AFI FEST 2024 BRINGS THE BEST OF WORLD CINEMA TO LOS ANGELES
Once again, the AFI FEST brings the best of world cinema to Los Angeles in anticipation of the award season.
Check out the posters of the most-anticipated films to hit the theaters to qualify for the awards, mainly foreign films that are harder to find in theaters or on streaming platforms.
In the Best International Film Oscar category, AFI FEST features over a dozen movies from countries like the U.S., Germany, Portugal, and more.
You can find the festival’s schedule and the best times to see these fantastic films.
“Skincare” is a striking and intriguing new thriller that scrutinizes the lucrative cosmetic industry and its unfair business practices. In this sturdy story, rivalry and manipulation culminate in self-destruction, jealousy, and even deathin the most astonishing form imaginable, one that could only happen in Hollywood.
Hope Goldman, a successful Hollywood aesthetician, attempted
to launch her new Italian-made product line during a national TV interview to take
her business to the next level.
Elizabeth Banks impeccably and intensively plays
Hope Goldman in a role tailored specifically for her. Hope shows the world a radiant
face of success, reassuring herself with her overwhelming personality and positive affirmations: “Reputation is
everything in the skincare business.”
A morning after her ritual beauty treatment, Hope’s
email and social media accounts are hacked. This prompts all her clients to cancel their appointments, causing chaos and damaging her prestige and economic well-being. Hope’s business plummets.
Her quest to find the online hackers who are trying to
sabotage her life makes her go ballistic. “Beauty is a cutthroat business.”
In “Skincare,” Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks) sees her new neighbor, cosmetologist
Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Méndez, “Belascoáran PI,” “Time Share,” and “We Are
the Nobles/Nosotros los Nobles”), owner of the next-door spa salon, “Shimmer
by Angel,” as a threat to her business. The successful and talented Mexican actor perfectly embodies the strange antagonist and serves as a decoy in this tangled story.
Hope’s story is inspiring, but competition is cruel in that kind of business. As the “Me Too” movement progressed, women became more confident in fighting back against the predatory behavior of executives and talent, as happened to Hope.
Success is not an accident. It would be best if she got
out of that sticky situation. The key is the “Professional” advice from her
close friend and life coach, Jordan Weaver (Lewis Pullman). A frustrated
actor, Weaver gives Hope a little peace of mind with his advice.
Australian director Austin Peters(“Give Me Future”), with “Skincare,” made an engaging thriller by resolving all the characters’ storylines. Indeed, Mr. Peters, with the enormous energy shown in the film, brings out the best in each actor, enabling them to convey the right emotions to the audience.
In “Skincare,” Elizabeth Banks is brilliant in one of the best roles of her career.
Similar and fascinating stories brought to the big screen in recent years are Sofia Coppola’s celebrity teen thieves’ “Bling Ring,” Almodóvar’s obscure medical thriller, “La piel que habito.” Finally, Nicolas Winding Refn’s supermodels’ bloody feast allegory, “The Neon Demon.”
The recent LA Noir Apple TV series “Sugar,” starring Colin Farrell and directed by Fernando Meirelles and Adam Arkin, evokes a similarly somber Hollywood atmosphere, depicting its inhabitants as stuck somewhere
Angelinos know as “La La Land.”
However, the female lead’s obsession with beauty became delusional, as in other influential leading ladies in film history, such as Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) in “Sunset Boulevard,” who wanted to return to acting. Farrah Fawcett in “Extremities” is trying to get out of a rape situation. Renée
Zellweger, in “Nurse Betty,” really wants to play a nurse in a soap
opera to be close to the lead actor. Nichole Kidman’s obsession with belonging
to a TV show in “To Die For.” More recently, the Academy Award-winning Jessica Chastain in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is obsessed with people’s attention, fame and fortune.
To be a stalker is not considered a syndrome yet. Still, it is linked to other afflictions that affect different areas of the human body:
narcissism, egotism, psychosis, depression, anxiety, and vulnerability.
“Skincare,” the movie, is loosely based on a
real-life beautician who was arrested for plotting the murder of a competitor. Hope Goldman is confident that she will prevail in her ordeal.
Despite the lack of story development for the supporting characters, Hope’s ordeal persists in pursuit of whatever her goal is: survival, anger, revenge, or redemption, not because untrustworthy people surround her. She considers it an unfair business practice for the neighbor to open a similar facility across from her venue. Ignoring the old saying, “the sun rises for everyone,” she continues her quest for revenge. Still, in the end, all the players in this story must pay for their infamous actions.
"La Finca de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" is a four-lot estate in Santa Monica, California, near Malibu, that formerly belonged to the late José Mojica (1895-1974), a renowned Mexican actor, opera singer, and priest in Peru. This magical place is appraised at approximately $26 million. The expansive Spanish-style stucco residence, designed by Merril Baird, was constructed in 1929.
The La Senora Research Institute hosted a conference and a series of commemorative events to mark the second anniversary of José Mojica's birth. During these events, the public had exclusive access to the mansion, his biography and, most importantly, his movies.
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Dances With Films Los Angels is one of the best and most prominent independent film festivals in the country. The impressive lineup of 232 films showcased in two screening rooms included 117 world, international, North American, or U.S. premieres. Three films announced distribution deals during the festival.
The effervescent festival wrapped up its 27th edition with an exciting awards night at the TLC Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
The 2024 Dances With Films LA Filmmaker Award Winners:
GRAND JURY PRIZES
GRAND JURY - NARRATIVE FEATURES BETWEEN THE LIGHTS Director/Writer: Michael Groom Producers: David Groom, Michael Groom
HONORABLE MENTIONS: DREAMING OF YOU Director/Writer: Jack McCafferty Producers: Bridgett Greenberg, Jack McCafferty
TALLYWACKER Director/Writer: Brendan Boogie Producers: Jeremy Dubs, Chris Goodwin, Brendan Boogie
GRAND JURY – DOCUMENTARY FEATURES A LITTLE HOPE FOR CHICAGO Director: Leon Lozano Writers: Kevin Nichols, Leon Lozano Producers: Garrett E.B. Thompson, Kevin Nichols, Leon Lozano
HONORABLE MENTION: SPYRAL Director/Writer: Bill Guttentag Producer: Jennifer Hutchins
GRAND JURY PRIZE - NARRATIVE SHORTS BLACK SILK Director/Writer: Patrick Michael Producers: Patrick Michael, Josh Akin, Tiffany Gist, Samuel Skeen
HONORABLE MENTIONS: KOI Director/Writer: Taige Shi Producer: Tianyu Yang
THE RUNT Director/Writer: Christy Stratton Story by: Christy Stratton, Mark Norberg Producers: Katrina Rotondo, Daniela Inés Calvo and Christy Stratton
INDUSTRY CHOICE AWARDS
INDUSTRY CHOICE AWARDS (UNDER 40’) IS IT BECAUSE I’M A GIRL Director: Peter Decherney Producer: Peter Gitau
INDUSTRY CHOICE AWARDS (OVER 40’) FIGHT LIKE A GIRL Director/Writer: Matthew Leutwyler Producers: Anton Laines, Innocent Munyeshuri, Yvette Gayle, Serge Ibaka
COMPETITION (NARRATIVE) FEATURE AUDIENCE AWARD THE MAN WHO SAVED THE INTERNET WITH A SUNFLOWER Directors: Ori Yardeni, Emil Ben Shimon Writers: Oren Safdie, Izhar Har-Lev, Ori Yardeni Producers: Kobi Hoffmann, Zehava Shekel
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE AUDIENCE AWARD SAVING JONES Director/Writer: Rebecca Corry Producer: Stand Up For Pits Foundation with Angel Forever
FUSION FEATURE AUDIENCE AWARD THE DISINVITED Director: Devin Lawrence Writers: Devin Lawrence, Matthew Mourgides Producer: Matthew Mourgides
DOWNBEAT AUDIENCE AWARD BED BY 9 Director: Christian Klein Writer: Max Castillo Producer: Olivia Isabel Comas
DANCES WITH KIDZ PRO AUDIENCE AWARD SURVIVED BY Director/Writer: KD. Chalk Producers: Nicole Crespo, Pinar Binay
PILOTS AUDIENCE AWARD EXPOSED Directors: Reece Melber, Rachel Othon Writer: Hannah Merritt Producer: Sina Crenshaw
COMPETITION (NARRATIVE) SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD I APPROVE OF THIS MESSAGE Director: Craig Newman Writer: Michael Barringer Producers: Craig Newman, Michael Barringer
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD EL REGRESO Director: Samantha Ramirez-Hererra Producer: Sam Bathrick
FUSION SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD PUPPY LOVE Director: Daniel Rashid Writers: Daniel Rashid, Elizabeth Valenti Producers: Reilly Anspaugh, Daniel Rashid, Elizabeth Valenti
Dances With Films will return for its third New York City edition in December. For more information, please go to https://danceswithfilms.com/.
