Let’s Finish A Movie! Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival Announces Five Encuentros Projects And Jury

Let’s Finish A Movie! Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival Announces Five Encuentros Projects And Jury
Miami, FL — Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival, the only major film festival worldwide produced by a college or university, is pleased to announce the five Miami Encuentros post-production project selections for its 32nd Edition taking place March 6-15, 2015. Now in its 12th year, Miami Encuentros is presented through the Festival’s VeoMiami industry program which runs parallel to the Festival. One winning project will receive a $10,000 cash prize generously presented by The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The five selected projects for Miami Encuentros 2015 are:

• The Apostate (El apóstata) (Spain / France / Uruguay, produced by Guadalupe Balaguer Trelles, Fernando Franco, and Federico Veiroj, directed by Federico Veiroj). Veiroj has had two previous films in Miami International Film Festival’s Official Selection: Acné at the 2009 Festival and A Useful Life (La vida útil) at the 2011 Festival.

• Lost North (Sin norte) (Chile, produced by Luis Cifuentes and Francisca Urrutia, directed by Fernando Lavanderos). Lavanderos has previously directed the feature film Things the Way They Are (Las cosas como son) (2012), an award winner at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Cifuentes also produced In the Grayscale (En las gamas de gris), which is world premiering in Miami International Film Festival’s Official Selection this year as part of the Lexus Ibero-American Opera Prima Competition.

• My Friend from the Park (Mi amiga del parque) (Argentina / Uruguay, produced by Nicolás Avruj, Diego Lerman and Ana Katz, directed by Ana Katz). Katz has previously directed three feature films, including A Stray Girlfriend (Una novia errante), which premiered in Un Certain Regard at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Avruj and Lerman have had one previous film in the Miami International Film Festival’s Official Selection, Lerman’s The Invisible Eye (La mirada invisible) at the 2011 Festival.

• Strange Days (Dias extraños) (Argentina / Colombia, produced by Juan Villegas, Rodrigo Moreno and Juan Sebastián Quebrada, directed by Juan Sebastián Quebrada). This is Quebrada’s debut feature film. Villegas has had two previous films in Miami International Film Festival’s Official Selection, as executive producer of Celina Murga’s A Week Alone (Una semana solos) at the 2009 Festival and Gonzalo Tobal’s Villegas at the 2013 Festival.

• Wounded Man (Te prometo anarquía) (Mexico / Germany, produced by Sandra Gómez, Maximiliano Cruz and Julio Hernández Cordón and directed by Julio Hernández Cordón). Hernández Cordón has had three previous films in Miami International Film Festival’s Official Selection, Gasoline (Gasolina) at the 2009 Festival, Dust (Polvo) at the 2013 Festival, and Marimbas from Hell (Marimbas del infierno) at the 2011 Festival, which also won that year’s Knight Ibero-American Grand Jury Prize.

The program was curated by Diana Sanchez, one of the world’s most influential experts on Latin American cinema, who created the program for Miami International Film Festival in 2003 with then-director Nicole Guillemet.

“Diana Sanchez has put together a phenomenal collection of projects that are certain to be the toast of the Ibero-American and International cinema worlds in the 2015-16 season,” says the Festival’s Executive Director Jaie Laplante. “Her taste and her eye are uncommonly precise among the world’s programmers.”

The Festival also announced this year’s Miami Encuentros jury, comprised of three members of distinction from the international film industry:

VIRGINIE DEVESA
Virginie Devesa studied Languages and Communications in Lyon, and Photography and Business Communications in the United States. Her first experience with cinema was in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she participated in organizing the Molodist Film Festival. After a three-year tenure at Celluloid Dreams she accepted a post at the French Embassy in Moscow. Upon her return, she studied film production at the CFPF in Paris and worked for Urban Distribution as Head of Sales. Recently she created of her own sales agency Alpha Violet, who has represented such films as Tanta agua (2013), the Knight Ibero-American Competition Grand Jury Prize winner at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival.

BARBIE HEUSINGER
Barbie Heusinger was trained in Germany, Northern Ireland and Spain in Anglo/American Studies, Film Studies and Economics and holds a Master’s degree in Audiovisual Business Management specializing in International Film Production. From 2006 to 2014, she managed German Films’ Distribution Support Fund. Prior to taking up her position at German Films, she worked in marketing at the National Theatre in Nuremberg, Germany, handling event organization and film production. In December 2014, Barbie joined the integrated world sales and production company Picture Tree International as a Sales and Acquisitions Manager for Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Since April 2014, Barbie is a member of the consulting team in the Film Marketing Coaching (FMC) program at FOCAL – Foundation for professional training in cinema and audiovisual media in Switzerland that supports producers and distributors with their film projects in development, marketing and promotion campaigns.

PAUL HUDSON
Paul Hudson is a graduate of the University of Bournemouth in England. He was Vice President of International Theatrical Distribution, Operations and Finance for MGM in Los Angeles where he was responsible for all of MGM and United Artists’ theatrical distribution activities outside of the United States and Canada. He currently runs the independent US distribution, production, and sales company Outsider Pictures, which he co-founded. Since its launch in 2005, Outsider has released Adam’s Apples (2005); Klimt (2006); London to Brighton (2006); The Unknown Woman (2006); Baarìa (2009); José and Pilar(2010), Las Acacias (2011); Juan of the Dead (2012), Miami International Film Festival’s 2014 Knight Ibero-American Grand Jury Prize winner A Wolf at the Door (O Lobo atrás da Porta); and two 2015 Festival Official Selections: Voice Over (La voz en off) (2014) and Beautiful Youth (Hermosa juventud) (2014).

The purpose of Miami Encuentros is to facilitate completion of feature films that are currently in post-production, produced partially or entirely by Ibero-American based production companies, or from U.S. Hispanic filmmakers. The program aims to propel these projects towards their eventual debuts on the international stage after completion, supporting the filmmakers through a blend of exposure at the Festival and awards to the most meritorious project as selected by a jury of international film professionals. in addition to  the $10,000 cash prize, the winning project will also receive a DCP Mastering Service package from Madrid’s Aracne Digital Cinema valued at USD $5,000.

Beyond Miami Encuentros, VeoMiami, the concurrently-running industry sidebar to the 32nd Edition of Miami International Film Festival, affords young Ibero-American film talents an unparalleled opportunity to discover, discuss, and develop the art and business of Ibero-American cinema among a top-notch group of industry players.

Access to VeoMiami Encuentros screenings are restricted to registered Industry guests only.

Tickets for the public screenings of the 32nd Edition of Miami International Film Festival are on sale now. For membership opportunities or more information on the Festival, please visit www.miff2020.wpengine.comor call 305-237-FILM(3456).

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About Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival
Celebrating its 32nd annual edition March 6 – 15, 2015, Miami Dade College’s Miami International 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 more than 60,000 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. Miami International Film Festival’s special focus on Ibero-American cinema has made the Festival a natural gateway for the discovery of new talent from this diverse territory. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. Major sponsors of the 2015 Festival include Knight Foundation, Lexus, Telemundo and Miami-Dade County. For more information, visit www.miff2020.wpengine.com or call 305-237-FILM(3456).

About MDCulture
MDCulture is the Cultural Affairs Department of Miami Dade College (MDC). Comprising the Miami Book Fair International, Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival, Tower Theater, the Center for Literature and Theatre, Koubek Center, Freedom Tower, MDC Live Arts and MDC Galleries and Museum of Art + Design. MDCulture is committed to providing its community with the opportunity to come in contact with innovative thinkers, creators and tradition bearers from around the world. With each presentation, MDCulture offers a bridge between cultures and ideas, creating new opportunities for the increasingly diverse population of Miami to come together through shared live arts experiences. For more information, visit www.mdculture.org.

About John S. & James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.KnightFoundation.org.

Miami Dade College’s Miami International Film Festival Contacts:
Jessica Wade Pfeffer, Jessica Wade Inc., +1 305-804-8424, jessica@jessicawadeinc.com
Margie Sernik, Jessica Wade Inc., +1 305-456-0483, margie@jessicawadeinc.com
Juan C. Mendieta, +1 305-237-7611, jmendiet@mdc.edu
Sue Arrowsmith, +1 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu
Alejandro Rios, +1 305-237-7482, arios1@mdc.edu