sundance 2006 - Zoael

BY SANDY MANDELBERGER
WHILE MIAMI MAY CONJURE
up images of swaying palm
trees, white sand beaches
and pina coladas at poolside, the truth
is that the city is undergoing a major
cultural renaissance. Along with a
major development of its downtown as
a performing arts district and a burgeoning
reputation as a fine arts capital,
Miami’s largest film event, the
Miami International Film Festival, is
also undergoing a major upgrade.
The Festival is fast becoming one of
the country’s major showcases for
American independent and international
films, with an accent on Spanish
and Portugese language cinema.
Having gone through choppy administrative
waters and a revolving door of
Festival Directors, the Festival has
finally achieved stability and gravitas
under the direction of Nicole
Guillemet, a former Sundance Film Festival
programmer and administrator, who
celebrates her third year at the helm.
Guillemet recently announced the
event’s most impressive line-up to
date. The Festival will open on March
3rd with the world premiere of
Heartlift (Lifting de Corazon),
Argentine director Eliseo Subiela’s
delicious meditation on the madness of
love. The Festival closes ten days later
with the East Coast Premiere of
Friends With Money by hot American
indie director Nicole Holofcener.
The films in between are an eclectic
mix of genres and styles. “More than
75% of our films this year are by international
filmmakers,” Guillemet
announced. “In addition, 60% of ou
MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
MIFF LivesUpTo It’sName
Heartlift
films are by first and second time
directors, and almost a third are by
women directors.”
The Festival will present ten World
Premieres across its Competition categories.
Highlights include Premium
(Peter Chatmon, USA), the tale of a
struggling actor planning his comeback;
The King Of San Gregorio
(Alfonso Gazitua, Chile), an unvarnished
look at the inner lives of people
living on the margins of Chile’s urban
underworld; For The Love Of Dolly
(Tai Uhlmann, U.S.), a hilarious documentary
on the fan cult of country
superstar Dolly Parton; The Good
Voice (Antonio Cuadri, Spain), an
inspirational drama about a taxi driver’s
personal transformation; Yo Soy
Boricua, Pa’Que Tu Lo Sepas! (I’m
Boricua, just so you know!!), Puerto
Rico/U.S.), the directorial debut of
actress Rosie Perez and a tribute to
Puerto Rican pride; and Bob Marley
and Friends (Saul Swimmer, U.S.), a
tribute to the reggae king on the 25th
anniversary of his early death in Miami.
Films from Latin America and Spain
are a high priority of the Festival.
Among the highlights are Angels of the
Sun (Rudi Lagemann, Brazil), a
poignant drama bout a young girl
forced into child prostitution; Life In
Color (Santiago Tabernero, Spain), a
coming-of-age story set against the
repression of the Franco regime;
Orlando Vargas (Juan Pittaluga,
Uruguay/France), a political thriller
about the disappearance of a French
businessman in Uruguay and Muxes
(Alejandra Islas, Mexico), a portrait of
native Indian homosexuals fighting for
their rights in rural Mexico.
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The Festival’s commitment to
Spanish language cinema is further
evidenced by Miami Encuentros, a coproduction
market where Latin
American and Spanish producers
have a chance to network with their
American and Euro-pean counterparts
in a networking exchange.
A major coup for the Festival is the
participation of German auteur director
Wim Wenders, who will be feted
with the Career Achievement Award
honoring his four decades of risk taking
and artistic integrity. The Festival
will honor Wenders at a gala screening
of his latest film, Don’t Come Knocking.
As a special treat, Wenders’ documentary
portrait of classic Cuban musicians,
the widely acclaimed Buena
Vista Social Club, will screen on the
closing day of the Festival at the historic
Tower Theater in Miami’s Little
Havana community.
Festival Director Nicole Guillemet