Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Latino Filmmakers Flex Their Muscle at AFI FEST 2016

By José Alberto Hermosillo, 
AFI FEST. Photo by Jose Alberto Hermosillo © Festival in LA 2016
Prominent Latino filmmakers and auteurs will have an opportunity to get some exposure at the most prestigious film festival in Los Angeles, the AFI Fest 2016 presented by Audi.


Local movie fans are eager to see those productions made by the talented Latino filmmakers and maybe one of them could follow the steps of the “The Three Amigos,” the Mexican directors who had won the Oscar for best director the past three years in a row (Alfonso Cuarón (One for "Gravity") and Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Two, the first one for "Birdman" and the second for "The Revenant")).

Pablo Larrain, Director of "Jackie" and"Neruda." Photo by Jose Alberto Hermosillo © Festival in LA, 2016 
This year, Chilean Director Pablo Larrain may have a good shot for his astonishing production of “Jackie,” scheduled to have its Hollywood premiere in one of the festival's galas.

The films representing Latinos in the AFI Fest 2016 are excellent and those will be showcased during the festival for your consideration:
From Chile; Pablo Larraín with two amazing projects this year: “Jackie” with Nathalie Portman. A biopic that is getting the Oscar buzz for best actress. This big production will have a special red carpet treatment with a Center Gala during the festival. 
“Neruda” is the official Chilean entry for the Academy Awards 2017 for Best Foreign Film and will have two screenings during the festival. 

The story is about the poet and activist Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco) and his Argentinean wife Delia Del Carril (Mercedes Morán), members of the Communist Party trying to escape from the political turmoil of Chile, while the police officer Oscar Peluchonneau (Gael Garcia Bernal) hunts them down.
Pedro Almodóvar, Director of "Julieta." Photo by Jose Alberto Hermosillo © Festival in LA, 2016 
From Spain; Pedro Almodóvar and his “Julieta,” as the official Spanish entry for the Academy Awards 2017 for Best Foreign Film. 
The latest production of the Spanish prolific director deals with two women and the love that never dies. The film it has gotten great reviews since it premiered at Cannes earlier this year.


Amat Escalante, Venice International Film Festival

From Mexico; the winner of Best Director at the Venice International Film Festival, Amat Escalante, and his highly praised work “The Untamed/La Región Salvaje.” Escalante also won the best director award at Cannes for his previous film “Heli.”(The Mexican director is one of the four directors who had won both film festivals in history).
“The Untamed” is an intense drama that brakes the taboos of pure sexual gratification in a country where every desire is forbidden. This film is worth to see it with an open mind as every work done by Escalante.

Also from Mexico and Poland; "Panamerican Machinery," a murder-mystery drama where the generous boss of a factory gets killed. The workers have to change themselves to keep their jobs. This is the Opera Prima of Joaquín del Paso.
From Brazil; “Kill Me, Please/Mata-Me, Por favor.” Directed by Anita Rocha da Silveira. A terrific horror-thriller full of contrasts in the modernized and still marginalized skirts of Rio. In this exuberant and strange place, young girls obsessed with sex dream about their first love. The reality will hit them only when they get close to becoming victims of a serial killer on the loose.

From Argentina; comes the Award Winner for best picture at the Locarno International Film Festival “The Future Perfect/El Futuro Perfecto” directed by a German-Argentinian filmmaker Nele Wohlatz.

From Colombia; “Oscuro Animal” is the Opera Prima directed by Felipe Guerrero. This must-see film is a story that follows three young women caught up in the middle of the “guerrilla” time, where they deal with pain and hope for a better life. 

From the USA; An intense metaphysical thriller titled “Busters Mal Heart” where Remi Malek plays a Latino character split into two worlds, one is a fugitive semi-God on the loose and the other a hard worker, religious family man. The film gets intense when both storylines are getting close to each other. Do not miss it!
AFI Fest. Photo by Jose Alberto Hermosillo © Festival in LA, 2016
AFI FEST 2016 presented by Audi screens 118 movies from 46 countries. 

AFI Fest gives Angelinos the unique opportunity to be in contact with great directors, celebrities; and to watch many films from around the world for free; also we can see excellent documentaries, wonderful independent films, shorts, and the much expected Hollywood big premieres, many of those movies will transcend into the Award Season big time.

Link to the: AFI FEST FILM GUIDE

AFI FEST 2016 Trailer # 3 (Ida Lupino)

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2016 Festival in LA 


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