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Reaching for the Moon director Bruno Barreto: "Héctor’s greatest film 'Pixote'. Poetry and violence fill the screen in a ruthless way." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Héctor Babenco died on July 13, 2016. His adaptation of Manuel Puig's Kiss Of The Spider Woman, screenplay Leonard Schrader, starring Raúl Juliá, William Hurt and Sônia Braga, received four Oscar nominations - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay with Hurt winning Best Actor.

Tom Waits was in two of Babenco's films, William Kennedy's Ironweed, starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep (both Oscar nominated) and the adaptation of Peter Matthiessen's At Play In The Fields Of The Lord, screenplay by Babenco, Jean-Claude Carrière and Vincent Patrick, starring Tom Berenger, John Lithgow, Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn and Kathy Bates.

"One of the greatest scenes in the history of cinema - Fernando Ramos da Silva (Pixote) is nursed by Marília Pêra (the...

At the beginning of Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, Ed Meyers (a lackluster Giovanni Ribisi), a thirty-something journalist with the Miami Globe in 1959, claims that Ernest “Papa” Hemingway (Adrian Sparks), saved his life. He says the author helped him become a writer and provided him with hope during an orphaned childhood. After Ed was fired for misspelling “maybe,” he stayed up nights during his probationary period copying each of Ernest’s short stories. “I learned grammar, dialogue,” essentially everything, he tells him and his wife, Mary (Joely Richardson), on a beach on Havana, Cuba, where the Hemingways live. This is after he makes contact with Ernest which starts a strange kind of friendship between the two – Ed’s thank you letter to Ernest was actually mailed by his girlfriend and colleague, Debbie Hunt (an underused Minka Kelly), because he was too scared to send it.

Ed says, “I needed to tell...

Maria Lynn will retire as co-president of Wolfe Releasing at the end of March as co-president Jim Stephens assumes the role of sole president.

During her 22-year tenure Lynn helped steer the company as a leading distributor of Lgbt cinema.

“From the beginning, Maria has been a passionate supporter of Lgbt films and filmmakers,” said founder Kathy Wolfe. “She has played an integral role in the growth of our company and we will miss her incredible talent, dedication and passion.”

“Wolfe has been an amazing journey and I will forever be grateful for the experience of working with our partners, filmmakers and the Wolfe Pack,” said Lynn.

Stephens (pictured) was named co-president last year and has sat on the board since July 2013.

His credits include Reaching For The Moon, I Am Divine, Free Fall, Pit Stop, Five Dances and Tru Love.

“I enjoyed working with Maria as Co-President and have deep respect for her and the company...

Efm: The Beverly Hills-based sales agency has launched a full-time office in Paris named Cmg Europe Sas.

The new venture will meet with producers at the Efm this week to discuss a number of projects as Cmg chief Edward Noeltner aims to expand his co-production business.

Cmg has been expanding its international portfolio and recently acquired the Argentina-Canada-Italy family film and recent Sundance selection The Games Maker.

The slate includes Venezuelan production Liz In September from Camera d’Or winner Fina Torres, while Bruno Barreto is in pre-production with another Latin American title.

“We were extremely pleased with our collaboration with Bruno on Reaching For The Moon and his new project, written by Bruno and Matthew Chapman has got huge international appeal,” said Noeltner.

Cmg will also present in Berlin The Messenger, its latest UK title after Saving Santa 3D and Plastic.

David Blair directs Robert Sheehan, Lily Cole and Joely Richardson in supernatural tale The Messenger from producer...

Julianne Moore as Alice in Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's candid Still Alice: "She welcomed the role without any trepidation."

Alec Baldwin's character, Julianne Moore's connection to Robert Altman's Short Cuts and Lyle Lovett's If I Had A Boat sung by Karen Elson, fame for Errol Flynn in The Last of Robin Hood, starring Kevin Kline, Dakota Fanning and Susan Sarandon are remembered. James Keach's Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, The Time of the Harvest, Elizabeth Bishop and Bruno Barreto's Reaching For The Moon, Rita Hayworth, Marcel Proust, and Stacey Battat's costumes come into our conversation about Still Alice. Alice's children are played by Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish and Kristen Stewart.

Anne-Katrin Titze: You quote Elizabeth Bishop's The Art Of Losing. It's beautifully used by Alice.

Kristen Stewart as Lydia: "Lydia is away on the other coast and becomes very significant in the story.

Still Alice co-director/writer Wash Westmoreland on Julianne Moore: "She has that way of acting that has a mystery to it." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

In Still Alice, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland stage an entrancing battle around the power of remembrance, a form of detective story on memory loss, starring Julianne Moore, who gives a mesmerizing performance as a linguistics professor diagnosed at age 50 with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease. Kate Bosworth, Kristen Stewart and Hunter Parrish play her children, who all weather the storm in their own way. Alec Baldwin, as her husband, wants to flee and stay, he fell in love with her mind and can't bear to see it go.

Julianne Moore as Alice: "Alice is terrified of her deterioration but tries to act as normal as possible. She is spinning a lot of plates."

Rita Hayworth's legacy, Errol Flynn in The Last of Robin Hood,...

Poet Elizabeth Bishop and landscape architect Lota de Macedo Soares's messy lives and loves are paid watchable tribute

The take-home moral of most biopics is that you can be gifted or happy but never both, especially if you're an artist. Reaching for the Moon gets to make this point twice with its account of the tempestuous relationship between American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and Brazilian landscape architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires). Not only do they have to navigate around Lota's first girlfriend (Tracy Middendorf), and battle for success during the homophobic 1950s and 60s, but they also have to deal with Elizabeth's alcoholism and Lota's mental instability. Director Bruno Barreto doesn't always succeed in carving a clear shape out of the messy raw material, but the film is consistently watchable, and pays due tribute to its protagonists' talent, illustrated by frequent recitations of Bishop's poetry and location work showing off Soares' designs,...

Distinguished American wordsmith Elizabeth Bishop is renowned for her non-confessional, somewhat impersonal approach to poetry, as though peering in at the world from the outside and not always commenting from within. While certainly tender, she was sometimes described as being detached – and this Bruno Barreto biopic frustratingly abides by such a principle, almost shadowing that of its protagonist, as a film comes across as being a little disengaged.

Miranda Otto plays Elizabeth, as we look predominantly into her tragic lesbian love affair with the renowned Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires). Though initially flying over to the South American nation for a mere holiday to catch up with an old friend Mary (Tracy Middendorf), the poet finds herself falling hopelessly in love with Mary’s partner, and the pair enter into an illicit affair, causing Elizabeth to move in at the Brazilian property. However as their love grows ever stronger,...

★★★☆☆Bruno Barreto's handsome, English-language biopic Reaching for the Moon (2013) follows the passionate relationship between Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop (The Lord of the Rings star Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires). It's 1951 and Elizabeth, suffering from writers' block, is encouraged by fellow poet Robert Lowell (Treat Williams) to try a change of scene. Elizabeth embarks on a journey around South American and stops off to visit Mary (Tracy Middendorf), an old college friend now settled in Brazil. Mary lives with Lota on her beautiful landscaped country estate, where they regularly entertain fellow urbanites with similar pursuits.

Reaching for the Moon is based on the real-life romance between poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloria Pires) in Rio de Janeiro in the 1950s. At the start of the film, Elizabeth travels to Rio de Janeiro to visit her best friend from college Mary (Tracy Middendorf) who lives in Brazil's lush paradise with her lover Lota. She only plans on staying for a few days, but circumstances change when Lota and Elizabeth unexpectedly fall for each other.

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While the Academy Awards is the ceremony sure to earn the most ink over the coming weeks, the GLAAD Media Awards are an honor held more closely to the hearts of some. Seeking to celebrate films, TV shows, mini-series and websites that represent the Lgbt community, GLAAD's ceremony shines a spotlight on a part of the artistic community that has been forced into the shadows for too long. You can see the full list of nominations at THR, but we're sharing the film nominations below: Outstanding Film - Wide Release Blue Is the Warmest Color (Sundance Selects) Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features) Kill Your Darlings (Sony Pictures Classics) The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (Sony Pictures Releasing) Philomena (The Weinstein Company) Outstanding Film - Limited Release Concussion (RADiUS-The Weinstein Company) Geography Club (Breaking Glass Pictures) Out in the Dark (Breaking Glass Pictures) Reaching for the Moon (Wolfe Releasing) Yossi (Strand...

With two big ceremonies coming up (April 12th in Los Angeles and May 3rd in New York City), the 2014 GLAAD Media Awards has a ton of great nominees all vying for a trophy.

On the film end of things, “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Blue is the Warmest Color” both received nods, and “Orange is the New Black” and “Pretty Little Liars” lead the way for television.

The GLAAD Media Awards honors the biggest and brightest stars in entertainment, journalism and real-life Lgbt movements.

The nominees for the 2014 GLAAD Media Awards are:

Outstanding Film – Wide Release

Blue Is the Warmest Color (Sundance Selects)

Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

Kill Your Darlings (Sony Pictures Classics)

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Philomena (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Film – Limited Release

Concussion (RADiUS-The Weinstein Company)

Geography Club (Breaking Glass Pictures)

Out in the Dark (Breaking Glass Pictures)

Reaching for the Moon...

This morning the national Lgbt media advocacy organization GLAAD announced nominees for the 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. According to GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis, the year “has brought momentous progress for Lgbt people and families – and our nominees have created images and stories that continue to challenge misconceptions, shatter stereotypes, and change hearts and minds of millions all across the globe.”

There are 130 nominees in 29 categories but a few notable honorees include wide release films Dallas Buyers Club, Philomena and Kill Your Darlings, all of which were previously reviewed here on TheBacklot.

In the limited release category, Geography Club scored a nod. (The film is based on the classic Ya novel by AfterElton alum Brent Hartinger.)

In the outstanding TV drama category, ABC Family scored 2 nominees: The Fosters and Pretty Little Liars.

In the TV comedy category, perennial nominees Modern Family and Glee were joined by Brooklyn Nine-Nine and...

The nation’s Lgbt media advocacy group has revealed the nominees for its 25th annual GLAAD Media Awards. In the Outstanding Film – Wide Release category, Sundance Selects’ Blue Is The Warmest Color will go up against Focus Features’ Dallas Buyers Club, Sony Pictures Classics Kill Your Darlings, Sony Pictures’ The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones and The Weinstein Company’s Philomena. On the TV side, nominees for Outstanding Drama Series are The Fosters (ABC Family), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Orphan Black (BBC America), Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family) and Shameless (Showtime). The Comedy Series hopefuls are Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox), Glee (Fox), Modern Family (ABC), Orange Is The New Black (Netflix) and Please Like Me (Pivot). The MSNBC leads all networks with four noms, followed by ABC with three. Sony Pictures, The Weinstein Company and Breaking Glass Pictures are the only multiple nominees on the film side. The honors recognize media for their fair,...

Belle

The 2014 Athena Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of narrative, documentary and short films.

The New York Premiere of Belle, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and directed by Amma Asante, is the Athena Film Festival’s Opening Film, screening on Thursday evening. Decoding Annie Parker, starring Helen Hunt and Samantha Morton and directed by Steven Bernstein, is the festival’s Centerpiece Film, and will be screened on Friday evening. Geraldine Ferraro: Paving The Way, directed by her daughter, Donna Zaccaro, is the festival’s Closing Film, screening on Sunday evening.

The festival honors extraordinary women in the film industry and showcases films that address women’s leadership in real life and the fictional world. Now in its fourth year, the festival runs from Thursday, February 6 through Sunday, February 9 on the Barnard College campus in Morningside Heights. Artemis Rising Foundation is the Founding Sponsor of the Festival.

The Book Thief

Among...

Organisers at the 25th Palm Springs International Film Festival have announced the 21 films eligible for the Cine Latino Award. The festival kicks off on January 3.

The $7,000 cash prize is presented to the best Ibero-American film screening at the festival and is sponsored by the Guadalajara International Film Festival and the University Of Guadalajara Foundation/USA.

“2013 has been a stellar year for the Ibero-American films,” said Psiff Ibero-American programmer Hebe Tabachnik.

“The cinema from Latin America, Spain and Portugal has been abundant, diverse and proved again to be in the forefront for its innovative approach to subject matter and visual styles.”

“I thought last year’s official selection of the Cine Latino Award was of the highest level,” said Iván Trujillo Bolio, director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival.

“This year, the selection proves to be a significant platform to showcase Ibero-American cinema, and I have no doubt that the competition will be fierce.”

“The Cine Latino...

One hundred fourteen scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2013 will be vying for nominations in the Original Score category for the 86th Oscars®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

A Reminder List of works submitted in the Original Score category will be made available with a nominations ballot to all members of the Music Branch, who shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements. The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award.

Nomination voting in all Oscar categories begins Friday, December 27 and ends Wednesday, January 8.

The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:

“Admission,” Stephen Trask, composer

“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” Daniel Hart, composer

“All Is Lost,” Alex Ebert, composer

“Alone Yet Not Alone,” William Ross, composer

“The Armstrong Lie,...

Senior executives at the Academy announced on Dec 12 that 114 scores have been submitted for the original score Oscar category.Scroll down for full list

A reminder list of works submitted will be made available with a nominations ballot to all members of the music branch, who will vote in the order of their preference for up to five scores.

Those five that receive the highest number of votes will be announced as nominees on January 16 2014.

According to the rules, to be eligible the original score must be a “substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer.

Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible.”

Admission, Stephen Trask

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Daniel Hart

[link...

Malcolm McDowell (Franklin & Bash) is set to co-star opposite Gael García Bernal in Amazon’s comedy pilot Mozart In The Jungle, directed by Paul Weitz. Based on the memoir by Blair Tindal, the project, written by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Alex Timbers, is all about sex, drugs and classical music and shows that what happens behind the curtains at the symphony can be just as captivating as what happens onstage. McDowell plays Thomas, a seasoned conductor being forced into retirement by the arrival of hotshot new conductor Rodrigo (Bernal). Also cast in the pilot are Lola Kirke (Reaching For The Moon) as the impressionable oboist Hailey, Bernadette Peters (Smash) as Gloria, the Chairwoman of the Board of the symphony, Saffron Burrows (Law And Order: Ci) as Cynthia, a cellist in the middle of an affair with Thomas, Peter Vack (Cbgb) as Joshua, a talented dancer out of Juilliard who becomes Hailey’s love interest,...

Amazon Studios today announced casting for Mozart in the Jungle, a Paul Weitz-directed pilot. Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries) stars as Rodrigo, the hotshot new conductor of the New York Symphony. He is joined by Malcolm McDowell (The Mentalist) as Thomas, a more seasoned conductor being forced into retirement by Rodrigo. Lola Kirke (Reaching for the Moon) stars as the impressionable oboist Hailey and Bernadette Peters (Smash) plays Gloria, the Chairwoman of the Board of the symphony.

Mozart in the Jungle also stars Saffron Burrows (Law and Order Criminal Intent) as Cynthia, a cellist in the middle of an affair with Thomas, Peter Vack (Cbgb) as Joshua, a talented dancer out of Julliard who becomes Hailey’s love interest, and Hannah Dunne (This is It) as Lizzie, Hailey’s friend and roommate.

Written by Academy Award-nominee Roman Coppola (The Darjeeling Limited), Jason Schwartzman (Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore) and Alex Timbers...

Miranda Otto has co-starred in huge, international blockbusters (“The Lord of the Rings,” “War of the Worlds”), but retains an easygoing charm — and, indeed, even a pinch of anonymity. That latter quality served her well when it came time for Brazilian filmmaker Bruno Barreto to cast the starring role in “Reaching for the Moon,” a smart, well-ordered period piece drama about American poet Elizabeth Bishop’s tempestuous lesbian relationship with Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires). For ShockYa, Brent Simon recently had a chance to speak one-on-one and in person with Otto, about the film, Bishop’s ingrained pessimism and the perils of playing drunk. The conversation is excerpted [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: Miranda Otto Talks Reaching for the Moon appeared first on Shockya.com.

Brazilian-born, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Bruno Barreto has over the course of his career tackled everything from political thrillers to comedies and social dramas, but for his 19th feature film he had to look no further than his mother, who supplied the source material for “Reaching for the Moon,” and serves as one of its producers. Inspired by a nonfiction book by Carmen Lucia de Oliveira, the movie centers on American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and her tempestuous lesbian relationship throughout the 1950s with Brazilian Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires), a renowned architect in her own right. For ShockYa, Brent Simon recently had a chance to speak one-on-one with [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: Bruno Barreto Talks Reaching For the Moon, and Listening To His Mother appeared first on Shockya.com.

New Release

Reaching for the Moon

Not Rated, 1 Hr., 58 Mins.

The real-life love story of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloría Pires) is gorgeously shot against the lush postcard backdrops of ’50s and ’60s South America —but its emotional landscape is a little more arid. If Blue Is the Warmest Color is the gloriously messy supernova of this year’s lesbian dramas, this is the J. Peterman catalog version: elegant, tasteful, and two-dimensional. B —Leah Greenblatt

New Release

Cold Turkey

Not Rated, 1 Hr., 24 Mins.

Dysfunctional-family Thanksgivings have been served up by...

Reaching for the Moon tells the tale of an unlikely romance between two extraordinary artists, legendary American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloria Pines). Hoping to find inspiration, Bishop travels from New York City to Rio de Janeiro, where she finds herself in a tempestuous relationship that spans decades and forever impacts the life and work of both women. During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Miranda Otto, who gives a beautifully complex and layered performance as Elizabeth Bishop, talked about how she received an offer for the role via email, what made her want to play this woman, how Bishop’s poetry helped give her insight and an understanding of her she was, and why she needed time to decompress after doing this role. She also talked about working with Tommy Lee Jones, as both an actor and a director, on The Homesman,...

Chicago – Chicago’s “Reeling 31,” the 31st annual film extravaganza for the 2nd oldest Lgbt film festival in the world, caps it’s weeklong series with three closing night movies on November 14th, all at the historic Logan Theater. “Ludwig II,” “Reaching for the Moon” and “Ian Harvie Superhero” are the special final film presentations.

Closing Night Films at ‘Reeling 31’

Photo credit: ReelingFilmFestival.org

“Ludwig II” is the story of a mad – and gay – 19th Century Bavarian monarch, known for his lavish castles and solitary nature. “Reaching for the Moon” has been called “one of the biggest lesbian films of the year,” and is the story of a star-crossed love affair between Pulitzer Prize winning poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Marcedo. “Ian Harvie Superstar” chronicles the world’s first female-to-male transgender stand up comic, and is produced by Margaret Cho. The afterparty will be at Stan Mansion at 2408 N.

Matthew Chapman, Anne-Katrin Titze, Bruno Barreto, Lucy Barreto under the marquee of The Paris Theatre. Photo: Ed Bahlman

The Paris Theatre, one of the most prestigious cinemas in the Us, had a full house for a Saturday night screening of Bruno Barreto's incandescent Reaching For the Moon, starring the formidable trio, Miranda Otto, Glória Pires and Tracy Middendorf. We began the post-screening discussion with numbers as producer Lucy Barreto, director Bruno Barreto, and co-screenwriter Matthew Chapman spoke about the film's coming of age in a 40 minute conversation with the participation of an enraptured audience.

The ribbon for the opening of The Paris Theatre was cut by Marlene Dietrich in 1948. Barreto celebrated his own anniversary - 35 years ago his film Dona Flor And Her Two Husbands opened at the Paris in 1978 and an after party was held at Studio 54 with guests including Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli.

Lucy Barreto...

Bruno Barreto on Reaching For The Moon: "The traps of charm and seduction." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Eye For Film critic Anne-Katrin Titze will moderate a Q&A at The Paris Theatre in New York City, with Reaching For The Moon (Flores Raras) director Bruno Barreto, co-screenwriter Matthew Chapman, and producer Lucy Barreto on Saturday, November 9, following the 7:00pm screening.

In my conversation with Bruno Barreto during the Tribeca Film Festival, we discussed how Deborah Kerr, co-starring with Cary Grant in Leo McCarey's An Affair To Remember, is channeled by Miranda Otto and how Sydney Pollack's Out Of Africa made for the perfect pitch, even without Meryl Streep or Robert Redford.

At the Crosby Street Hotel we began part 2 of our conversation with the actresses of Reaching For The Moon, onto the exploration of Crô: O Filme, and the Gravity of George Clooney, coming up.

Until...

Sandra Bullock's success in Gravity proved that actresses over 40 years old still have what it takes to lead movies, breaking down the Hollywood myth that once an actress turns 40 (or sometimes even 30), she's regulated to supporting or background roles.

Bullock's starring role in Gravity has propelled the film to the number one spot in the Us box office three weekends in a row - and it will have another chance in reining the box office as it opens to UK theaters today (November 7).

Bullock also enjoyed box office victory in this year's buddy comedy The Heat with Melissa McCarthy (another successful fortysomething actress), and her Oscar-winning role in The Blind Side in 2009.

Of course, Bullock isn't the only actress over the age of 40 who is carrying a movie before the year ends. Here are a host of leading ladies poised for big things in the remaining weeks of 2013.

Meryl Streep...

Edward Noeltner has been a friend of ours in and out of 'the business' (as those of us who work in it tend to call it) for many years now. Our families know each other and we have been on many nice social occasions to each other's homes.

Thus we have a lovely personal connection to this great film guy.

So it is with impressed awe that we have watched his company expand and continue to represent great and important films.

Edward was born in New Jersey and moved at one year of age to Munich, Germany. His dad was Head of Radio Liberty, a Us government sponsored radio station that beamed Us government propaganda (let's call it that) to the countries of the (then large and active and now gone) Soviet Union.

He lived in Munich West Germany, and on September 4, 1972 attended the Olympic Games there. He describes it like this. 'The atmosphere that day was very free spirited and lively in the Olympic Village. Then the next day - massacre.' On September 5, 1972 disaster struck the Olympics. The sporting nature of which was largely overshadowed by the Munich massacre in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches, a West German police officer, and five Palestinian Black September militants were killed.

He left Germany in 1973. But he had grown up at his father's workplace, and knew radio production and and often hung out at the Munich station. From Germany he moved to Arizona where he attended high school in Tucson. He worked there at radio and TV stations in the newsroom of the local CBS affiliate. 'I fell naturally into this as I had developed such a love of radio and news as a boy'.

He remembers the great Fellini film 8 1/2 particularly arousing his interest in film and especially European cinema.

In Tucson he began to habituate their great (and still thriving) arthouse cinema The Loft.

He entered the University of Arizona / Tucson to get a degree from theDepartment handling Radio TV Film Drama. 'I was very close to getting my Master's there when I left'.

He decided then to move to USC instead to get a Masters Degree and was there from 1980-84.

It was there he met his wife who also studied there, the French national Marie Christine. In 1984 they moved to Paris.

He first worked for Europe Export Films and stayed with them for 7 years. In 1994 he started Senator International in Berlin and stayed until 1996.

He then moved on to Pandora Cinema of Paris where we first met him when he worked there with Ernst Goldschmidt and Sudy Coy.

In 1998 Pandora was sold to Gaylord Entertainment (which Edward describes as 'a mainstream company').

In 1999 Svensk of Copenhagen offered him a good job opportunity. They had a nice library of 40 plus film titles.

He came as they had just gotten Faithless, based on an Ingmar Bergmann script and directed by the great Bergman actress Liv Ulman. Edward says, 'Big success. It sold everywhere and was in the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection'.

Edward also had an Oscar Nomination there with Under the Sun by Colin Nutley.

In 2001 he accepted a Miramax offer to become Head of Sales for the Weinstein brothers in New York. Chicago was just one of their great titles which had a very good run.

In 2003 he decided to move to La and start his own sales company, Cinema Management Group / Cmg. Off to a good start one of his first films, the animation Hoodwinked grossed $110 million worldwide.

Since 2003, Cmg has added over 100 titles to its line-up which includes quality feature films of all genres, 3-D animated features and series as well as award winning feature length documentaries and series.

Over the past 25 years, Edward Noeltner has licensed some 16 Oscar nominated features (many of them Oscar winners) and has worked with some of the most creative individuals in the industry. Films like Scott Hick’s Shine, Carlos Saura’s Tango, Liv Ullmann’s Faithless, or Rob Marshall’s Chicago are just some of the many memorable feature films Noeltner has been associated with in terms of int’l sales.

Since its inception, Cmg has been known for offering original, commercial properties. Cmg co-executive producing the cult animated series "Happy Tree Friends" and licensed both DVD and Television rights to the series in over 40 int’l territories including the Us and Canada. Today, Cmg offers an array of exciting new 3-D Digital CGI animated features, all independently produced with amazing voice talents such as Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, Abigail Breslin, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Liam Neeson along with some of the finest animators working in the business. Cmg’s collaboration with Triggerfish Animation – Adventures In Zambezia– garnered over Us$ 26million in its theatrical run with a number of major territories still to be released.

This Afm Edward and Cmg are launching a mixed agenda of films and he is especially high on the thriller

Plastic

This following company promo makes me want to see it:

High octane from start to finish, Plastic is based on the incredible true story of a heist of one of Beverly Hills’ top jewelry merchants. Brilliant college student Sam has the perfect credit card scam…until his crew robs the wrong man. Now they have two weeks to repay ruthless gangster Marcel Us$2 million or they will be dead. Sam and his team devise a scheme to clear their debt by heading to Miami to poach enough cash and merchandise. But they come up short. So Sam and his gang set their sights on a daring jewelry heist that could make them hugely wealthy for life. Their plan turns sour, however, when the team members start turning on each other. Now it’s up to Sam to finish the brazen heist and turn the tables on Marcel before they all go down.

Cmg at Afm will also have the supernatural horror feature

The Hunted : In an attempt to land their own TV show, Jake (Josh Stewart) and Stevie (Ronnie Gene Blevins) head to the dense, secluded mountains of West Virginia. Equipped with only their bow and cameras, they have three days to kill a monster buck big enough to grab the attention of a TV network. Once they find the massive animal, they look to strike fast. But as the sun sets, they realize they're not alone. A supernatural force appears to be lurking in the vacant woods... and now they're the ones being hunted.

Always good on animation for the kiddies this coming holiday season Edward is selling

Saving Santa 3D : At the top of the North Pole, Bernard is an elf in Santa’s workshop who’s always messing up. One morning, after sleeping in late, Santa kindly shows Bernard the oh-so-secret time machine on his sleigh, which almost no one knows about. Suddenly, Bernard finds army commandos raiding the North Pole, demanding to know the location of his coveted time machine. If the world were to discover the exact location and existence of the North Pole, it would ruin Christmas for everyone! Bernard runs to the time machine and activates the device, going back in time to that same morning. Now it’s a race against time to forge a plot with any elf that will believe his tale, and save Santa before the world finds out the secret of Christmas.

And

The Santa Story: Inspired by Frank L. Baum’s timeless classic, take a magical 3D animated journey to uncover the true origins of the little boy named Nick who grew up to become Santa Claus. Set in his childhood village, join in Little Nick’s first real life adventures which teach him the gift of giving and the powerful spirit of community. As Nick grows up, he must confront his own self-doubts and bring everyone together to keep his old foe Rolf from taking over his village. With the help of two amazingly crafty elves, a majestic reindeer and a group of lovable orphans, Nick rebuilds his hometown and finally becomes the man we all know and love – Santa Claus.

Another kiddie animation film that looks great, about a half-striped zebra proving himself on the African plains

Khumba : When Khumba, a half-striped zebra is blamed for the lack of rain by the rest of his insular, superstitious herd, he embarks on a daring quest to earn his stripes. In his search for the legendary waterhole in which the first zebras got their stripes, Khumba meets a quirky range of characters, and teams up with an unlikely duo: an overprotective wildebeest, Mama V, and Bradley, a self-obsessed ostrich. But before he can reunite with his herd, Khumba will have to come face to face with Phango, a scary leopard who controls the waterholes and terrorizes all the animals in the Great Karoo.

It's not all black and white in this colorful adventure with a difference!

Afm will also see Cmg's quality drama, the Barreto family Produced/ Directed

Reaching for the Moon : Frustrated poet Elizabeth Bishop travels to Brazil and encounters the beguiling architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Initial hostilities make way for a complicated yet long-lasting love affair that dramatically alters Bishop’s relationship to the world around her. Anchored by magnificent lead performances from Miranda Otto and Gloria Pires, Reaching for the Moon is an intimate snapshot of the search for inspiration, wherever and however you find it

Cmg also has quality documentaries like Rob Stewart's ambitious feature that tours the planet with an inspiring and beautiful ecological message about saving our world.

Revolution : Continuing his adventurous journey around the world, filmmaker Rob Stewart brings us Revolution, a full length feature film that is inspiring humans to change the world and save our planet. Along with world renowned experts, he learns that past evolutions can help solve some of our current and future environmental problems. Startling, beautiful, and provocative, Revolution has already won awards at international film festivals and shows us that we can make a difference.

For more information on Cmg and its titles visit Here...

The biopic, with its stubborn fidelity to the contours of real life, seems a poor form with which to honor a poet. Literalism is inimical to poetry, and yet literalism is the biopic's principal currency: Its every movement remains in thrall to reality, however mundane, unglamorous, or undramatic.

And so it is for Reaching for the Moon, a film which, despite its almost parodically lofty title, takes strictly the most pedestrian approach to its subject, Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto). Winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, former poet laureate Bishop is about as widely decorated in America as career metrists come, which doubtless made her irresistible to the world's biographers and zealous adaptors of nonfiction.

The results of these ...

Exclusive: Edward Noeltner’s Cinema Management Group will screen the Gateway Films production and commence talks with Afm buyers next week.

Plastic centres on a group of university students who perpetrate credit card scams and must pull off a jewel heist in Miami when they accidentally target a gangster.

Julian Gilbey directed and also produced with Terry Stone of Gateway Films, Chris Howard and Daniel Toland.

Ed Speleers from Downton Abbey leads the predominantly UK cast alongside Will Poulter Alfie, Sebastian De Souza and Emma Rigby. Thomas Kretschmann and Graham McTavish round out the cast.

Plastic will receive its world premiere screenings on November 6 and 8.

“With a terrific script written by Chris Howard, Julian Gilbey and Will Gilbey, a wonderful and talented group of up-and-coming actors and great directing, I believe Gateway Films has produced its best feature to date,” said Stone.

“For each and every [cast member] we picked, we felt we got the right actor for the...

Exclusive: Edward Noeltner’s Cinema Management Group will screen Gateway Films’ Plastic and commence talks with Afm buyers next week.

Plastic centres on a group of university students who perpetrate credit card scams and must pull off a jewel heist in Miami when they accidentally target a gangster.

Julian Gilbey directed and also produced with Terry Stone of Gateway Films, Chris Howard and Daniel Toland.

Ed Speleers from Downton Abbey leads the predominantly UK cast alongside Will Poulter, Alfie Allen, Sebastian De Souza and Emma Rigby. Thomas Kretschmann and Graham McTavish round out the cast.

Plastic will receive its world premiere screenings on November 6 and 8.

“With a terrific script written by Chris Howard, Julian Gilbey and Will Gilbey, a wonderful and talented group of up-and-coming actors and great directing, I believe Gateway Films has produced its best feature to date,” said Stone.

“For each and every [cast member] we picked, we felt we got the right actor for the...

Downtown Austin is a crowded, parking-challenged place these days, so I gave myself plenty of time to get to the Stateside Theater for a Thursday night screening of Reaching for the Moon at Polari.

But there was no need to arrive so early; it was a slow night downtown, with a sane amount of traffic and plenty of parking near the Stateside. It also was a slow night at the film festival, with no lines and a modest crowd in the theater.

The Reaching for the Moon audience saw a lush, beautiful film based on the true story of the longtime romance between American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires). But for all its lavish production values, Reaching for the Moon is a rather lifeless take on what should be an interesting story of a taboo relationship.

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Cinema do Brasil’s Distribution Award will grant up to $25,000 to 19 distributors from 18 countries to be invested in the launch of Brazilian films in their territories.

Brazil’s support body increased its allocation amount in 2013 to $290,000 to accommodate a larger number of proposals.

There were 37 in all and the winners are Jonathas’ Forest (Germany), Amazon (France), Bruna Surfer Girl (Slovenia-Croatia/Serbia-Bosnia-Montenegro-Kosovo), Buddies (Chile), Colors (France-Japan), Once Upon A Time Was I, Verônica (Poland), Reaching For The Moon (Germany-Austria-Switzerland), Today (Chile), My Sweet Orange Tree (France), The Moving Creatures (France), Who Cares (Germany), Southwest (Portugal), Tabu (Japan), Tropicália (Portugal) and Xingu (Us-Spain).

“The number of proposals from distributors submitted in the last two editions of the award – more than twice the number received in previous editions – demonstrates the significant increase in the interest on the distribution of Brazilian films by international companies, as well as a mature Brazilian production,” said Cinema do Brasil CEO André Sturm.

Amazon will represent...

Outfest has announced the award winners of its 31st Los Angeles Lgbt Film Festival. Chris Mason Johnson's "Test" and Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullman's "Born This Way" led the juried prizes, taking the awards for best narrative and documentary feature, respectively. Bruno Barreto's "Reaching For The Moon" and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's "Bridegroom," meanwhile, took those prizes in the audience award categories. Read More: It Happened To Him: 'Bridegroom' Subject Shane Bitney Crone On Bringing His Tragic Story To The Screen The oldest continuously running film festival in Los Angeles ran from July 11th to July 21st, and closed last night with Darren Stein’s “G.B.F." Complete list of winners. Special Programming Awards Special Programming Award for Freedom Deepsouth, Directed by Lisa Biagiotti Special Programming Award for Artistic Achievement Animals, Directed by Marçal Forés Special Programming Award for Emerging Talent Diego Ruiz,...

Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's Bridegroom and Bruno Barreto's Reaching for the Moon were honored with audience awards by Outfest Los Angeles, organizers announced Sunday.  Bridegroom was honored with outstanding documentary feature award while Reaching for the Moon claimed the prize for dramatic feature film.  Moon tells of the love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Bridegroom, which also won an audience award at the Tribeca Film Festival, is the story of a young gay man, Shane Bitney Crone, whose relationship with his partner, Tom Bridegroom, was cut short when Bridegroom died in a freak

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Nanouk Leopold’s It’s All So Quiet won the Outfest 2013’s grand jury award for outstanding international dramatic feature on Sunday [21].

Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullman’s Born This Way took the outstanding documentary feature prize while Guinevere Turner was named outstanding actress for Who’s Afraid Of Vagina Wolf? [Turner pictured, right] and Bill Heck and Marcus DeAnda took the actor award for Pit Stop.

Chris Mason Johnson’s Test was named outstanding Us dramatic feature.

In the audience awards, Bruno Barreto’s Reaching For The Moon was name outstanding dramatic feature, while Linda Bloodworth-Thomason’s Bridegroom was named outstanding documentary feature.

Outfest ran from Jul 11-21 and closed on Sunday night with a screening of G.B.F. For full results visit the official website.

Now that Doma has been ruled unconstitutional, the City of Angels keeps the celebration going with The 31st Annual Outfest Film Festival showcasing the best in Lgbt filmmaking from the Us & across the world. Outfest has also been consistent in its support for the Latino gay & lesbian film community which, sad to say, is more than most Latino film festivals have shown (Really?! Still? I've never met your family but trust me, one of your primos is gay). This year Outfest solidifies that commitment by not only having an diverse range of gay themed or gay helmed films, but the opening night film is C.O.G written and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, winner of the prestigious "Someone to Watch" Award at the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards for his writing and directorial debut film Easier With Practice. C.O.G is the first film adaptation of the highly esteemed author David Sedaris' work. Festivals like Outfest (and its life partner Newfest in NYC) exist to promote, share and foster Lgbt visibility in the media from all races and places. LatinoBuzz checked out the line-up at this years Outfest to see Wtf is Latino!

C.O.G – Dir. by Kyle Patrick Alvarez (USA)

David has it all figured out. His plan—more a Steinbeckian dream—is to spend his summer working on an apple farm in Oregon with his best friend, Jennifer. When she bails out on him, David is left to dirty his hands alone, watched over by Hobbs, the old farm owner and the first in a series of questionable mentors he encounters. First there’s Curly, the friendly forklift operator with a unique hobby, and then Jon, the born-again rock hound who helps David in a time of need. C.O.G tells the story of a prideful young man and what’s left of him after all he believes is chipped away piece by piece.

Pitstop – Dir. by Yen Tan (USA)

Recovering from an ill-fated affair with a married man, Gabe finds solace in the relationship he maintains with his ex-wife and daughter. On the other side of town, Ernesto evades life at home with his current live-in ex-boyfriend by spending much of his spare time in the hospital with an ailing past love. Impervious to the monotony of their blue-collar world, they maintain an unwavering yearning for romance.

Who's Afraid Of Vagina Wolf? - Dir. by Anna Margarita Albelo (USA)

As another birthday rolls around, forty-year-old filmmaker Anna returns to her never-changing list of resolutions: lose twenty pounds, get a girlfriend, and direct a feature film. This year, Anna plans to knock (at least) two of those resolutions out with one stone, as she begins writing a lesbian remake of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, devised to win the affections of her leading lady, Katia. With Anna planning to act opposite her beautiful crush, her two best friends, Penelope and Chloe, round out the four-person cast. Unfortunately, things don’t run smoothly, as egos begin to clash and crew members start sleeping with one another. Will Anna go yet-another year without accomplishing any of her resolutions?

Valencia - Dir. by Lares Feliciano, Dia Felix etc. (USA)

Valencia the novel put the experiences of an entire generation of lesbians on paper through the lens of one hard-loving and hard-drinking dyke. Punk rockers, riot grrls, and simple, artsy freaks suddenly had a heroine to look up to and a mecca to head toward. This highly anticipated film adaptation of Valencia gives a whole new generation of fabulous, artsy, genderqueer folks an opportunity to reinterpret and reinvent the tales of this iconic novel one chapter at a time.

Reaching For The Moon (Flores Raras) – Dir. by Bruno Barreto (Brazil)

Seasoned Brazilian helmer Bruno Barreto brings to life 1950s Rio in this beautifully drawn tale of poet Elizabeth Bishop and her love affair with architect Lota de Macedo Soares, the designer of Rio’s famed Flamengo Park. Based on the bestselling Brazilian novel Rare and Commonplace Flowers, the film follows Bishop as a creative block prompts her to accept the invitation of a college friend to stay with her and her partner, Lota, on a sprawling country estate. Quintessentially American Bishop is a fish out of water in her new lush and bohemian setting, until the instant chemistry between her and Lota boils over.

Animals – Dir. by Marçal Forés (Spain)

There are maladjusted teens, and then there’s Pol, whose best friend is a walking, talking stuffed bear who sounds like Hal, the evil computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Ted, this ain’t.) As Pol tries to unravel the meaning behind a strange series of circumstances involving his gay friend, a local girl’s death, a sexy new transfer student and his English teacher (Martin Freeman, The Hobbit), he finds that nothing in this weird, weird world is what it seems. Evoking the strange and sometimes sinister mood of Donnie Darko, American Beauty, Elephant and Kaboom, Animals is like a mysterious dream you’ll want to have over and over again

Iglu (Igloo) – Dir. by Diego Ruiz (Chile)

Daniel, a young, handsome and talented illustrator, is deeply depressed in the aftermath of his relationship with an older man, his college professor. Salvation comes through his neighbor Paula, an agoraphobic therapist, with whom Daniel begins an intense relationship. Igloo explores a young man’s complex relationships with sexuality, intimacy and addiction, and how his memories and present day relationships help him embrace a new life. In his directorial debut, established Chilean actor Diego Ruiz plays the lead role of Daniel (he also co-wrote the script) in an imaginative and moving story of identity and self-acceptance.

La Partida (The Last March) – Dir. by Antonio Hens (Cuba)

Reinier works as a callboy in order to support his wife and child, but he ends up gambling most of his money away. Sex with men is strictly business until he befriends a cute soccer player named Yosvani, who works for his girlfriend’s father, a corrupt debt collector. When Reinier’s gambling habit gets him in serious trouble, Yosvani tries to convince Reinier to run away with him. Set in the bustling streets of Cuba, The Last Match offers a visceral romance ripe with unexpected turns and dangerous temptations.

Al Cielo (To Heaven) – Dir. by Diego Prado (Argentina)

In this breezy and beautifully crafted Argentine feature, a punk-loving teenager wrestles with the nerve-wracking uncertainty of first love. Torn between accepting the strict teachings of his church and embracing a handsome local guitarist, Andrés finds himself in existential limbo, unable to make a move without instantly regretting his choices. Balancing teen angst with warm observations, To Heaven concludes in strikingly romantic fashion, satisfying our expectations in ways only the best of coming-of-age dramas can do.

transVISIBLE:The Bamby Salcedo Story - Dir. by Dante Alencastre (USA)

An icon of L.A.'s transgender community, Latina activist Bamby Salcedo sparkles in Dante Alencastre’s candid documentary. Beginning with Bamby’s life on the drug-addled streets of Guadalajara and then journeying through her recovery and out-spoken activism, Transvisible’s riveting one-on-one interviews reveal a selfless HIV advocate and tireless transgender community spokeswoman. (Her work at the Children's Hospital, Los Angeles and as a coordinator for Angels of Change are just two of many notable causes.) Bamby’s story is one of inspiration and hope.

And rounding out the Latino hotness are the Short films...

Tableau (USA), You're Dead to Me (USA), Scaffolding (Spain), The Companion (Peru), Elliot King is Third (USA), Miguel Alvarez Wears a Wig (Greece/Spain) Rad Queers (USA).

OutFest runs July 11th-21st. For more info on Outfest please visit: www.Outfest.org

Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.

The distributor has picked up four films from Frameline 37 – San Francisco International Lgbt Film Festival, which ended on Jun 30.

The haul includes North American rights to Bruno Barreto’s Reaching For The Moon, winner of Frameline’s Audience Award, Yen Tan’s Pit Stop [pictured] and Stephan Lacant’s Free Fall.

Wolfe took worldwide rights excluding the UK, France and Germany to Chris Mason Johnson’s Test.

“These are four of the best Lgbt movies of the year,” said Wolfe president Maria Lynn. “Reaching For The Moon is an exquisite English-language production depicting the Brazilian heyday of Pulitzer Prize-winning lesbian poet Elizabeth Bishop.

“Test is an astute and beautiful drama about a young modern dancer navigating gay life in San Francisco during the early days of the AIDS crisis [and] Free Fall has been called the German Brokeback for its deeply moving portrayal of a German policeman who unexpectedly begins to fall in love with a fellow male officer...

Since 1985, Wolfe Releasing has been the largest exclusive distributor of Lgbt films. Its catalogue got even bigger this week at Frameline 37, San Francisco International Lgbt Film Festival, where Wolfe acquired the rights to four films. It acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to Bruno Barreto's "Reaching For The Moon," Yen Tan's "Pit Stop," and Stephen Lacant's "Free Fall," as well as worldwide rights to Chris Mason Johnson's "Test." "Reaching For The Moon" tells the tale of the tumultuous yet romantic relationship between poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Ott) and architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloria Pires). In addition to the Audience Award at Frameline, it won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2013 Toronto Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival. Set in 1985, "Test" stars Scott Marlowe and Matthew Risch in a love story that coincides with the burgeoning AIDS epidemic. "Free Fall," also known as "Freier Fall,...

Darren Stein’s comedy G.B.F. will close Outfest 2013 on July 21 in Los Angeles, which as previously announced opens on July 11 with Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s C.O.G.

Gala screenings include Us Dramatic Centerpiece Pit Stop, International Dramatic Centerpiece Reaching For The Moon, Documentary Centerpiece God Loves Uganda [pictured] and Fusion Centerpiece Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth. The line-up includes Interior. Leather Bar., Bridegroom, Igloo and Kink.

“Our line-up celebrates a powerful new generation of storytellers, as well as Outfest alumni and veteran filmmakers, who pave the way to an even brighter future for the Lgbt community,” said executive director Kirsten Schaffer. “This year’s programme confirms Outfest as a leader in Lgbt rights and cultural expression, ensuring that our stories are created, shared and protected.”

For further details visit the official website.

Tags: moviesMovie ReviewsElizabeth BishopReaching for the MoonIMDbMiranda OttoGloria Pires

I don’t usually go for films that span more than about a year or two of time (too much plot crammed into too little time). That’s why most biopics are usually so lame. So when I came across Reaching for the Moon in the program of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival my hopes weren’t too high, but I was wrong.

I fell in love with this film and its lead character Elizabeth Bishop. Yes, the Elizabeth Bishop, who I had actually never heard of. Call me a philistine, but I must be the only queer out there who hadn’t heard of the Pulitzer Prize-winning lesbian poet. Watching the film, I had no idea that it was based on true events: I was just amazed by the fact that there was a beautifully shot, totally heartbreaking depiction...

In Reaching For The Moon, Bruno Barreto navigates handsomely the love story between the Pulitzer prize-winning American poet Elizabeth Bishop and the Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares, who designed Flamengo Park in Rio de Janeiro, making a Central Park out of a landfill with street lamps that recreate the moonlight.

In my conversation with Barreto on his poetic film, we discussed how Deborah Kerr, co-starring with Cary Grant in Leo McCarey's An Affair to Remember, is channeled by Miranda Otto and how Sydney Pollack's Out Of Africa made for the perfect pitch, even without Meryl Streep or Robert Redford. Barreto explained that Jane Campion's Bright Star on Keats and Christine Jeffs's Sylvia on Plath were not the way to go in the portrayal of Elizabeth Bishop and why Stephen Daldry's The Hours has the right intricacy.

Anne-Katrin Titze: You had your premiere of Reaching for the.

Tags: Elizabeth BishopMiranda OttomoviesvideoTracy MiddendorfIMDb

Elizabeth Bishop was one of the best American poets, but she also spent a lot of her time in Brazil with her lover Lota de Macedo Soares. Bruno Barreto's Reaching for the Moon premiered at Tribeca this week, and the film tells the story of their relationship, which was not without its share of drama.

Here are two clips from the film, which will have a wider release this summer. The first has Elizabeth (Miranda Otto) attempting to visit Lota (Gloria Pires) in the hospital, where she frequently checks in after having nervous breakdowns. She is stopped by Mary (Tracy Middendorf), Lota's obsessive ex-lover. The second is a minute of her reading a poem aloud to a friend.

If you're interested in other documentation of Elizabeth and Lota's relationship, you should also read Rare & Commonplace Flowers by Carmen L Oliveira. I'd also highly recommend...

Whether you've never heard of Elizabeth Bishop or are vaguely aware of her poetry or wrote your doctoral thesis on her Nyu years, you will enjoy this film. “Reaching for the Moon” is an intimate portrait of a years-long love affair between the Vassar-educated Bishop and well-connected Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares, which includes the stunning backdrops of New York’s Central Park and Pétropolis, “The Imperial City” of Brazil.Playing Bishop, Miranda Otto exudes a New England Yankee quality a la Katharine Hepburn or Rosalind Russell, but with a distinct reserve that made me not list Bette Davis as an example and which tapers off as the film progresses. After feeling a nervous breakdown coming on, Bishop decides to visit old school chum Mary (Tracy Middendorf) down in Brazil, for a trip no longer than two weeks. Soon, Bishop decides to stay longer and longer, turning the brief vacation into a 15-year sojourn.

Reaching for the Moon is based on the real-life romance between poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloria Pires) in Rio de Janeiro in the 1950s. At the start of the film, Elizabeth travels to Rio de Janeiro to visit her best friend from college Mary (Tracy Middendorf) who lives in Brazil's lush paradise with her lover Lota. She only plans on staying for a few days, but circumstances change when Lota and Elizabeth unexpectedly fall for each other.

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Tribeca Film Festival's Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer and I met up for a conversation at MoMA PS1 during Michelangelo Frammartino's World Premiere of the breathtaking 28 minute continuous cinematic installation Alberi in the Vw Dome. This is Boyer's second year at Tribeca, after running the Directors’ Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. We discussed how to bring nature into an urban setting through films like Bruno Barreto's Reaching For The Moon, Reha Erdem's Jîn, Whitewash, directed by Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais, Hisham Zaman's Before Snowfall, and Red Obsession, directed by David Roach and Warwick Ross.

Interacting with cats, Lil Bub & Friendz, tree people, and being Tricked by Paul Verhoeven - Tribeca 2013 challenges the boundaries of cinema.

Anne-Katrin Titze: This is your second year at Tribeca.

Frédéric Boyer: Yes, my second edition as Artistic Director for the Tribeca Film Festival.

Akt:...

Tribeca’s 12th annual festival, running from April 17-28, recently announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Midnight sections. According to Tribeca’s website, “The Spotlight section features 33 films — 21 narratives and 12 documentaries — that blur the lines of independent and mainstream filmmaking. Twenty-three films in the selection will have their world premieres at the Festival, a record number for the section.” See below for the official press release of this year’s lineup in all four categories.

2013 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Selections

For Spotlight, Midnight And New Storyscapes Sections, And Special Screenings

First-ever Storyscapes Section Showcases Innovative New Media Projects with Cross-platform Approaches to Storytelling

The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff) announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Midnight sections, projects in the new Storyscapes section and Special Screenings. The 12th edition of the Festival will take place from April 17 to April 28 in New York City.

The Spotlight...

Everybody's favorite movie decade: Which ones are the best movies released in the 20th century's second decade? Best Film (Pictured above) Broken Blossoms: Barthelmess and Gish star as ill-fated lovers in D.W. Griffith’s romantic melodrama featuring interethnic love. Check These Out (Pictured below) Cabiria: is considered one of the major landmarks in motion picture history, having inspired the scope and visual grandeur of D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance. Also of note, Pastrone's epic of ancient Rome introduced Maciste, a bulky hero who would be featured in countless movies in the ensuing decades. Best Actor (Pictured below) In the tragic The Italian, George Beban plays an Italian immigrant recently arrived in the United States (Click below for film review). Unfortunately, his American dream quickly becomes a horrendous nightmare of poverty and despair. Best Actress (Pictured below) The movies' super-vamp Theda Bara in A Fool There Was: A little...

Yesterday the Tribeca Film Festival announced their feature film selections for their Spotlight and Midnight sections which include 21 narrative and 12 documentary projects.

This year’s choices bring us films featuring a bevy of top Hollywood talent including Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, John Cusack,, Gemma Arterton and Zoe Kazan.

In a press release that accompanied the roster, Genna Terranova, Director of Programming for the festival said: “The documentary films in the Spotlight section this year highlight several famous individuals (including one very cute cat) who use their wit and bold personas to make us think and laugh. A mix of established filmmakers and rising talent top off the rest of the section with features exploring some fresh takes on unconventional relationships.”

The festival will feature the world premieres of several highly-anticipated film projects from indie mainstays like Neil Labute and Richard Linklater, as well as new projects from veteran directors like...