Spain takes 4 top awards at Latino Fest
Spain proved the big victor at this year's 11th annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival winning awards for best picture, best documentary, best opera prima and best screenplay at the event's closing ceremony Monday night in Hollywood.
Winning for best picture, Spain's "El Corazon de la Tierra" tells the story of mounting tensions between local Spanish workers and their British employers in an Andalusia mining town. Directed by Antonio Cuadri, the Spanish film stars Catalina Sandino Moreno.
Spanish actor Javier Bardem accepted the award for best documentary for "Invisibles", which was directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Javier Corcuera, Mariano Barroso, Wim Wenders and Isabel Coixet. The film marks Bardem's debut as a producer with support from the humanitarial organization Doctors Without Borders.
Other winners of the evening's event, which took place at ArcLight's Cinerama Dome, included Spain's "Ladrones" for best opera prima, Spain/Cuba's "Madrigal" for best screenplay, Paul Leduc for best director for Mexico's "El Cobrador" and from the U.S., "The Grass Grows Green: Life and Death From Behind the Recruiting Office Desk" directed by Jesus Beltran for best short.
Winning for best picture, Spain's "El Corazon de la Tierra" tells the story of mounting tensions between local Spanish workers and their British employers in an Andalusia mining town. Directed by Antonio Cuadri, the Spanish film stars Catalina Sandino Moreno.
Spanish actor Javier Bardem accepted the award for best documentary for "Invisibles", which was directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Javier Corcuera, Mariano Barroso, Wim Wenders and Isabel Coixet. The film marks Bardem's debut as a producer with support from the humanitarial organization Doctors Without Borders.
Other winners of the evening's event, which took place at ArcLight's Cinerama Dome, included Spain's "Ladrones" for best opera prima, Spain/Cuba's "Madrigal" for best screenplay, Paul Leduc for best director for Mexico's "El Cobrador" and from the U.S., "The Grass Grows Green: Life and Death From Behind the Recruiting Office Desk" directed by Jesus Beltran for best short.
- 10/17/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- The jury composed of Walter Carvalho, Saverio Costanzo, Irène Jacob, Jia Zhang-ke, Romuald Karmakar and Bruno Todeschini gave out a bunch of leopards on the weekend. Masahiro Kobayashi (see pic above) won the Golden Leopard for his film Ai no yokan (The Rebirth). Best Director was awarded to Capitaine Achab by Philippe Ramos (France) and the Special Jury Prize went to Memories (Jeonju Digital Project 2007) by Pedro Costa, Harun Farocki and Eugène Green. Spanish actress Carmen Maura and the French actor Michel Piccoli both received an Excellence Award (Michel Piccoli also received the prize for best actor in Sous les toits de Paris, joint winner was Michele Venitucci in Fuori dalle corde). And finally (and not surprisingly), Death at a Funeral (the Brit comedy by Frank Oz) won the audience award – this making it the 5th or 6th time that it has walked away from an international festival with such honors.
- 8/13/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
Thieves
Locarno International Film Festival
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- Spanish director Jaime Marques Olarreaga's first feature Thieves has the look and feel of a Hollywood vehicle designed to launch its young leads -- Juan Jose Ballesta and Maria Valverde -- and that might work, though the film doesn't.
Screened here in the International Competition, Thieves is handsome and polished, shot in widescreen with a commercial soundtrack, and the leads are appealing. Warner Bros. International Spain is on board, and the film could thrive in Latin markets, but making a splash beyond that might be tough.
Alex (Ballesta) and Sara (Valverde) are the thieves. He was born to it, having a mother who is a pickpocket. She does it for kicks, having a wealthy father. They meet cute when he spots her pocketing a CD in a store, and they become partners in crime. He's a hunk, and she's a beauty. They make a lovely couple but lousy thieves.
The problem is that the film tries to make stealing wallets look sexy. But it remains petty theft, and the first time Alex and Sara go after a bigger prize, they bungle it badly.
The young man's fate is couched in romantic terms as he is left alone at age 7 when his idolized mother (Maria Ballesteros) is arrested after dipping into the pocket of a cop on a subway train. Spain's punishment of such crimes is evidently severe as Alex is next seen as a handsome young man emerging from foster care. Somehow Mom has kept their old apartment though she's not around, and he persuades the landlord to let him live there. Trained to cut hair, he gets a job at a barbershop. But the first time a customer complains, he elects to follow the family trade by stealing his wallet.
Spotting the attractive young Sara's clumsy attempts at shoplifting, he practically stalks her until winning her over with the promise of high excitement in picking pockets together. Meanwhile, Alex is trying to trace his mother through her suave fence, played by veteran Patrick Bauchau, and he crosses paths with some threatening street toughs.
Screenwriters Olarreaga and executive producer Juan Ibanez try to paper over the many cracks in a story that is really only about two beautiful young people falling for each other. Cinematographer David Azcona captures that well enough, and Ballesta and Valverde are no doubt destined for better things.
THIEVES
Pentagrama Films, Estudios Picasso Fabrica de Ficcion y Maestranza Films with the collaboration of Warner Bros. International Spain
Credits:
Director: Jaime Marques Olarreaga
Screenwriters: Jaime Marques Olarreaga, Juan Ibanez
Story: Jamie Marques Olarreaga, Enrique Lopez Lavigne
Executive producer: Juan Ibanez
Director of photography: David Azcona
Production designer: Juan Botella
Music: Federico Jusid
Costume designer: Fernando Garcia
Editor: Ivan Aledo
Cast:
Alex: Juan Jose Ballesta
Sara: Maria Valverde
Antique dealer: Patrick Bauchau
Alex's mother: Maria Ballesteros
Hairdresser: Carlos Kaniowsky
Running time -- 101 minutes
No MPAA rating...
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- Spanish director Jaime Marques Olarreaga's first feature Thieves has the look and feel of a Hollywood vehicle designed to launch its young leads -- Juan Jose Ballesta and Maria Valverde -- and that might work, though the film doesn't.
Screened here in the International Competition, Thieves is handsome and polished, shot in widescreen with a commercial soundtrack, and the leads are appealing. Warner Bros. International Spain is on board, and the film could thrive in Latin markets, but making a splash beyond that might be tough.
Alex (Ballesta) and Sara (Valverde) are the thieves. He was born to it, having a mother who is a pickpocket. She does it for kicks, having a wealthy father. They meet cute when he spots her pocketing a CD in a store, and they become partners in crime. He's a hunk, and she's a beauty. They make a lovely couple but lousy thieves.
The problem is that the film tries to make stealing wallets look sexy. But it remains petty theft, and the first time Alex and Sara go after a bigger prize, they bungle it badly.
The young man's fate is couched in romantic terms as he is left alone at age 7 when his idolized mother (Maria Ballesteros) is arrested after dipping into the pocket of a cop on a subway train. Spain's punishment of such crimes is evidently severe as Alex is next seen as a handsome young man emerging from foster care. Somehow Mom has kept their old apartment though she's not around, and he persuades the landlord to let him live there. Trained to cut hair, he gets a job at a barbershop. But the first time a customer complains, he elects to follow the family trade by stealing his wallet.
Spotting the attractive young Sara's clumsy attempts at shoplifting, he practically stalks her until winning her over with the promise of high excitement in picking pockets together. Meanwhile, Alex is trying to trace his mother through her suave fence, played by veteran Patrick Bauchau, and he crosses paths with some threatening street toughs.
Screenwriters Olarreaga and executive producer Juan Ibanez try to paper over the many cracks in a story that is really only about two beautiful young people falling for each other. Cinematographer David Azcona captures that well enough, and Ballesta and Valverde are no doubt destined for better things.
THIEVES
Pentagrama Films, Estudios Picasso Fabrica de Ficcion y Maestranza Films with the collaboration of Warner Bros. International Spain
Credits:
Director: Jaime Marques Olarreaga
Screenwriters: Jaime Marques Olarreaga, Juan Ibanez
Story: Jamie Marques Olarreaga, Enrique Lopez Lavigne
Executive producer: Juan Ibanez
Director of photography: David Azcona
Production designer: Juan Botella
Music: Federico Jusid
Costume designer: Fernando Garcia
Editor: Ivan Aledo
Cast:
Alex: Juan Jose Ballesta
Sara: Maria Valverde
Antique dealer: Patrick Bauchau
Alex's mother: Maria Ballesteros
Hairdresser: Carlos Kaniowsky
Running time -- 101 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 8/7/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Estrellas' star of Malaga fest
MADRID -- Felix Viscarret's family drama Bajo Las Estrellas walked away with the top honor at the 10th Malaga Spanish Film Festival on Saturday, winning the 60,000 Golden Biznaga.
The film also earned Viscarret the director's award and Alberto San Juan the actor prize for his role as a man who travels home for his father's funeral and becomes entangled in his brother's fiancee's life.
Rodrigo Cortes' much-acclaimed black comedy Concursante took the Critics Award, while Jaime Marques' Ladrones won the 15,000 Special Jury Award.
Pudor lead Elvira Minguez won the actress honors, with Veronica Echegui winning the best supporting actress award for El Menor De Los Males.
The festival, which hosted 105,620 visitors, saw ticket sales grow 21% from the previous year. The festival also is the framework for the Malaga Screenings. The screenings, which ran Thursday-Saturday, grew to 171 buyers from last year's 142 from 30 countries.
The film also earned Viscarret the director's award and Alberto San Juan the actor prize for his role as a man who travels home for his father's funeral and becomes entangled in his brother's fiancee's life.
Rodrigo Cortes' much-acclaimed black comedy Concursante took the Critics Award, while Jaime Marques' Ladrones won the 15,000 Special Jury Award.
Pudor lead Elvira Minguez won the actress honors, with Veronica Echegui winning the best supporting actress award for El Menor De Los Males.
The festival, which hosted 105,620 visitors, saw ticket sales grow 21% from the previous year. The festival also is the framework for the Malaga Screenings. The screenings, which ran Thursday-Saturday, grew to 171 buyers from last year's 142 from 30 countries.
- 3/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Estrellas' triumphant at Malaga fest
MADRID -- Felix Viscarret's family drama Bajo las Estrellas walked away with the top honor at the 10th Malaga Spanish Film Festival on Saturday, winning the 60,000-euro Golden Biznaga.
The film also earned Viscarret the director's award and Alberto San Juan the actor prize for his part as a man who travels home for his father's funeral and becomes entangled in his brother's fiancee's life.
Rodrigo Cortes' much-acclaimed black comedy Concursante took the Critics Award, while Jaime Marques' Ladrones won the 15,000-euro Special Jury Award.
Pudor lead Elvira Minguez won the actress honors, with Veronica Echegui winning the best supporting actress award for El Menor de los Males.
The festival, which hosted 105,620 visitors, saw ticket sales grow 21% from the previous year. The festival is also the framework for the Malaga Screenings. The screenings, which ran March 15-17, grew to 171 buyers from last year's 142 from 30 countries.
The film also earned Viscarret the director's award and Alberto San Juan the actor prize for his part as a man who travels home for his father's funeral and becomes entangled in his brother's fiancee's life.
Rodrigo Cortes' much-acclaimed black comedy Concursante took the Critics Award, while Jaime Marques' Ladrones won the 15,000-euro Special Jury Award.
Pudor lead Elvira Minguez won the actress honors, with Veronica Echegui winning the best supporting actress award for El Menor de los Males.
The festival, which hosted 105,620 visitors, saw ticket sales grow 21% from the previous year. The festival is also the framework for the Malaga Screenings. The screenings, which ran March 15-17, grew to 171 buyers from last year's 142 from 30 countries.
- 3/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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