“No Me Sigas,” the directorial debut of “Anything’s Possible” writer Ximena García Lecuona, and “Malamuerte,” from Caye Casas, a rising star of pitch black Spanish comedy, both feature in a rich and far-ranging 2023 Blood Window Lab, the project platform of Ventana Sur’s genre forum, which unspools Nov. 27-Dec. 1.
The projects are joined by other buzz titles such as “Into the Spiral,” from Facundo Escudero Salinas, whose thriller, “Broken,” ranks as one of the top 10 most watched Argentine films of 2023.
Also anticipated is “Planet, billed as “a vast depiction of unprecedented worldwide alien contact, exploring different cultures and societal classes through their experiences with the phenomenon,” and directed by Fredrik S. Hana, a 2022 Meliès d’Or Award for “From.Beyond.”
The projects form part of 22 titles as submissions are up 20% this year on last, notes Javier Fernández, head of the Blood Window Program.
That rise comes as little surprise. As big...
The projects are joined by other buzz titles such as “Into the Spiral,” from Facundo Escudero Salinas, whose thriller, “Broken,” ranks as one of the top 10 most watched Argentine films of 2023.
Also anticipated is “Planet, billed as “a vast depiction of unprecedented worldwide alien contact, exploring different cultures and societal classes through their experiences with the phenomenon,” and directed by Fredrik S. Hana, a 2022 Meliès d’Or Award for “From.Beyond.”
The projects form part of 22 titles as submissions are up 20% this year on last, notes Javier Fernández, head of the Blood Window Program.
That rise comes as little surprise. As big...
- 10/27/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Three-time Grammy award-winning singer Lizzo will receive “The People’s Champion” award at the 2022 People’s Choice Awards, NBC and E! announced on Friday.
Lizzo has been nominated five times previously for her record-breaking compositions and continuous activism related to topics like body positivity and racial inclusion.
“She leads with kindness, advocates for inclusivity and champions increased diversity and equity in the industry and beyond,” Cassandra Tryon, senior vice president of entertainment live Events for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said of Lizzo. “Her commitment to breaking barriers and empowering others to use their own voices to create change makes her a true ‘People’s Champion.’”
Lizzo released her latest album, “Special,” in July 2022, and the featured song “About Damn Time” rapidly accelerated to #1 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” list. Most recently, Lizzo debuted a remix of the album’s fourth track, “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready), with Pnau — a trio of Edm musicians.
Lizzo has been nominated five times previously for her record-breaking compositions and continuous activism related to topics like body positivity and racial inclusion.
“She leads with kindness, advocates for inclusivity and champions increased diversity and equity in the industry and beyond,” Cassandra Tryon, senior vice president of entertainment live Events for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said of Lizzo. “Her commitment to breaking barriers and empowering others to use their own voices to create change makes her a true ‘People’s Champion.’”
Lizzo released her latest album, “Special,” in July 2022, and the featured song “About Damn Time” rapidly accelerated to #1 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” list. Most recently, Lizzo debuted a remix of the album’s fourth track, “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready), with Pnau — a trio of Edm musicians.
- 11/12/2022
- by Katie Reul
- Variety Film + TV
Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespeare tale All Is True has been selected to open the Palm Springs Film Festival, which Friday unveiled its full lineup of films for the 30th edition that runs January 3-14. The fest also said that Bruce Bereford’s Ladies in Black will be the closing-night film, with the director and cast members expected to be in attendance.
In all, the fest will screen 223 films from 78 countries, and as usual will screen a slew of Oscar Foreign Language Film entries, this year numbering 43 of the 87 official submissions. Also on the docket: a 30-film retrospective of past fest selections, dubbed the Palm Springs Canon; special focuses on cinema from France, India and Mexico, and Jewish and queer cinema; and the new Ricky Jay Magic of Cinema Award, named for actor and magician Ricky Jay who died last month.
In addition to the film lineup, the opening awards gala...
In all, the fest will screen 223 films from 78 countries, and as usual will screen a slew of Oscar Foreign Language Film entries, this year numbering 43 of the 87 official submissions. Also on the docket: a 30-film retrospective of past fest selections, dubbed the Palm Springs Canon; special focuses on cinema from France, India and Mexico, and Jewish and queer cinema; and the new Ricky Jay Magic of Cinema Award, named for actor and magician Ricky Jay who died last month.
In addition to the film lineup, the opening awards gala...
- 12/14/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The Palm Springs International Film Festival has announced its 2019 lineup, and it’s prodigious: 223 films from 78 countries, four of them world premieres. Though well known for celebrating future Oscar nominees (and winners) each year, the festival also boasts a deceptively robust world-cinema slate; among the upcoming offerings are Jia Zhangke’s “Ash Is Purest White,” Sergey Loznitsa’s “Donbass,” Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra’s “Birds of Passage,” and Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s “Asako I & II,” to name just a few.
A number of post-screening Q&As will also be held, including with “Black Klansman” author Ron Stallworth and “Support the Girls” star Regina Hall, in addition to a new section celebrating the best films to screen at Psiff throughout its first three decades.
World premieres:
Buck Run (USA), Director Nick Frangione
Carlos Almaraz Playing With Fire (USA), Directors Elsa Flores Almaraz, Richard Montoya (Schlesinger Documentary Competition)
The Last Color...
A number of post-screening Q&As will also be held, including with “Black Klansman” author Ron Stallworth and “Support the Girls” star Regina Hall, in addition to a new section celebrating the best films to screen at Psiff throughout its first three decades.
World premieres:
Buck Run (USA), Director Nick Frangione
Carlos Almaraz Playing With Fire (USA), Directors Elsa Flores Almaraz, Richard Montoya (Schlesinger Documentary Competition)
The Last Color...
- 12/14/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Epic Pictures Snags Worldwide Sales Rights to Colombian Dance Thriller ‘We Are the Heat’ (Exclusive)
Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson of Epic Pictures have picked up the worldwide sales and distribution rights to Colombian dance thriller “We are the Heat” (“Somos Calentura”). Helmed by award-winning filmmaker Jorge Navas and produced by Steven Grisales, “We are the Heat” stars Duván Arizala, José Luis Paz, Miguel Angel Micolta, Manuel Riascos, Heidy Mina and Julio Valencia, all of them street dancers from the Pacific Colombian coast.
Penned by Diego Vivanco and Grisales, drama features more than 2,000 extras and a cast of nearly all Afro-Colombian descent.
“We are the Heat” brings a narrative of power, salsa and Latin Hip Hop with high production value, realism and intimacy while aiming to connect with a global audience,” said Grisales.
Pic was filmed in the massive port city of Buenaventura, one of the country’s poorest cities and a hub of violence and drug trafficking. A group of disenchanted youth, former local urban dance champions,...
Penned by Diego Vivanco and Grisales, drama features more than 2,000 extras and a cast of nearly all Afro-Colombian descent.
“We are the Heat” brings a narrative of power, salsa and Latin Hip Hop with high production value, realism and intimacy while aiming to connect with a global audience,” said Grisales.
Pic was filmed in the massive port city of Buenaventura, one of the country’s poorest cities and a hub of violence and drug trafficking. A group of disenchanted youth, former local urban dance champions,...
- 4/27/2018
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Claudia Pedraza’s debut feature scooped the $20,000 top prize at the Bogotá Audiovisual Market.
The seventh edition of the Bogotá Audiovisual Market closed on Friday (July 15) with this year’s award-winners illustrating the energy and diversity of the Colombian film industry.
La Sed (The Thirst) won the Efd (Equipment and Film Design Colombia) Prize, which comes with $20,000 (€18,000) worth of Efd shooting equipment. The film marks director Claudia Pedraza’s [pictured] debut feature after working as first assistant director on Ciro Guerra’s Embrace Of The Serpent.
La Sed, a Marejada Films production, is a drama set in a world where the lack of water has made living conditions extreme. With a budget of $490,000 (€443,000), the film will be shot next year in La Guajira desert in Colombia, the same location where Ciro Guerra is planning to shoot Pájaros De Verano, his next feature following the success of Embrace Of The Serpent, which won at Director’s Fortnight in Cannes...
The seventh edition of the Bogotá Audiovisual Market closed on Friday (July 15) with this year’s award-winners illustrating the energy and diversity of the Colombian film industry.
La Sed (The Thirst) won the Efd (Equipment and Film Design Colombia) Prize, which comes with $20,000 (€18,000) worth of Efd shooting equipment. The film marks director Claudia Pedraza’s [pictured] debut feature after working as first assistant director on Ciro Guerra’s Embrace Of The Serpent.
La Sed, a Marejada Films production, is a drama set in a world where the lack of water has made living conditions extreme. With a budget of $490,000 (€443,000), the film will be shot next year in La Guajira desert in Colombia, the same location where Ciro Guerra is planning to shoot Pájaros De Verano, his next feature following the success of Embrace Of The Serpent, which won at Director’s Fortnight in Cannes...
- 7/18/2016
- ScreenDaily
Carlos Osuna’s two projects El Concursante and Sin Mover Los Labios earn Bam Projects and Screenings prizes; seven other titles headed to Locarno and San Sebastian.
The sixth Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) closed on Friday night (July 17) with several awards and referrals to industry events in Locarno and San Sebastian.
Screenings
The winner of Bam Screenings’ Cinecolour Fiction Prize, worth $10,000 in production services was Carlos Osuna’s Sin Mover Los Labios (With Lips Closed).
The comedy-drama, produced by Malta Cine, tells the story of an amateur ventriloquist who creates a puppet of his mother and puts on a successful show about their relationship.
Other screening winners were Marcela Lizcano’s Aislados produced by Proyección Films, which received the Cinecolor documentary prize worth $5,000; Anna De Jacques’ Toulemonde produced by Janus Films, which will be broadcast on Rtvc and receives support in securing theatrical distribution; and the documentary feature Garras De Oro: Herida Abierta A Un Continente produced...
The sixth Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) closed on Friday night (July 17) with several awards and referrals to industry events in Locarno and San Sebastian.
Screenings
The winner of Bam Screenings’ Cinecolour Fiction Prize, worth $10,000 in production services was Carlos Osuna’s Sin Mover Los Labios (With Lips Closed).
The comedy-drama, produced by Malta Cine, tells the story of an amateur ventriloquist who creates a puppet of his mother and puts on a successful show about their relationship.
Other screening winners were Marcela Lizcano’s Aislados produced by Proyección Films, which received the Cinecolor documentary prize worth $5,000; Anna De Jacques’ Toulemonde produced by Janus Films, which will be broadcast on Rtvc and receives support in securing theatrical distribution; and the documentary feature Garras De Oro: Herida Abierta A Un Continente produced...
- 7/19/2015
- by chrisevans78@hotmail.co.uk (Chris Evans)
- ScreenDaily
More than 30 film projects in development set to be presented at the Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam).Scroll down for full list of projects
Peter Webber’s $2m docu-drama One River (El Rio) and Miguel Urrutia’s English-language thriller Madness are among 33 film projects in development being presented this week at Bam (July 13-17).
Colombia’s biggest film market also features 18 screenings of films in an advanced state of development, alongside the regular Bam Projects category.
Webber (The Girl With The Pearl Earring) attended Bam last year to promote his pickpocket drama Fresh and returns this year with One River.
The project is based on an international best-selling book by Canadian Wade Davis, charting Professor Richard Schultes’ journey through the Amazon in the 1940s and the author’s own travels into the same jungle 30 years later, living among the Indian tribes and searching for the origins of coca, the notorious source of cocaine.
Currently in development...
Peter Webber’s $2m docu-drama One River (El Rio) and Miguel Urrutia’s English-language thriller Madness are among 33 film projects in development being presented this week at Bam (July 13-17).
Colombia’s biggest film market also features 18 screenings of films in an advanced state of development, alongside the regular Bam Projects category.
Webber (The Girl With The Pearl Earring) attended Bam last year to promote his pickpocket drama Fresh and returns this year with One River.
The project is based on an international best-selling book by Canadian Wade Davis, charting Professor Richard Schultes’ journey through the Amazon in the 1940s and the author’s own travels into the same jungle 30 years later, living among the Indian tribes and searching for the origins of coca, the notorious source of cocaine.
Currently in development...
- 7/14/2015
- by chrisevans78@hotmail.co.uk (Chris Evans)
- ScreenDaily
The Girl With A Pearl Earring director’s $2m docu-drama One River (El Rio) and Miguel Urrutia’s English-language thriller Madness are among 32 projects in development being presented at the Bogota Audiovisual market (Bam).
Colombia’s biggest film market takes place all this week (July 13 -17), and also features 18 screenings of films in an advanced state of development, alongside the regular Bam Projects category.
Webber attended Bam last year to promote his pickpocket drama Fresh and returns this year with One River.
The project is based on an international best-selling book by Canadian Wade Davis, charting Professor Richard Schultes’ journey through the Amazon in the 1940s and the author’s own travels into the same jungle 30 years later, living among the Indian tribes and searching for the origins of coca, the notorious source of cocaine.
Currently in development, the project is being produced by Colombian outfit 4 Direcciones in partnership with Canada’s Pimiento Films. They have secured...
Colombia’s biggest film market takes place all this week (July 13 -17), and also features 18 screenings of films in an advanced state of development, alongside the regular Bam Projects category.
Webber attended Bam last year to promote his pickpocket drama Fresh and returns this year with One River.
The project is based on an international best-selling book by Canadian Wade Davis, charting Professor Richard Schultes’ journey through the Amazon in the 1940s and the author’s own travels into the same jungle 30 years later, living among the Indian tribes and searching for the origins of coca, the notorious source of cocaine.
Currently in development, the project is being produced by Colombian outfit 4 Direcciones in partnership with Canada’s Pimiento Films. They have secured...
- 7/13/2015
- by chrisevans78@hotmail.co.uk (Chris Evans)
- ScreenDaily
Following the unveling of the Official Selection, news from the Cannes Film Festival (May 13-24) continues to arrive. The prestigious Critics' Week –aimed at discovering the world's most interesting directors– announced the list of films to be included in the 54th edition of this event, one of the Festival's most important, along with the Directors' Fortnight.
The big news for Colombia is the selection of director/screenwriter César Augusto Acevedo's first film, "La Tierra y la Sombra" (Land and Shade), one of the seven feature films chosen to compete from among 1,100 submissions from around the world. The film was produced by Jorge Forero, Paola Pérez Nieto and Diana Bustamante, partners and founding members of Burning Blue, the production company responsible for some of the most internationally recognized films to come out of Colombia in recent years ("El vuelco del Cangrejo," "La Playa D.C," "La Sirga," "Solecito," "Los Hongos," "Climas," "Refugiado," and many others).
In "La Tierra y la Sombra," a woman refuses to give up the land she has fought to defend all her life; a son is incapable of leaving his mother, to the point of risking his own life; a father must confront past mistakes in order to recover the loved ones he abandoned; a brave wife fights to save her family; and a child grows up in the midst of devastation. Staged in a family microcosm –a tiny house and a tree surrounded by a formidable sugar cane filed–, the film presents the final days of these characters intent on repairing the fragile ties that bind them as they face their own imminent demise in the overwhelming wake of progress. Out of this situation comes a cruel story, densely populated with metaphors and allegories for culture, the fatality of alienation and oblivion, the fragility of memory, the inevitability of family breakdown, and the solitude it provokes.
The film was produced by Burning Blue (Colombia) in co-production with Ciné-Sud Promotion (France), Tokapi Films (Holland), Rampante Films (Chile), and Preta Portê Filmes (Brazil). In addition to director/screenwriter Cesar Acevedo, the film's crew included cinematographer Mateo Guzmán; editor Miguel Schverdfinger; art director Marcela Gómez; actor trainer Fátima Toledo; and soundman Felipe Rayo. The film stars Haimer Leal as Alfonso; Hilda Ruiz as Alicia; Edison Raigosa as Alfonso's and Alicia's son Gerardo; Marleyda Soto as Gerardo's wife Esperanza; and Felipe Cárdenas as Gerardo's and Esperanza's son Manuel.
According to César Acevedo: "The idea for this film was born of personal pain. At the time I began writing the screenplay my mother was dead, my father was a ghost, and given my inability to generate memories, they seemed completely lost to me. Thus arose my need to make a film that would allow me to recover the two most important people in my life, using the language of film. What I intended at the time was a reflection on our lives together, and what they might have been, based on the most private, the most important elements of this relationship. I believed that only by returning to my roots would I be able to face what I'd forgotten. This led to my decision to create a microcosm consisting of a small house and a tree, where I could somehow be reunited with those I loved most."
That was just the beginning, however, and the film couldn't remain tied to this initial concept with time tugging it in another direction. Acevedo continues: "As I began writing the screenplay I realized that the house was inhabited by ghosts, who drifted through the rooms, incapable of speech, unrecognizable to each other. It took a long time to accept that what I was trying to accomplish was impossible, simply because everything I was looking for had disappeared with them. So I distanced myself from the original intention with the sole purpose of better developing my characters and the film's conflict and the idea arose of telling the story of a dysfunctional family's attempt to repair the ties that bind them, just before being separated for good. Not only are they forced to confront the feelings of others, but, more challenging still, they discover feelings they never knew existed, or never suspected they harbored. "
Burning Blue: Spearheading the Internationalization of Colombian Cinema
After participating in the 65th Berlin Film Festival's Forum less than two months ago with Jorge Forero's film "Violence," Burning Blue is proud to announces the inclusion of "La Tierra y la Sombra" in the Cannes Festival's Critics' Week. This selection confirms Burning Blue's role as key Colombian representative in major film events around the world.
Burning Blue's efforts to produce daring films focusing on the value and power of stories, and construction of self-sustaining formats to achieve significant results internationally, allowing Colombian films to be seen worldwide, are examples of the creativity and innovation in Latin America productions and prove that Burning Blue has succeeded in asserting itself in a depressed market with a new vision that provides transcendent stories.
The successful start-up of a co-production model allowing films to work with partners in France, Germany, Poland and Holland –not to mention Latin America, where they have co-produced with Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brazil; the presence of the company's films in more than 200 festivals, with commercial releases in countries like the Us, Greece, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Eastern Europe, and several African nations (as well as co-producing countries); an the company's presence at the Cannes Film Festival in four consecutive years (co-producers of Argentine director Diego Lerman's "Refugiado" in 2014; co-producers of Oscar Ruíz Navia's short film "Solecito" at the 2013 Director's Fortnight; and producers of William Vega's "La Sirga" and Juan Andrés Arango's "La Playa D.C." included in the 2012 Director's Fortnight and Certain Regard sections, respectively) make Burning Blue Colombia's most visible presence on the global film market.
Although Burning Blue has achieved major recognition for its films on the international market, the company aspires, above all, to participate in the creation of films by and for Colombians and, in even more romantically ambitious terms, the creation of Latin American cinema for the Latin American subcontinent. The stories told, therefore, speak profoundly of the continent's many different peoples and uncover the traditions, imagery, dreams, desires, fears and problems facing these richly diverse, passionate, and complex cultures. To this end, Burning Blue hopes to harness the favorable international attention garnered to date to continually ignite local interest, using international platforms as a springboard to its natural audience: Colombia.
Burning Blue, led by Diana Bustamante, Jorge Forero and Paola Pérez Nieto, is currently developing the feature films "Asilo" (Jaime Osorio Márquez), in co-production with Rhayuela Cine, "Desobsesión" (Jorge Navas), and the co-production "Niño Nadie" (Fernando Guzzoni), produced for Chile's Rampante Films.
Diana Bustamante produced Ciro Guerra's "Los Viajes del Viento" (included in the 2009 Cannes Festival's Certain Regard section) and Oscar Ruiz Navia's "El vuelco del cangrejo" (2009 Toronto Film Festival premiere and Fripresci Award at the 2010 Berlinale Festival and Forum). She also designed and managed Caracol Television's film department from 2008 to 2012, taking more than 20 Colombian feature films from the financing to final promotion stages. She recently became the artistic director of the Cartagena International Film Festival (Ficci), contributing to the success of the festival's 55th edition last March, and is currently working on the 2016 festival.
"La Tierra y la Sombra" - Nothing But Success
The process of creating and financing "La Tierra y la Sombra" allowed the film to mature with assistance from specialists, tutors, and evaluation committees at a number of national and international institutions and festivals, each of them helping to move the film towards its world premiere at the upcoming Cannes Festival.
During the project's development stage it won a development grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund in 2009 and was selected the following year to participate in the Pitch Workshop at Colombia's Cali Film Festival. The project also took part in the Ibero-American Films Crossing Borders event at the 2010 Havana Film Festival and the 2012 Ibero-American Co-Production Meeting at the Huelva Film Festival in Spain.
It was, however, in 2013 that the project became a reality, winning at the Cartagena International Film Festival's Co-Production Meeting, which made it possible to attend the Cannes Marché Du Film. The film went on to win a Casa de las Américas Film Project Development grant from the Carolina Foundation and a production grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund. Also in 2013, the Hubert Bals Fund awarded the project a development grant and the San Sebastian Film Festival selected it for the Co-Production Forum.
The final push came in 2014 when the project was invited to participate in Boost! at the Rotterdam Film Festival in Holland and received production grants from both the Ibermedia and Hubert Bals Funds. Shooting took place in late 2014 with post-production following in early 2015 and, finally, the film's submission, in the company of another 1,100 feature films, to the Cannes Festival.
The big news for Colombia is the selection of director/screenwriter César Augusto Acevedo's first film, "La Tierra y la Sombra" (Land and Shade), one of the seven feature films chosen to compete from among 1,100 submissions from around the world. The film was produced by Jorge Forero, Paola Pérez Nieto and Diana Bustamante, partners and founding members of Burning Blue, the production company responsible for some of the most internationally recognized films to come out of Colombia in recent years ("El vuelco del Cangrejo," "La Playa D.C," "La Sirga," "Solecito," "Los Hongos," "Climas," "Refugiado," and many others).
In "La Tierra y la Sombra," a woman refuses to give up the land she has fought to defend all her life; a son is incapable of leaving his mother, to the point of risking his own life; a father must confront past mistakes in order to recover the loved ones he abandoned; a brave wife fights to save her family; and a child grows up in the midst of devastation. Staged in a family microcosm –a tiny house and a tree surrounded by a formidable sugar cane filed–, the film presents the final days of these characters intent on repairing the fragile ties that bind them as they face their own imminent demise in the overwhelming wake of progress. Out of this situation comes a cruel story, densely populated with metaphors and allegories for culture, the fatality of alienation and oblivion, the fragility of memory, the inevitability of family breakdown, and the solitude it provokes.
The film was produced by Burning Blue (Colombia) in co-production with Ciné-Sud Promotion (France), Tokapi Films (Holland), Rampante Films (Chile), and Preta Portê Filmes (Brazil). In addition to director/screenwriter Cesar Acevedo, the film's crew included cinematographer Mateo Guzmán; editor Miguel Schverdfinger; art director Marcela Gómez; actor trainer Fátima Toledo; and soundman Felipe Rayo. The film stars Haimer Leal as Alfonso; Hilda Ruiz as Alicia; Edison Raigosa as Alfonso's and Alicia's son Gerardo; Marleyda Soto as Gerardo's wife Esperanza; and Felipe Cárdenas as Gerardo's and Esperanza's son Manuel.
According to César Acevedo: "The idea for this film was born of personal pain. At the time I began writing the screenplay my mother was dead, my father was a ghost, and given my inability to generate memories, they seemed completely lost to me. Thus arose my need to make a film that would allow me to recover the two most important people in my life, using the language of film. What I intended at the time was a reflection on our lives together, and what they might have been, based on the most private, the most important elements of this relationship. I believed that only by returning to my roots would I be able to face what I'd forgotten. This led to my decision to create a microcosm consisting of a small house and a tree, where I could somehow be reunited with those I loved most."
That was just the beginning, however, and the film couldn't remain tied to this initial concept with time tugging it in another direction. Acevedo continues: "As I began writing the screenplay I realized that the house was inhabited by ghosts, who drifted through the rooms, incapable of speech, unrecognizable to each other. It took a long time to accept that what I was trying to accomplish was impossible, simply because everything I was looking for had disappeared with them. So I distanced myself from the original intention with the sole purpose of better developing my characters and the film's conflict and the idea arose of telling the story of a dysfunctional family's attempt to repair the ties that bind them, just before being separated for good. Not only are they forced to confront the feelings of others, but, more challenging still, they discover feelings they never knew existed, or never suspected they harbored. "
Burning Blue: Spearheading the Internationalization of Colombian Cinema
After participating in the 65th Berlin Film Festival's Forum less than two months ago with Jorge Forero's film "Violence," Burning Blue is proud to announces the inclusion of "La Tierra y la Sombra" in the Cannes Festival's Critics' Week. This selection confirms Burning Blue's role as key Colombian representative in major film events around the world.
Burning Blue's efforts to produce daring films focusing on the value and power of stories, and construction of self-sustaining formats to achieve significant results internationally, allowing Colombian films to be seen worldwide, are examples of the creativity and innovation in Latin America productions and prove that Burning Blue has succeeded in asserting itself in a depressed market with a new vision that provides transcendent stories.
The successful start-up of a co-production model allowing films to work with partners in France, Germany, Poland and Holland –not to mention Latin America, where they have co-produced with Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brazil; the presence of the company's films in more than 200 festivals, with commercial releases in countries like the Us, Greece, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Eastern Europe, and several African nations (as well as co-producing countries); an the company's presence at the Cannes Film Festival in four consecutive years (co-producers of Argentine director Diego Lerman's "Refugiado" in 2014; co-producers of Oscar Ruíz Navia's short film "Solecito" at the 2013 Director's Fortnight; and producers of William Vega's "La Sirga" and Juan Andrés Arango's "La Playa D.C." included in the 2012 Director's Fortnight and Certain Regard sections, respectively) make Burning Blue Colombia's most visible presence on the global film market.
Although Burning Blue has achieved major recognition for its films on the international market, the company aspires, above all, to participate in the creation of films by and for Colombians and, in even more romantically ambitious terms, the creation of Latin American cinema for the Latin American subcontinent. The stories told, therefore, speak profoundly of the continent's many different peoples and uncover the traditions, imagery, dreams, desires, fears and problems facing these richly diverse, passionate, and complex cultures. To this end, Burning Blue hopes to harness the favorable international attention garnered to date to continually ignite local interest, using international platforms as a springboard to its natural audience: Colombia.
Burning Blue, led by Diana Bustamante, Jorge Forero and Paola Pérez Nieto, is currently developing the feature films "Asilo" (Jaime Osorio Márquez), in co-production with Rhayuela Cine, "Desobsesión" (Jorge Navas), and the co-production "Niño Nadie" (Fernando Guzzoni), produced for Chile's Rampante Films.
Diana Bustamante produced Ciro Guerra's "Los Viajes del Viento" (included in the 2009 Cannes Festival's Certain Regard section) and Oscar Ruiz Navia's "El vuelco del cangrejo" (2009 Toronto Film Festival premiere and Fripresci Award at the 2010 Berlinale Festival and Forum). She also designed and managed Caracol Television's film department from 2008 to 2012, taking more than 20 Colombian feature films from the financing to final promotion stages. She recently became the artistic director of the Cartagena International Film Festival (Ficci), contributing to the success of the festival's 55th edition last March, and is currently working on the 2016 festival.
"La Tierra y la Sombra" - Nothing But Success
The process of creating and financing "La Tierra y la Sombra" allowed the film to mature with assistance from specialists, tutors, and evaluation committees at a number of national and international institutions and festivals, each of them helping to move the film towards its world premiere at the upcoming Cannes Festival.
During the project's development stage it won a development grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund in 2009 and was selected the following year to participate in the Pitch Workshop at Colombia's Cali Film Festival. The project also took part in the Ibero-American Films Crossing Borders event at the 2010 Havana Film Festival and the 2012 Ibero-American Co-Production Meeting at the Huelva Film Festival in Spain.
It was, however, in 2013 that the project became a reality, winning at the Cartagena International Film Festival's Co-Production Meeting, which made it possible to attend the Cannes Marché Du Film. The film went on to win a Casa de las Américas Film Project Development grant from the Carolina Foundation and a production grant from Colombia's Film Development Fund. Also in 2013, the Hubert Bals Fund awarded the project a development grant and the San Sebastian Film Festival selected it for the Co-Production Forum.
The final push came in 2014 when the project was invited to participate in Boost! at the Rotterdam Film Festival in Holland and received production grants from both the Ibermedia and Hubert Bals Funds. Shooting took place in late 2014 with post-production following in early 2015 and, finally, the film's submission, in the company of another 1,100 feature films, to the Cannes Festival.
- 4/27/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Organisers have announced the 16 projects selected for the inaugural edition of its international co-production market: Fantastic Market | Mercado Fantastico.
The market runs from Sept 19-21 in Austin, Texas. The festival proper runs from Sept 19-26.
The projects are: Belzebuth (Mexico) by Emilio Portes; Club Panico (Mexico) by Adrian Garcia Bogliano; Compulsion (Us) by Batan Silva; Cross Of Souls (Brazil) by Dennison Ramalho; El Duende (Colombia) by Jorge Navas; El Plata (Argentina) by Tamae Garateguy; El Arbol Del Olvido (The Tree Of Oblivion) (Canada) by Rodrigo Gudiño; and Greedy Beasts (Spain) by Juan Martínez Moreno.
The list includes The Incident (Mexico) by Isaac Ezban (first feature); Small Town (Uruguay) by Gustavo Hernández Ibáñez; The Summer Hit (Uruguay-Chile-Brazil) by Pablo Stoll; and Tatewari (Mexico) by Edgar Nito; Us Visitor (Argentina) by Nicolas Goldbart; The Wrong Place (Cuba-us) by Alejandro Brugués; Violent Rider (Chile) by Ernesto Diaz Espinosa; and Yamaha 300 (Mexico) by Jorge Michel Grau (Somos Lo Que Hay).
The market runs from Sept 19-21 in Austin, Texas. The festival proper runs from Sept 19-26.
The projects are: Belzebuth (Mexico) by Emilio Portes; Club Panico (Mexico) by Adrian Garcia Bogliano; Compulsion (Us) by Batan Silva; Cross Of Souls (Brazil) by Dennison Ramalho; El Duende (Colombia) by Jorge Navas; El Plata (Argentina) by Tamae Garateguy; El Arbol Del Olvido (The Tree Of Oblivion) (Canada) by Rodrigo Gudiño; and Greedy Beasts (Spain) by Juan Martínez Moreno.
The list includes The Incident (Mexico) by Isaac Ezban (first feature); Small Town (Uruguay) by Gustavo Hernández Ibáñez; The Summer Hit (Uruguay-Chile-Brazil) by Pablo Stoll; and Tatewari (Mexico) by Edgar Nito; Us Visitor (Argentina) by Nicolas Goldbart; The Wrong Place (Cuba-us) by Alejandro Brugués; Violent Rider (Chile) by Ernesto Diaz Espinosa; and Yamaha 300 (Mexico) by Jorge Michel Grau (Somos Lo Que Hay).
- 8/22/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Jorge Navas' first feature, Blood and Rain (La Sangre y la Lluvia), was a hit at the Venice Film Festival, received several award nominations and has since been compared to early Michael Mann and Martin Scorsese. Set in the underworld of Colombia's Bogota, spanning the events of one rain-soaked night, Blood and Rain follows taxi driver, Jorge, as he tries to uncover the names of his recently killed brother, William's, murderers.
Opening shots of a city in a storm seen through woodlands make a promising start with beautiful rain footage. From here, the cinematography is just as strong but back stories are lacking. After completing a drop off, Jorge (Jorgita) is intercepted by corrupt Lieutenant Gonzales' (Hernan Mendez) heavies who beat him and arrange a meeting for Gonzales to tell Jorge what he knows of his ex-guerilla-fighter brother's killers.
Gonzales' “dogs” are laughable amateurs, unsure of their lead or...
Opening shots of a city in a storm seen through woodlands make a promising start with beautiful rain footage. From here, the cinematography is just as strong but back stories are lacking. After completing a drop off, Jorge (Jorgita) is intercepted by corrupt Lieutenant Gonzales' (Hernan Mendez) heavies who beat him and arrange a meeting for Gonzales to tell Jorge what he knows of his ex-guerilla-fighter brother's killers.
Gonzales' “dogs” are laughable amateurs, unsure of their lead or...
- 9/28/2011
- Shadowlocked
Director Jorge Navas brings the real Colombia to Tribeca this year with his beautiful film Blood and Rain (La sangre y la lluvia), the story of a Colombian man and woman who meet in a taxi on one fated night in the middle of a torrential downpour. This is the same rain that washes away the blood on the asphalt of the streets of Colombia each night, clearing the way for children to wait for the bus, or for an arepa vendor to set up his cart, or for an old woman to sit on the curb and rest. The violence is washed away and the memory of it is gone. As we move through dark night in Bogota, the images of blood and rain take on a variety of metaphoric meanings. Taxi driver Jorge, played by Quique Mendoza, starts his shift off badly as he has a run-in with...
- 4/30/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false The Tribeca Film Festival is currently gearing up with a full schedule of films now available for your perusal online. We've gone through the festival's massive slate and picked out a small handful of films that we think might be worth your attention this year. There's also a fairly good international horror presence this year and we've included a few highlights from that genre as well.
You can check out the full schedule and pick up tickets at Tribeca's official site.
Blood and Rain: In Jorge Navas' beautifully composed neo-noir, taxi driver Jorge begins his night shift bent on revenge after his brother's murder at the hands of a violent gang. But when an accident brings him unexpectedly closer to his party-girl fare Angela, the damaged pair must struggle against forces already set in motion, drawing them inexorably into the rain-soaked underworld of Bogotá.
You can check out the full schedule and pick up tickets at Tribeca's official site.
Blood and Rain: In Jorge Navas' beautifully composed neo-noir, taxi driver Jorge begins his night shift bent on revenge after his brother's murder at the hands of a violent gang. But when an accident brings him unexpectedly closer to his party-girl fare Angela, the damaged pair must struggle against forces already set in motion, drawing them inexorably into the rain-soaked underworld of Bogotá.
- 4/19/2010
- UGO Movies
The Tribeca Film Festival has announced six films for the 2010 slate and Dread Central has found three more. The most interesting of the nine films is Blood and Rain. The film is gripping because of the subject matter. Taxi driver Jorge loses his brother to a street gang (Tribeca). Loss in Blood and Rain equals revenge. Jorge will enlist the help of his fare Angela in the dark, crime ridden street of Bogota. The Tribeca Film Festival begins April 21st and this site encourages you to visit several of the other films announced in the 2010 schedule.
The synopsis for Blood and Rain here:
"In Jorge Navas’ beautifully composed neo-noir, taxi driver Jorge begins his night shift bent on revenge after his brother’s murder at the hands of a violent gang. But when an accident brings him unexpectedly closer to his party-girl fare Angela, the damaged pair must struggle against forces already set in motion,...
The synopsis for Blood and Rain here:
"In Jorge Navas’ beautifully composed neo-noir, taxi driver Jorge begins his night shift bent on revenge after his brother’s murder at the hands of a violent gang. But when an accident brings him unexpectedly closer to his party-girl fare Angela, the damaged pair must struggle against forces already set in motion,...
- 3/13/2010
- by Michael Ross Allen
- 28 Days Later Analysis
The Tribeca Film Festival has announced the first half of its 2010 slate, and while only one film is pure horror, two more are categorized as noir, and there's also a "gripping psychological drama" thrown in for good measure.
The popular fest, which is branching out to include an online element this year with Tribeca Film Festival Virtual (click here to learn more), runs from April 21 through May 2, 2010. If previous years are any indication, we can expect at least another handful of genre films to join those mentioned here when the balance of the schedule is revealed on March 15th.
Now let's take a look at the last film mentioned above first:
Snap
Directed and written by Carmel Winters (Ireland) – World Premiere
With a fresh and intense style, playwright-turned-director Carmel Winters composes a gripping psychological drama about three generations of a family poised to repeat the mistakes of the past. Aisling...
The popular fest, which is branching out to include an online element this year with Tribeca Film Festival Virtual (click here to learn more), runs from April 21 through May 2, 2010. If previous years are any indication, we can expect at least another handful of genre films to join those mentioned here when the balance of the schedule is revealed on March 15th.
Now let's take a look at the last film mentioned above first:
Snap
Directed and written by Carmel Winters (Ireland) – World Premiere
With a fresh and intense style, playwright-turned-director Carmel Winters composes a gripping psychological drama about three generations of a family poised to repeat the mistakes of the past. Aisling...
- 3/13/2010
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
While most eyes are on Austin, Texas this week for SXSW, many people on the East Coast eagerly await a closer show as this year’s Tribeca Film Festival kicks off on April 21st. The festival is mainly for indie pictures, rather than the larger, blockbuster films, but is also a great place for up-and-coming directors and writers to showcase their work.
With the festival coming up in just over a month, they are already rolling out this year’s schedule and have announced the first 34 films out of a total of 85 feature length and 47 shorts screening at this year’s fest. Among the titles were those submitted to the World Narrative and Documentary competition, as well as the Showcase and Special Events.
Some of the titles look to be quite intriguing, and could include some of the bigger names of the next decade. Be sure to check out the...
With the festival coming up in just over a month, they are already rolling out this year’s schedule and have announced the first 34 films out of a total of 85 feature length and 47 shorts screening at this year’s fest. Among the titles were those submitted to the World Narrative and Documentary competition, as well as the Showcase and Special Events.
Some of the titles look to be quite intriguing, and could include some of the bigger names of the next decade. Be sure to check out the...
- 3/11/2010
- by Matt Raub
- The Flickcast
9th Annual Festival to Present 85 Feature-Length and 47 Short Film Selections from April 21 – May 2, 2010
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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach
New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.
The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...
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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach
New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.
The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...
- 3/10/2010
- Makingof.com
The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival has announced its scheduled lineup -- and just like its home, New York City, its got a little bit of everything.
The Festival will kick off with the world premiere of DreamWorks' 3D "Shrek Forever After."
But then it launches into a darker realm with documentaries like Alex Gibney's latest. The Oscar-winning director ("Taxi to the Dark Side") will screen his new untitled doc on the former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 due to a sex scandal, as a work-in-progress. The film will screen as one of three special events that festival organizers announced Wednesday (Mar. 10).
The Special Events section also includes another work-in-progress screening of "The Western Front." This documentary follows its writer/director and Marine, Zachary Iscol, who returns to his battle site in Iraq's Al Anbar province. David Lean's 1965 classic "Doctor Zhivago" got a make-over for its 45th anniversary,...
The Festival will kick off with the world premiere of DreamWorks' 3D "Shrek Forever After."
But then it launches into a darker realm with documentaries like Alex Gibney's latest. The Oscar-winning director ("Taxi to the Dark Side") will screen his new untitled doc on the former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 due to a sex scandal, as a work-in-progress. The film will screen as one of three special events that festival organizers announced Wednesday (Mar. 10).
The Special Events section also includes another work-in-progress screening of "The Western Front." This documentary follows its writer/director and Marine, Zachary Iscol, who returns to his battle site in Iraq's Al Anbar province. David Lean's 1965 classic "Doctor Zhivago" got a make-over for its 45th anniversary,...
- 3/10/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Tribeca International Film Festival announced the first 34 feature films of the 2010 festival slate. “This year’s competition, the core of the Festival, represents contemporary international filmmaking at its finest, bringing together fresh voices with established storytellers. These stories will leave audiences engaged, as well as entertained, which is what our Festival is all about,” said David Kwok, Director of Programming for the Tribeca Film Festival.
Representing 8 countries, this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition will be an international film collection created by many first- and second-time directors. 7 of the films here in this section are World Premieres. Road, Movie directed by Dev Benegal will be screened in ‘Showcase’ section of the festival. The lineup is as follows:
World Narrative Feature Competition "Buried Land," directed by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Steven Eastwood, written by Rhodes, Eastwood and Dzenan Medanovic. Set in a war-torn town in Bosnia that attracts tourists visiting ancient pyramids.
Representing 8 countries, this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition will be an international film collection created by many first- and second-time directors. 7 of the films here in this section are World Premieres. Road, Movie directed by Dev Benegal will be screened in ‘Showcase’ section of the festival. The lineup is as follows:
World Narrative Feature Competition "Buried Land," directed by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Steven Eastwood, written by Rhodes, Eastwood and Dzenan Medanovic. Set in a war-torn town in Bosnia that attracts tourists visiting ancient pyramids.
- 3/10/2010
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Alex Gibney's latest documentary, a portrait of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 because of a sex scandal, will be spotlighted at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 21 to May 2 in New York.
The currently untitled film from the director of the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side," will screen as a work-in-progress as one of three special events that festival organizers unveiled today.
"I think people will be really surprised," said David Kwok, the festival's director of programming. "It doesn't just focus on the scandal. It's more comprehensive than that, looking at Eliot Spitzer as a person and at his entire career."
Also playing in the fest's Special Events section are David Lean's 1965 epic "Doctor Zhivago," marking its 45th anniversary with a new restoration that will be released by Warner Home Video, and a work-in-progress screening of the doc "The Western Front,...
The currently untitled film from the director of the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side," will screen as a work-in-progress as one of three special events that festival organizers unveiled today.
"I think people will be really surprised," said David Kwok, the festival's director of programming. "It doesn't just focus on the scandal. It's more comprehensive than that, looking at Eliot Spitzer as a person and at his entire career."
Also playing in the fest's Special Events section are David Lean's 1965 epic "Doctor Zhivago," marking its 45th anniversary with a new restoration that will be released by Warner Home Video, and a work-in-progress screening of the doc "The Western Front,...
- 3/10/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If there is a down side to Twitch being as Toronto-centered as it is it is that every year in September we focus in tight on the massive Toronto International Film Festival. And while we provide - I think, anyway - great coverage of the big fest it is often too easy for us to get so caught up in what's going on here that we forget that there is another massive festival happening nearly simultaneously over in Europe. We probably don't cover Venice nearly as much as we should and, as a consequence, six or seven months down the road every year I stumble across a film or two that looks absolutely fantastic and can't figure out how it is I haven't heard of it before. Answer: It premiered in Venice.
And on that note, say hello to Jorge Navas' Colombian crime drama Blood And Rain. Says Venice:
Jorge and Ángela,...
And on that note, say hello to Jorge Navas' Colombian crime drama Blood And Rain. Says Venice:
Jorge and Ángela,...
- 3/7/2010
- Screen Anarchy
- A trio of titles have been added to the 6th edition of Venice Days (a sidebar of the Venice Film Festival) and in it we find, Swedish director Jesper Ganslandt returning to the section for a second visit with Apan, Argentinean helmer Israel Adrián Caetano who last landed at Cannes and Tiff with Buenos Aires, 1977 heads to Venice with a family tragedy called Francia (see pic) and Colombian filmmaker Jorge Navas gets to preem his feature debut (click here for production photos) - a drama about a night in Colombian hot spot city of Bogota. Navas' La Sangre Y La Lluvia is among five titles vying for Venice's Lion of the Future - Luigi De Laurentiis Award. here was the first announcement of titles for the section. If any of our readers end up seeing any of these dramatically charged titles - please let us know your thoughts....
- 8/10/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
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