Tropical Screening of SIMONAL on a Snowy Night

Last night Cinema Tropical screened the acclaimed documentary Simonal, No One Know How Tough it Was by directors Claudio Manoel, Micael Langer and Calvito Leal, as part of its ongoing Music+Film series at 92YTribeca. The feature film tells the tragic story of Brazilian superstar Wilson Simonal de Castro who at the height of his professional career was accused of being an informant for the military government. The sold-out screening on a snowy wintry night was introduced by journalist Scott Mitchem who writes about Rio and Brazil for Wallpaper* Magazine, and it was followed by a party to the Brazilian sounds of DJ Brian Williams. Visit our Facebook page for more photos.

Pictured (from left to right): Musician David Byrne, Cinema Tropical's Mary Jane Marcasiano, and Forró in the Dark's Mauro Refosco. Photo by Evangeline Kim.

NORTEADO and EL HOMBRE DE AL LADO at New Directors/New Films

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art announced today their official lineup for the 39th edition of their annual New Directors/New Films Festival which includes the New York premieres of the Mexican film Norteado (Northless) by Rigoberto Perezcano and the Argentinean film El hombre de al lado (The Man Next Door) by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat which recently had its world premiere at Sundance. The festival, that runs March 24 - April 4 at the Walter Reade Theater and at MoMA, also includes the Brazilian short film The Bizarre Friends of Ricardinho by Augusto Canani.

Rotterdam Winners at BAMcinématek

Pedro González Rubio's Alamar (To the Sea) and Paz Fábrega's Agua fría de mar (Cold Water of the Sea), both winners of the top prize at the most recent edition of the Rotterdam Film Festival, will have their US Premiere at the 'Rotterdam @ BAM' series that will run March 4-9 in Brooklyn. González Rubio's acclaimed film will also soon be screened at Tucson Cine México 2010 and the Miami International Film Festival. The film has been recently acquired by Film Movement and is expected to have a theatrical release this summer in New York City.

Guadalajara Film Fest Announces Official Lineup

The Guadalajara Film Festival announced its official lineup for the 25th edition of the festival that will run March 12 - 19. Amongst the films selected for the Ibero-American competition are some recent favorites of the film festival including Marcelo Gomes and Karim Aïnouz' Viajo porque preciso, volto porque te amo / I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You; Paz Fábrega's Agua fría de mar / Cold Water of the Sea; Juan Carlos Valdivia's Zona Sur / Southern District; and Nicolás Entel's Pecados de mi padre / Sins of My Father. In the Mexican competition Guadalajara will see the local premieres of Carlos Carrera's De la infancia; Nicolás Pereda's Perpetum mobile; Rubén Ímaz's Cefalópodo and Carlos Hagerman's Vuelve a la vida.

Berlinale Winners

Colombian film Los vuelcos del cangrejo / Crab Trap by Oscar Ruíz Navia (see trailer below) was awarded the Film Critics' Prize and British-Brazilian film Waste Land by Lucy Walker won the Audience Prize in the Panorama Section at the Berlinale that ends today. Walker's documentary, which premiered at Sundance last month and also won the Audience Award, follows renowned contemporary artist Vik Muniz on its journey to the world's largest garbage dump on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Two Latin American films won the Golden Bear back to back the past two years, Brazilian blockbuster Tropa de elite / Elite Squad by José Padilha in 2008 and La teta asustada / The Milk of Sorrow by Claudia Llosa in 2009.

Mexican Revolución in Berlin

Last night the Berlin Film Festival held the world premiere of the Mexican film Revolución, composed of ten short films made by some of the country's most talented directors. The project was created as a way to rethink the legacy of the Mexican Revolution on its centennial. Gerardo Naranjo, Diego Luna, Mariana Chenillo, Carlos Reygadas, Patricia Riggen, Fernando Eimbcke, Rodrigo Plá, Gael García Bernal, Amat Escalante and  Rodrigo Garciá, all participated in this project. As reported by the AP, asked why 'the Three Amigos' were not invited to the project, filmmaker Naranjo just replied: "it's silly to think Mexican cinema is only Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro."

Three Latin American Filmmakers Awarded at the Rotterdam Film Fest

Alamar by Mexican filmmaker Pedro González Rubio and Agua fría de mar by Costa Rican filmmaker Paz Fábrega won the VPRO Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, which is given to debuts or second films from novice directors. The festival also announced that the Mexican film Norteado (Northless) by Rigoberto Pérezcano won the KNF Award given by the Association of Dutch Film Critics. González Rubio's film will have its US premiere in New York City this March at BAMcinématek, followed by screenings at the Miami Film Festival that same month, and is expected to have a theatrical run at Film Forum in July.

And the Nominees Are...

Peruvian film La teta asustada (The Milk of Sorrow) by Claudia Llosa, and Argentinean film El secreto de sus ojos (The Secret of their Eyes) by Juan José Campanella, both Latin American productions have landed a nomination for this year's Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film Category. It's the first time a Peruvian film gets nominated for an Oscar, the sixth time for Argentina (Campanella himself had been nominated in 2001 for El hijo de la novia / Son of the Bride) Also  relevant to Latin America, Rebecca Cammisa's Which Way Home about child immigration through Mexico, was nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

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