ARIEL 2015: SURPRISES, DISAPPOINTMENTS AND NOMINATIONS

By Jose Alberto Hermosillo

The Mexican Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences (AMACC) on Monday announced the nominations for the 2015 Ariel Awards with some surprises and disappointments.

d. Alonso Ruizpalacios, Gueros, AFI FEST 2014, Photo by Jose A. Hermosillo.

The biggest winners were "Gueros" directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios with twelve, "Carmín tropical" by Rigoberto Perezcano and "Las oscuras primaveras" by Ernesto Contreras both with ten nominations. 

The Mexican box office hit "Buen dia, Ramón/Guten tag, Ramón" only got six nominations, including best picture and best director, but the amazing music by Rodrigo Flores López was overlooked.

Among the disappointments, it was the Oscar submission "Cantinflas" that did not get the best picture nomination, neither best director or original screenplay, the highest box office biopic about the great comedian from "Around the World in 80 Days" only got best actor, best makeup, art design, costume design, and visual effects. That says a lot about how far Mexico is to ever win an Oscar for best foreign film.  

The Ariel Awards were established in 1946 to recognize the talent and efforts of the people in the Mexican film industry.

The especial Golden Ariel recipients are the producer Bertha Navarro ("Pan's Labyrinth") and special effects specialist Miguel Vazquez.

Also, it will be a special tribute to the writers Jose Emilio Pacheco, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Vicente Lenero.  

AND THE 57TH ARIEL NOMINATIONS ARE:

BEST PICTURE:
- Carmín tropical, Rigoberto Perezcano 
- Güeros, Alonso Ruizpalacios
- Guten Tag, Ramón, Jorge Ramírez- Suárez
- La dictadura perfecta, Luis Estrada
- Las oscuras primaveras, Ernesto Contreras

BEST FIRST WORK:
- González, Christian Díaz
- Güeros, Alonso Ruizpalacios
- Las horas contigo, Catalina Aguilar
- Los bañistas, Max Zunino
- Obediencia perfecta, Luis Urquiza

BEST DIRECTOR:
– Rigoberto Perezcano, Carmín tropical
– Alonso Ruizpalacios, Güeros
– Jorge Ramírez-Suárez, Guten Tag, Ramón
– Luis Estrada, La dictadura perfecta
– Ernesto Contreras, Las oscuras primaveras

BEST DOCUMENTARY:
- Bering. Equilibrio y Resistencia, Lourdes Grobet
- Eco de la montaña, Nicolás Echeverría
- H20MX, José Cohen
- Los años de fierro, Santiago Eisteinou
- Navajazo, Ricardo Silva

BEST ACTOR:
– Óscar Jaenada, Cantinflas
– Harold Torres, González
– Tenoch Huerta, Güeros
– Kristyan Ferrer, Guten tag, Ramón
– Juan Manuel Bernal, Obediencia perfecta

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
– Luis Alberti, Carmín tropical
– Alonso Echánove, Cuatro lunas
– Álvaro guerrero, Eddie Reynolds, and for los Ángeles de Acero
– Carlos Bardem, González
– Noé Hernández, La tirisia

BEST ACTRESS
– Ilse Salas, Güeros
– Karina Gidi, La guerra de Manuela Jankovic
– Adriana Paz, La tirisia
– Cassandra Ciangherotti, Las horas contigo
– Irene Azuela, Las oscuras primaveras

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
– Mima Vukovic, La guerra de Manuela Jankovic
– Mercedes Hernández, La tirisia
– Isela Vega, Las horas contigo
– Cecilia Suárez, Las oscuras primaveras
– Margarita Sanz, Las oscuras primaveras

BEST MALE REVELATION:
– Sebastián Aguirre, Güeros
– Daniel Carrera, La fórmula del doctor Funes
– Hayden Meyenberg, Las oscuras primaveras
– Sebastián Aguirre, Obediencia perfecta
– Alejandro Gallardo, Somos Mari Pepa

BEST FEMALE REVELATION:
– Vico Escorcia, Eddie Reynolds and for los Ángeles de Acero
– Gabriela Cartol, La tirisia
– Magda Ortiz, La tirisia
– Nora Isabel Huerta, Seguir viviendo
– Petra Iñiguez, Somos Mari Pepa

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
– Rigoberto Perezcano, Carmín tropical
– Fernando del Razo, Christian Díaz, González
– Alonso Ruizpalacios, Güeros
– Jorge Ramírez-Suárez, Guten Tag, Ramón
– Luis Estrada, Jaime Sampietro, La dictadura perfecta

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
– Mauricio Walerstein, Claudia Nazoa, Canon (fidelidad al límite)
– José Buil, La fórmula del doctor Funes
– Ernesto Alcocer, Luis Urquiza, Obediencia perfecta

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
– Alejandro Cantú, Carmín tropical
– Damián García, Güeros
– Carlos Hidalgo, Guten tag, Ramón
– César Gutiérrez, La tirisia
– Tonatiuh Martínez, Las oscuras primaveras

BEST EDITING:
– Miguel Schverdfinger, Carmín tropical
– Yibrán Asuad, Ana García, Güeros
– Jorge Ramírez-Suárez, Sonia Sánchez, Sam Baixauli, Guten tag, Ramón
– Mariana Rodríguez, La dictadura perfecta
– Valentina Leduc, Las oscuras primaveras

 BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC:
– Luca Ortega, Carmín tropical
– Mario Lavista, Eco de la montaña
– Tomás Barreiro, Güeros
– Emmanuel del Real, Renato del Real, Ramino del Real, Las oscuras primaveras
– Kenji Kishi Leopo, Somos Mari Pepa

BEST SOUD:
– Pablo Tamez, Ruy García, Carmín tropical
– Axel Muñoz, José Miguel Enríquez, Pablo Fernández, González
– Isabel Muñoz, Pedro González, Gabriel Teyna y Kyoshi Osawa por Güeros
– Santiago Núñez, Pablo Lach, Hugo de la Cerda, La dictadura perfecta
– Enrique Ojeda, Enrique Greiner, Las oscuras primaveras

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS:
– Ricardo Arvizu, El crimen del Cácaro Gumaro
– Alejandro Vázquez, La dictadura perfecta
– Nury Álamo and Karina Rodríguez, La fórmula del doctor Funes
– Bernat Aragonés, Más negro que la noche
– Ricardo Arvizu, Visitantes

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
– Marco Rodríguez, Cantinflas
– Fabián García, Cyntia Navarro and Paula Siqueira: Eddie Reynolds, and for los Ángeles de Acero
– Paula Siqueira, Michael Hoffmann, Raúl Prado, Cyntia Navarro and Charlie Iturriaga, El crimen del Cácaro Gumaro
– Adriana Arriaga, La dictadura perfecta
– Charlie Iturriaga, Visitantes

BEST ART DESIGN:
– Christofer Lagunes, Cantinflas
– Sandra Cabriada, Güeros
– Salvador Parra, La dictadura perfecta
– Antonio Muñohierro, Mariana Fernández, La guerra de Manuela Jankovic
– Julieta Ávarez, Obediencia perfecta

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
– Gabriela Fernández, Cantinflas
– Laura García de la Mora, Carmín tropical
– Gabriela Fernández, Eddie Reynolds and for los Ángeles de Acero
– Mariestela Fernández, La dictadura perfecta
– Josefina Echeverría, Obediencia perfecta

BEST MAKEUP:
– Maripaz Robles, Cantinflas
– Maripaz Robles, Carmín tropical
– Felipe Salazar, Eddie Reynolds and los Ángeles de Acero
– Roberto Ortíz, Felipe Salazar, Elena López, El crimen del Cácaro Gumaro
– Felipe Salazar, La dictadura perfecta

BEST SHORT (DOCUMENTARY)
– El palacio, Nicolás Pereda
– El penacho de Moctezuma. Plumaria del México antiguo, Jaime Kuri.
– Jefe del desierto, Alejandro Ramírez
– Perreus, Kalien Delgado
– Ulterior, Sabrina Muhate

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT:
– 400 maletas, Fernanda Valadez
– Ella, Ximena Urrutia
– La carta, María de los Ángeles Cruz
– Nunca regreses, Leonardo Díaz
– Ramona, Giovanna Zacarías

BEST ANIMATED SHORT:
– El color de mis alas, Miguel Anaya
– El modelo de Pickman, Pablo Ángeles Zuman
– El trompetista, Raúl Alejandro Morales
– Tierra seca, Ricardo Torres
– Tlacuache de maguey, Miguel Anaya

BEST IBERO-AMERICAN FILM
– Conducta, Ernesto Daranas – Cuba
– La isla mínima, Alberto Rodríguez – España
– Mr. Kaplan, Álvaro Brechner – Uruguay
– Pelo malo, Mariana Rondon – Venezuela
– Relatos salvajes, Damián Szifron  – Argentina

THE CEREMONY WILL BE ON MAY 26, 2015.

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Copyright © 2015 Festival in LA
 

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2015 Is Here

By Jose Alberto Hermosillo

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2015 is back from April 8 to the 12th with a line-up of great Indian, Indian-American, and South East Asian films, from traditional drama, shorts, documentaries, and the crown-pleaser Bollywood movies.  

All the shows are at the Arclight in Hollywood where filmmakers, Indian Celebrities, and a friendly crowd will be waiting to share their millenarian culture and cinema with us.

Films:

HARAAMKHOR

(Opening Night)

Director: Shlok Sharma

Talent: Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Talent: Shweta Tripathi (actress from JOURNEY (SAFAR))

Producer: Guneet Monga

MISS INDIA AMERICA

Director: Ravi Kapoor

Co-writer/Lead Talent: Meera Simhan

TITLI

Director: Kanu Behl

FOUR COLORS (CHAURANGA)

Director: Bikas Mishra

 

LABOUR OF LOVE

Sound Designer: Anish John

ELIZABETH EKADASHI

Director: Paresh Mokashi (IFFLA alum with India’s Oscar Entry HARISHCHANDRACHI FACTORY)

Producer: Madhugandha Kulkarni

ONE CRAZY THING (Centerpiece film)

Director: Amit Gupta (IFFLA alum, director of JADOO)

Talent: Ray Panthaki (BAFTA Breakthrough Brit of 2014)

BOLLYWOOD NIGHTS:

TAAL

April 11, 2015. 9:30PM

CLOSING NIGHT GALA:

 

RAINBOW (DHANAK)

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor

Talent: Vipin Sharma (actor from GANGS OF WASSEYPUR)

Producer: Elahé Hiptoola

APRIL 12, 2015 6:00pm

SHORTS:

DANDEKAR MAKES A SANDWICHDirector: Leena Pendharkar (IFFLA alum, RASPBERRY MAGIC)Producer: Jane Kosek

JOURNEY (SAFAR)

Director: Pratyusha Gupta

Talent: Shweta Tripathi (actress from HARAMMKHOR)

Talent: Vipin Sharma (actor from DHANAK and GANGS OF WASSEYPUR)

RABBIT, THE (KHARGOSH) 

Director: Sudarshan Suresh

Producer: Sean Dunn

Writer: Shakti Bhagchandani

SPACE BETWEEN, THE

Director: Will Sankhla

Arclight Theaters Hollywood, Sunset/Vine.

For more information: www.indianfilmfestival.org 

Copyright © 2015 Festival in LA

The New Bond Girl Is Mexican and Ready for Action in Spectre

By José Alberto Hermosillo,

Photo by: Jose Alberto Hermosillo © 2015 Festival in LA

Stephanie Sigman, after her success in the acclaimed film “Miss Bala,” which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section in the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and represented Mexico at the 84^th Academy Awards, is playing Estrella in “Spectre,” becoming the first Mexican actress in a James Bond movie adding her name to the long list of the famous “Bond Girls.”

Photo by Jose Alberto Hermosillo © 2015 Festival in LA

The new Bond Girl, born in the northern state of Sonora, participated in the TV series “The Bridge.” 

We will also see her in the upcoming films “Alicia en el país de María/Alice in Mary-land” and “El Cielo es Azul/The Sky is Blue.” 

In Europe, she acted in the 2013 Norwegian Oscar® submission “Pioneer” directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg (“Insomnia,” “Prozac Nation”).

Spectre Facebook page.

Stephanie confessed to feeling excited and a little nervous during a press conference. This is her first significant role in a big-budget action movie.

This new chapter of Agent 007 has three new Bond Girls from different nationalities: Monica Bellucci (“Maléna,” “Irreversible”) from Italy, Léa Seydoux (“Blue is the Warmest Color,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Grand Central”) from France, and Completing the trio Stephanie Sigman from Mexico.

After Rome, the Bond production directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes landed in Mexico City two weeks ago and has already started shooting in the historic center. They closed to the public some important streets and rented two soundstages of the Churubusco Studios, one for wardrobe and the other for make-up.

“Spectre” will be in theaters worldwide on November 6, 2015.

Copyright © 2015 Festival in LA

México Bárbaro Wins the Fan-Base Award in Greece

By José Alberto Hermosillo,

"México Bárbaro" takes one of the top prizes, the Fan-Base Award, at the Horrarant Film Festival "Fright Nights" in Athens, Greece.

The Mexican horror anthology, "México Bárbaro," with a cult influence, is directed by Isaac Ezban, Laurette Flores, Jorge Michel Grau, Ulises Guzmán, Edgard Nieto, Lex Ortega, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Aarón Soto.

People said about the 8 horror stories: "This film is ferocious, every story is more frightening than the other, it never loses the tension. Excellent production value and great special effects."

Congratulations to the winners. We hope to see México Bárbaro in the U.S. very soon.

México Bárbaro Trailer

Copyright © 2015 Festival in LA

The Tales of Hoffmann: The Operatic Masterpiece of British Cinema Restored

By José Alberto Hermosillo

The Tales of Hoffmann, Japanese poster. Courtesy of Rialto Pictures/Studio Canal.

“The Tales of Hoffmann” is the most beautiful, elegant, harmonious, and breathtaking opera ever filmed.

The allegorical Technicolor film was directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (“The Red Shoes,” “Black Narcissus”). It is now available on a new, marvelous 4K restoration by Warner Brothers, Martin Scorsese, and London Films.

The intricate narrative resembles a Shakespearean dramaturgy, with surrealist elements characteristic of the 1950s films. The story is told from Mr. Hoffmann’s (Robert Rounseville) perspective.
 

The magnificent overture serves as a prologue featuring the Dragonfly ballet’s stunning performance, in which Stella, the prima ballerina, sends a message before her number. Hoffmann, infatuated, watches from the audience. Meanwhile, backstage, the message is intercepted by Lindorf’s evil force.
 
Inside the surreal Luther’s Tavern, Hoffmann, melancholic, drowns his sorrows and sings the three tales of the women he loved.

The first tale is about Olympia, the doll from Paris. The puppeteers want to sell Olympia to Hoffmann, who falls deeply in love with her, especially when she sings the “Doll Song.” The dark forces prepare to destroy the doll and true love. The decor and artwork are from the modernist movement, dating to before the Eiffel Tower was built, creating a sophisticated, enigmatic atmosphere and setting the mood for tragedy.

The second tale is about his relationship with Giulietta, the Venetian courtesan manipulated by Dapperdutto; she’s taking possession of Hoffmann’s soul through a mirror. He has to reclaim his identity and his love for her, but it won’t be easy. Jealousy, madness, and revenge are significant factors in this unbelievable episode.

The third tale is about Antonia, the poet from a Greek island. Her mother died of tuberculosis, and her mad father keeps his daughter in seclusion. She is ill and can no longer sing. Her mother’s spirit and the doctor persuaded her to follow her heart, but it was too late for a tragic outcome.

The Epilogue, or the grand finale, takes place inside the Opera House. Stella’s Ballet intercuts with the tavern, where Hoffmann had captivated the audience, who now understand the meaning of the three stories.

The non-intrusive camera, by the master of British Technicolor cinematography, photographer Christopher Challis, captures every moment from many angles - from the audience’s point of view, backstage, and from the balcony. The camera is everywhere, so the viewer doesn’t miss any detail of the artistic composition.

“The Tales of Hoffmann” is a jewel of British cinema, now restored for film and opera lovers worldwide. A must-see!

The Tales of Hoffmann trailer

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