Featured in MIFF 2013’s Knight Documentary Competition program, Blackfish, is a riveting documentary directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, which will change the way you think about marine parks.  This film is no trumped up horror story fueled by Hollywood brand names and special effects. In this eye-opening film, all the creatures are real, and all seem […]

Candyman The horror genre appears to be one that splits audiences right down the middle. Those who enjoy horror are generally obsessive over the genre and become devoted to seeking out all kinds of scary movies. To scare an audience is to create a believable illusion of terror, which is powerful enough to make viewers […]

Last month I traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica, to serve on the 2013 Encuentros jury for the Cinergia Foundation. This marvelous organization, which supports audiovisual production for Central American and Cuban filmmakers with a variety of programs and grants, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and their work in the region is more […]

There is a before and after effect of Ecuadorian Cinema ever since Sebastián Cordero released his award-winning film Ratas, Ratones, Rateros in 1999.  The film had its World Premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and subsequently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.  I can still remember watching it with some friends; we loved […]

Calloused Hands poster; actor Luca Oriel and director Jesse Quinones at MIFF 2013 Kino Lorber has announced its acquisition of all North American rights to Calloused Hands, which held its World Premiere at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival. The debut feature from director Jesse Quinones, is based on a true story influenced by Quinones’ […]

l to r: Remond Amsalem, director Ziad Doueiri, Ali Sulliman on the set of The Attack; scene from The Attack The Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be hard to follow, even for those who live it.  And that’s at the center of a new film called The Attack, based on Yasmina Khadra’s international bestselling novel of the […]

Scene from Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury Mark Adams, chief film critic for Screen, perhaps captured Luiz Bolognesi’s breathtaking new film describing it as “A bold and striking adult animated film that traverses 600 years of Brazilian history – past and future – the ambitious Rio 2096: A Story of Love and […]

How far will one woman go to live in a free Cuba? She’s been kidnapped, threatened, beaten, lives under surveillance in Cuba for expressing her opinion, and can only get online (in disguise) at tourist hotspots. Among the world’s most influential voices in social media, Yoani Sánchez uses her blog, Generación Y which averages over […]

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Isabella Rosselini (photo: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders Studio) Miami Beach native Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ celebrated career as an award-winning portrait photographer and documentary filmmaker continues to thrive. Son of Dr. Ruth W. Greenfield, Miami musician and teacher who, through music, broke racial barriers in the 1950s and brought together black and white students, taught by black […]

Graham Winick, Jaie Laplante, Kareem Tabsch, Andrew Hevia As part of last week’s 3rd edition Miami Media and Film Market, presented by CAMACOL and 34th Hemispheric Congress, Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) executive director, Jaie Laplante; O Cinema co-founder Kareem Tabsch; and filmmaker & founding member of Borscht Corporation Andrew Hevia took center stage at […]

l to r: director Noah Baumbach, scene from Frances Ha If you believe what you read, then all of American filmmaker Noah Baumbach’s sharp, witty, poignant, and sometimes devastating works are drawn directly from his life. Baumbach debuted in 1995 with his acclaimed but largely underseen cult classic Kicking and Screaming; a stingingly funny, truthful […]

l to r: Miami Encuentros 2013 award-winner Neto Villalobos with EGEDA’s Elvi Cano at MIFF, poster artwork, Neto ‘n’ Rocky This past weekend at the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film, it was announced that negotiations had been completed between Costa Rican producer/director Neto Villalobos’ MIFF Encuentros winning project Por las plumas (All About the […]

NOW is the time to vote on the final round of the 2013 Best of Miami Readers’ Poll, where you get to vote among the top five nominees in each category. If you enjoy all the wonderful year-round events MIFF provides, we would be over the moon with YOUR votes!! Best Festival: Miami International Film […]

Last week on a trip to Dominican Republic, I discovered The Mountain (La montaña), an emotionally galvanizing, unheralded documentary feature about three young Dominican men on a quest to climb Mount Everest, by first-time filmmaker Tabare Blanchard. The Mountain world premiered last month at Austin’s Cine Las Americas Film Festival, after a private, work-in-progress screening […]

At this year’s International Film Festival of Panama (IFF Panamá), it was thrilling to witness the enthusiasm around Panama City’s National Theater on April 16th as the winning projects of the Panama Film Commission’s first ever grants project (FONDO CINE / CINEMA FUND) were announced.  Twelve projects were selected from a total of 52 cinematographic […]

Miami International Film Festival 2013 I had the great opportunity to attend a bunch of movies during the Miami International Film Festival this year (Thanks Rachel!) This 10 day festival features 138 international films, showing at 10 theaters around Miami, parties, galas, and a whole bunch of awesome people. Over the last few years, my […]

By: Grace Paulus, Miami Future Cinema Critic The Crash Reel  The dangers of extreme sports are often overlooked and sadly enough there is just not enough awareness on the subject. Director, Lucy Walker (Waste Land, Devil’s Playground) sheds light into the world of competitive snowboarding in The Crash Reel. The film follows pro-snowboarders, Kevin Pearce […]

Tough Protagonists Are Up Against the World in International Cinema by Justin James, Miami Future Cinema Critic   As the Miami International Film Festival celebrated its thirtieth year of independent and international movie-making, Oscar-nominated Chilean film No completely sold out it’s screening at the Olympia Theatre at the Gusman Center. No director Pablo Larraín focuses […]

By: Juan Barquin There’s always something so surprising about the way joy finds a way into our lives even in the darkest of times. There is no doubt in my mind that two of the films I’ve seen in the latter half of my time as an MFCC juror for the Miami International Film Festival […]

By: Grace Paulus, Miami Future Cinema Critic First off, I would like to thank the Miami International Film Festival for this amazing opportunity to participate in the Miami Future Cinema Critics Program. Among the playlist of films so far, I’ve noticed an overwhelming sense of family and acceptance. First on the list, The Boy Who […]