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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 30, 2018 |
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| MDC’s Miami Film Festival Unveils 2019 Poster, Announces First GEMS 2018 Titles and Jordan Ressler Award Nominees |
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| Miami, FL — Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival announced today that renowned Spanish artist, illustrator and painter Ana Juan is the poster artist for the 36th edition of the acclaimed Festival that will take place March 1 – 10, 2019.
“Ana Juan’s delightful creation to represent Miami Film Festival’s 36th season evokes the color and playfulness of Miami, with a beautiful femininity that captures our moment,” said Miami Film Festival’s executive director Jaie Laplante.
Juan, a frequent contributor of cover art to The New Yorker magazine, has had numerous solo exhibitions of her work over the past 30 years and received a multitude of international awards and prizes, including the National Illustration Award from Spain’s Ministry of Culture in 2010.
Of her creation for this year’s Miami Film Festival poster, Juan stated: “A flower is color, color is life, life is passion and passion makes a dream become true: The dream of cinema.”
The Festival also announced the first four titles for its fall season festival extension, MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL GEMS 2018, scheduled for Oct. 11 – 14. The four films are further distinguished as the first nominees announced for the Festival’s Jordan Ressler First Feature Award competition, which presents a jury-selected $10,000 cash prize to the best film by a filmmaker making their feature narrative debut. The Award is courtesy of the South Florida family of the late Jordan Ressler, an aspiring screenwriter whose life was tragically cut short before he could realize his dream. The Ressler family recently renewed their commitment to the Award through 2023. |
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The four announced nominees are:
- DIAMANTINO (Portugal, directed by Gabriel Abrantes & Daniel Schmidt). A delirious off-beat comedy about the world’s premiere soccer star and underwear model who tumbles from grace due to an evildoer’s plot. Winner of the 2018 Grand Prix NESPRESSO at La Semaine de la Critique, Cannes.
- THE HEIRESSES (LAS HEREDERAS) (Paraguay, directed by Marcelo Martinessi). Two upper-class women who have discreetly been a couple for more than 30 years go through a crisis when their worsening financial situation forces them to begin selling off their family heirlooms, and one partner goes to jail for fraud. Winner of numerous international prizes, including the Alfred Bauer Prize and Best Actress for Ana Brun at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival.
- HOPELESSLY DEVOUT (MI QUERIDA COFRADÍA) (Spain, directed by Marta Díaz de Lope Díaz). Winner of Audience Award at 2018 Malaga Film Festival, an uproarious screwball comedy in the spirit of early Almodóvar films. When the devout Carmen is passed over for leadership of her local religious guild in southern Spain in favor of a man, her initial despair turns into determination to turn the tables on this sexist situation.
- BOYS CRY (Italy, directed by Damiano D’Innocenzo & Fabio D’Innocenzo). Two teenage boys living in the suburbs of Rome fall into service of the local mafia, but their loss of innocence takes them to unexpected places. Winner of the prestigious Nastro d’Argento (Silver Ribbon), Italy’s National Syndicate of Film Journalists Award, for Best First Feature Film of the Year.
The screenings of The Heiresses and Hopelessly Devout are made possible with the support of ViendoMovies.
Additional GEMS titles will be announced in the coming weeks. Individual tickets for all Festival events will go on sale to the general public beginning Sept. 24. Festival members have the opportunity for pre-buy and premium seating. For more information, visit miff2020.wpengine.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456). |
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About Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival
Miami Film Festival is the only major film festival event housed within a college or university. Celebrating cinema in two annual events, Miami GEMS Festival in October and its 36th annual edition March 1 – 10, 2019, 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 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 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. For more information, visit miff2020.wpengine.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).
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.
MDC’s Miami Film Festival Media Relations Contacts:
NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES / TRADE
Steven Wilson, B W R Public Relations | 310-497-4951 | Steven.Wilson@bwr-pr.com
MDC Media-only contacts: Juan C. Mendieta, MDC director of communications, 305-237-7611, jmendiet@mdc.edu; Hessy Fernandez, director of media relations, 305-237-3949, hfernan5@mdc.edu; Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu, or Allison Horton, 305-237-3359, ahorton2@mdc.edu. |
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