Sex and Candy: Gomes’ Wise, Intricate Character Study
Arriving over two years after its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival, Brazilian director Marcelo Gomes’ sophomore effort Once Upon a Time, Veronica (receiving a slightly tweaked new title) finally arrives stateside. Picking up several notable awards back home and through its round on the festival circuit, with a little luck the film should position Gomes as one of the most promising new voices from Brazil, and place him in the ranks of Karim Ainouz (with whom he co-directed a film in 2009), and Kleber Mendonca Filho, whose 2012 title Neighboring Sounds seems to have eclipsed Gomes’ title and stole some of his thunder with its rapturous critical reception.
Veronica (Hermila Guedes) has just passed her exams and has retained a position as a psychiatrist in a Recife public hospital. However, dealing with people face to face is not what she had expected,...
Arriving over two years after its world premiere at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival, Brazilian director Marcelo Gomes’ sophomore effort Once Upon a Time, Veronica (receiving a slightly tweaked new title) finally arrives stateside. Picking up several notable awards back home and through its round on the festival circuit, with a little luck the film should position Gomes as one of the most promising new voices from Brazil, and place him in the ranks of Karim Ainouz (with whom he co-directed a film in 2009), and Kleber Mendonca Filho, whose 2012 title Neighboring Sounds seems to have eclipsed Gomes’ title and stole some of his thunder with its rapturous critical reception.
Veronica (Hermila Guedes) has just passed her exams and has retained a position as a psychiatrist in a Recife public hospital. However, dealing with people face to face is not what she had expected,...
- 11/27/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Weinstein Company’s The Imitation Game is the big kid on the block among this holiday weekend’s batch of newcomers. The title is following in the footsteps of past TWC heavyweights The King’s Speech and The Artist, both of which opened to solid box office numbers and eventually scored Oscars for Best Picture. The distributor is expecting good numbers for Imitation Game over the Thanksgiving frame. IFC Films’ horror pic The Babadook has some good buzz heading into the weekend, though it might show its biggest heft via VOD with its day-and-date rollout. Remote Area Medical is one of those films one hopes everyone will see. Timed perfectly for this time of the year’s focus on thanks and giving, the documentary shows the underbelly of America’s healthcare crisis by way of people who provide free medical services to needy people in pop-up clinics around the country.
- 11/26/2014
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline
From its opening frames depicting group sex on the beach, Brazilian writer-director Marcelo Gomes's Once Upon a Time Veronica announces itself as a sensual experience.
Indeed, the title's Veronica (Hermila Guedes), who has just passed her exams and begun a position as a psychiatrist in a Recife public hospital, muses in voice-over, "I vent everything through sex," just as she sticks her tongue into a stranger's mouth.
The interest of Gomes's film lies in the collision between these pressure-free hook-ups and the crushing malaise that soon plagues Veronica's life. Unable to commit to her most consistent suitor (João Miguel), and still living with her retired-banker father (W.J. Solha), Veronica finds her new job — which is more about prescribin...
Indeed, the title's Veronica (Hermila Guedes), who has just passed her exams and begun a position as a psychiatrist in a Recife public hospital, muses in voice-over, "I vent everything through sex," just as she sticks her tongue into a stranger's mouth.
The interest of Gomes's film lies in the collision between these pressure-free hook-ups and the crushing malaise that soon plagues Veronica's life. Unable to commit to her most consistent suitor (João Miguel), and still living with her retired-banker father (W.J. Solha), Veronica finds her new job — which is more about prescribin...
- 9/3/2014
- Village Voice
Neighboring Sounds, Brazil's Submission for the Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. U.S. : The Cinema Guild. International Sales Agent: FiGa Films
Sound is a noble entity. It disregards the immense efforts people carry out to create separation. Walls, doors, windows, and all other material boundaries set in place to protect privacy or dictate who or what is allowed to enter a certain space. They are however absolutely no match, and are bypassed by the sneaky intangible, but very present, waves of sound. Staying loyal to its self-explanatory title, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Neighboring Sounds is a sensorial exploration of the mundane. It pretends to be a story about the rational and circumstantial interactions of a group living in an affluent community in Recife, Brazil, yet, its underlying story about the consequences of the past is pristine and solidly delivered by the ensemble cast.
Intending to depict varied experiences within the same context, the filmmaker has carefully chosen an array of subjects from different walks of life which coexist in this exclusive realm of which they form a part. Enjoying the stability that old money provides, João (Gustavo Jahn) is the grandson of prominent millionaire Mr. Francisco (W.J. Solha) who claims ownership to several of the apartment complexes in the area. Unlike the arrogant patriarch, João shows a friendly and grateful demeanor towards those below him, including his maid Maria whom he treats like family. In the same prosperous manner, Bia (Maeve Jinkings) is a mother of two whose biggest banal concern is how to stop the neighbor’s dog from barking. For all its seeming insignificance, it becomes her sole purpose in life. Lastly, the other group in focus are the recently assimilated security guards for hire, spearheaded by Clodoaldo (Irandhir Santos) who have come to this tightly knit micro-society to protect the tenants from petty theft. Despite the seemingly unperturbed ambiance in which everyone lives, dark motives and vendettas are disguised by the noisy nights and hypocritical repentance.
Voyeuristic in its approach, the camera hides behind the divisive surfaces and observes meticulously all the trivial occurrences that compose this urban intersection of dramas. Piercingly moody, the sound design emphasizes the layers of suspenseful atmosphere and acquires esoteric qualities which direct the narrative away from the simple exposition of situations and into the territory of experimental artistry. The film additionally uses the organic inclusion of dream sequences which rather than disconnecting the viewer from the factual setting that this concrete urban ecosystem embodies, serve to grant a different understanding of the fears and remorse the characters hide internally.
Inside the walls of these opulent living spaces, there is an unspoken discrepancy between those with enough acquisitive power to pay servitude and those forced to be servants as only source of income. Classist as most societies in developing countries, grudges and revenge plots have been brewing for a very long time between those at both ends of the spectrum. In this cinematic creation by a superb new Brazilian voice, those callings for payback might finally receive justice. Whether or not Mr. Francisco can fully comprehend the antagonistic behavior Clodoaldo and his minions exhibit or the obscure, almost intrusive, way in which they became part of the neighborhood, the past will catch up with him sooner rather than later. On his own terms, João vividly experiences the residual guilt passed down through generations literally soaked in the blood of the family’s invisible victims. Clever and bold, everything that happens on the screen is there not precisely to advance the plot into a defined direction, but to create a nerve-racking tension based on how ordinary it all looks.
Genuinely interested in telling stories far from the commonplace favela-dwelling tragedies, Mendonça Filho creates a fascinating study of the Brazilian upper-middle class, embellishing it with an abstract mix of surrealist nightmares and the more than noticeable auditory palette, Neighboring Sounds, the visionary director’s first feature, is one of the most audacious debuts in a long time, and surely one of the most original works of the year. All the restless barking, pounding drums, and the loud vibrations from a sexualized washing machine, tend to, ironically, convey more visual commentary than straightforward imagery could ever do.
Read more about all the 76 Best Foreign Language Film Submission for the 2014 Academy Awards...
Sound is a noble entity. It disregards the immense efforts people carry out to create separation. Walls, doors, windows, and all other material boundaries set in place to protect privacy or dictate who or what is allowed to enter a certain space. They are however absolutely no match, and are bypassed by the sneaky intangible, but very present, waves of sound. Staying loyal to its self-explanatory title, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Neighboring Sounds is a sensorial exploration of the mundane. It pretends to be a story about the rational and circumstantial interactions of a group living in an affluent community in Recife, Brazil, yet, its underlying story about the consequences of the past is pristine and solidly delivered by the ensemble cast.
Intending to depict varied experiences within the same context, the filmmaker has carefully chosen an array of subjects from different walks of life which coexist in this exclusive realm of which they form a part. Enjoying the stability that old money provides, João (Gustavo Jahn) is the grandson of prominent millionaire Mr. Francisco (W.J. Solha) who claims ownership to several of the apartment complexes in the area. Unlike the arrogant patriarch, João shows a friendly and grateful demeanor towards those below him, including his maid Maria whom he treats like family. In the same prosperous manner, Bia (Maeve Jinkings) is a mother of two whose biggest banal concern is how to stop the neighbor’s dog from barking. For all its seeming insignificance, it becomes her sole purpose in life. Lastly, the other group in focus are the recently assimilated security guards for hire, spearheaded by Clodoaldo (Irandhir Santos) who have come to this tightly knit micro-society to protect the tenants from petty theft. Despite the seemingly unperturbed ambiance in which everyone lives, dark motives and vendettas are disguised by the noisy nights and hypocritical repentance.
Voyeuristic in its approach, the camera hides behind the divisive surfaces and observes meticulously all the trivial occurrences that compose this urban intersection of dramas. Piercingly moody, the sound design emphasizes the layers of suspenseful atmosphere and acquires esoteric qualities which direct the narrative away from the simple exposition of situations and into the territory of experimental artistry. The film additionally uses the organic inclusion of dream sequences which rather than disconnecting the viewer from the factual setting that this concrete urban ecosystem embodies, serve to grant a different understanding of the fears and remorse the characters hide internally.
Inside the walls of these opulent living spaces, there is an unspoken discrepancy between those with enough acquisitive power to pay servitude and those forced to be servants as only source of income. Classist as most societies in developing countries, grudges and revenge plots have been brewing for a very long time between those at both ends of the spectrum. In this cinematic creation by a superb new Brazilian voice, those callings for payback might finally receive justice. Whether or not Mr. Francisco can fully comprehend the antagonistic behavior Clodoaldo and his minions exhibit or the obscure, almost intrusive, way in which they became part of the neighborhood, the past will catch up with him sooner rather than later. On his own terms, João vividly experiences the residual guilt passed down through generations literally soaked in the blood of the family’s invisible victims. Clever and bold, everything that happens on the screen is there not precisely to advance the plot into a defined direction, but to create a nerve-racking tension based on how ordinary it all looks.
Genuinely interested in telling stories far from the commonplace favela-dwelling tragedies, Mendonça Filho creates a fascinating study of the Brazilian upper-middle class, embellishing it with an abstract mix of surrealist nightmares and the more than noticeable auditory palette, Neighboring Sounds, the visionary director’s first feature, is one of the most audacious debuts in a long time, and surely one of the most original works of the year. All the restless barking, pounding drums, and the loud vibrations from a sexualized washing machine, tend to, ironically, convey more visual commentary than straightforward imagery could ever do.
Read more about all the 76 Best Foreign Language Film Submission for the 2014 Academy Awards...
- 11/24/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
★★★★☆ Taking place behind the high walls and security gates of an affluent district in the Brazilian city of Recife, Neighbouring Sounds (O Som ao Redor, 2012) is a taut social drama brimming with urban anxiety. It's a fantastically assured debut from Kleber Mendonça Filho, who dexterously combines visual and aural manipulation to create a pervasive sense of dread. Eschewing the propulsion of traditional narrative, Filho instead opts for a sprawling mosaic that presents the lives of a dozen or so residents of a particular street, subtly taking the temperature of middle-class Brazil - a strata currently in a state of riotous flux.
Through its compulsive opening sequence, ties are grafted between today's society and an old-fashioned way of life emphasis placed on contrasting strata. Monochrome photography of the prosperous and the penniless from decades ago are partnered with a beautiful gliding tracking shot in the present day city. It's not just...
Through its compulsive opening sequence, ties are grafted between today's society and an old-fashioned way of life emphasis placed on contrasting strata. Monochrome photography of the prosperous and the penniless from decades ago are partnered with a beautiful gliding tracking shot in the present day city. It's not just...
- 6/24/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
People Talking Without Speaking: Mendonca Filho’s Ensemble a Pleasant Din
There’s something extremely engrossing about Kleber Mendonca Filho’s episodic feature debut, Neighboring Sounds, a film that uses the lives of a group of people from one neighborhood in Recife, Brazil as a microcosm reflecting class disparities, that, in turn, echo a greater societal rift about how and what they’re keeping themselves safe from. Certainly, there are a lot of stories to tell, and while Filho, also a critic and writer, has limited his intersecting slices, there still may be a touch too much going on, with time unwisely spent on tangents that could have been spent on his more visceral angles.
During a rash of car burglaries in an upscale neighborhood of Recife, we meet several of the citizens, all currently enmeshed in their own lives and annoyed more than afraid at the current state of...
There’s something extremely engrossing about Kleber Mendonca Filho’s episodic feature debut, Neighboring Sounds, a film that uses the lives of a group of people from one neighborhood in Recife, Brazil as a microcosm reflecting class disparities, that, in turn, echo a greater societal rift about how and what they’re keeping themselves safe from. Certainly, there are a lot of stories to tell, and while Filho, also a critic and writer, has limited his intersecting slices, there still may be a touch too much going on, with time unwisely spent on tangents that could have been spent on his more visceral angles.
During a rash of car burglaries in an upscale neighborhood of Recife, we meet several of the citizens, all currently enmeshed in their own lives and annoyed more than afraid at the current state of...
- 8/22/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
More from the Latino scene from our woman in L.A., free lance festival programmer extraordinaire, Christine Davila, from her blog Chicana from Chicago:
Looking at yesterday’s announcement of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival reveals a healthy Latino presence among the 62 features and 48 short films in the program. Here’s how I break down the Latino/ Ibero/ U.S. Latino component of the program.
Chile continues to give Argentina a run for its cache of exciting and growing cinematic output from South America with the inclusion of Thursday Til Sunday (Isa & Distributor: FiGa) written and directed by Dominga Sotomayor ♀, in Narrative Competition.
Although the traveling Mexican film festival Ambulante is no longer a program spotlight, Mexican films continue to be a mainstay of the festival. There are four feature-length films and three short films from/about Mexico. In Narrative Competition, The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man (Isa: Kafilms, Argentina) written and directed by Arturo Pons [about a young Mexican aiming for Chicago], and in Documentary Competition, Drought by Everado González (recently awarded Best Documentary at FICG27) . Out of competition is the gorgeously shot documentary, Canícula, and although the funding is mainly stateside, Bernardo Ruiz paints a fascinating portrait of the risky journalistic practice and history of the seminal Tijuana weekly, Zeta in Reportero.
Also of note in the program is that four short films list Cuba as a co-production/origin of country.
But what of the U.S. Latino filmmakers and stories? Last year Los Angeles Film Festival was a great launchpad for Mamitas (Distributor: ScreenMedia, Producer rep: Traction Media), an authentic Chicano portrayal of young love set in Echo Parque written and directed by Nicolas Ozeki (a non-Latino), co-starring fast rising hot talents Veronica Diaz-Carranzo (Blaze You Out) and E.J. Bonilla. The film is currently in theaters now. (Big recommend,theater listings here-go support it!)
The closest we have to representing U.S. Latino in the features section is Four, the feature debut of Joshua Sanchez who hails from Houston, Texas. Based on a Christopher Shinn play, the July 4th-eve-set story is a snapshot of two disparate relationships tensely intertwined and their at-odd dynamics of desire. Coincidentally, E.J. Bonilla also stars (this guy is blowing up!). I would also include as U.S. Latino, Searching for Sugar Man, the documentary by Malik Bendjelloul about singer songwriter Sixto Rodriguez’s fascinating rise and fall into obscurity as a Uj.S. Latino story. As a matter of fact, the film seems to suggest that perhaps Sixto’s Mexican-American identity might have been a reason he was not embraced by the 60s and 70s mainstream. [Per Sydney: The film was snatched up at Sundance by Sony Pictures Classics and by Isa Protagonist who is screening it twice in Cannes.]
As for U.S. Latino shorts, Fireworks written and directed by Victor Hugo Duran, which is also incidentally centered around 4th of July, is an L.A. set story about boys trying to rap on girls.
My favorite Miami based hooligans, Jillian Mayer and Lucas Leyva, keep representing with their fresh and experimental short film, Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke. They are part of a collective of go-there filmmakers, Borscht Corp who had four crazy shorts screen at SXSW (and they were a riot to bootie shake dance with at SXSW Film’s Closing Night Party). You must carve out an hour and look at their work on the site (Nsfw!)
And lastly, in front of camera there’s some America Ferrera in Todd Berger’s It’s a Disaster (Isa: Maya), and rising boriqua actress April Hernandez Castillo, of hit webseries East Willy B, Dexter and other TV, is in The History of Future Folk [Per Sydney: one of 7 horror films in the festival, another being It's A Disaster per Dread Central, so take note Latino distributors like Lionsgate because horror films are a favorite of a certain Latino demographic!] by J. Anderson Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker, described as a “sweet sci-fi musical comedy”. Below is the rest of the Latino and Ibero-American (includes Spain and Portugal). Descriptions provided by L.A. Film Festival, and bold cap commentary by me.
Narrative Competition:
o All Is Well – Portugal (Director Pocas Pascoal ♀, Producer Luis Correia Cast Cheila Lima, Ciomara Morais) – Strangers in a strange land, two beautiful Angolan sisters fleeing a civil war in their homeland struggle to survive in Lisbon. Pocas Pascoal’s deeply personal saga shows us the face of exile with quietly stunning power. North American Premiere
o The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man – Mexico (Director/Writer Arturo Pons Producer Ozcar Ramírez González Cast Gael Sanchez Valle, Pedro Gamez, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Eligio Melendez, Luis Bayardo, Marco Perez) – A young man and a dead man journey north through a subtly surreal desert landscape, picking up a wagonful of odd characters as they go in this darkly humorous satire of contemporary Mexico. North American Premiere
o Four – (Director/Writer Joshua Sanchez Producer Christine Giorgio Cast Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, Aja Naomi King, E.J. Bonilla) – Over the course of a steamy 4th of July night, a father and daughter, each trapped in loneliness, reach out for sexual connection — he with a self-hating teenage boy, she with a smooth-talking wannabe homeboy — in this psychologically complex, beautifully acted drama. World Premiere
o Thursday till Sunday – Chile (Director/Writer Dominga Sotomayor ♀ Producers Gregorio González, Benjamin Domenech Cast Santi Ahumada, Emiliano Freifeld, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, Paola Giannini) – With uncommon beauty and style, this Chilean road movie finds a family at a crossroads, as the daughter slowly realizes the divide between the adults in the front seat and the kids in back. North American Premiere
Documentary Competition:
o Drought – Mexico (Director Everado González Producer Martha Orozco) – Contrasting the lives of a cattle-ranching community with the arid northeastern Mexican landscape that surrounds them, this cinema vertité documentary paints a poetic portrait of a community on the verge of extinction. Us Premiere
o Sun Kissed – (Directors Maya Stark ♀, Adi Lavy ♀ Producers Jocelyn Glatzer, Maya Stark, Adi Lavy) – With remarkable strength of spirit, a husband and wife examine their lives and why their children and others have been struck with a rare genetic disorder in this powerful portrait of a small Navajo community. World Premiere ~ Okay Not Latino But It'S Native American So I’M Giving It A Shout Since There Are Not Enough Native American Stories.
International Showcase:
o Canícula – Mexico (Director José Álvarez Writers Sebastián Hoffman, José Álvarez Producer Mauricio Fabre Cast Hermelinda Santes, Esteban González, Mario García) – This is a hauntingly beautiful portrait of the rituals and crafts of contemporary Indians in remote Veracruz, who teach their boys to fly. ~ See My Interview With Jose Here.
o The Last Elvis – Argentina (Director Armando Bo Writers Armando Bo, Nicolás Giacobone Producers Steve Golin, Hugo Sigman, Patricio Alvarez Casado, Victor Bo, Armando Bo Cast John McInerny, Griselda Siciliani, Margarita Lopez) – John McInerny gives a staggering performance in this poignant tale of a Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator who only comes alive when he dons the King’s clothes to perform. How can he reconcile his dreams of glory with his dead end factory job and an estranged wife and daughter who can’t live inside his fantasies?
o Neighboring Sounds – Brazil (Director/Writer Kleber Mendonça Filho Producer Emilie Lesclaux Cast Irandhir Santos, Gustavo Jahn, Maeve Jinkings, W.J. Solha) – Kleber Mendonca Filho’s astonishing, suspenseful debut film focuses on one upscale street in the seaside town of Recife, where a private security team is enlisted to protect the residents from crime. By its startling conclusion, you feel you’ve seen all of Brazilian society exposed.
o The Strawberry Tree – Canada/Cuba/Italy (Director/Producer Simone Rapisarda Casanova) – Filmed in a small Cuban fishing village mere weeks before a hurricane decimated the entire region, this stunning documentary unknowingly captures the town’s final days even as it reframes the usual filmmaker-film subject relationship.
Summer Showcase:
o La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus – USA/Guatemala (Director Mark Kendall Producers Mark Kendall, Rafael González, Bernardo Ruiz) – The journey and transformation of a yellow American school bus into a vibrant Central American camionetasensitively reveals both the beauty and violence of everyday life in Guatemala.
o Reportero – (Director Bernardo Ruiz Producers Bernardo Ruiz, Patricia Benabe, Anne Hubbell Featuring Sergio Haro Cordero, Adela Navarro Bello) – A look at the incredible danger facing journalists in Mexico through the eyes of investigative reporter Sergio Haro and other staff at Zeta, the defiant Tijuana-based newsweekly.~ See My Interview With Bernardo Here
o Searching for Sugar Man – (Director/Writer Malik Bendjelloul Producers Simon Chinn, Nicole Stott, George Chignell) – Years after fading into obscurity at home, the music of ’70s U.S. singer/songwriter Rodriguez became an underground sensation in South Africa. Decades after his disappearance, two fans uncover the startling truth behind the legend.
Beyond:
o Juan of the Dead – Cuba (Director/Writer Alejandro Brugués Producers Gervasio Iglesias, Inti Herrera Cast Alexis Días de Villegas, Jorge Molina, Andrea Duro, Andros Perugorría, Jazz Vila, Eliecer Ramírez) – The streets of Havana are alive with the undead in Cuba’s first zombie comedy, a wild and bloody romp that sinks its sharp satirical teeth into the Cuban body politic. Castro may not be amused, but you will be.
Short Film Competition:
Against the Sea (Contra el mar) – Mexico, USA (Director) Richard Parkin
Black Doll (Prita Noire) – Mexico (Director) Sofia Carrillo
Kendo Monogatari – Cuba, Guatemala (Director) Fabián Suárez
Scanning (Ecografía) – Cuba (Director) Aleksandra Maciuszek Mukoid
Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke – (Directors) Jillian Mayer, Lucas Leyva ~Crazy Talented! Miami Represent!
Fireworks – (Director) Victor Hugo Duran -
Kendo Monogatari – Cuba, Guatemala (Director) Fabián Suárez
Paraíso – (Director) Nadav Kurtz ~Doc Subject Is About 3 Mexicans
Scanning (Ecografía) – Cuba (Director) Aleksandra Maciuszek Mukoid
Voice Over – Spain (Director) Martín Rosete
For full lineup and more info go to L.A. Film Festival...
Looking at yesterday’s announcement of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival reveals a healthy Latino presence among the 62 features and 48 short films in the program. Here’s how I break down the Latino/ Ibero/ U.S. Latino component of the program.
Chile continues to give Argentina a run for its cache of exciting and growing cinematic output from South America with the inclusion of Thursday Til Sunday (Isa & Distributor: FiGa) written and directed by Dominga Sotomayor ♀, in Narrative Competition.
Although the traveling Mexican film festival Ambulante is no longer a program spotlight, Mexican films continue to be a mainstay of the festival. There are four feature-length films and three short films from/about Mexico. In Narrative Competition, The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man (Isa: Kafilms, Argentina) written and directed by Arturo Pons [about a young Mexican aiming for Chicago], and in Documentary Competition, Drought by Everado González (recently awarded Best Documentary at FICG27) . Out of competition is the gorgeously shot documentary, Canícula, and although the funding is mainly stateside, Bernardo Ruiz paints a fascinating portrait of the risky journalistic practice and history of the seminal Tijuana weekly, Zeta in Reportero.
Also of note in the program is that four short films list Cuba as a co-production/origin of country.
But what of the U.S. Latino filmmakers and stories? Last year Los Angeles Film Festival was a great launchpad for Mamitas (Distributor: ScreenMedia, Producer rep: Traction Media), an authentic Chicano portrayal of young love set in Echo Parque written and directed by Nicolas Ozeki (a non-Latino), co-starring fast rising hot talents Veronica Diaz-Carranzo (Blaze You Out) and E.J. Bonilla. The film is currently in theaters now. (Big recommend,theater listings here-go support it!)
The closest we have to representing U.S. Latino in the features section is Four, the feature debut of Joshua Sanchez who hails from Houston, Texas. Based on a Christopher Shinn play, the July 4th-eve-set story is a snapshot of two disparate relationships tensely intertwined and their at-odd dynamics of desire. Coincidentally, E.J. Bonilla also stars (this guy is blowing up!). I would also include as U.S. Latino, Searching for Sugar Man, the documentary by Malik Bendjelloul about singer songwriter Sixto Rodriguez’s fascinating rise and fall into obscurity as a Uj.S. Latino story. As a matter of fact, the film seems to suggest that perhaps Sixto’s Mexican-American identity might have been a reason he was not embraced by the 60s and 70s mainstream. [Per Sydney: The film was snatched up at Sundance by Sony Pictures Classics and by Isa Protagonist who is screening it twice in Cannes.]
As for U.S. Latino shorts, Fireworks written and directed by Victor Hugo Duran, which is also incidentally centered around 4th of July, is an L.A. set story about boys trying to rap on girls.
My favorite Miami based hooligans, Jillian Mayer and Lucas Leyva, keep representing with their fresh and experimental short film, Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke. They are part of a collective of go-there filmmakers, Borscht Corp who had four crazy shorts screen at SXSW (and they were a riot to bootie shake dance with at SXSW Film’s Closing Night Party). You must carve out an hour and look at their work on the site (Nsfw!)
And lastly, in front of camera there’s some America Ferrera in Todd Berger’s It’s a Disaster (Isa: Maya), and rising boriqua actress April Hernandez Castillo, of hit webseries East Willy B, Dexter and other TV, is in The History of Future Folk [Per Sydney: one of 7 horror films in the festival, another being It's A Disaster per Dread Central, so take note Latino distributors like Lionsgate because horror films are a favorite of a certain Latino demographic!] by J. Anderson Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker, described as a “sweet sci-fi musical comedy”. Below is the rest of the Latino and Ibero-American (includes Spain and Portugal). Descriptions provided by L.A. Film Festival, and bold cap commentary by me.
Narrative Competition:
o All Is Well – Portugal (Director Pocas Pascoal ♀, Producer Luis Correia Cast Cheila Lima, Ciomara Morais) – Strangers in a strange land, two beautiful Angolan sisters fleeing a civil war in their homeland struggle to survive in Lisbon. Pocas Pascoal’s deeply personal saga shows us the face of exile with quietly stunning power. North American Premiere
o The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man – Mexico (Director/Writer Arturo Pons Producer Ozcar Ramírez González Cast Gael Sanchez Valle, Pedro Gamez, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Eligio Melendez, Luis Bayardo, Marco Perez) – A young man and a dead man journey north through a subtly surreal desert landscape, picking up a wagonful of odd characters as they go in this darkly humorous satire of contemporary Mexico. North American Premiere
o Four – (Director/Writer Joshua Sanchez Producer Christine Giorgio Cast Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, Aja Naomi King, E.J. Bonilla) – Over the course of a steamy 4th of July night, a father and daughter, each trapped in loneliness, reach out for sexual connection — he with a self-hating teenage boy, she with a smooth-talking wannabe homeboy — in this psychologically complex, beautifully acted drama. World Premiere
o Thursday till Sunday – Chile (Director/Writer Dominga Sotomayor ♀ Producers Gregorio González, Benjamin Domenech Cast Santi Ahumada, Emiliano Freifeld, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, Paola Giannini) – With uncommon beauty and style, this Chilean road movie finds a family at a crossroads, as the daughter slowly realizes the divide between the adults in the front seat and the kids in back. North American Premiere
Documentary Competition:
o Drought – Mexico (Director Everado González Producer Martha Orozco) – Contrasting the lives of a cattle-ranching community with the arid northeastern Mexican landscape that surrounds them, this cinema vertité documentary paints a poetic portrait of a community on the verge of extinction. Us Premiere
o Sun Kissed – (Directors Maya Stark ♀, Adi Lavy ♀ Producers Jocelyn Glatzer, Maya Stark, Adi Lavy) – With remarkable strength of spirit, a husband and wife examine their lives and why their children and others have been struck with a rare genetic disorder in this powerful portrait of a small Navajo community. World Premiere ~ Okay Not Latino But It'S Native American So I’M Giving It A Shout Since There Are Not Enough Native American Stories.
International Showcase:
o Canícula – Mexico (Director José Álvarez Writers Sebastián Hoffman, José Álvarez Producer Mauricio Fabre Cast Hermelinda Santes, Esteban González, Mario García) – This is a hauntingly beautiful portrait of the rituals and crafts of contemporary Indians in remote Veracruz, who teach their boys to fly. ~ See My Interview With Jose Here.
o The Last Elvis – Argentina (Director Armando Bo Writers Armando Bo, Nicolás Giacobone Producers Steve Golin, Hugo Sigman, Patricio Alvarez Casado, Victor Bo, Armando Bo Cast John McInerny, Griselda Siciliani, Margarita Lopez) – John McInerny gives a staggering performance in this poignant tale of a Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator who only comes alive when he dons the King’s clothes to perform. How can he reconcile his dreams of glory with his dead end factory job and an estranged wife and daughter who can’t live inside his fantasies?
o Neighboring Sounds – Brazil (Director/Writer Kleber Mendonça Filho Producer Emilie Lesclaux Cast Irandhir Santos, Gustavo Jahn, Maeve Jinkings, W.J. Solha) – Kleber Mendonca Filho’s astonishing, suspenseful debut film focuses on one upscale street in the seaside town of Recife, where a private security team is enlisted to protect the residents from crime. By its startling conclusion, you feel you’ve seen all of Brazilian society exposed.
o The Strawberry Tree – Canada/Cuba/Italy (Director/Producer Simone Rapisarda Casanova) – Filmed in a small Cuban fishing village mere weeks before a hurricane decimated the entire region, this stunning documentary unknowingly captures the town’s final days even as it reframes the usual filmmaker-film subject relationship.
Summer Showcase:
o La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus – USA/Guatemala (Director Mark Kendall Producers Mark Kendall, Rafael González, Bernardo Ruiz) – The journey and transformation of a yellow American school bus into a vibrant Central American camionetasensitively reveals both the beauty and violence of everyday life in Guatemala.
o Reportero – (Director Bernardo Ruiz Producers Bernardo Ruiz, Patricia Benabe, Anne Hubbell Featuring Sergio Haro Cordero, Adela Navarro Bello) – A look at the incredible danger facing journalists in Mexico through the eyes of investigative reporter Sergio Haro and other staff at Zeta, the defiant Tijuana-based newsweekly.~ See My Interview With Bernardo Here
o Searching for Sugar Man – (Director/Writer Malik Bendjelloul Producers Simon Chinn, Nicole Stott, George Chignell) – Years after fading into obscurity at home, the music of ’70s U.S. singer/songwriter Rodriguez became an underground sensation in South Africa. Decades after his disappearance, two fans uncover the startling truth behind the legend.
Beyond:
o Juan of the Dead – Cuba (Director/Writer Alejandro Brugués Producers Gervasio Iglesias, Inti Herrera Cast Alexis Días de Villegas, Jorge Molina, Andrea Duro, Andros Perugorría, Jazz Vila, Eliecer Ramírez) – The streets of Havana are alive with the undead in Cuba’s first zombie comedy, a wild and bloody romp that sinks its sharp satirical teeth into the Cuban body politic. Castro may not be amused, but you will be.
Short Film Competition:
Against the Sea (Contra el mar) – Mexico, USA (Director) Richard Parkin
Black Doll (Prita Noire) – Mexico (Director) Sofia Carrillo
Kendo Monogatari – Cuba, Guatemala (Director) Fabián Suárez
Scanning (Ecografía) – Cuba (Director) Aleksandra Maciuszek Mukoid
Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke – (Directors) Jillian Mayer, Lucas Leyva ~Crazy Talented! Miami Represent!
Fireworks – (Director) Victor Hugo Duran -
Kendo Monogatari – Cuba, Guatemala (Director) Fabián Suárez
Paraíso – (Director) Nadav Kurtz ~Doc Subject Is About 3 Mexicans
Scanning (Ecografía) – Cuba (Director) Aleksandra Maciuszek Mukoid
Voice Over – Spain (Director) Martín Rosete
For full lineup and more info go to L.A. Film Festival...
- 5/2/2012
- by Christine Davila
- Sydney's Buzz
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