Ten days of movie magic came to its inevitable end, as the 23rd edition of the Miami International Film Festival had its final day of screenings yesterday. But this landmark year ended on a high note, with a mix of superb films that saved the best for last.
The 23rd edition of the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) reached its climax last evening, with the awarding of the Knight Grand Jury Prizes and other honors at the Festival’s Gala Awards Ceremony, held at the historic Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.
A seminar panel on Alternative Distribution and New Distribution Technologies held yesterday as part of the Reel Education Seminar Series, co-presented by the Miami International Film Festival, Miami Dade College and the University of Miami, was one of the most stimulating of the 20 individual seminars presented in the past week. The Series has featured a who’s who of industry experts who have shared the nuts and bolts of how the film industry really works.
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One of the unique features of the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) is its commitment to showcase the works of Spanish and Latin American filmmakers. Nearly two-thirds of the films presented this year hail from Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, with a special 6-film focus on new talents from Chile. Four years ago, the Festival decided to compliment its commitment by creating a parallel development and co-production market, entitled MIAMI ENCUENTROS (Miami Encounters), which gives emerging producers from Spain and Latin America the opportunity to present new projects to U.S. industry professionals.
When French Muslims living in the "banlieue" (suburbs) of major French cities took to the streets earlier this year in a spasm of violence and retribution, many Americans were perplexed. For us, the suburbs are leafy communities that developed at a distance to the simmering urban tensions of the inner city. While crime and other social ills have certainly come to the American suburbs, they are still looked upon as tranquil safe havens from the discontent of the disenfranchised in the cities.
The Miami International Film Festival attempts to understand the growing anger and frustration of Muslims in France (and by extension, in the rest of Europe) with a unique series of films. The films are being presented in The Big Picture, a parallel series to the Festival that looks at world issues including the death penalty and the human costs of war.
A packed house of film lovers saluted Wim Wenders at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts last evening, as the veteran German director received the 2006 MIFF Career Achievement Tribute. A surprise guest was last year’s honoree, Swedish actress/director Liv Ullman, who delivered a beautiful, poetic and endearing love poem to the director, honoring his 35 year career and his role as an advocate for European cinema.
The Directors Guild of America reports that less than 10% of its membership are women. In the history of the Academy Awards, only three women have ever been nominated for Best Director (Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola). While women head major studios and are prolific producers, there still is a “glass ceiling” regarding women directors. But at the Miami International Film Festival....it's a woman's world, and male journalists like myself just have to adjust.
The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) is turning its spotlight on new film talent from Chile, as the debut of a new initiative called MIFF ABROAD. With sponsorship by American Airlines, MIFF ABROAD will spotlight one Latin American country each year, first by presenting a group of films in Miami, and then bringing a delegation of film industry advisors to the host country for training and networking sessions. The new generation of Chilean filmmakers make for an inspiring choice to debut the program. Chilean films are suddenly exploding on the international film scene as the next “hot thing” from Latin America.
Didn’t have enough of the Oscars last night? Oscar fever continues all week in Miami with the screening of films that were in the running for the Best Foreign Language Film prize, as well as several titles that were chosen by their home countries to represent them in the Oscar race.
The toast of Miami's diverse political, social and cultural scene partied into the wee hours, as the Miami International Film Festival officially opened its 23rd edition with a gala reception last night, following the World Premiere screening of HEARTLIFT (Lifting De Corazon). The Argentine-Spanish co-production was screened to a sold-out audience at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, a Spanish-style movie palace originally built in the 1930s. At the screening were the film's director Eliseo Subiela, Spanish producer Luis Ángel Bellaba, Argentine producers Carlos Rizzutti and Oscar Azar, lead actor Pep Munne and his stunning co-star, Argentine newcomer Moro Anghileri.
The Miami International Film Festival, which opens its 23rd edition next Friday, March 3, will present eighteen films as Gala Premieres at the historic Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, a Spanish-style concert hall in downtown Miami. The Gusman Premieres include two films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, several titles that had their World Premieres at the Sundance Film Festival, and a host of extraordinary films from both established masters and emerging talents.
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The 23rd edition of the MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (MIFF) opens on Friday, March 3rd with its most exciting and most diverse program to date. The Festival will present a record 117 films (92 Features and 25 Shorts), which includes 10 World Premieres and 34 International, North American and US Premieres. As most of the United States shivers in a mid-winter freeze, Miami offers a tropical paradise for film lovers.
Heartlift ( Lifting the Corazón)
Argentina/Spain, 90 min., 35mm, Color, 2005
A successful plastic surgeon confronts a mid-life crisis and lives to tell the tale—just barely—in director Eliseo Subiela’s sexy, frothy meditation on the madness of love. Pep Munne and Moro Anghileri squeeze sparks out of the older man/younger woman romance, while Maria Barranco steals the show as a wife scorned. This film will be a world premiere in Miami.
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