An American Epic For Troubled Times

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By Jaie Laplante, Executive Director & Director of Programming As Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival alumnus Stanley Nelson (Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice in 2005; Freedom Riders in 2011) told moderator Thom Powers at a sold-out AFI DOCS audience this past weekend, when he first floated the idea of making a […]

Albert Maysles’ Final Film Explores Iris Apfel’s Style

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[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Stepping into the vault during the Festival’s 29th edition in 2012, a retrospective screening of Islands on 16mm was held at Coral Gables Art Cinema—offering a fascinating time capsule of Miami […]

The Poet of Havana: Reconciling Generations

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[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Although Cuban singer-songwriter Carlos Varela (Havana, 1963) travels the world as a cultural ambassador, he is always an Habanero, tied to his city with pride and passion. Both rocker and troubadour, Varela’s […]

LIFE FEELS GOOD: The Enduring Power of the Human Spirit

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A true story about a young man suffering from cerebral palsy who struggles to communicate with those around him that he is an intelligent and conscious human being—and the institutional fallacies that treat mental disorders—provide the inspiration for Polish writer-director Maciej Pieprzyca’s award-winning film Life Feels Good (Chce się żyć).  Set in the late ’70s and early ’80s Poland, […]

Movie-Making Lama’s New Film to Premiere at MIFFecito

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[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] While studying in England in the 1990s, Bhutanese lama, filmmaker and writer Khyentse Norbu—considered an incarnation of a famous 19th-century Tibetan spiritual leader who goes by the ecclesiastical title His Eminence […]

Miamian Roberto Sanchez Returns to his Neighborhood to Present ‘Lake Los Angeles’

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Before becoming an actor in 2002 (cast as one of the leads in 2 Fast 2 Furious, the second installment of the Fast and Furious franchise), Havana-born, Miami-raised Roberto Sanchez was a distinguished Desert Storm war veteran (U.S. Navy) and professionally competed in European league basketball. MDC’s Tower Theater, where all MIFFecito films are being […]

THE GOOD LIE: Hollywood Goes Beyond Entertainment

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Last Tuesday night at Regal South Beach Cinemas, Miami Film Society members were treated a special preview screening [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][view photo gallery]—followed by an illuminating Q&A—of The Good Lie, a drama by Canadian filmmaker Philippe Falardeau, […]

True Love Conquers All in Mariana Chenillo’s “Paradise”

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Following her debut feature Nora’s Will (Cinco días sin Nora), award-winning Mexican director-writer Mariana Chenillo returns to MiamiFF to present her second feature film, Paradise (Paraíso) at MIFFecito on Saturday, October 18th at MDC’s Tower Theater. The film’s eponymous paradise (based on a short story) refers to Satélite, the suburb of Mexico City where Carmen […]

MIFFecito Kicks-Off with Eye-Opening “Behavior” Set in Contemporary Cuba

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[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Kicking off MIFFecito is director Ernesto Daranas’ second feature film, Behavior (Conducta), an insightful and unvarnished glimpse into contemporary Cuba that has taken the Cuban box office by storm, scoring numerous awards […]

Award-winning GABRIELLE, an Authentic Québécois Heart-Tugger

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Gabrielle producer Luc Dery of micro_scope, Gabrielle director Louise Archambault, MIFF director Jaie Laplante at Regal South Beach Opening this Friday is French-Canadian filmmaker Louise Archambault’s second feature film, Gabrielle (after mother and daughter tragi-comedy Familia) and the latest from Academy Award® nominated mirco_scope producers Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of Incendies (MIFF 2011) and […]

MIFF Titles Rack Up Record Noms at Mexican Academy of Film Awards

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Scene from Heli Scoring an impressive 14 nominations each, two feature films from our 2014 Close-Up on Mexico lineup featured in Cinema 360° presented by Viendomovies program—Heli and La jaula de oro—tied for the most nominated films at the Ariel Awards, Mexico’s Academy of Film awards, presented by the Mexican Academy of Motion Pictures Arts […]

Ectotherms: a Hot Topic After MIFF 2014

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scene from Ectotherms Consult any dictionary, and it’ll tell you that an ectotherm is a cold-blooded animal, dependent on outside sources of heat to regulate its body temperature. According to the creative vision of Cuban-American, Miami-born filmmaker Monica Peña, though, it’s a word synonymous with Miami teenagers.  The local film is an impression of Miami as […]

A Wolf at the Door Receives Warmest Welcome

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Scene from A Wolf at the Door Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Coimbra’s debut feature film, A Wolf at the Door (O Lobo atrás da porta), was the big winner at Miami International Film Festival’s 31st edition, nabbing the coveted Knight Grand Jury Prize and Best Director awards in the Knight Competition, which features first-time feature filmmakers […]

Film Review: ‘The Amazing Catfish’ (Los insólitos peces gato)

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Claudia is a loner. She lives by herself, has no family or friends, and even lacks any connections with her coworkers. The Amazing Catfish is about her finding love. With it, she also finds a family and friends that will last her a lifetime. Claudia meets Martha and her four children at the hospital while […]

For a Dark Sense of Humor: Here’s the Deal (2013)

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Legend has it, when Ferdinand II reigned as king in the 15thcentury – what is today known as the city of Aragon, Spain – he spoke with a lisp. His subjects – in an effort to emulate the king – also began to speak with a lisp, and that lisp soon spread across the country. […]

“Will You Be My Boyfriend?” Uncensored Innocence of Gabrielle

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By Raychel Lean, Miami Future Cinema Critic If, like myself, you’re not much of a hugger, embracing Gabrielle may not come easy at first. But when it does, the connection made will stay with you long after you’ve left the cinema. Watching Louise Archambault’s film is a bit like listening to rain drum outside the […]

The Humor in Hypocrisy: Here’s the Deal & To Kill a Man

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By Raychel Lean, Miami Future Cinema Critic If a middle-aged Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were ever to go fishing and find a packet of blow on the beach, it might play out somewhat like Here’s the Deal. Beneath Suso and Manuel’s learned adult sensibilities, there’s that flicker of mischief. But – wait – is […]

The Riddles We Leave Behind: Finding Vivian Maier

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By Raychel Lean, Miami Future Cinema Critic Imagine you dropped dead right now. A slightly morbid thought, I’m aware, but just humor me for a second. All right, so you’re dead. Your life, up to the moment you began reading this paragraph, is a finished project. There’s nothing more you can add, not a single […]

Séptimo review: Despite its twists and turns, Paxti Amezcua’s ‘Séptimo’ has the feel of a typical Hollywood film.

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Maybe you don’t go to the movies with your family too often because that usually entails having to translate for mami and papi what’s happening on screen and why the audience is laughing. The last time you got dragged along to a theater with them was to watch Mr. Bean’s Holiday in which they kicked […]

Default (dir. by Simon Brand)

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            These days, a hijacking movie is about as common as an American politician invoking 9/11. Recently, we have seen Oscar nominated Captain Phillips, the brand new Non-Stop, the aptly titled Danish film The Hijacking, et cetera; each take on a new approach to frighten us with the notion of modern-day pirates. But are these […]

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