MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL GEMS ANNOUNCES LINE-UP
FOR 2020 HYBRID EVENT, OCTOBER 8-11 

Four-day Fest will Open with Drive-In Screening of HBO Bee Gees Documentary;
Highlights Include U.S. Premiere of Spanish Comedy “Rosa’s Wedding” and
Variety “10 Latinx to Watch” Virtual Panel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Sept. 25, 2020

Miami, FL — Remaining true to its mission to present “the jewels of the fall season,” Miami Dade College’s (MDC) renowned, 38-year-old Miami Film Festival unveiled the line-up for the seventh annual edition of its acclaimed Miami Film Festival GEMS, which will be held virtually this year from October 8-11.  With a nod to its normally live format, the four-day festival will open with an East Coast Premiere screening of The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart at Dezerland Park Drive-in, with a virtual introduction by the film’s director, five-time Academy Award-nominee Frank Marshall (Jurassic World, Back to the Future, Jason Bourne).

“GEMS re-invents itself as a four-day bingeworthy app channel where you can watch one outstanding film after another,” said Miami Film Festival executive director Jaie Laplante.

“Before getting comfortable on your coach, first join us IRL for a night of music, nostalgia and style at a Thursday Night Fever drive-in dedication to the titans who created the original Miami Sound,” added the Festival’s co-director of programming Lauren Cohen.

Miami Film Festival will continue its partnership with Variety to host a virtual panel with some of the 10 Latinx To Watch on Friday, October 9, rescheduled from the March festival, with participants to be announced. The prestigious list of talent-on-the-rise, announced earlier this year, includes:

·      Melissa Barrera, actor (Vida, In the Heights).
·      Angel Bismark Curiel, actor (Pose, Critical Thinking, Latin History for Morons).
·      Julissa Calderon, actress (Gentefied).
·      Chesca, artist/singer/dancer.
·      Carolina Costa, cinematographer (Workforce, Hala, Wander Darkly).
·      Marina di Girolamo, actress (Ema).
·      Gonzalo Maza, writer/director (This is Cristina, A Fantastic Woman).
·      Cesar Mazariegos, writer/director (High & Mighty, The Simpsons).
·      Camila Mendes, actress (Palm Springs, Riverdale).
·      Tainy, music producer (Bad Bunny’s “X 100pre”)

Many already laureled with prestigious awards, the 2020 GEMS herald compelling stories from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. Four films are the first selections of the season to compete for the GEMS Festival’s top prize, the $25,000 Knight MARIMBAS Award, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. This is a juried prize for a film that best exemplifies richness and resonance for cinema’s future. The award is named after the marimba, a type of xylophone with wooden bars that produces a deeper, richer and more resonant tone. The titles are:

• Kokoloko (Mexico), directed by Gerardo Naranjo, which received a Best Actor prize for Noé Hernández at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival
• Night of the Kings (Ivory Coast, France, Canada, Senegal), directed by Philippe Lacôte, the Ivory Coast’s official submission in the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category
• Rosa’s Wedding (Spain), a mid-life comedy directed by Icíar Bollaín (U.S. Premiere)
• Undine (Germany, France), directed by Christian Petzold, which received a Best Actress prize for Paula Beers at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival

The first two films announced to compete for the Festival’s 2021 $10,000 Jordan Ressler First Feature Film Award are both American films – Ekwa Msangi’s Farewell Amor and Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby.

GEMS will host six special presentation screenings, including three films that were originally programmed for the 2020 Miami Film Festival in March but were cancelled due to the pandemic:

• Out in the Open (Spain), directed by Benito Zambrano
• This is Cristina (Chile), directed by Gonzalo Maza, the 2020 Miami Film Festival $10,000 Jordan Ressler First Feature Film Award winner, executive produced by Salma Hayek
• Us Kids (U.S.), directed by Kim A. Snyder

The other three special presentations are:

• Black Bear (U.S.), directed by Lawrence Michael Levine and starring Aubrey Plaza, Sara Gadon and Christopher Abbot
• My Prince Edward (Hong Kong), directed by Norris Wong Yee-Lam, winner of Best New Director at 2020 Hong Kong Film Awards
• Sound of Metal (U.S., Belgium), directed by Darius Marder and starring Riz Ahmed

Competing for the Documentary Achievement Award are three American titles making their Florida premieres: Finding Yingying, directed by Jiayan “Jenny” Shi, We Don’t Deserve Dogs directed by Matthew Salleh and Women in Blue, directed by Deidre Fishel, which examines the challenges of a racial spectrum of women in law enforcement via the prism of Minneapolis Police Department in the months and years leading up to George Floyd’s death.

All Spanish-language films in GEMS Miami Film Festival are supported by Viendomovies available with Xfinity and FlixLatino. Night of the Kings is supported by TV5Monde and Consulate General of Canada in Miami. Undine is supported by Consulate General of Federal Republic of Germany in Miami. Kokoloko is supported by AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

All-Access Virtual Passes from $25 and individual film passes from $9.99 are now on sale. The first 75 people to purchase the All-Access Virtual Pass will receive a GEMS-At-Home Viewing Kits filled with goodies to enhance your at-home festival experience. For more information on the festival, visit miamifilmfestival.com.

About Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival                               
Celebrating cinema in two annual events, Miami Film Festival GEMS, October 8-11, 2020 and its 38th annual edition March 5-14, 2021, Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival is considered the preeminent film festival for showcasing Ibero-American cinema in the U.S., and a major launch pad for all international and documentary cinema. The annual Festival welcomes more than 45,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. Major sponsors of Miami Film Festival GEMS include Knight Foundation, Telemundo, American Airlines, Estrella Damm, and Miami-Dade County. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit kf.org.

About Jordan Alexander Ressler Charitable Fund
The Jordan Ressler First Feature Award at Miami Film Festival recognizes and supports artists in their careers as professional screenwriters. It was created by the South Florida family of Jordan Alexander Ressler, an aspiring screenwriter and Cornell University film studies graduate who, during his brief entertainment career, held production positions with the Tony award-winning Broadway hits 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal and Jersey Boys.

About ViendoMovies
ViendoMovies is a Pay TV channel that broadcasts contemporary, exclusive originally produced in Spanish-language films, 24 hours a day with no commercial breaks, in a premium, culturally relevant on air look. ViendoMovies is produced in the US for the Hispanic and Puerto Rico markets and is part of SOMOSTV LLC. For more information please visit us at www.viendomovies.com and www.somostv.net.

Miami Film Festival Media Relations Contacts:
Steven Wilson, Scenario PR | 310-497-4951 | steven.wilson@scenariopr.com
Emmanuel Genao, director of marketing & community relations | egenao@mdc.edu

MDC Media Relations Contacts:
Juan C. Mendieta, MDC director of communications, 305-237-7611, jmendiet@mdc.edu
Sue Arrowsmith, director of media relations, 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu