady client, Anne, a mature French woman who, as time goes by, has found an ideal refuge on the island to spend her last years.
Noelí’s boyfriend feigns to be her brother and outlines a plan in which Noelí travels to Paris with the old lady and sends him money every month.
For Noelí, the relationship with the old lady is one of convenience, but the feelings become more intense as the departure date closes in.
"Obra", by Gregorio Graziosi
In the heavily populated city of São Paulo, Brazil, a young architect discovers a clandestine cemetery walking through the worksite of his first important project, located in a lot belonging to his family. As terrible memories float back, he must struggle with his conscience and question his own heritage.
"Los Hongos", by Oscar Ruiz Navia
During the day Ras is a construction worker. At night after work he tags the walls of his neighborhood east of Cali. Ras can’t sleep and is constantly daydreaming. His mother, Maria, a sweet woman who migrated to the city from the jungle on the Pacific side of Colombia, worries that her son has been bewitched and will end up insane.
One day Ras is fired from his job for stealing several cans of paint, which he is using to create a huge mural on the lot next to his house. Without a dime to help his mother, he searches the city for his best friend Calvin, another young graffiti artist, who studies fine arts but is having difficulty since his parents’ divorce and his grandmother’s recurring cancer.
Like a couple of mushrooms, Ras and Calvin will sprout and wander aimlessly through the city on a journey of no return, infecting the world around them with immense freedom and hope.
See FiGa's catalogue here.
More about FiGa Films:
FiGa Films is an international sales agency, production, and distribution company established in 2006. Our initial focus was to acquire the best of the "new" Latin American cinema. It still is. We have since expanded to include works from North America, Europe, and Africa. Our library, now consisting of over 60 films, runs the gamut of styles and themes by established, as well as up-and-coming, filmmakers.
We treat every project, big or small, with the same passion and commitment as the filmmakers. We start early, from placing the film in the right festival, to its ultimate sale and release in major territories around the world. Whether it’s theatrical, TV, online, museums or universities, our goal is to make sure the largest audience possible gets to see these amazing films. We are proud of our reputation for launching careers and finding exciting and bold works of art to an appreciative audience.
FiGa Films is based in Los Angeles, California and focuses on sharing current Latin American cinema with the world. It has two world premiers at Tiff this year, including "Sand Dollars" and "Obra". It will also be the North American premier of FiGa's "Los Hongos".
More About FiGa's films at Tiff:
"Sand Dollars", by Laura Amelia Guzman
Every afternoon Noelí, a young Dominican girl, goes to the beaches at Las Terrenas. Along with her boyfriend, they look for ways to make a living at the expense of one of the hundreds of tourists that wander the beach.
As people parade through her life, Noelí has a steady client, Anne, a mature French woman who, as time goes by, has found an ideal refuge on the island to spend her last years.
Noelí’s boyfriend feigns to be her brother and outlines a plan in which Noelí travels to Paris with the old lady and sends him money every month.
For Noelí, the relationship with the old lady is one of convenience, but the feelings become more intense as the departure date closes in.
"Obra", by Gregorio Graziosi
In the heavily populated city of São Paulo, Brazil, a young architect discovers a clandestine cemetery walking through the worksite of his first important project, located in a lot belonging to his family. As terrible memories float back, he must struggle with his conscience and question his own heritage.
"Los Hongos", by Oscar Ruiz Navia
During the day Ras is a construction worker. At night after work he tags the walls of his neighborhood east of Cali. Ras can’t sleep and is constantly daydreaming. His mother, Maria, a sweet woman who migrated to the city from the jungle on the Pacific side of Colombia, worries that her son has been bewitched and will end up insane.
One day Ras is fired from his job for stealing several cans of paint, which he is using to create a huge mural on the lot next to his house. Without a dime to help his mother, he searches the city for his best friend Calvin, another young graffiti artist, who studies fine arts but is having difficulty since his parents’ divorce and his grandmother’s recurring cancer.
Like a couple of mushrooms, Ras and Calvin will sprout and wander aimlessly through the city on a journey of no return, infecting the world around them with immense freedom and hope.
See FiGa's catalogue here.
More about FiGa Films:
FiGa Films is an international sales agency, production, and distribution company established in 2006. Our initial focus was to acquire the best of the "new" Latin American cinema. It still is. We have since expanded to include works from North America, Europe, and Africa. Our library, now consisting of over 60 films, runs the gamut of styles and themes by established, as well as up-and-coming, filmmakers.
We treat every project, big or small, with the same passion and commitment as the filmmakers. We start early, from placing the film in the right festival, to its ultimate sale and release in major territories around the world. Whether it’s theatrical, TV, online, museums or universities, our goal is to make sure the largest audience possible gets to see these amazing films. We are proud of our reputation for launching careers and finding exciting and bold works of art to an appreciative audience.
- 9/9/2014
- by Erin Grover
- Sydney's Buzz
The lineups for the Mavericks, Discovery, and Tiff Kids parts of the Toronto Film Festival were announced, wrapping up a series of lineup announcements for the Toronto International Film Festival.
With the added films, the festival’s entire slate is now a whopping 393 movies. Two hundred eighty-five of those movies are feature films, of which 143 are world premieres.
The Mavericks portion of the festival includes onstage discussions following the screening of each film. Do I Sound Gay? will be followed by a talk between director David Thorpe and sex-advice guru Dan Savage. Also premiering in that space is The 50 Year Argument,...
With the added films, the festival’s entire slate is now a whopping 393 movies. Two hundred eighty-five of those movies are feature films, of which 143 are world premieres.
The Mavericks portion of the festival includes onstage discussions following the screening of each film. Do I Sound Gay? will be followed by a talk between director David Thorpe and sex-advice guru Dan Savage. Also premiering in that space is The 50 Year Argument,...
- 8/19/2014
- by Jacob Shamsian
- EW - Inside Movies
Bill Murray is coming to Toronto folks. Actually, the film he stars in (Theodore Melfi’s St. Vincent) is having its official World Premiere launch at the jaw-dropping 285 feature film 2014 Tiff line-up. In the final batch of items we finally get the confirmation that 2014′s Palme d’Or Winner Winter Sleep (which gets added along with a trio of others to the Masters Programme) will show, and Tomm Moore’s highly anticipated Song of the Sea (among the four item line-up for Tiff Kids) also lands. Worth mentioning are the sprinkling of add-ons to the various other sections (Marjane Satrapi’s Sundance preemed The Voices, Matt Shakman’s Cut Bank and the world preem of Danis Tanovic’s Tigers) with a Studio Ghibli docu item being fitted into the Tiff Docs, but it is the Discovery Programme that finally takes shape.
The “up-and-comers” include Berlin Film Fest (and future Nyff...
The “up-and-comers” include Berlin Film Fest (and future Nyff...
- 8/19/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Bill Murray starrer St. Vincent will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of this week’s wave of programming that includes Discovery.
The Discovery section includes the upcoming world premiere of Stories Of Our Lives, a portmanteau of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex testimonies by anonymous filmmakers from Kenya.
Selections include first-looks of Ross Katz’s Us comedy Adult Beginners, Sarah Leonor’s French Legion drama The Great Man, Isidora Marras’ Chile-Argentinian psychothriller I Am Not Lorena and UK drama X + Y.
“Christopher Nolan, Steve McQueen, Lynne Ramsay and David Gordon Green all presented their first features in our Discovery section,” said Tiff artistic director Cameron Bailey. “It’s a great place to spot new talent first.”
Besides St. Vincent, Festival Additions includes concert film cum road movie Roger Waters The Wall, while the world premiere of Krzysztof Zanussi’s Foreign Body takes its place among the Masters strand.
Tiff Docs arrivals...
The Discovery section includes the upcoming world premiere of Stories Of Our Lives, a portmanteau of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex testimonies by anonymous filmmakers from Kenya.
Selections include first-looks of Ross Katz’s Us comedy Adult Beginners, Sarah Leonor’s French Legion drama The Great Man, Isidora Marras’ Chile-Argentinian psychothriller I Am Not Lorena and UK drama X + Y.
“Christopher Nolan, Steve McQueen, Lynne Ramsay and David Gordon Green all presented their first features in our Discovery section,” said Tiff artistic director Cameron Bailey. “It’s a great place to spot new talent first.”
Besides St. Vincent, Festival Additions includes concert film cum road movie Roger Waters The Wall, while the world premiere of Krzysztof Zanussi’s Foreign Body takes its place among the Masters strand.
Tiff Docs arrivals...
- 8/19/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The results are in and the two heavy favorites, Lav Diaz and Pedro Costa, have both received major awards.
Concorso internazionale
Golden Leopard
From What is Before (Lav Diaz, Philippines)
Special Jury Prize
Listen Up Philip (Alex Ross Perry, USA)
Best Director
Pedro Costa for Horse Money (Portugal)
Best Actor
Artem Bystrov for The Fool (Yury Bykov, Russia)
Special Mention
Ventos de Agosto (Gabriel Mascaro, Brazil)
Concorso Cineasti del presente
Pardo d’oro Cineasti del presente – Premio Nescens
Navajazo (Ricardo Silva, Mexico)
Premio speciale della giuria Ciné+ Cineasti del presente
Los Hongos (Oscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia/France/Argentina/Germany)
Premio per il miglior regista emergente
The Creation of Meaning (Simone Rapisarda Casanova, Canada/Italy)
Special Mention
Un jeune poete (Damien Manivel, France)
Opera Prima
Pardo per la migliore opera prima
Songs From the North (Soon-mi Yoo, USA/South Korea/Portugal)
Special Mention
Parole De Kamizake (Sawada Masa, France)
Pardi di...
Concorso internazionale
Golden Leopard
From What is Before (Lav Diaz, Philippines)
Special Jury Prize
Listen Up Philip (Alex Ross Perry, USA)
Best Director
Pedro Costa for Horse Money (Portugal)
Best Actor
Artem Bystrov for The Fool (Yury Bykov, Russia)
Special Mention
Ventos de Agosto (Gabriel Mascaro, Brazil)
Concorso Cineasti del presente
Pardo d’oro Cineasti del presente – Premio Nescens
Navajazo (Ricardo Silva, Mexico)
Premio speciale della giuria Ciné+ Cineasti del presente
Los Hongos (Oscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia/France/Argentina/Germany)
Premio per il miglior regista emergente
The Creation of Meaning (Simone Rapisarda Casanova, Canada/Italy)
Special Mention
Un jeune poete (Damien Manivel, France)
Opera Prima
Pardo per la migliore opera prima
Songs From the North (Soon-mi Yoo, USA/South Korea/Portugal)
Special Mention
Parole De Kamizake (Sawada Masa, France)
Pardi di...
- 8/17/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Locarno’s Golden Leopard has been awarded to Filipino director Lav Diaz’s five-and-a-half-hour epic From What Is Before.Scroll down for full list of winners
The film, which has the Filipino title Mula sa kung ano ang noon, also picked up the Fipresci International Critics Prize, the Environment is Quality of Life Prize, and the International Federation of Film Societies’ (Iffs) Don Quixote Prize.
On learning that he had won Locarno’s top honour, Diaz said that he wanted to dedicate the award to his father.
“He brought me cinema, he’s a cinema addict, and he started this passion in me,” said Diaz.
“For the Filipino people, it’s for them, for their struggle, and then I would like to dedicate it to all serious filmmakers in the world, to Pedro Costa, he’s my brother and I love his work, to Matias Pineiro, and to the makers of all the other films in the...
The film, which has the Filipino title Mula sa kung ano ang noon, also picked up the Fipresci International Critics Prize, the Environment is Quality of Life Prize, and the International Federation of Film Societies’ (Iffs) Don Quixote Prize.
On learning that he had won Locarno’s top honour, Diaz said that he wanted to dedicate the award to his father.
“He brought me cinema, he’s a cinema addict, and he started this passion in me,” said Diaz.
“For the Filipino people, it’s for them, for their struggle, and then I would like to dedicate it to all serious filmmakers in the world, to Pedro Costa, he’s my brother and I love his work, to Matias Pineiro, and to the makers of all the other films in the...
- 8/16/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Fund is dedicated to supporting audience development strategies; Meanwhile, Beta Cinema has acquired Toronto title Labyrinth of Lies.
The TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) is launching a distribution fund dedicated to supporting audience development strategies to accompany the releases of four EU or non-eu co-productions in at least three territories
Speaking exclusively to Screen at this week’s Locarno Film Festival, Tfl’s Olga Lamontanara explained: “This initiative really completes the circle and the successful projects will be able to make use of the experiences of the alumni from our audience design course which have been working on the implementation of audience engagement strategies.”
A total of four grants, worth a maximum of €43,000 each, will be awarded in 2014/15 to feature film projects which have been previously selected and developed at one of the Tfl programmes since 2008.
“Those applying must be a producer or sales agent from a country participating in the Media sub-programme,” outlined Lamontanara...
The TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) is launching a distribution fund dedicated to supporting audience development strategies to accompany the releases of four EU or non-eu co-productions in at least three territories
Speaking exclusively to Screen at this week’s Locarno Film Festival, Tfl’s Olga Lamontanara explained: “This initiative really completes the circle and the successful projects will be able to make use of the experiences of the alumni from our audience design course which have been working on the implementation of audience engagement strategies.”
A total of four grants, worth a maximum of €43,000 each, will be awarded in 2014/15 to feature film projects which have been previously selected and developed at one of the Tfl programmes since 2008.
“Those applying must be a producer or sales agent from a country participating in the Media sub-programme,” outlined Lamontanara...
- 8/13/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
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