NY Latino Intl Film Festival 2011

Details

Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 11 August 2011 05:00

Written by Film FestivalTraveler Staff

The 12th annual New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) runs August 15 - 21, 2011 at the Clearview Cinemas Chelsea and AMC Empire 25 Theatres in Manhattan, New York City.   

NYILFF is the premiere Urban Latino film event in the country. The NYILFF’s mission is to showcase the works of the hottest emerging Latino filmmaking talent in the U.S. and Latin America, offer expansive images of the Latino experience, and celebrate the diversity and spirit of the Latino community.

This year the kickoff event is Cinema under the Stars, an outdoor screening of the film To Be Heard, directed by Roland Legiardi-Laura, Edwin Martinez, Deborah Shaffer and Amy Sultan. This film about Bronx teenagers and the impact of a radical poetry class has played successfully at several film festivals to date.

The Opening Night Film is Chico and Rita, directed by Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba and Tono Errando. This award winning animated story takes place in late 1940s Cuba, about a young piano player with big dreams who meets a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music by Cuban maestro Bebo Valdez.

The Closing Night Film is the 40th Anniversary screening of the classic Fania-All Stars concert film, Our Latin Thing / Nuestra Cosa, directed by Leon Gast with performances by Willie Colon, Ismael Miranda, Cheo Feliciano, Larry Harlow, Hector Lavoe, Bobby Valentin, Ray Barreto, among others. This fully restored documentary was filmed at the Cheetah Club in NYC, and captures the pulse of Spanish Harlem and the Salsa music.

A Special Presentation is "A Conversation with Andy Garcia," an interview with one of America's leading stars on his career and accomplishments as an actor, director, producer and musician.

Andy Garcia will receive the NYILFF Impact Award, which is bestowed on an artist who has impacted the community with his/her body of work.

Garcia will also be on hand for the screening of Magic City Memoirs, an award-winning film on which he was executive producer.

Magic City Memoirs, directed by Aaron J. Salgado, is the story of three Miami private high school friends who enjoy their life of privilege until one night they find themselves in trouble that could cost them their friendship, if not their lives. Starring Michael Cardelle, Andres Dominguez, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Natalie Martinez, Julio Mechoso, Nestor Serrano, JR Villarreal.

A special Sneak Preview is screening In Her Corner: Latino in America. CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien documents Marlen Esparza’s journey to the Olympics, which has finally allowed female boxing into the line-up for the first time in the 2012 games. The 21-year-old Esparza is a five-time national champion, weighs 112 pounds and hits so quickly and so hard that she has to spar with the guys. Smart enough to get full scholarships to top colleges, she postponed college to pursue the dream Marlen and her working class Mexican-American family have of her one day representing the U.S. in the Olympics.

This feast of cinematic riches includes such new films as:

Documentaries:

Captive Beauty
dir. Jared Goodman
 is a documentary about four female inmates in Medellín, Colombia’s all-female prison. Jailed for murder, kidnapping, revolution and con-artistry, these women are brought together by a beauty pageant inside the prison walls.

The Coca-Cola Case
dir. German Gutiérrez and Carmen Garcia
This documentary present a searing indictment of the Coca-Cola empire and its alleged involvement in the kidnapping, torture and murder of union leaders trying to improve working conditions in Colombia, Guatemala and Turkey. The filmmakers follow labor rights lawyers Daniel Kovalik and Terry Collingsworth, and Ray Rogers, director of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, as they attempt to hold the giant U.S. multinational beverage company accountable. More than a talking-head documentary, The Coca-Cola Case is a gripping legal and human rights thriller.

El Edificio de Los Chilenos / The Chilean Building
dir. Macarena Aguiló Marchi, Susana Foxley
At the end of the 1970’s, the exiled militants of MIR decided to return to Chile from Europe in order to support the fight against the Pinochet dictatorship. Many had children they were forced to leave behind. It was then that the idea of a community center to shelter these children was born. Project Home gathered 60 kids who were left in the care of people who assumed the responsibility of their upbringing.

Hole in the Head: A Life Revealed
dir. Brett Leonard
with Dennis Haysbert (narration)
"Vertus Hardiman hid a shocking secret under a wig and beanie for over 80 years. In 1927, at the age of five, he was experimented on by a county hospital in Indiana. A story of the resilience of the human spirit even in the face of unimaginable suffering."

Rubble Kings
dir. Shan Nicholson
"From 1968 to 1975, gangs ruled a New York City riven by race turmoil, white flight and economic deterioration. Neither law enforcement nor social agencies could end the escalating bloodshed and social chaos. Peace came only through the most unlikely chain of events that would change the nation for generations to come by giving birth to hip-hop culture. Rubble Kings, the most comprehensive documentation to date of life during this era of gang rule, tells the story of how a few extraordinary, forgotten people, did the impossible -- and how their actions impacted the world."

Narrative Features:

Salvando al Soldado Perez / Saving Private Perez
dir. Beto Gomez (Mexico)
With Marius Biegai, Jaime Camil, Alexander Minchenko, Jesus Ochoa, Rodrigo Oviedo, Miguel Rodarte, Isela Vega
A "comedy blockbuster from Mexico," the film tells of Julian Perez, the most feared "Boss of Bosses" of organized crime in all of Mexico. He must travel to Iraq to rescue his younger brother -- a soldier declared missing while fighting on the side of the Americans.

Aballay, El Homebre Sin Miedo / Aballay, the Man Without Fear
dir. Fernando Spiner (Argentina, Spain)
Aballay is a bloodthirsty killer. He abandons a young child to die in the desert and knows not what fate awaits him.

Postales Colombianas / Colombian Postcards
dir. Ricardo Coral Dorado (Peru)
"Three intellectual feminists, independent and well-heeled, meet up one night to bond over their shared experiences. When they find themselves approached by a trio of seemingly normal-looking gentleman, little do they know that these men will end up being their executioners."

Prometeo Deportado / Deporting Prometeo
dir. Oderay Game (Ecuador)
In the airport of some Western nation, a group of Ecuadorians are pulled out of line and arrested. One of them is Prometeo, a young man in possession of a trunk filled with magic -- which is fortuitous, since illusion may be their only way out.

Several excellent panels are being held, including:

From Book to Screen – If you've read a novel that you’ve been dreaming of adapting, have questions about how to navigate the literary rights world and/or want to learn about the challenges and opportunities involved in the adaptation process, this panel offers time-tested advice. Moderator: Richard Vetere; panelists:

• Sonia Fritz, writer/director of America, based on Esmeralda Santiago’s America’s Dream
• Daniel Salcedo, producer of Kid Pambele, based on the book El Oro y La Oscuridad about the Colombian boxer Kid Pambele
• Gloria LaMorte, screenwriter of Soledad, based on Angie Cruz’s novel of the same name.

Through Her Eyes: A Latina’s Perspective in Media – What does the future hold for Latinas in the media? With more Latina actresses taking on leading roles in prime time television, films, and magazine covers, the portrayal of Hispanic women has come a long way in the last decade. Dr. Clara Rodriguez of Fordham University will discuss the role of Latinas in the media and how it has changed throughout the years.
Moderated by Galina Espinoza, editorial director of Latina Magazine; panelists:

• Soledad O’Brien, anchor and special correspondent for CNN/U.S.
• Olga Segura, producer and star of White Knight
• Olga Merediz, In The Heights, Law & Order, Fugly
• Soldanela Rivera, producer and publicist

Webisodes!: Strategies for Success – With increasing accessibility to high-quality technology and distribution services like YouTube, creating, distributing and profiting from digital video content is easier than ever. Learn how to sponsor, produce, promote and distribute a web series directly from the creative visionaries on the forefront of the format, as they share the secrets of their success. Panelists include:

• Tina Cesa Ward, writer/director/producer of Anyone But Me
• Julia Grob, creator and star of East WillyB
• Al Thompson, executive producer and star of Baby Daddy Memoirs

Webisodes! is presented by NALIP-NY, the New York Chapter of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. NALIP-NY connects and supports industry professionals to develop and promote quality media projects to reach their fullest potential.

Maximation: VFX and Animation on a Budget – Who says you can’t afford to make a sci-fi movie? Who says you can’t have a car chase in your film? And what is stopping you from making an animation? Filmmakers and post production experts give tips and tricks on how to keep your wildest dreams within your budget. Panelists include:

• Terracino, director of Elliot Loves
• Will Robertson, founder of Tiny Elevator
• Richard Cunningham, director of Year Zero
• Heixan Robles, director of Dream of Vermilion

There are also several short film programs with films from all over the world.

For more information, go to nylatinofilm.com.

New York Int‛l Latino Film Festival
August 15 - 21, 2011

Clearview Cinemas Chelsea
260 W 23rd Street
New York City

AMC Empire 25 Theatres
234 W 42nd Street
New York City  

Cinema Under the Stars:
St. Nicholas Park
135th Street & St. Nicholas Avenue
New York City

DocuWeeks Doc Showcases: True Grit

Details

Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Wednesday, 10 August 2011 03:24

Written by Laura Blum

This year, more than ever, August is not a good time for shrinks to go on vacation. The world economy has tanked, Somalia is starving, Heaven help the Japanese, Norway must start locking its doors and now even stiff-upper-lipped England has descended into mayhem.

Into the abyss rushes the IDA-sponsored 15th Annual DocuWeeks Theatrical Documentary Showcase (August 12 to September 1, 2011) with its added testimonies of global ruin. Who will be in New York to take care of audiences as they learn about a military cover-up of water contamination, an assassinated Russian journalist and other tales of woe?

Luckily, not all is gloom and doom among the 24 films to strobe the IFC Center's (323 Avenue of the Americas) screens.

DocuWeeks’ organizers at the International Documentary Association (IDA) have made sure to include a few mood leaveners in the mix. There’s Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, for example, about the man behind the famous muppet. Dying To Do Letterman promises some laughs, though its saga of a stand-up comedian who faces a terminal illness must ultimately fall in the bittersweet bin.

Whether uppers or downers, the films will leave DocuWeeks fit to be considered for The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Oscar Awards.

The same lineup will run in Los Angeles August 19 – September 8, 2011, at the Laemmle Sunset 5.

Showcase curators have scoured such festivals as Berlin, Sundance, Tribeca, Hotdocs, Sheffield and Los Angeles for what IDA Executive Director Michael Lumpkin calls “some of today’s most talked about docs.”

Among the 17 feature films appearing in this year’s Showcase are:

• Better This World
• A Bitter Taste of Freedom
• The Boy Mir – Ten Years in Afghanistan
• The Carrier
• Darwin
• Hell and Back Again
• The Mexican Suitcase
• Miss Representation
• Phnom Penh Lullaby
• The Power of Two
• Semper Fi; Always Faithful
• S.O.S. / State of Security
• The Tiniest Place (El Lugar Mas Pequeno)
• To Be Heard

DocuWeeks will also show seven documentary short films:

• The Barber of Birmingham
• The Home Front
• Library of Dust
• Maya Deren’s Sink
• Poetry of Resilience
• Sand
• Sun City Picture House

Oscar winners from past DocuWeeks runs include:

• Smile Pinki (2008)
• Taxi To The Dark Side (2007)
• The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006)

In the nominated category, there’s Wasteland (2010), Sun Come Up (2010) Killing in the Name (2010), Rabbit à la Berlin (2009), among others.

For additional information visit: www.documentary.org/docuweeks2011

DocuWeeks Theatrical Documentary Showcases

New York
August 12 to September 1, 2011
IFC Center
323 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10014
www.ifccenter.com

Los Angeles
August 19 – September 8, 2011
Laemmle Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, 90046
310-478-3836
www.laemmle.com

Sixth African Diaspora Summer Film Series Opens

Details

Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 09 August 2011 05:00

Written by Vevlyn Wright

Daytime talk show host Hebba (Mona Zakki) does what any good Egyptian wife would do when her husband asks her to stop proselytizing on behalf of women: she obeys him.

Karim (Hassan El Raddad) wants the subversive activities to cease so that he can lock down a coveted promotion as an editor at a government-controlled newspaper. When Hebba resorts to what are supposed to be fluff pieces about women’s lives, the genie is let out of the bottle. Now real subversion is flourishing.

Yousry Nasrallah’s Scheherazade, Tell Me A Story opens the 6th Annual African Diaspora Summer Film Series tonight (through August 21) at The Riverside Theatre in Harlem, New York City.

The film, which unfolds in a story-within-a-story format, was a darling on the film festival circuit in 2009. At the Venice Film Festival, it won the Lina Mangiacapre Award. Scheherazade, Tell Me A Story resurfaces at a very interesting time in Egyptian history and politics.

The revolution of a few months ago gave rise to long-suppressed rage at government corruption and gross neglect. Ailing former president Hosni Mubarak is out of power and on trial for many and sundry crimes.

In his production notes, Nasrallah writes in part, "More than 70% of Egyptian households depend on women’s work. Rather than accept this reality, and accordingly accept women as equals, society is constantly pressuring women into showing more submission."

In the new Egypt that is being formed right before the world’s eyes, will men continue to treat women like chattel and serfs? Alas, at the moment it looks to be the case, but ultimately more time will tell. Until then, festival-goers should pay close attention to any cues in Scheherazade that may reveal what the future holds for women in Egyptian society.

Also dealing with a theme of oppression in an obliquely political way is Fire in Brooklyn, another of the eight features and documentaries in the summer film series, one of several mini-fests under the umbrella of the African Diaspora International Film Festival and co-presented by The Riverside Theatre.

Former members of the world renowned West Indies cricket team recount to director Stevan Riley their glory days as part of what is considered the best squad in the sport. But the film is really about an underdog excelling beyond what was thought unimaginable in a sport rooted in elitist, colonial values.

Initially dismissed as wild (read: savage), the cricketers, through remarkable displays of power, grace, finesse and speed would win grudging respect and admiration from their most vociferous detractors. Match commentary and reggae performances provide a backbeat to the story.

Music and musicians also figure in two other documentaries in the Summer Film Series. They will be shown as a double feature.

The Sons of Benkos of the title are the descendants of Benkos Bioho, a prominent black freedom fighter who died in the fight to emancipate enslaved Africans in early 17th-century Colombia. Director Silva Lucas acts as musical guide, revealing to the viewer the African culture of Colombia.

African culture in Peru informs Susana Baca: Memoria Viva from director Mark Dixon. His film is a tribute to Susana Esther Baca de la Colina, the legendary singer with the poetic, soulful voice. Her legacy will always include her efforts (through performance and education) to preserve the Afro-Peruvian heritage.

Rounding out the main category of films in the Summer Film Series are:

The Loves of a Zombie, Presidential Candidate director Arnold Antonin’s wry look at Haitian politicians and the country's people.

Stephen Lloyd Jackson takes a more serious tack in David is Dying, whose title character and London hedgefund manager has a difficult choice to make when he learns that he is HIV-positive.

In Nabil Elderkin’s Bouncing Cats, the choice of weapons to overcome poverty in Uganda is hip-hop and breakdancing.

Finally, craft is the topic of discussion in Directors on Directing. Among those who take questions from director Jamel Wade are Robert Townsend and Bill Duke.

Duke’s highly anticipated Dark Girls documentary will have its world premiere in October at the International Black Film Festival in Nashville, Tennessee.

Also on the schedule of the Summer Film Series are talkbacks, panel discussions and dance performances.

For more information, visit http://www.nyadff.org/Riverside_11.htm, http://www.nyadiff.org and www.theriversidetheatre.org

Vevlyn Wright is the publisher/senior writer of the online lifestyle newszine VEVLYN'S PEN (www.vevlynspen.com).