Mexico Selects González Iñárritu's BIUTIFUL for the Oscars

The Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences (Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas) announced that it had elected Alejandro González Iñárritu's new film Biutiful to represent Mexico in the Foreign Language category for the 83rd annual Academy Awards. It was also announced that Luis Estrada's El infierno will represent the country for the Goya Awards in Spain. Biutiful, which had it's world premiere at the official competition in Cannes last May, stars Javier Bardem. It will be released in the U.S. theaters in December by Roadside Attractions. Brazil, Peru and Venezuela are the other Latin American countries that have selected their submission films to the Oscars: Lula, o filho do Brasil by Fábio Barreto, Undertow / Contracorriente by Javier Fuentes-León and Hermano by Marcel Rasquin, will respectively represent the South American countries.

Fernando de Fuentes' Mexican Revolution Trilogy at the New York Film Fest

The 48th edition of the New York Film Festival, which started last Friday, will be presenting the three films that Fernando Fuentes' made about the Mexican Revolution as part of the festival's 'Masterworks' sidebar. The trilogy comprised by the films El prisionero trece / Prisoner 13 (1933); El Compadre Mendoza (1934) and Vámonos con Pancho Villa, will be screened at the Walter Reade Theater over Wednesday and Thursday, September 29th and 30th. De Fuentes was one of the foundational figures of Mexican cinema, and according to the festival's program, 'with empathetic realism that recalls John Ford'.

Latin-o-American: Sandra Kogut, Margarita Jimeno, Nicolás Entel and David Barba

The second annual edition of Cinema Tropical's 'Latin-o-American' took place last week at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater as part of the 2010 edition of the Latinbeat Film Festival. The program consisted of a special panel with guest NY-based filmmakers Sandra Kogut (Mutum); Margarita Jimeno (Gogol Bordello NonStop); Nicolás Entel (Sins of My Father); and David Barba (Pop Star on Ice), and moderated by Carlos A. Gutiérrez, co-founding director of Cinema Tropical. Amongst other topics, the four filmmakers of different cultural backgrounds (Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico), talked about the difficulties and challenges of building a film career in New York, the current contexts for film production and distribution and their relationship to their countries of origin and their local film scenes. The discussion was followed by a reception at the adjacent Furman Gallery. An edited version of the discussion will soon be up at the TropiChat page of Cinema Tropical's website.

Pictured (left to right): Carlos A. Gutiérrez, Margarita Jimeno, David Barba, Sandra Kogut, and Nicolás Entel. Picture by Vanessa Hernández.

Lionsgate and Televisa Launch Pantelion

By Laura Martínez, New York

Mexico’s media titan Grupo Televisa today announced a partnership with independent film studio Lionsgate to launch Pantelion, a Latino-focused venture scheduled to release 8 to 10 films a year targeting the fast-growing Hispanic moviegoing crowd. Several years in the making, the new venture will be led by Paul Presburger, acting as CEO, and Jim McNamara, chairman of cable movie channel Cine Latino and former head of Telemundo, as Chairman.

The announcement was made on Tuesday at the 57 Screening Room in midtown Manhattan by Lionsgate Co-Chairman and CEO Jon Feltheimer and Grupo Televisa Chairman and CEO Emilio Azcárraga, who flew in just for the occasion. Hailed as the first “Hollywood Hispanic studio,” Pantelion has one simple goal in mind: to reach the estimated 26 million U.S. Hispanics who represent more than 25 percent of frequent moviegoers, and are considered the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. moviegoer population. “We believe Hispanics are the most underserved group when it comes to movies that speak directly to them,” said Feltheimer, who prior to joining Lionsgate was a top executive at Sony Pictures, leading the Columbia Tri-Star Television Group.

The idea behind Pantelion is by no means new. Many other companies have attempted something similar in the past. But the new venture’s advantage lies in the power of marketing and distribution expected behind each theatrical release: In addition to using the marketing prowess of Lionsgate, Pantelion has enlisted AMC as distribution partner. “If there is a Pantelion Film, we’ll show it,” said Gerry Lopez, CEO and President of AMC Theaters who also attended the conference. Also expressing their commitment to the new offerings are Cinemark and Regal Entertainment, major players in the movie exhibition business.

The first film to be released under the new venture is From Prada to Nada, a Latino spin on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, in which two spoiled sisters who have been left penniless after their father’s sudden death are forced to move in with their estranged aunt in East Los Angeles. Release date is January 28, 2011.

Directed by Fina Torres, From Prada to Nada (pictured) stars Wilmer Valderrama, Camilla Belle, Alexa Vega, Kuno Becker and Adriana Barraza.

Mexican Director Nicolás Pereda Wins Prize at the Venice Film Festival

The film Verano de Goliat / Summer of Goliath (pictured) by Mexican director Nicolás Pereda won the prize for Best Film in the Orizzonti section (dedicated to "new trends in world cinema") in the 67th edition of the Venice Film Festival which ended today. It is the very first time a Mexican film has won in Venice.  Additionally, the Dominican-Mexican-German co-production Jean Gentil by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas received a Special Mention by the Jury in the same section. Pereda's previous film Perpetuum Mobile is currenty being screened in the US, as part of this year's lineup of Latinbeat and at the National Gallery of Art as part of the special film series GenMex: A New Generation of Cine Mexicano.

DC's National Gallery of Art Presents GenMex: A New Generation of Cine Mexicano

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is presenting a special film series starting today, September 4th, featuring works by eight up-and-coming Mexican filmmakers in commemoration of the bicentennial of the country's independence from Spain, and the 100th anniversary of the start of the Mexican revolution. Under the title of "GenMex: A New Generation of Cine Mexicano," the prestigious cultural institution is presenting the recent award-winning films Perpetuum Mobile by Nicolás Pereda; El calambre by Matías Meyer (pictured); Norteado by Rigoberto Perezcano; Alamar by Pedro González-Rubio; El General by Natalia Almada; Presumed Guilty by Roberto Hernández and Geoffrey Smith; and Lake Tahoe by Fernando Eimbcke. The series will run during the whole month of September presenting screenings on Saturdays and Sundays. Natalia Almada will be presenting her feature documentary film on September 12th.