Exclusive: Amazon MGM Studios has signed an exclusive overall deal with Gary “Gaz” Alazraki’s Maquina Vega. Under the deal, Alazraki is set to produce, write and direct series for Amazon MGM Studios.
Alazraki is a Mexican director known for directing the movies Father of The Bride (2022; writer and director of Mexico’s record-breaking comedy Nosotros Los Nobles (2013); and co-creator, executive producer and director of Club De Cuervos (2015), Netflix’s first Spanish original series. He heads Maquina Vega and is a board member of Oceana.
Alazraki began his career by directing commercials and the short films: Volver (2005) starring Jaime Camil, Martha Higareda, Tony Dalton and La Hora Cero (2008) produced by Guillermo Arriaga.
In 2011, he began production on Nosotros Los Nobles starring Gonzalo Vega, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Karla Souza and Juan Pablo Gil which he directed/wrote/produced. The film was released by Warner Bros. in 2013 and it became the highest-grossing Mexican movie of all time.
Alazraki is a Mexican director known for directing the movies Father of The Bride (2022; writer and director of Mexico’s record-breaking comedy Nosotros Los Nobles (2013); and co-creator, executive producer and director of Club De Cuervos (2015), Netflix’s first Spanish original series. He heads Maquina Vega and is a board member of Oceana.
Alazraki began his career by directing commercials and the short films: Volver (2005) starring Jaime Camil, Martha Higareda, Tony Dalton and La Hora Cero (2008) produced by Guillermo Arriaga.
In 2011, he began production on Nosotros Los Nobles starring Gonzalo Vega, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Karla Souza and Juan Pablo Gil which he directed/wrote/produced. The film was released by Warner Bros. in 2013 and it became the highest-grossing Mexican movie of all time.
- 2/20/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Coming off 5 successful seasons of Mayans M.C., Emmy Award-nominee Jd Pardo has signed a first-look deal with FX Productions to develop new television programming for FX.
Pardo portrayed Ezekiel “Ez” Reyes on the hit Sons of Anarchy spinoff, created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, from 2018 to 2023. On-screen, Pardo’s Ez went from prospect to influential member of the M.C. to leader of it all by series end. Pardo also grew professionally and creatively, he began his journey as the show’s lead actor, later adding producer to his credits to making his directorial debut in the Season 5 episode titled, “I See The Black Light.”
Additionally, Pardo was also recently seen starring in Prime Video’s action-thriller series The Terminal List, alongside Chris Pratt. He will next be in Prime Video’s reimagining of the 1989 MGM film Road House, starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. Directed by Doug Liman, the...
Pardo portrayed Ezekiel “Ez” Reyes on the hit Sons of Anarchy spinoff, created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, from 2018 to 2023. On-screen, Pardo’s Ez went from prospect to influential member of the M.C. to leader of it all by series end. Pardo also grew professionally and creatively, he began his journey as the show’s lead actor, later adding producer to his credits to making his directorial debut in the Season 5 episode titled, “I See The Black Light.”
Additionally, Pardo was also recently seen starring in Prime Video’s action-thriller series The Terminal List, alongside Chris Pratt. He will next be in Prime Video’s reimagining of the 1989 MGM film Road House, starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. Directed by Doug Liman, the...
- 12/11/2023
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
The 49th edition of Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival, Spain’s largest confab for films from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, will honor Mexican star Cecilia Suárez with its City of Huelva Award.
With leading roles in Netflix’s “The House of Flowers” and HBO Latin America’s “Capadocia,” Suárez has also be seen in ABC’s drama “The Promised Land” and has worked on films by as Tommy Lee Jones (“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”), James L. Brooks (“Spanglish”), Ernesto Contreras (“Párpados azules”), Antonio Serrano and Fernando Colomo (“Cuidado con lo que deseas”).
The new edition of Huelva runs Nov. 10-18.
Andalusia’s oldest film festival, Huelva will also grant a Light Award to Spanish actress Natalia de Molina, a two-time Goya winner, delivering acclaimed performance in films such as David Trueba’s “Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed” and Juan Miguel del Castillo’s “Food and Shelter.”
Another...
With leading roles in Netflix’s “The House of Flowers” and HBO Latin America’s “Capadocia,” Suárez has also be seen in ABC’s drama “The Promised Land” and has worked on films by as Tommy Lee Jones (“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”), James L. Brooks (“Spanglish”), Ernesto Contreras (“Párpados azules”), Antonio Serrano and Fernando Colomo (“Cuidado con lo que deseas”).
The new edition of Huelva runs Nov. 10-18.
Andalusia’s oldest film festival, Huelva will also grant a Light Award to Spanish actress Natalia de Molina, a two-time Goya winner, delivering acclaimed performance in films such as David Trueba’s “Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed” and Juan Miguel del Castillo’s “Food and Shelter.”
Another...
- 11/10/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Mexico’s official entry to the Best International Feature Oscar race, Lila Aviles’ “Totem,” and Tatiana Huezo’s documentary “The Echo” (“El Eco”) snagged three prizes apiece at the Morelia International Film Festival (Ficm), which wrapped Sunday, Oct. 29.
The awards doled out Saturday capped a busy 21st edition that saw a constellation of luminaries in town, including Jodie Foster, Jessica Chastain, Peter Saarsgard, Viggo Mortensen, Danny Huston, James Ivory, Irène Jacob and producing partners Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.
Mexico’s multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who received the festival’s Premio Cuervo lifetime achievement award, served as a juror in the official selection which gave best Mexican feature and best director awards to “Totem,” described by Variety as an“intimate, emotionally rich” film. “Totem” also took home the Audience Award, a good indication of its box office potential.
The best screenplay award went to Elisa Miller and Daniela Gómez for their gripping drama,...
The awards doled out Saturday capped a busy 21st edition that saw a constellation of luminaries in town, including Jodie Foster, Jessica Chastain, Peter Saarsgard, Viggo Mortensen, Danny Huston, James Ivory, Irène Jacob and producing partners Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.
Mexico’s multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who received the festival’s Premio Cuervo lifetime achievement award, served as a juror in the official selection which gave best Mexican feature and best director awards to “Totem,” described by Variety as an“intimate, emotionally rich” film. “Totem” also took home the Audience Award, a good indication of its box office potential.
The best screenplay award went to Elisa Miller and Daniela Gómez for their gripping drama,...
- 10/30/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
In the debut feature of Mexican filmmaker-siblings Mariana and Santiago Arriaga, revenge is indeed a dish best served cold. Competing at the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti sidebar, the coming-of-age road movie “A Cielo Abierto” turns on two teen brothers who are bent on avenging the death of their father in a road accident. They are joined by their new stepsister who, unaware of their intentions at first, later becomes a willing accomplice. As they pause and deliberate on what to do with their prey, what follows helps the brothers come to terms with the deep pain of their loss.
Based on the first original screenplay by their Oscar-nominated father, Guillermo Arriaga, “A Cielo Abierto” (“Upon Open Sky”) takes place in the arid region of Northern Mexico, specifically in the Coahuila desert, where, as children, the siblings would go on many hunting trips with their father. “Much more than the films we’ve seen,...
Based on the first original screenplay by their Oscar-nominated father, Guillermo Arriaga, “A Cielo Abierto” (“Upon Open Sky”) takes place in the arid region of Northern Mexico, specifically in the Coahuila desert, where, as children, the siblings would go on many hunting trips with their father. “Much more than the films we’ve seen,...
- 9/2/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Mexican novelist, screenwriter and occasional director Guillermo Arriaga made his name in the film realm penning multi-threaded dramas about the ripple effects of tragic incidents. “Amores Perros” and “Babel” stand out among them. Now the scribe’s cinematic legacy turns into a family affair with his children Mariana and Santiago Arriaga making their feature directorial debut via a searing coming-of-age road trip movie their father wrote.
But don’t expect the breezy sexiness of something like Alfonso Cuarón’s “Y Tu Mamá También.” Despite featuring adolescent protagonists, this journey into maturity holds major emotional stakes but few flutters of careless abandon. As is common in Arriaga’s scripts, the tale finds its potency in the intricate moral grays of the human condition, here portrayed through a collection of strikingly incisive performances by the young cast.
Set in early 1990s Mexico, “Upon Open Sky” begins on an empty desert highway. Twelve-year-old...
But don’t expect the breezy sexiness of something like Alfonso Cuarón’s “Y Tu Mamá También.” Despite featuring adolescent protagonists, this journey into maturity holds major emotional stakes but few flutters of careless abandon. As is common in Arriaga’s scripts, the tale finds its potency in the intricate moral grays of the human condition, here portrayed through a collection of strikingly incisive performances by the young cast.
Set in early 1990s Mexico, “Upon Open Sky” begins on an empty desert highway. Twelve-year-old...
- 8/31/2023
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Variety Film + TV
“A Cielo Abierto,” the latest film from Oscar-nominated Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (“Babel”), is being brought onto Berlin’s European Film Market by Film Factory Entertainment.
Produced by Argentina’s K&s Films, whose credits include “Wild Tales,” “The Clan” and “The Summit” — the last by “Argentina, 1985” director Santiago Mitre — “A Cielo Abierto” is directed by Mariana Arriaga and Santiago Arriaga, Guillermo Arriaga’s daughter and son, making their feature film debut.
“A Cielo Abierto” turns on two teen brothers who take a road trip to the Mexico-u.S. border to track down the man responsible for the car accident that caused their father’s death.
Joined by their beautiful newly-met stepsister, their trip becomes a “tense revenge journey to adulthood,” the synopsis runs.
During the journey, the trio, from Mexico’s upper-middle class, will also encounter “violence, tenderness, a wild inclement landscape, instinct, animals and seriousness,” Guillermo Arriaga said.
“A...
Produced by Argentina’s K&s Films, whose credits include “Wild Tales,” “The Clan” and “The Summit” — the last by “Argentina, 1985” director Santiago Mitre — “A Cielo Abierto” is directed by Mariana Arriaga and Santiago Arriaga, Guillermo Arriaga’s daughter and son, making their feature film debut.
“A Cielo Abierto” turns on two teen brothers who take a road trip to the Mexico-u.S. border to track down the man responsible for the car accident that caused their father’s death.
Joined by their beautiful newly-met stepsister, their trip becomes a “tense revenge journey to adulthood,” the synopsis runs.
During the journey, the trio, from Mexico’s upper-middle class, will also encounter “violence, tenderness, a wild inclement landscape, instinct, animals and seriousness,” Guillermo Arriaga said.
“A...
- 2/18/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Robert Walak and Alisa Tager will be leaving their posts as Presidents of Film & Television at AC Studios, the independent film and TV production studio that sits inside Anonymous Content, when their contracts are up in a couple of months.
Walak and Tager are expected to continue producing projects for AC Studios through an arrangement whose terms are still being worked out.
There are no details yet about the duo’s replacement though I hear UCP veteran Garrett Kemble, who joined Anonymous Content as EVP of Development for AC Studios last summer, reuniting with former UCP President Dawn Olmstead who is now CEO of Anonymous Content, is poised for a bigger role in light of Walak and Tager’s pending exit.
“Alisa and Robert are brilliant producers,” said Anonymous Content Cco David Levine. “It has been a pleasure working with the two of them these past few years to...
Walak and Tager are expected to continue producing projects for AC Studios through an arrangement whose terms are still being worked out.
There are no details yet about the duo’s replacement though I hear UCP veteran Garrett Kemble, who joined Anonymous Content as EVP of Development for AC Studios last summer, reuniting with former UCP President Dawn Olmstead who is now CEO of Anonymous Content, is poised for a bigger role in light of Walak and Tager’s pending exit.
“Alisa and Robert are brilliant producers,” said Anonymous Content Cco David Levine. “It has been a pleasure working with the two of them these past few years to...
- 2/11/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Love him or loathe him, it's hard to remain neutral on the work of Mexican director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. He makes big (some might say bombastic) films that swagger with their authority and artistry. Iñárritu emerged at the beginning of the millennium with films that felt distinctly of the time. His "Trilogy of Death," all written by Guillermo Arriaga, were among the most prominent and successful examples of the emergent "hyperlink cinema." As people connected in ways that transcended geography through the Internet, so did unexpected connections emerge between seemingly disparate characters on-screen.
Since this initial run culminated in best picture and director nominations for "Babel," Iñárritu has begun greater involvement in his work by writing the screenplays as well. Results of the "full Iñárritu" vary depending on who you ask, but the numbers don't lie as to how the industry feels. He's won five Oscars over the past decade,...
Since this initial run culminated in best picture and director nominations for "Babel," Iñárritu has begun greater involvement in his work by writing the screenplays as well. Results of the "full Iñárritu" vary depending on who you ask, but the numbers don't lie as to how the industry feels. He's won five Oscars over the past decade,...
- 11/1/2022
- by Marshall Shaffer
- Slash Film
In a statement buy, Cinedigm has snapped up all North American rights to what it describes as “avant-gutter psychedelic freakout,” “All Jacked Up and Full of Worms” which is shaping up as one of the most memorable titles set for this year’s Fantasia Intl. Film Festival, which runs July 14 to Aug. 3 in Montreal.
Also billed by Cinedigm as a “transgressive splatter comedy,” the feature debut of Chicago writer-director Alex Phillips world premieres at Fantasia on July 16.
“All Jacked Up and Full of Worms” is then slated to stream exclusively this fall on Screambox, the genre SVOD service acquired by Cinedigm in Feb. 2021, followed by another exclusive window on Cinedigm indie platform, Fandor.
The deal was negotiated on behalf of Cinedigm by Brandon Hill, its manager of acquisitions, and by Phillips on behalf of the film. Paris-based Reel Suspects, one of Europe’s premier specialist genre sales agents, handles international...
Also billed by Cinedigm as a “transgressive splatter comedy,” the feature debut of Chicago writer-director Alex Phillips world premieres at Fantasia on July 16.
“All Jacked Up and Full of Worms” is then slated to stream exclusively this fall on Screambox, the genre SVOD service acquired by Cinedigm in Feb. 2021, followed by another exclusive window on Cinedigm indie platform, Fandor.
The deal was negotiated on behalf of Cinedigm by Brandon Hill, its manager of acquisitions, and by Phillips on behalf of the film. Paris-based Reel Suspects, one of Europe’s premier specialist genre sales agents, handles international...
- 7/11/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Chilean star writer José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela, creator, showrunner and executive producer of hit Netflix series “Who Killed Sara?” has formed a production company with L.A.-based Argentine producer Lucas Akoskin of Aliwen Entertainment.
The new bi-coastal production company, called Malule Entertainment, will be based out of Los Angeles and Miami, where Valenzuela resides. Both partners have lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.
Hinting at the type of films and TV series they’ll be producing, Valenzuela said: “I’m most interested in exploring the chance to collaborate with first-rate screenwriters and, at the same time, give emerging Latin American writers the opportunity to write hybrid stories that mix genres and formats.”
“Who said that a thriller cannot be written as if it were a melodrama? Why can’t a romantic comedy have, in addition to a powerful love story, a layer of suspense?” he pointed out.
The new bi-coastal production company, called Malule Entertainment, will be based out of Los Angeles and Miami, where Valenzuela resides. Both partners have lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.
Hinting at the type of films and TV series they’ll be producing, Valenzuela said: “I’m most interested in exploring the chance to collaborate with first-rate screenwriters and, at the same time, give emerging Latin American writers the opportunity to write hybrid stories that mix genres and formats.”
“Who said that a thriller cannot be written as if it were a melodrama? Why can’t a romantic comedy have, in addition to a powerful love story, a layer of suspense?” he pointed out.
- 11/4/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Other winners included P.S. Vinothraj’s ‘Pebbles’ and Martín de los Santos’s ’That Was Life’.
Russian director Philipp Yuryev was the big winner at this year’s Transilvania International Film Festival in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca, clinching the €10,000 Transilvania Trophy for his debut feature The Whaler Boy.
Distributed internationally by Laurent Danielou’s Paris-based Loco Films, the Russian-Polish-Belgian co-production also won the Director’s Award on its premiere at last year’s Venice Days.
It is the second Russian film in TIFF’s 20-year history to be presented with the top award: Ilya Krzhanovsky’s 4 shared the trophy with Juan Pablo Rebella...
Russian director Philipp Yuryev was the big winner at this year’s Transilvania International Film Festival in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca, clinching the €10,000 Transilvania Trophy for his debut feature The Whaler Boy.
Distributed internationally by Laurent Danielou’s Paris-based Loco Films, the Russian-Polish-Belgian co-production also won the Director’s Award on its premiere at last year’s Venice Days.
It is the second Russian film in TIFF’s 20-year history to be presented with the top award: Ilya Krzhanovsky’s 4 shared the trophy with Juan Pablo Rebella...
- 8/2/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Jury includes ‘Amores Perros’ screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga.
Transilvania International Film Festival has revealed the 12 films that will screen in its official competition and its international jury.
Each title competing for the Transilvania Trophy will receive its Romanian premiere at the 20th edition of the festival, which is set to take place in-person in the city of Cluj-Napoca.
They include What Do We See When We Look At The Sky?, by Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze, which played in competition at the Berlinale, and Lili Horvát’s Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time, which was Hungary’s Oscar submission.
Transilvania International Film Festival has revealed the 12 films that will screen in its official competition and its international jury.
Each title competing for the Transilvania Trophy will receive its Romanian premiere at the 20th edition of the festival, which is set to take place in-person in the city of Cluj-Napoca.
They include What Do We See When We Look At The Sky?, by Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze, which played in competition at the Berlinale, and Lili Horvát’s Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time, which was Hungary’s Oscar submission.
- 7/2/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
In our Q&a series Last Call, we get down to the bottom of every last thing with some of our favorite celebs - from the last time they were starstruck to the last song they listened to. This week, Alejandro Nones and Carolina Miranda take our call.
Who Killed Sara? is one of the biggest shows to hit Netflix this year, and the cast couldn't be more thrilled about its global success. "The moment we're having, the moment the show is having around the world, is something surreal, unexpected," Alejandro Nones told Popsugar. "It makes me feel very blessed, and I'm very happy about it." Carolina Miranda expressed similar sentiments, adding, "I love it. It's fabulous . . . It's great being here and to be a part of Who Killed Sara?."
Season two of the Mexican drama series left us with a major cliffhanger, so naturally, we're all wondering whether there will be a third.
Who Killed Sara? is one of the biggest shows to hit Netflix this year, and the cast couldn't be more thrilled about its global success. "The moment we're having, the moment the show is having around the world, is something surreal, unexpected," Alejandro Nones told Popsugar. "It makes me feel very blessed, and I'm very happy about it." Carolina Miranda expressed similar sentiments, adding, "I love it. It's fabulous . . . It's great being here and to be a part of Who Killed Sara?."
Season two of the Mexican drama series left us with a major cliffhanger, so naturally, we're all wondering whether there will be a third.
- 6/15/2021
- by Monica Sisavat
- Popsugar.com
Exclusive: Former Focus Features President Robert Walak and veteran producer Alisa Tager have joined the executive team at Anonymous Content as Presidents of AC Studios. In their new roles, the duo will oversee development and production on projects across film, television, documentaries, doc series and podcasts.
AC Studios is the premium independent film and TV production studio that sits inside Anonymous Content. Recent projects include the Peabody Award winning series Dickinson and the George Clooney-directed limited series Catch-22; as well as Paradise Lost and Home Before Dark, which just wrapped filming on its second season; Defending Jacob starring Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery; and the upcoming film Swan Song, with Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Awkwafina and Glenn Close.
We understand there are further significant projects to come, with both in- and out-of-house talent and with industry tastemakers Walak and Tager eager to get going in nimble fashion.
In their new posts,...
AC Studios is the premium independent film and TV production studio that sits inside Anonymous Content. Recent projects include the Peabody Award winning series Dickinson and the George Clooney-directed limited series Catch-22; as well as Paradise Lost and Home Before Dark, which just wrapped filming on its second season; Defending Jacob starring Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery; and the upcoming film Swan Song, with Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Awkwafina and Glenn Close.
We understand there are further significant projects to come, with both in- and out-of-house talent and with industry tastemakers Walak and Tager eager to get going in nimble fashion.
In their new posts,...
- 4/27/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Television (Spt) has tapped Oscar-nominated scribe Guillermo Arriaga to be the creative lead on “Yo No Soy Mendoza,” an Spt project Colombian writer-creator Fernando Gaitan was developing before he died unexpectedly in January 2019.
Gaitan was best known for his Colombian aspirational telenovela “Yo Soy Betty La Fea” (“Ugly Betty”), deemed by the Guinness World Records as the most successful telenovela in history.
“Ugly Betty” aired in some 180 countries, was dubbed into 15 languages, and adapted in up to 28 territories, including China, India, South Africa, and the U.S.
Gaitan had just signed a landmark content development deal with Sony Pictures Television, when he was felled by a heart attack at age 58. It was the first such agreement for the writer who had worked exclusively for Colombia’s Rcn for most of his 30-year career.
Arriaga commented, “Fernando Gaitán, my Colombian brother, called me before he passed away. He wanted...
Gaitan was best known for his Colombian aspirational telenovela “Yo Soy Betty La Fea” (“Ugly Betty”), deemed by the Guinness World Records as the most successful telenovela in history.
“Ugly Betty” aired in some 180 countries, was dubbed into 15 languages, and adapted in up to 28 territories, including China, India, South Africa, and the U.S.
Gaitan had just signed a landmark content development deal with Sony Pictures Television, when he was felled by a heart attack at age 58. It was the first such agreement for the writer who had worked exclusively for Colombia’s Rcn for most of his 30-year career.
Arriaga commented, “Fernando Gaitán, my Colombian brother, called me before he passed away. He wanted...
- 3/9/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been 20 years since Alejandro González Iñárritu made his feature film debut with “Amores Perros,” which launched the Mexico City Wfm radio disc jockey onto the global film stage. The movie was produced by Alejandro Soberón, who put up $2 million after reading the 300-page screenplay by rookie screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, which wove three Mexico City stories into a triptych united by a horrific car crash. The film debuted at Cannes, winning the Critics Week Grand Prize, and went on to score foreign-language nominations for the Golden Globes and Oscars and a BAFTA win.
For the October 28 opening of the 2020 Morelia International Film Festival, Oscar-winner Iñárritu (“Birdman”) joined his cast and crew on Zoom to reminisce about the creative event that changed their lives. Morelia debuted his short film “Journeys” in 1996 and went on to play most of the director’s movies, including the 2020 opening night title — a remastered version of “Amores Perros,...
For the October 28 opening of the 2020 Morelia International Film Festival, Oscar-winner Iñárritu (“Birdman”) joined his cast and crew on Zoom to reminisce about the creative event that changed their lives. Morelia debuted his short film “Journeys” in 1996 and went on to play most of the director’s movies, including the 2020 opening night title — a remastered version of “Amores Perros,...
- 10/29/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
It’s been 20 years since Alejandro González Iñárritu made his feature film debut with “Amores Perros,” which launched the Mexico City Wfm radio disc jockey onto the global film stage. The movie was produced by Alejandro Soberón, who put up $2 million after reading the 300-page screenplay by rookie screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, which wove three Mexico City stories into a triptych united by a horrific car crash. The film debuted at Cannes, winning the Critics Week Grand Prize, and went on to score foreign-language nominations for the Golden Globes and Oscars and a BAFTA win.
For the October 28 opening of the 2020 Morelia International Film Festival, Oscar-winner Iñárritu (“Birdman”) joined his cast and crew on Zoom to reminisce about the creative event that changed their lives. Morelia debuted his short film “Journeys” in 1996 and went on to play most of the director’s movies, including the 2020 opening night title — a remastered version of “Amores Perros,...
For the October 28 opening of the 2020 Morelia International Film Festival, Oscar-winner Iñárritu (“Birdman”) joined his cast and crew on Zoom to reminisce about the creative event that changed their lives. Morelia debuted his short film “Journeys” in 1996 and went on to play most of the director’s movies, including the 2020 opening night title — a remastered version of “Amores Perros,...
- 10/29/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Actor Gael García Bernal made a surprise appearance at “Amores Perros” reunion event on Wednesday and told the story on how he landed the role that would launch his film career. Timed to the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking directorial debut, Alejandro G. Iñárritu reunited with the cast and crew on a Zoom call Wednesday as part of the opening night of the Morelia Film Festival.
García Bernal, who at that time was studying acting in London at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, received a live on the air phone call from Iñárritu (who was a host at Mexican radio station Wfm), and told the young actor on live radio he was going to send him the script.
“I took the phone (call). I was studying in London back then and I heard, ‘Hi Gael, how are you, this is Wfm radio station. We are broadcasting from Mexico City,...
García Bernal, who at that time was studying acting in London at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, received a live on the air phone call from Iñárritu (who was a host at Mexican radio station Wfm), and told the young actor on live radio he was going to send him the script.
“I took the phone (call). I was studying in London back then and I heard, ‘Hi Gael, how are you, this is Wfm radio station. We are broadcasting from Mexico City,...
- 10/29/2020
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Oscar-winning filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu held a Zoom conference call on Wednesday to announce the restoration, renovation and remastering of his breakout hit “Amores Perros” to coincide with the film’s 20th anniversary.
The classic film premiered 20 years ago today (May 13) at Cannes Critics Week during the festival. With the cooperation of the Mexican government, Iñárritu is hoping to premiere the restored film in December in The Zocalo in Mexico City. Composer Gustavo Santaolalla will score the film live at the Zocalo premiere. Additionally, there will be a live concert with the bands from the film’s original soundtrack.
When asked if there are plans to exhibit the restored print domestically, Iñárritu told TheWrap, “We think when the film is ready, we will be successful in finding the theaters and spaces to show the restored print.”
Also Read: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Named Cannes Jury President
He continued, “I don’t...
The classic film premiered 20 years ago today (May 13) at Cannes Critics Week during the festival. With the cooperation of the Mexican government, Iñárritu is hoping to premiere the restored film in December in The Zocalo in Mexico City. Composer Gustavo Santaolalla will score the film live at the Zocalo premiere. Additionally, there will be a live concert with the bands from the film’s original soundtrack.
When asked if there are plans to exhibit the restored print domestically, Iñárritu told TheWrap, “We think when the film is ready, we will be successful in finding the theaters and spaces to show the restored print.”
Also Read: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Named Cannes Jury President
He continued, “I don’t...
- 5/14/2020
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Indefatigable art film activist José María Riba, a former head of Cannes Critics’ Week, driving force behind San Sebastian’s Films in Progress and co-founder of Espagnolas en Paris, died on May 2 from cancer, exacerbated by the effects of Covid-19. He was 68.
With his death, Spain and Latin America loses one of the founding fathers of an international Spanish-language arthouse sector which flowered from the turn of the century, an unflagging, perpetually smiling, convivial advisor to a new generation of Spanish-language talent which changed the face of Latin American and Spanish cinema and made of their films one of the best things that these territories had to offer.
Born in Barcelona, Riba relocated to Paris where he spent the rest of his professional life. The move was his making. Working as a journalist for Liberation and, from 1982 to 2017, France Press, Riba brought to the Spanish-language cinema a conviction – unquestioned in Paris,...
With his death, Spain and Latin America loses one of the founding fathers of an international Spanish-language arthouse sector which flowered from the turn of the century, an unflagging, perpetually smiling, convivial advisor to a new generation of Spanish-language talent which changed the face of Latin American and Spanish cinema and made of their films one of the best things that these territories had to offer.
Born in Barcelona, Riba relocated to Paris where he spent the rest of his professional life. The move was his making. Working as a journalist for Liberation and, from 1982 to 2017, France Press, Riba brought to the Spanish-language cinema a conviction – unquestioned in Paris,...
- 5/3/2020
- by John Hopewell and Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
In the decades since Danny Huston made his feature directing debut with “Mr. North,” his 1988 film adaptation of the Thornton Wilder novel “Theophilus North,” he has kept busy in front of the cameras as one of film and television’s most versatile and sophisticated character players. In just the past year, small-screen viewers have been treated to his essential work on “Yellowstone” and “Succession,” and big-screen aficionados have watched him move deftly from intimate Guillermo Arriaga’s “No One Left Behind” to the blockbuster hit “Angel Has Fallen.” Perhaps closest to his heart is the recently released film “The Last Photograph,” which he directed and stars in.
You have something from the film to show us.
Yes, it’s “The Last Photograph” of the title. It’s the center of the story because it represents something that means something significant to one person unlike its meaning for anyone else. We all have something like that,...
You have something from the film to show us.
Yes, it’s “The Last Photograph” of the title. It’s the center of the story because it represents something that means something significant to one person unlike its meaning for anyone else. We all have something like that,...
- 11/15/2019
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
The Cairo Film Festival, which is the grand dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs, looks set for a watershed edition, its second headed by producer Mohamed Hefzy whose reboot effort is coming into full swing.
Besides the Middle East launch of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which is Cairo’s opener, Hefzy and his team have secured roughly 25 international bows and several world premieres. They’ve lured top talents such as Oscar-winning U.S. writer/director Stephen Gaghan (“Syriana”) who is presiding over the main jury, as well as Terry Gilliam and Guillermo Arriaga.
Industry execs making the trek include Agc Studios topper Stuart Ford, AMC Networks’ VP of productions Kristin Jones, and Netflix director of international originals Ahmed Sharkawi, just as TV becomes an integral part of the fest’s market component.
Launched in 1976, amid the Egyptian film industry’s golden age, the Cairo fest soon soared...
Besides the Middle East launch of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which is Cairo’s opener, Hefzy and his team have secured roughly 25 international bows and several world premieres. They’ve lured top talents such as Oscar-winning U.S. writer/director Stephen Gaghan (“Syriana”) who is presiding over the main jury, as well as Terry Gilliam and Guillermo Arriaga.
Industry execs making the trek include Agc Studios topper Stuart Ford, AMC Networks’ VP of productions Kristin Jones, and Netflix director of international originals Ahmed Sharkawi, just as TV becomes an integral part of the fest’s market component.
Launched in 1976, amid the Egyptian film industry’s golden age, the Cairo fest soon soared...
- 11/14/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Martin EdenThe programme for the 2019 edition of the Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Olivier Assayas, Robert Guédiguian, Pietro Marcello, and many more.COMPETITIONThe Truth (Hirokazu Kore-eda): About a stormy reunion between a daughter and her actress mother, Catherine, against the backdrop of Catherine’s latest role in a sci-fi picture as a mother who never grows old.The Perfect Candidate (Haifaa Al-Mansour)About Endlessness (Roy Andersson): The film contains a mix of scenes that takes place in the past and present and we meet several historical people, including Prince Ivan the Terrible and Adolf Hitler.Wasp Network (Olivier Assayas): The story of five Cuban political prisoners who had been imprisoned by the United States since the late 1990s on charges of espionage and murder.Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach): A stage director and his actor wife struggle through a gruelling, coast-to-coast...
- 7/25/2019
- MUBI
The lineup has been unveiled for year’s edition of the Venice International Film Festival, taking place August 28 through September 7. Aside from films previously announced as coming to Tiff, some major new announcements include Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network, James Gray’s Ad Astra, Roy Andersson’s About Endlessness, Ciro Guerra’s Waiting for the Barbarians, David Michôd’s The King, Benedict Andrews’ Kristen Stewart-led biopic Seberg, and Roman Polanski’s J’accuse. Only two films by female directors made into the competition lineup: Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate and Shannon Murphy’s Babyteeth.
Check out the lineup below (hat tip to Mubi), which also includes other sections at the festival.
Competition
The Truth (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
The Perfect Candidate (Haifaa Al-Mansour)
About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)
Wasp Network (Olivier Assayas)
Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)
Guest of Honour (Atom Egoyan)
Ad Astra (James Gray)
A Herdade (Tiago Guedes)
Gloria Mundi (Robert Guédiguian...
Check out the lineup below (hat tip to Mubi), which also includes other sections at the festival.
Competition
The Truth (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
The Perfect Candidate (Haifaa Al-Mansour)
About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)
Wasp Network (Olivier Assayas)
Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)
Guest of Honour (Atom Egoyan)
Ad Astra (James Gray)
A Herdade (Tiago Guedes)
Gloria Mundi (Robert Guédiguian...
- 7/25/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Update: Much of the Venice Film Festival’s 2019 competition field, which was announced this morning in Rome, lines up as expected with Warner Bros/DC origns story Joker; Fox/Disney’s Brad Pitt space drama Ad Astra; Steven Soderbergh’s starry Netflix dark comedy, The Laundromat; and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story from Netflix making the cut to begin potential awards-season runs.
Kristen Stewart drama Seberg (formerly Against All Enemies) is also an official selection entry, though in something of a surprise is taking an out-of-competition slot. Other intriguing titles include Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate (she is one of just two female filmmakers in the competition); Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network, a thriller with Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez; and Pablo Larrain’s Ema.
Fest chief Alberto Barbera is already facing criticism from European Cinema groups over the inclusion of three Netflix titles. He’s also likely to stir...
Kristen Stewart drama Seberg (formerly Against All Enemies) is also an official selection entry, though in something of a surprise is taking an out-of-competition slot. Other intriguing titles include Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate (she is one of just two female filmmakers in the competition); Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network, a thriller with Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez; and Pablo Larrain’s Ema.
Fest chief Alberto Barbera is already facing criticism from European Cinema groups over the inclusion of three Netflix titles. He’s also likely to stir...
- 7/25/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
There are only two films by female directors in competition.
The line-up of the 76th Venice Film Festival (August 28 – September 7) has been announced.
Scroll down for the full line-up
This year features some high-profile projects including Todd Phillips’ Joker and James Gray’s Ad Astra, a lack of female directors in competition once again, and the controversial selection of Roman Polanski’s latest film.
Australian title Babyteeth, from first-time director Shannon Murphy, and Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate are the two films in the 21-strong competition from female filmmakers. Last year festival chief Alberto Barbera was heavily...
The line-up of the 76th Venice Film Festival (August 28 – September 7) has been announced.
Scroll down for the full line-up
This year features some high-profile projects including Todd Phillips’ Joker and James Gray’s Ad Astra, a lack of female directors in competition once again, and the controversial selection of Roman Polanski’s latest film.
Australian title Babyteeth, from first-time director Shannon Murphy, and Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate are the two films in the 21-strong competition from female filmmakers. Last year festival chief Alberto Barbera was heavily...
- 7/25/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
The Venice Film Festival has announced the selections for its 76th edition, which is set to take place from August 29 to September 7. The announcement marks the week’s second major film festival lineup to confirm titles following the Toronto International Film Festival. With both official selections for Venice and Tiff now revealed, the upcoming 2019-20 awards season is quickly taking shape.
As previously announced, Venice 2019 will open with the world premiere of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film “The Truth.” The family drama stars Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve, and Ethan Hawke. “The Truth” is Kore-eda’s first directorial effort since winning the Palme d’Or in 2018 with “Shoplifters.” This year’s festival will close with “The Burnt Orange Heresy,” the latest feature from Giuseppe Capotondi. The movie stars Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, and Mick Jagger.
Venice has already announced that Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel will serve as the president of this year’s competition jury.
As previously announced, Venice 2019 will open with the world premiere of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film “The Truth.” The family drama stars Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve, and Ethan Hawke. “The Truth” is Kore-eda’s first directorial effort since winning the Palme d’Or in 2018 with “Shoplifters.” This year’s festival will close with “The Burnt Orange Heresy,” the latest feature from Giuseppe Capotondi. The movie stars Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, and Mick Jagger.
Venice has already announced that Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel will serve as the president of this year’s competition jury.
- 7/25/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Iffr, the international film festival of Rotterdam has announced a number of exciting titles, including Soudade Kaadan’s ‘The Day I Lost My Shadow’, Brian Welsh’s ‘Beats’ and Simona Kostova’s ‘Dreissig’.
This year’s theme programs touch on espionage, memes, (un)finished films, new Afro-Brazilian cinema and the ‘reappraisal of hushed, quiet attention to film’.
Click here for a first overview of 2019’s program.
Bero Beyer , Dirextor of Iffr ( photo credit: Jan de Groen)
Iffr arts program is featuring a new artwork by Philippe Parreno, director and writer, known for Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait(2006), Le pont du trieur (2000) and Anywhen in a Timecolored place (2016) called No More Reality (1988–2018), a special installation screening of Jean-Luc Godard’s Le livre d’image and a thought-provoking presentation of never-before-seen outtakes from Sergei Parajanov’s classic film The Colour of Pomegranates. One of the 20th century’s greatest masters of cinema,...
This year’s theme programs touch on espionage, memes, (un)finished films, new Afro-Brazilian cinema and the ‘reappraisal of hushed, quiet attention to film’.
Click here for a first overview of 2019’s program.
Bero Beyer , Dirextor of Iffr ( photo credit: Jan de Groen)
Iffr arts program is featuring a new artwork by Philippe Parreno, director and writer, known for Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait(2006), Le pont du trieur (2000) and Anywhen in a Timecolored place (2016) called No More Reality (1988–2018), a special installation screening of Jean-Luc Godard’s Le livre d’image and a thought-provoking presentation of never-before-seen outtakes from Sergei Parajanov’s classic film The Colour of Pomegranates. One of the 20th century’s greatest masters of cinema,...
- 12/28/2018
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Nestled amidst a quiet, remote strip between Puerta Vallarta and Manzanillo on Jalisco, Mexico’s Pacific coast, Costa Careyes is a luxury resort paradise, lush with jungle and surf and bright, candy-colored casitas. Founded by Italian banker Gian Franco Brignone in 1968, Careyes has since become a coveted vacation spot for the elite traveler — Bill and Melinda Gates, Heidi Klum and Cindy Crawford have all been guests here — complete with a polo club, private villas and two oceanfront castles with moat-like infinity pools that blend in with the azure sky. With its bohemian flair and Mediterranean-esque architecture, the tropical hideaway is also home to ArteCareyes Film and Arts Festival, an annual gathering that celebrates film, photography, music and contemporary art from Latin America and around the world.
Entering its eighth year, the strictly invite-only event, running April 26-30, is not your typical film fest. Held in collaboration with the Careyes Foundation,...
Entering its eighth year, the strictly invite-only event, running April 26-30, is not your typical film fest. Held in collaboration with the Careyes Foundation,...
- 4/26/2018
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
Guillermo Del Toro is nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (with co-writer Vanessa Taylor) for the fantastical love story “The Shape of Water.” Should Del Toro win for his screenplay he would make history as only the fourth Latin American writer to win an Oscar.
Argentinian scribes Aida Bortnik and Luis Puenzo made history as the first Latin Americans to land a writing nomination when they contended for Best Original Screenplay for “The Official Story” (1985). It would take 17 years before there would be more Latin American nominees: Mexican siblings Alfonso Cuaron and Carlos Cuaron were up for Original Screenplay for “Y Tu Mama Tambien” (2002).
Del Toro received his first Oscar nom for Original Screenplay for “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), competing against fellow Mexican writer Guillermo Arriaga for “Babel.” But Del Toro’s friend and fellow countryman Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu would beat him to the punch when it came to winning.
Argentinian scribes Aida Bortnik and Luis Puenzo made history as the first Latin Americans to land a writing nomination when they contended for Best Original Screenplay for “The Official Story” (1985). It would take 17 years before there would be more Latin American nominees: Mexican siblings Alfonso Cuaron and Carlos Cuaron were up for Original Screenplay for “Y Tu Mama Tambien” (2002).
Del Toro received his first Oscar nom for Original Screenplay for “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), competing against fellow Mexican writer Guillermo Arriaga for “Babel.” But Del Toro’s friend and fellow countryman Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu would beat him to the punch when it came to winning.
- 2/1/2018
- by Amanda Spears
- Gold Derby
Will Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”) finally join his filmmaking friends Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu in the pantheon of Oscar winners this year? If our odds are to be believed, he’s a strong front-runner to snag Best Picture, Best Director, and maybe even Best Original Screenplay for his romantic fantasy about a mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) in love with a fish man. And just think, it was a little more than a decade ago, in 2007, that the Three Amigos of Cinema, as they like to be known, were competing alongside each other for their 2006 films “Babel” (Inarritu), “Children of Men” (Cuaron) and “Pan’s Labyrinth” (del Toro). Two of them were first-time Oscar nominees that year. Now, by March 4, they could all be Oscar winners.
“There was a moment [in 2006] where we all felt like a historical weight,” del Toro recalled in our recent video interview...
“There was a moment [in 2006] where we all felt like a historical weight,” del Toro recalled in our recent video interview...
- 1/30/2018
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
The film “Rotterdam, I Love You”, like the previous entries in the ‘Cities of Love’ series, will be a kaleidoscope of stories about love in all kinds of interpretations. Every single segment has its own perspective and its own personal style, woven into the rhythm of this unique city by 11 different directors.
The creative team consists of 11 directors, 20 to 30 wonderful actors in main roles, top producers and screenwriters. The 11 directors will range from Dutch up-and-coming talents to internationally acclaimed directors from all over the world, including Koen Mortier, Paula van der Oest (“Zeus and Zo”), Barry Atsma, Shariff Nasr (“Oblivion”) and Atom Egoyan (“The Sweet Hereafter”). The Cities of Love family of directors already includes people like The Coen Brothers, Brett Ratner, Wes Craven, Guillermo Arriaga, Alexander Payne, as well as Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and more.
“Rotterdam, I Love You” will show the real Rotterdam, in all its rough beauty,...
The creative team consists of 11 directors, 20 to 30 wonderful actors in main roles, top producers and screenwriters. The 11 directors will range from Dutch up-and-coming talents to internationally acclaimed directors from all over the world, including Koen Mortier, Paula van der Oest (“Zeus and Zo”), Barry Atsma, Shariff Nasr (“Oblivion”) and Atom Egoyan (“The Sweet Hereafter”). The Cities of Love family of directors already includes people like The Coen Brothers, Brett Ratner, Wes Craven, Guillermo Arriaga, Alexander Payne, as well as Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and more.
“Rotterdam, I Love You” will show the real Rotterdam, in all its rough beauty,...
- 5/16/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Serbian director Emir Kusturica, once a revered name on the arthouse European scene, is back in the helmer’s chair with On the Milky Road. His return to fiction feature filmmaking comes after a few years spent directing documentaries (Maradona by Kusturica), doing some acting and contributing to omnibus films (Words with God – with his short Our Life nominally serving as inspiration for this one, executive-produced by Guillermo Arriaga).
While his recent works have done little to sustain this, it’s still surprisingly difficult in the world of 2016 to readjust perceptions of Kusturica after his rapturous, wildly energetic early successes. And that constitutes further burden on his latest film – a highly self-indulgent, magical realist fairy tale of profoundly uneven quality.
Spanning fifteen years and harking back to the days of the civil war, On The Milky Road is the story of Kosta, a milkman who braves the path along the...
While his recent works have done little to sustain this, it’s still surprisingly difficult in the world of 2016 to readjust perceptions of Kusturica after his rapturous, wildly energetic early successes. And that constitutes further burden on his latest film – a highly self-indulgent, magical realist fairy tale of profoundly uneven quality.
Spanning fifteen years and harking back to the days of the civil war, On The Milky Road is the story of Kosta, a milkman who braves the path along the...
- 9/10/2016
- by Tommaso Tocci
- The Film Stage
This year’s festival will include an inaugural virtual reality strand and a co-production forum focused on UK-Ibero-American relations.Scroll down for line-up
The 24th Raindance Film Festival has revealed its line-up, with 90 feature films set to be screened in London September 21 – October 2.
This year’s jury will be comprised of Stephen Fry (V For Vendetta), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch), Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies), Jack Davenport (Pirates Of The Caribbean), Nicholas Pinnock (Top Boy) and American artist David Datuna.
They will preside over awards for a competition line-up that features the international premiere of Stephen Elliott’s After Adderall, a semi-autobiographical story about the production of the film adaptation of Elliott’s memoirs. Receiving its European premiere will be Japanese director Yoshiyuki Kishi’s A Double Life, about a young woman who is assigned to follow a stranger.
Among the seven UK premieres playing in competition are Indian drama [link=tt...
The 24th Raindance Film Festival has revealed its line-up, with 90 feature films set to be screened in London September 21 – October 2.
This year’s jury will be comprised of Stephen Fry (V For Vendetta), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch), Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies), Jack Davenport (Pirates Of The Caribbean), Nicholas Pinnock (Top Boy) and American artist David Datuna.
They will preside over awards for a competition line-up that features the international premiere of Stephen Elliott’s After Adderall, a semi-autobiographical story about the production of the film adaptation of Elliott’s memoirs. Receiving its European premiere will be Japanese director Yoshiyuki Kishi’s A Double Life, about a young woman who is assigned to follow a stranger.
Among the seven UK premieres playing in competition are Indian drama [link=tt...
- 8/25/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
In this raw and moving drama, a troubled middle-aged man, abused by the teenagers he pays handsomely to keep him company, falls for a street gangster with a chilling proposal
From Afar is the terrifically stylish work of first-time Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas: it won the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice film festival. The title hints at the movie’s emotional alienation but also a kind of rapture, a sense that the inspiration of love is nurtured by long-distance pining. It could also be inspired by Sergio Armstrong’s superbly controlled cinematography – particularly its enigmatic static shots and long shots that incidentally appear to show the influence of the film’s producer, Michel Franco. Vigas has co-written the movie with Guillermo Arriaga, the author of Babel, 21 Grams and Amores Perros, and their script perhaps has some of Arriaga’s weakness for twist-in-the-tail but without indulgence or tricksiness.
From Afar is the terrifically stylish work of first-time Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas: it won the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice film festival. The title hints at the movie’s emotional alienation but also a kind of rapture, a sense that the inspiration of love is nurtured by long-distance pining. It could also be inspired by Sergio Armstrong’s superbly controlled cinematography – particularly its enigmatic static shots and long shots that incidentally appear to show the influence of the film’s producer, Michel Franco. Vigas has co-written the movie with Guillermo Arriaga, the author of Babel, 21 Grams and Amores Perros, and their script perhaps has some of Arriaga’s weakness for twist-in-the-tail but without indulgence or tricksiness.
- 6/30/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
It's not always clear when Jennifer Lawrence is telling the truth. In fact, when she appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show Monday, Lawrence recalled once lying to a pool of reporters during her first-ever press junket for the 2008 movie The Burning Plain. At the time, director Guillermo Arriaga and co-star Charlize Theron joined the newbie actress at the event. "Kim Basinger wasn't there. We were doing an international press conference and somebody said, 'Where is Kim Basinger?' I just leaned in the microphone and was like, 'You didn't hear? Kim died.' There was like a beat while it got translated and then it was [mayhem]," she said. "I got ripped off the stage and thrown into media...
- 5/24/2016
- E! Online
Venice winners often seem overlooked, perhaps because the festival’s biggest titles are a) weeks away from hitting other festivals on other continents and / or b) expected to open within the next few months. From Afar was not one of last year’s bigger titles, despite taking home the Golden Lion — do I need to tell you that’s the top prize? does any film award, or really any prize, sound as victorious as “Golden Lion”? — and now the time’s come for it to leave some mark. In the United States, at least.
Lorenzo Vigas‘ film, co-written with former Iñárittu mainstay Guillermo Arriaga, will begin a U.S. run next month, courtesy of Strand. We were rather taken with From Afar, having said, “Powered by a sea of suppressed, unreciprocated feelings, From Afar beautifully describes the mechanisms of desire in what begins as an almost-love story that ends up something tragically different.
Lorenzo Vigas‘ film, co-written with former Iñárittu mainstay Guillermo Arriaga, will begin a U.S. run next month, courtesy of Strand. We were rather taken with From Afar, having said, “Powered by a sea of suppressed, unreciprocated feelings, From Afar beautifully describes the mechanisms of desire in what begins as an almost-love story that ends up something tragically different.
- 5/18/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The third and final film in the “Cities of Love” trilogy, following odes to Paris and New York City, Rio, I Love You collects ten short films about love in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from the likes of Fernando Meirelles, José Padilha, and Paolo Sorrentino. The ensuing mess links their snippets of narrative not by the theme of love, but by cheap poetry for the coffeehouse crowd — discussing love as one might discuss the weather — and inescapably colorful vistas. With relentlessly bright environment no doubt sanctioned by Rio’s tourism board and the film’s countless sponsors, the shorts all play like exceedingly surreal commercials, like Mentos ads on crack.
The shorts are also more literally linked together by sinewy montages of attractive people in Rio, smiling lightly like they’re advertising beer and sunlight. The shorts also share the unfortunately literal soundtrack, whose lyrics spell out any wispy themes...
The shorts are also more literally linked together by sinewy montages of attractive people in Rio, smiling lightly like they’re advertising beer and sunlight. The shorts also share the unfortunately literal soundtrack, whose lyrics spell out any wispy themes...
- 4/21/2016
- by Jacob Oller
- The Film Stage
Rio, I Love You is the third in the “Cities of Love” series begun with “Paris, Je T’Aime” (“Paris, I Love You”), which bring together famous directors and stars to create a series of little romantic stories around one city. The city getting the love-letter this time is Rio, home of the upcoming Olympics. However, despite its impressive list of directors, there is little to impress in “Rio, I Love You.”
Rio, I Love You boasts a more impressive line up of directors that the last one, “New York, I Love You,” but nonetheless continues the series decline in quality from the first one. Directors include Paolo Sorrentino (“Youth”), Fernando Meirelles (“City of God”), and Sang-Soo Im (“The Housemaid”), among others, but none of them shine in this mixed-up film. Rather than having the stories start and end clearly, as in the first two films, several stories make false...
Rio, I Love You boasts a more impressive line up of directors that the last one, “New York, I Love You,” but nonetheless continues the series decline in quality from the first one. Directors include Paolo Sorrentino (“Youth”), Fernando Meirelles (“City of God”), and Sang-Soo Im (“The Housemaid”), among others, but none of them shine in this mixed-up film. Rather than having the stories start and end clearly, as in the first two films, several stories make false...
- 4/15/2016
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – The 32nd edition of the Chicago Latino Film Festival Kicks Off on Friday, April 8, 2016, with the Mexican film “Illusions S.A.” (“Illusiones S.A.”). All films are at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago.
This year’s festival promises another huge array of films originating from Latino countries all over the world, and runs from April 8th through the 21st. The kick-off film “Illusions S.A.” will be followed by a reception at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Chicago. For details and to purchase tickets click here.
’Illusions S.A.’ is the Opening Night Film at the 32ndst Chicago Latino Film Festival
Photo credit: Chicago Latino Film Festival
The Opening Night Capsule and the highlights of Week One are as follows…
Opening Night: “Illusions S.A.”
Starring Jaime Camil (“Jane the Virgin”) and set in Campeche, México in the 1950s, “Illusions S.A.” centers around an agency that turns your deepest fantasies,...
This year’s festival promises another huge array of films originating from Latino countries all over the world, and runs from April 8th through the 21st. The kick-off film “Illusions S.A.” will be followed by a reception at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Chicago. For details and to purchase tickets click here.
’Illusions S.A.’ is the Opening Night Film at the 32ndst Chicago Latino Film Festival
Photo credit: Chicago Latino Film Festival
The Opening Night Capsule and the highlights of Week One are as follows…
Opening Night: “Illusions S.A.”
Starring Jaime Camil (“Jane the Virgin”) and set in Campeche, México in the 1950s, “Illusions S.A.” centers around an agency that turns your deepest fantasies,...
- 4/7/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
You probably know how these [City], I Love You films work: a collection of directors — and some very prestigious ones, at that — create short films that are set in and, perhaps in some way, defined by the area in question. This is a great idea that most would say has never exactly taken off, considering the tepid reception afforded Paris, je t’aime and New York, I Love You, as well as the absolute lack of attention paid to Tbilisi, I Love You. For better or for worse, there’s now Rio, I Love You, which collects the likes of Paolo Sorrentino, José Padilha, Fernando Meirelles, Guillermo Arriaga, and John Turturro to direct, among others, Harvey Keitel, Emily Mortimer, Vincent Cassel, Jason Isaacs, and Turturro himself.
The latest trailer — which arrives more than 18 months after an initial pair and the film’s premiere — is more promising, if only because it displays...
The latest trailer — which arrives more than 18 months after an initial pair and the film’s premiere — is more promising, if only because it displays...
- 3/1/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The concept is a good one: gather up some top shelf filmmakers and have them create an omnibus of shorts centered around a particular city. Previously we've seen "Paris, je t'Aime" and "New York, I Love You," and as it goes with the format, some segments are always better than others. Now the focus goes to Brazil for "Rio, I Love You," and the first trailer has arrived. Read More: Interview: Paolo Sorrentino Talks 'Youth,' The Happiest Moment Of Filmmaking, Michael Caine, Sun Kill Moon & More Filmmakers Guillermo Arriaga, Stephan Elliott, Im Sang-soo, Nadine Labaki, Fernando Meirelles, José Padilha, Carlos Saldanha, Paolo Sorrentino, John Turturro and Andrucha Waddington have each crafted shorts taking place in the lively city, and Emily Mortimer, Rodrigo Santoro, Harvey Keitel, Vincent Cassell, Jason Isaacs, Ryan Kwanten and Fernanda Montenegro appear in the...
- 3/1/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Kyas Sherriff (Head of the Indigenous Unit) Guillermo Arriaga, Sue Elphinstone (Indigenous Unit Project Officer). Photographer: Graeme Taylor.
Aftrs' new Black Talk series launched last week, with the highly entertaining Guillermo Arriaga (Babel, 21 Grams, Amores Perros) as guest.
Replacing Aftrs' Friday on My Mind program of Friday evening Q&A's, the series is hosted by the school's revamped Indigenous Unit, headed by Kyas Sherriff (formerly of Screen Australia's Indigenous Department).
Black Talk will be more irregular than Friday on My Mind, with a focus on "inspiring indigenous storytellers and filmmakers, and drawing them into the school", Sherriff tells If..
In addition "the series should be a place for industry to get a sense of what's going on in the black space".
Future sessions will be streamed, and Aftrs is looking at partnering with a major film festival to co-host the occasional talk.
Aside from the talks, the Indigenous Unit will...
Aftrs' new Black Talk series launched last week, with the highly entertaining Guillermo Arriaga (Babel, 21 Grams, Amores Perros) as guest.
Replacing Aftrs' Friday on My Mind program of Friday evening Q&A's, the series is hosted by the school's revamped Indigenous Unit, headed by Kyas Sherriff (formerly of Screen Australia's Indigenous Department).
Black Talk will be more irregular than Friday on My Mind, with a focus on "inspiring indigenous storytellers and filmmakers, and drawing them into the school", Sherriff tells If..
In addition "the series should be a place for industry to get a sense of what's going on in the black space".
Future sessions will be streamed, and Aftrs is looking at partnering with a major film festival to co-host the occasional talk.
Aside from the talks, the Indigenous Unit will...
- 2/25/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Kyas Sherriff (Head of the Indigenous Unit) Guillermo Arriaga, Sue Elphinstone (Indigenous Unit Project Officer). Photographer: Graeme Taylor.
Last week Aftrs relaunched its Indigenous Unit with the first instalment of its Black Talk series..
The Unit's new head, Kyas Sherriff, hosted a session with Mexican writer Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel), in town as a guest of Nitv.
Arriaga was in mischevious form, riffing for an hour on everything from his writing process, his fights with director Warwick Thornton, his creative divorce from Alejandro González Iñárritu, and the damage his "friend" Tarantino has had on cinema.
The screenwriter and novelist started the session off with a flourish, producing an aboriginal flag from his pocket and laying it in front of him, declaring "I want to show my love".
Arriaga was first brought to Australia by Sally Riley, who met Arriaga at the Sundance Labs the same year that Amores Perros bowed at the festival.
Last week Aftrs relaunched its Indigenous Unit with the first instalment of its Black Talk series..
The Unit's new head, Kyas Sherriff, hosted a session with Mexican writer Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel), in town as a guest of Nitv.
Arriaga was in mischevious form, riffing for an hour on everything from his writing process, his fights with director Warwick Thornton, his creative divorce from Alejandro González Iñárritu, and the damage his "friend" Tarantino has had on cinema.
The screenwriter and novelist started the session off with a flourish, producing an aboriginal flag from his pocket and laying it in front of him, declaring "I want to show my love".
Arriaga was first brought to Australia by Sally Riley, who met Arriaga at the Sundance Labs the same year that Amores Perros bowed at the festival.
- 2/22/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Aftrs has launched a revamped Indigenous Unit, headed by Kyas Sherriff.
The initial program for 2016 will include the Black Talk series (similar to Aftrs Friday on My Mind), talent labs and Industry events.
Across the Aftrs curriculum, there will be an increased academic focus on Indigenous representation on Australian screen.
The school is also proposing an industry symposium on cultural diversity both on screen and behind the scenes.
The Black Talk series aims to engage the wider screen industry in an understanding of contemporary Indigenous storytelling.
The first Black Talk, on February 17, featured Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer Guillermo Arriaga (writer of 21 Grams, Babel and Amores Perros)..
Arriaga, who is in Australia as a guest of Nitv, has a history of sharing his knowledge with Australian Indigenous filmmakers, including participating in a previous Screen Australia Workshop with published Indigenous novelists on the craft of writing for screen.
Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton,...
The initial program for 2016 will include the Black Talk series (similar to Aftrs Friday on My Mind), talent labs and Industry events.
Across the Aftrs curriculum, there will be an increased academic focus on Indigenous representation on Australian screen.
The school is also proposing an industry symposium on cultural diversity both on screen and behind the scenes.
The Black Talk series aims to engage the wider screen industry in an understanding of contemporary Indigenous storytelling.
The first Black Talk, on February 17, featured Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer Guillermo Arriaga (writer of 21 Grams, Babel and Amores Perros)..
Arriaga, who is in Australia as a guest of Nitv, has a history of sharing his knowledge with Australian Indigenous filmmakers, including participating in a previous Screen Australia Workshop with published Indigenous novelists on the craft of writing for screen.
Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton,...
- 2/22/2016
- by Inside Film Correspondent
- IF.com.au
Plus: Screen Media picks up Rio, I Love You; Lionsgate to adapt Magic Tree House children’s books; and more…
Bleecker Street will open Matt Ross’ recent Sundance world premiere starring Viggo Mortensen via theatrical roll-out on July 8. Lynette Howell, Jamie Patricof, Shivani Rawat, and Monica Levinson produced the story of an eccentric father to a clan of children in the Pacific Northwest.
Screen Media Films has acquired Us rights from WestEnd Films for the collaborative film Rio, I Love You, the third in the Cities Of Love trilogy featuring Paris Je t’Aime and New York I Love You. Rio, I Love You features ten short stories and their respective transitions of love in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Andrucha Waddington, Paolo Sorrentino, Fernando Meirelles, Stephan Elliott, John Turturro, Guillermo Arriaga, Sang-soo Im, Carlos Saldanha, Jose Padilha, Nadine Labaki, and Vicente Amorim direct a cast that includes Fernanda Montenegro, Emily Mortimer, and Vincent Cassel...
Bleecker Street will open Matt Ross’ recent Sundance world premiere starring Viggo Mortensen via theatrical roll-out on July 8. Lynette Howell, Jamie Patricof, Shivani Rawat, and Monica Levinson produced the story of an eccentric father to a clan of children in the Pacific Northwest.
Screen Media Films has acquired Us rights from WestEnd Films for the collaborative film Rio, I Love You, the third in the Cities Of Love trilogy featuring Paris Je t’Aime and New York I Love You. Rio, I Love You features ten short stories and their respective transitions of love in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Andrucha Waddington, Paolo Sorrentino, Fernando Meirelles, Stephan Elliott, John Turturro, Guillermo Arriaga, Sang-soo Im, Carlos Saldanha, Jose Padilha, Nadine Labaki, and Vicente Amorim direct a cast that includes Fernanda Montenegro, Emily Mortimer, and Vincent Cassel...
- 2/4/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
If there are ten million-plus stories in the naked city of New York, then writer/director Tim Blake Nelson focuses in on about practically a dozen personal ones in his slightly overcrowded fifth directorial effort. All these stories are connected by familial bonds — both secure and stressed — touch upon the flipside of economic strata, fated chance, and as the title suggests, the deadening ways we cope with the harsh realities of life and existence. And while Nelson’s monologue-prone interconnectedness is perhaps less contrived than the Guillermo Arriaga screenplays directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu in the early aughts on a foundational story level— some of these connections aren’t as haphazard and make a bit more sense in the milieu — “Anesthesia” is still an uneven effort that strains itself in communicating its overwrought themes. But as hackneyed as the movie can sound at times, “Anesthesia,” is generally never trite (save one.
- 1/6/2016
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Mumbai-based Jar Pictures is attending Film Bazaar with a busy, multiple-language slate, including Ajitpal Singh’s The Man Who Broke The Mountain, to be co-produced by Mexican writer-producer Guillermo Arriaga [pictured].
The Hindi-language drama, based on the true story of India’s “Mountain Man” Dashrath Manjhi, was selected for the Mumbai Mantra/Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2012.
Arriaga, who wrote Babel and produced Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar, was a mentor at the lab.
Jar’s Alan McAlex and his partner Ajay G. Rai are also producing the next film from Liar’s Dice director Geetu Mohandas, Malayalam-language Mulakoya, which will shoot next year in Lakshadweep Islands, Kerala and Mumbai. The project was selected for this year’s Drishyam/Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Following its success with Avinash Arun’s award-winning Killa, which opened in France last month, Jar is also producing Arun’s next Marathi-language film, Boomerang.
The company will also produce the next project from Crossing Bridges director...
The Hindi-language drama, based on the true story of India’s “Mountain Man” Dashrath Manjhi, was selected for the Mumbai Mantra/Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2012.
Arriaga, who wrote Babel and produced Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar, was a mentor at the lab.
Jar’s Alan McAlex and his partner Ajay G. Rai are also producing the next film from Liar’s Dice director Geetu Mohandas, Malayalam-language Mulakoya, which will shoot next year in Lakshadweep Islands, Kerala and Mumbai. The project was selected for this year’s Drishyam/Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Following its success with Avinash Arun’s award-winning Killa, which opened in France last month, Jar is also producing Arun’s next Marathi-language film, Boomerang.
The company will also produce the next project from Crossing Bridges director...
- 11/23/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Mumbai-based Jar Pictures is attending Film Bazaar with a busy, multiple-language slate, including Ajitpal Singh’s The Man Who Broke The Mountain, to be co-produced by Mexican writer-producer Guillermo Arriaga [pictured].
The Hindi-language drama, based on the true story of India’s “Mountain Man” Dashrath Manjhi, was selected for the Mumbai Mantra/Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2012. Arriaga, who wrote Babel and produced Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar, was a mentor at the lab.
Jar’s Alan McAlex and his partner Ajay G. Rai are also producing the next film from Liar’s Dice director Geetu Mohandas, Malayalam-language Mulakoya, which will shoot next year in Lakshadweep Islands, Kerala and Mumbai. The project was selected for this year’s Drishyam/Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Following its success with Avinash Arun’s award-winning Killa, which opened in France last month, Jar is also producing Arun’s next Marathi-language film, Boomerang. The company will also produce the next project from Crossing Bridges director...
The Hindi-language drama, based on the true story of India’s “Mountain Man” Dashrath Manjhi, was selected for the Mumbai Mantra/Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2012. Arriaga, who wrote Babel and produced Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar, was a mentor at the lab.
Jar’s Alan McAlex and his partner Ajay G. Rai are also producing the next film from Liar’s Dice director Geetu Mohandas, Malayalam-language Mulakoya, which will shoot next year in Lakshadweep Islands, Kerala and Mumbai. The project was selected for this year’s Drishyam/Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Following its success with Avinash Arun’s award-winning Killa, which opened in France last month, Jar is also producing Arun’s next Marathi-language film, Boomerang. The company will also produce the next project from Crossing Bridges director...
- 11/23/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
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