From our friends at AFI Silver Theatre...
24th Edition of Festival Runs September 19 - October 9 with 45 Films Representing 21 Countries
AFI Silver has announced the complete slate of films for the 2013 edition of its AFI Latin American Film Festival, taking place September 19 - October 9 at the historic AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. A program of the American Film Institute, the festival, now in its 24th year, showcases the best in filmmaking from Latin America and, with the inclusion of films from Spain and Portugal, celebrates Ibero-American cultural connections. This year’s selection of 45 films ranges from international festival favorites and award-winners, to local box-office hits and debut works by gifted new talents.
The Opening Night selection, VIOLA, directed by Matías Piñiero, who was recently named by The New York Times as one of 20 Directors to Watch, is a spritely adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” reset among contemporary Buenos Aires hipsters. Piñeiro’s short film ROSALINDA will also be screened. Piñiero will introduce both of his films, followed by a discussion with the audience and a post-reception screening sponsored by the Embassy of Argentina.
Additional Special Festival Presentations include: Argentina’s box office sensation THESIS ON A HOMICIDE, a twist-filled thriller starring Ricardo Darín (THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, CARANCHO, NINE QUEENS); SUGAR KISSES, a “Romeo and Juliet”-esque romance between two innocent inner-city teens from Oscar Nominee Carlos Cuarón (Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN, RUDO Y CURSI), with director/screenwriter/producer Carlos Cuarón in attendance for a discussion plus post-screening reception sponsored by the Mexican Cultural Institute; Carl Franklin’s (DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS) faithful adaptation of Rudolfo Anaya’s landmark Chicano novel BLESS ME, ULTIMA; recent Cannes premiere, THE GERMAN DOCTOR (aka WAKOLDA), a moody thriller about infamous Nazi criminal Josef Mengele living in Argentina; Javier Rebollo’s screwball road movie, THE DEAD MAN AND BEING HAPPY, about a cancer-stricken hitman looking for redemption, with director/screenwriter Javier Rebollo in attendance for a discussion, plus post-screening reception sponsored by SPAIN arts & culture, Embassy of Spain; and the Closing Night selection, WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL?, a potent immigration docu-drama starring Gael García Bernal.
Additional festival guests include filmmaker Patrick Cordova and producer Nahuel Attar with their film ONCE UPON A TIME IN BOLIVIA; the Washington, DC-raised James June Schneider with his rock doc PÁNICO: THE BAND THAT MET THE SOUND BENEATH; executive producer Francisco Cardona with THE SNITCH CARTEL, the Colombian Oscar submission in 2012 for Best Foreign Language Film; and filmmaker Eduardo López with his film HARVEST OF EMPIRE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF LATINOS IN AMERICA, which will be presented as a free community screening on September 22.
Other highlights include THE FUTURE, Chilean filmmaker Alicia Scherson's adaptation of a novel by celebrated author Roberto Bolaño, set in Rome and starring Rutger Hauer; A GUN IN EACH HAND, Spanish filmmaker Cesc Gay's battle-of-the-sexes farce, starring Javier Camara, Eduardo Noriega and Ricardo Darín; SO MUCH WATER, a multi-award-winning coming-of-age tale from Uruguay; VIRAMUNDO, a documentary about Brazilian music star-turned-Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil; and RIO 2096: A STORY OF LOVE AND FURY, a visionary animated film, awarded the top prize at this year's Annecy Animated Film Festival.
For updated information and tickets, go to AFI.com/Silver/LAFF
