Una lista de 10 películas del 27 Festival de Málaga que no te puedes perder.
Con la 27ª edición del Festival de Málaga finalizada, desde mundoCine te traemos las diez recomendaciones que no te puedes perder a lo largo de los próximos meses. Películas que han cautivado a los asistentes de esta edición, y que se estrenarán en cines en breve. Echémosles un vistazo:
10. Radical (Christopher Zalla)
¿Por qué deberías verla? La película galardonada con la Biznaga de Oro a Mejor Película Iberoamericana nos narra la historia real de un grupo de chavales de instituto que son inspirados por su nuevo maestro (interpretado de forma magistral por el gran Eugenio Derbez) y que tratan de sacar todo su potencial para huir de un pueblo en la frontera con Estados Unidos lleno de abandono, corrupción y violencia.
Una cinta plagada de sentidas y emotivas actuaciones por parte de su elenco más joven, que...
Con la 27ª edición del Festival de Málaga finalizada, desde mundoCine te traemos las diez recomendaciones que no te puedes perder a lo largo de los próximos meses. Películas que han cautivado a los asistentes de esta edición, y que se estrenarán en cines en breve. Echémosles un vistazo:
10. Radical (Christopher Zalla)
¿Por qué deberías verla? La película galardonada con la Biznaga de Oro a Mejor Película Iberoamericana nos narra la historia real de un grupo de chavales de instituto que son inspirados por su nuevo maestro (interpretado de forma magistral por el gran Eugenio Derbez) y que tratan de sacar todo su potencial para huir de un pueblo en la frontera con Estados Unidos lleno de abandono, corrupción y violencia.
Una cinta plagada de sentidas y emotivas actuaciones por parte de su elenco más joven, que...
- 3/13/2024
- by Mario Hernández
- mundoCine
“Segundo Premio”, de Isaki Lacuesta y Pol Rodríguez, se alza con la Biznaga de Oro a la Mejor Película del 27 Festival de Málaga.
El sábado tuvo lugar la entrega de premios del 27 Festival de Málaga. Un festival que desde mundoCine hemos cubierto como prensa y podéis leer nuestras críticas y entrevistas. Un festival en el que “Segundo Premio” ha ganado el mayor galardón apuntando ya a los premios Goya.
Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los ganadores de la 27ª edición del Festival de Málaga:
Biznaga De Oro A LA Mejor PELÍCULA ESPAÑOLA
Segundo Premio, de Isaki Lacuesta y Pol Rodríguez.
Biznaga De Oro A LA Mejor PELÍCULA Iberoamericana
Radical, de Christopher Zalla.
Biznaga De Plata Premio Especial Del Jurado
Los Pequeños Amores, de Celia Rico.
Biznaga De Plata A LA Mejor DIRECCIÓN
Isaki Lacuesta y Pol Rodríguez por Segundo Premio.
Biznaga De Plata A LA Mejor INTERPRETACIÓN Femenina...
El sábado tuvo lugar la entrega de premios del 27 Festival de Málaga. Un festival que desde mundoCine hemos cubierto como prensa y podéis leer nuestras críticas y entrevistas. Un festival en el que “Segundo Premio” ha ganado el mayor galardón apuntando ya a los premios Goya.
Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los ganadores de la 27ª edición del Festival de Málaga:
Biznaga De Oro A LA Mejor PELÍCULA ESPAÑOLA
Segundo Premio, de Isaki Lacuesta y Pol Rodríguez.
Biznaga De Oro A LA Mejor PELÍCULA Iberoamericana
Radical, de Christopher Zalla.
Biznaga De Plata Premio Especial Del Jurado
Los Pequeños Amores, de Celia Rico.
Biznaga De Plata A LA Mejor DIRECCIÓN
Isaki Lacuesta y Pol Rodríguez por Segundo Premio.
Biznaga De Plata A LA Mejor INTERPRETACIÓN Femenina...
- 3/11/2024
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez’s,Saturn Return was the big winner at the Malaga Film Festival on March 9, taking home the awards for Golden Biznaga for best Spanish film, best director and best editing.
Other top prizes went to Celia Rico’s Little Loves, Álex Monoya’s La Casa, Pau Durá’s Birds Flying East (Pájaros) and Mexican drama Radical, by Christopher Zalla.
Saturn Return, a drama inspired by iconic indie rock band Los Planetas, is set in the late 1990s in Granada. It is produced by La Terraza Films, Áralan Films, Ikiru Films, Bteam Prods, Sideral Cinema and Los Ilusos Films.
Other top prizes went to Celia Rico’s Little Loves, Álex Monoya’s La Casa, Pau Durá’s Birds Flying East (Pájaros) and Mexican drama Radical, by Christopher Zalla.
Saturn Return, a drama inspired by iconic indie rock band Los Planetas, is set in the late 1990s in Granada. It is produced by La Terraza Films, Áralan Films, Ikiru Films, Bteam Prods, Sideral Cinema and Los Ilusos Films.
- 3/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
Malaga — Isaki Lacuesta’s “Saturn Return” (“Segundo Premio”), always a frontrunner, topped this week’s Malaga Festival winning its best picture, director (with co-director Pol Rodríguez) and editing (Javi Frutos) awards.
The triple plaudit delivers further recognition for a feature which pulls off the double achievement of being formally inventive and great fun at one and the same time.
Turning on Spanish indie rock group Los Planetas storied attempts to making their third and finally iconic album, but really about people’s need to recast the past as comprehensible narrative and a biopic parody, A broad audience play, “Saturn Return” has been hailed by Spanish newspaper El Mundo as a “masterpiece.”
“Saturn Returns” will do nothing to dent Lacuesta’s status as seemingly suddenly, after years in the wilderness as a supposedly radical filmmaker too out there to take on more ambitious budgets. Lacuesta’s feel-good concluding episode to “Offworld,...
The triple plaudit delivers further recognition for a feature which pulls off the double achievement of being formally inventive and great fun at one and the same time.
Turning on Spanish indie rock group Los Planetas storied attempts to making their third and finally iconic album, but really about people’s need to recast the past as comprehensible narrative and a biopic parody, A broad audience play, “Saturn Return” has been hailed by Spanish newspaper El Mundo as a “masterpiece.”
“Saturn Returns” will do nothing to dent Lacuesta’s status as seemingly suddenly, after years in the wilderness as a supposedly radical filmmaker too out there to take on more ambitious budgets. Lacuesta’s feel-good concluding episode to “Offworld,...
- 3/9/2024
- by John Hopewell and Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Directing The Zone Of Interest, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan… in a walk. It’s not really worth going over any other potential upsets, but if you prefer — Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest.”
After a year hit with Hollywood...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Directing The Zone Of Interest, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan… in a walk. It’s not really worth going over any other potential upsets, but if you prefer — Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest.”
After a year hit with Hollywood...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The 27th edition of the Malaga Film Festival (Mff) opens today (March 1) with animated feature Dragonkeeper and a strong line-up of Spanish and Latin American world premieres. The festival is a popular annual meeting point for the Spanish film industry, attended by most buyers and sellers, and showcases the best in new Spanish-language filmmaking.
The world premiere of Salvador Simó and Jian-Ping Li’s Dragonkeeper opens the festival, marking the first time Malaga has raised its curtain with an animated movie. A Spain-China co-production, Dragonkeeper is based on books by Carol Wilkinson, with an English-language voice cast that includes Bill Nighy and Mayalinee Griffiths.
The world premiere of Salvador Simó and Jian-Ping Li’s Dragonkeeper opens the festival, marking the first time Malaga has raised its curtain with an animated movie. A Spain-China co-production, Dragonkeeper is based on books by Carol Wilkinson, with an English-language voice cast that includes Bill Nighy and Mayalinee Griffiths.
- 3/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Descubre las películas que estarán en el 27 Festival de Málaga: una lista de las películas en competición y fuera de concurso.
Todos los años se celebra en Málaga, el Festival de Cine de Málaga. Un festival que se centra principalmente en producciones españolas y tiene como objetivo promover y celebrar la industria cinematográfica en España, así como proporcionar una plataforma para el reconocimiento y la difusión del cine español. Un festival en el que han tenido su estreno mundial muchas películas que después han sido nominadas a los premios Goya, como es el caso de “20.000 Especies de Abejas” en esta pasada edición de los premios más grandes del cine español.
Este año, el 27 Festival de Málaga se celebra del 1 al 10 de marzo y cuenta con un total de 19 películas (11 españolas y 8 latinoamericanas), que concursarán en la Sección Oficial y 18 películas (15 españolas y 3 latinas) en sección Oficial no competitiva. Una...
Todos los años se celebra en Málaga, el Festival de Cine de Málaga. Un festival que se centra principalmente en producciones españolas y tiene como objetivo promover y celebrar la industria cinematográfica en España, así como proporcionar una plataforma para el reconocimiento y la difusión del cine español. Un festival en el que han tenido su estreno mundial muchas películas que después han sido nominadas a los premios Goya, como es el caso de “20.000 Especies de Abejas” en esta pasada edición de los premios más grandes del cine español.
Este año, el 27 Festival de Málaga se celebra del 1 al 10 de marzo y cuenta con un total de 19 películas (11 españolas y 8 latinoamericanas), que concursarán en la Sección Oficial y 18 películas (15 españolas y 3 latinas) en sección Oficial no competitiva. Una...
- 2/16/2024
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
If the atmosphere seems spiced with something other than pumpkin extract this month, don’t worry. That’s just the creamy mouth-feel (sorry!) of awards season, which is once again upon us in full-force. Look no further than this month’s Don’t-Miss Indies, full of auteur-driven storytelling from tip to tail, including plenty of Film Independent Spirit Award alumni. Want to receive screeners and vote for this season’s Spirit Award winners? Go ahead!
Fingernails
When You Can Watch: Now
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (limited), Apple TV+
Director: Christos Nikou
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White
Why We’re Excited: Film Independent Spirit Award winners Buckley (Robert Altman Award co-recipient for last year’s Women Talking) and Ahmed (Best Male Lead for 2020’s Sound of Metal) stars as Anna and Amir—two colleagues who work at the “Love Institute”, which has supposedly developed a test to...
Fingernails
When You Can Watch: Now
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (limited), Apple TV+
Director: Christos Nikou
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White
Why We’re Excited: Film Independent Spirit Award winners Buckley (Robert Altman Award co-recipient for last year’s Women Talking) and Ahmed (Best Male Lead for 2020’s Sound of Metal) stars as Anna and Amir—two colleagues who work at the “Love Institute”, which has supposedly developed a test to...
- 11/6/2023
- by Su Fang Tham
- Film Independent News & More
After a terrific October, things settled down for the first weekend of November, as few major studios wanted to open the holiday movie season, and no new movies opened in more than 1,500 theaters. Read on for the weekend box office report.
Some might remember that this weekend was when Warner Bros had planned to release “Dune Part II” until the decision was made a few months back to move it to 2024. So far, that move hasn’t benefitted anyone much, at least not in terms of box office.
After setting a number of records last weekend, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” took a massive plunge in its second weekend, probably not helped by the fact that it was already streaming on Peacock. Still, it was able to remain #1 with an estimated $19.4 million, down 76% from its opening weekend, to bring its North American total to $113.6 million. The PG-13 horror movie added another...
Some might remember that this weekend was when Warner Bros had planned to release “Dune Part II” until the decision was made a few months back to move it to 2024. So far, that move hasn’t benefitted anyone much, at least not in terms of box office.
After setting a number of records last weekend, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” took a massive plunge in its second weekend, probably not helped by the fact that it was already streaming on Peacock. Still, it was able to remain #1 with an estimated $19.4 million, down 76% from its opening weekend, to bring its North American total to $113.6 million. The PG-13 horror movie added another...
- 11/5/2023
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Based on Joshua Davis’s 2013 article for Wired, “A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses,” Radical, a stirring, poignant drama co-written and adapted by Christopher Zalla (Blood of My Blood), literally and figuratively revolves around Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary School in Matamoros, Mexico. A town on the U.S/Mexico border, Matamoros suffers from crushing poverty, dilapidated infrastructure, and gang-related violence. It’s as hopeless a city or town — depressingly, painfully real by all accounts — as any put on Spanish-language, Mexico-set film since Luis Buñuel’s award-winning classic, Los Olvidados (The Forgotten Ones) almost 75 years ago. Unlike Issa Lopez’s recent — and it should be added, excellent — horror-thriller hybrid, Tigers Are Not Afraid, Radical centers the drama on the elementary school itself, the...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 11/3/2023
- Screen Anarchy
After October began and ended with two monstrous box office hits, November starts a bit quieter with a few lower-key releases that may have trouble making a significant mark. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.
A24 will be releasing Sofia Coppola‘s “Priscilla,” starring Cailee Spaeney as Priscilla Presley and Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley, nationwide on Friday after a platform release into four theaters in New York and L.A. this past weekend, where it averaged a solid $33k per location. Adapted by Coppola from Priscilla Presley‘s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me,” the movie shows a darker side to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the toxic and abusive treatment of his younger wife.
Obviously, two things going for “Priscilla” is Coppola’s own popularity as a filmmaker going back to 1999’s “The Virgin Suicides” and more recent films like “The Bling Ring” in 2013, although...
A24 will be releasing Sofia Coppola‘s “Priscilla,” starring Cailee Spaeney as Priscilla Presley and Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley, nationwide on Friday after a platform release into four theaters in New York and L.A. this past weekend, where it averaged a solid $33k per location. Adapted by Coppola from Priscilla Presley‘s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me,” the movie shows a darker side to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the toxic and abusive treatment of his younger wife.
Obviously, two things going for “Priscilla” is Coppola’s own popularity as a filmmaker going back to 1999’s “The Virgin Suicides” and more recent films like “The Bling Ring” in 2013, although...
- 11/1/2023
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Eugenio Derbez is fantastic in the real-life role of Sergio Juarez, a teacher from Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary in Matamoros, Mexico who aims to defy the school system in honor of learning. Written and directed by Christopher Zalla and based on the 2013 Wired article, “A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses,” the
The post Eugenio Derbez Talks “Radical” and the Importance of Teachers appeared first on Manny the Movie Guy.
The post Eugenio Derbez Talks “Radical” and the Importance of Teachers appeared first on Manny the Movie Guy.
- 10/31/2023
- by manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Mexico’s official entry to the Best International Feature Oscar race, Lila Aviles’ “Totem,” and Tatiana Huezo’s documentary “The Echo” (“El Eco”) snagged three prizes apiece at the Morelia International Film Festival (Ficm), which wrapped Sunday, Oct. 29.
The awards doled out Saturday capped a busy 21st edition that saw a constellation of luminaries in town, including Jodie Foster, Jessica Chastain, Peter Saarsgard, Viggo Mortensen, Danny Huston, James Ivory, Irène Jacob and producing partners Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.
Mexico’s multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who received the festival’s Premio Cuervo lifetime achievement award, served as a juror in the official selection which gave best Mexican feature and best director awards to “Totem,” described by Variety as an“intimate, emotionally rich” film. “Totem” also took home the Audience Award, a good indication of its box office potential.
The best screenplay award went to Elisa Miller and Daniela Gómez for their gripping drama,...
The awards doled out Saturday capped a busy 21st edition that saw a constellation of luminaries in town, including Jodie Foster, Jessica Chastain, Peter Saarsgard, Viggo Mortensen, Danny Huston, James Ivory, Irène Jacob and producing partners Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.
Mexico’s multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who received the festival’s Premio Cuervo lifetime achievement award, served as a juror in the official selection which gave best Mexican feature and best director awards to “Totem,” described by Variety as an“intimate, emotionally rich” film. “Totem” also took home the Audience Award, a good indication of its box office potential.
The best screenplay award went to Elisa Miller and Daniela Gómez for their gripping drama,...
- 10/30/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Ahead of its U.S. release on November 3, Eugenio Derbez-starrer Radical is off to a great start in Mexico. The film, which won the Festival Favorite Award when it premiered at Sundance in January, opened last weekend in Mexico, selling 631.7K tickets, outdoing the sophomore frame of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, as well as that film’s debut the previous session; both in terms of admissions.
Released by Videocine, this was the biggest local-language opening in Mexico since the Covid era began in both grosses and ticket sales. Radical grossed Mxn 43,339,719 ($2.36M) across the October 20-22 frame, which is just slightly under what The Eras Tour brought in across its second weekend. That’s because the Taylor Swift movie is being sold at event pricing with tickets going for Mxn 215 a pop versus Mxn 69 for Radical. The latter also had the highest per-screen average of the October 20-22 session.
Released by Videocine, this was the biggest local-language opening in Mexico since the Covid era began in both grosses and ticket sales. Radical grossed Mxn 43,339,719 ($2.36M) across the October 20-22 frame, which is just slightly under what The Eras Tour brought in across its second weekend. That’s because the Taylor Swift movie is being sold at event pricing with tickets going for Mxn 215 a pop versus Mxn 69 for Radical. The latter also had the highest per-screen average of the October 20-22 session.
- 10/27/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Mexican actor/director/writer/ producer Eugenio Derbez “can do anything.”
That’s what Ben Odell, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Derbez’s production company, 3Pas, believes.
“The roles he’s been offered to date are the comedy relief guy,” Odell tells Variety. “The best of Hollywood is the big spectacle movies. Anyone who comes here wants to play in that big sandbox. Let’s see [Derbez] as the ‘bad guy’ in a Marvel movie. It’ll be fun, but he’ll bring that humanity and be scary as shit.”
First, audiences will get to see Derbez — who celebrates the 10th anniversary of groundbreaking comedy “Instructions Not Included” this year — tackle drama in “Radical,” which debuted at Sundance and won the Audience Award. “Radical” follows the true story of Mexican schoolteacher Sergio Juárez Correa, who uses immersive teaching techniques in a border town with failing test scores to inspire his students.
That’s what Ben Odell, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Derbez’s production company, 3Pas, believes.
“The roles he’s been offered to date are the comedy relief guy,” Odell tells Variety. “The best of Hollywood is the big spectacle movies. Anyone who comes here wants to play in that big sandbox. Let’s see [Derbez] as the ‘bad guy’ in a Marvel movie. It’ll be fun, but he’ll bring that humanity and be scary as shit.”
First, audiences will get to see Derbez — who celebrates the 10th anniversary of groundbreaking comedy “Instructions Not Included” this year — tackle drama in “Radical,” which debuted at Sundance and won the Audience Award. “Radical” follows the true story of Mexican schoolteacher Sergio Juárez Correa, who uses immersive teaching techniques in a border town with failing test scores to inspire his students.
- 10/13/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Film Independent has set seven filmmakers for the 2023 edition of its Producing Lab, an intensive program designed to help creative, independent producers develop their skills and further their careers. The list includes Camila Grimaldi & Farah Jabir (AmeriGirl), Rob Cristiano (Gone by Morning), Daniel Tantalean (In the Summers), Valeria Contreras (Not My Name), Annalisa Shoemaker (Obsolete), and Fiona Hardingham (Smoke Country).
Film Independent looks to bolster its Fellows by introducing them to film professionals who can advise them on both the craft and business of independent producing. Each is paired with a Creative Advisor, with whom they’ll look to develop a project over the course of the program. Rebecca Green will serve as lead creative advisor for this year’s program, which will also feature an expansive roster of guest speakers: Jason Michael Berman, Apoorva Charan, Marissa Frobes, Nate Kamiya, Kristen Konvitz, Stephen Lee, Alex Lo, Lauren Mann, Jack Pearkes,...
Film Independent looks to bolster its Fellows by introducing them to film professionals who can advise them on both the craft and business of independent producing. Each is paired with a Creative Advisor, with whom they’ll look to develop a project over the course of the program. Rebecca Green will serve as lead creative advisor for this year’s program, which will also feature an expansive roster of guest speakers: Jason Michael Berman, Apoorva Charan, Marissa Frobes, Nate Kamiya, Kristen Konvitz, Stephen Lee, Alex Lo, Lauren Mann, Jack Pearkes,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Radical, the Mexican true-life drama starring Coda‘s Eugenio Derbez that broke out of Sundance as the 2023 Festival Favorite, has secured a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement that will permit publicity efforts ahead of its October 20 nationwide release, Deadline has learned.
Agreements of the sort do not guarantee actor participation in PR campaigns, only opening up the possibility for it amidst the SAG-AFTRA strike. But Radical is precisely the kind of film that would most benefit from it, as a small, star-driven awards prospect looking to perform at the box office. And it is expected that Derbez now will be out promoting the movie, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Related: SAG-AFTRA Tells Members It’s Ok To Promote Their Movies With Interim Agreements At Film Festivals
Among other major titles to have secured publicity-focused agreements from the actors guild recently are Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Michael Mann’s Ferrari,...
Agreements of the sort do not guarantee actor participation in PR campaigns, only opening up the possibility for it amidst the SAG-AFTRA strike. But Radical is precisely the kind of film that would most benefit from it, as a small, star-driven awards prospect looking to perform at the box office. And it is expected that Derbez now will be out promoting the movie, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Related: SAG-AFTRA Tells Members It’s Ok To Promote Their Movies With Interim Agreements At Film Festivals
Among other major titles to have secured publicity-focused agreements from the actors guild recently are Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Michael Mann’s Ferrari,...
- 8/29/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
"What each and every one of you needs... you already have it." Pantelion Films has revealed a teaser trailer for Radical, the latest film from director Christopher Zalla. This first premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to rave reviews (here's mine), winning the "Festival Favorite Award". In a Mexican border town plagued by neglect, corruption, and violence, a frustrated teacher tries a radical new method to break through his students' apathy and unlock their curiosity, their potential... and maybe even their genius. Based on a true story (from 2013), which introduced the world to one young Mexican girl who they put on magazine covers. Eugenio Derbez stars as the teacher, Sergio, along with Daniel Haddad and a cast of vibrant young local kids. The "radical" method he uses is basically throwing out the text books and teaching them how to use their intuition to figure things out, free...
- 8/3/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Participant has partnered with TelevisaUnivision’s Pantelion Films and 3Pas Studios on Radical, the Eugenio Derbez-led film written and directed by Chris Zalla. Radical will be released in U.S. and Mexico theaters on October 20. Additionally, international sales have been made in several territories including the UK, Germany and Australia.
Radical will be distributed in the U.S. by Paul Presburger and Edward Allen’s Miercoles Entertainment on behalf of Pantelion Films. The announcement arrives following the film’s successful turn at the Sundance Film Festival where it earned the “Festival Favorite Award” from a field of 111 films.
“We are so excited to bring Radical to as wide an audience as possible, giving us the opportunity to share this powerful story with both Eugenio’s massive core audience as well as the specialty market. To reach these very different markets and audiences, we could not be more thrilled...
Radical will be distributed in the U.S. by Paul Presburger and Edward Allen’s Miercoles Entertainment on behalf of Pantelion Films. The announcement arrives following the film’s successful turn at the Sundance Film Festival where it earned the “Festival Favorite Award” from a field of 111 films.
“We are so excited to bring Radical to as wide an audience as possible, giving us the opportunity to share this powerful story with both Eugenio’s massive core audience as well as the specialty market. To reach these very different markets and audiences, we could not be more thrilled...
- 7/11/2023
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: On the heels of his newest feature Radical‘s Festival Favorite Award win at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, filmmaker Christopher Zalla has inked with Entertainment 360 for management.
Zalla wrote and directed the critically acclaimed drama, based on a 2013 article written for Wired magazine by Josh Davis, which was among the most discussed titles at Sundance 2023. The film is based on the true story of Sergio Juarez Correa (Coda‘s Eugenio Derbez), a teacher in the neglected town of Matamoros, Mexico, who as Zalla notes in his director’s statement, suffered “a mental breakdown” after “increasingly failing to reach his students in each successive year.” When Correa stumbled upon “a new kind of child-directed learning” in a Ted Talk, he decided to try to implement it, in order to turn the situation in his classroom around, to profound results.
Zalla connected to this story personally, as someone...
Zalla wrote and directed the critically acclaimed drama, based on a 2013 article written for Wired magazine by Josh Davis, which was among the most discussed titles at Sundance 2023. The film is based on the true story of Sergio Juarez Correa (Coda‘s Eugenio Derbez), a teacher in the neglected town of Matamoros, Mexico, who as Zalla notes in his director’s statement, suffered “a mental breakdown” after “increasingly failing to reach his students in each successive year.” When Correa stumbled upon “a new kind of child-directed learning” in a Ted Talk, he decided to try to implement it, in order to turn the situation in his classroom around, to profound results.
Zalla connected to this story personally, as someone...
- 6/20/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Details on US roll-out to follow.
Andrew Herwitz’s New York-based The Film Sales Company is launching talks with buyers on the Croisette this week on international rights excluding Mexico, Spain, Portugal and Brazil to Sundance Festival Favorite Award winner Radical.
Eugenio Derbez from Oscar winner Coda and Instructions Not Included stars as an inspirational teacher who tries to unlock the potential of his under-performing students at a school in one of the most crime-ridden parts of Mexico.
Christopher Zalla directed and Ben Odell, Joshua Davis and Derbez served as producers. Radical screens in the market on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Andrew Herwitz’s New York-based The Film Sales Company is launching talks with buyers on the Croisette this week on international rights excluding Mexico, Spain, Portugal and Brazil to Sundance Festival Favorite Award winner Radical.
Eugenio Derbez from Oscar winner Coda and Instructions Not Included stars as an inspirational teacher who tries to unlock the potential of his under-performing students at a school in one of the most crime-ridden parts of Mexico.
Christopher Zalla directed and Ben Odell, Joshua Davis and Derbez served as producers. Radical screens in the market on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- 5/16/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A still from Radical by Chris Zalla, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute Radical Review — Radical (2023) Film Review from the 45th Annual Sundance Film Festival, a movie directed by Christopher Zalla, starring Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mia Fernanda Solis, [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: Radical: Powerhouse Addition to Maverick Teacher Victory Canon [Sundance 2023]...
Continue reading: Film Review: Radical: Powerhouse Addition to Maverick Teacher Victory Canon [Sundance 2023]...
- 2/14/2023
- by David McDonald
- Film-Book
Sundance 2023: ‘Radical’ directed by Christopher ZallaChristopher Zalla returns to Sundance (‘Padre Nuestro’, U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize 2007) thanks to one of Hollywood’s most innovative producers, Ben Odell and Eugenio Derbez, the top star of Mexico. Their company 3Pas has consistenly created entertainment for the Latinx community in new ways and now this powerfully inspiring story about a teacher deserves to be put to the test to see how it stands with a public along side with education classics as ‘Blackboard Jungle’, ‘Goodbye Mr. Chipps’, ‘Dead Poets’ Society’ and ‘To Sir With Love’. And yes, ‘Stand and Deliver’ as well, Edward James Olmos’ breakthrough and best film.
Director Christopher Zalla. Courtesy of Sundance Institute, photo by Erynne Dowe
With Mr. Zalla in Sundance is Mexican Superstar Eugenio Derbez, who appeared at Sundance in 2021 as Bernardo in Sian Heder’s Coda, top prize winner at Sundance and winner of three Oscars including Best Picture. InCoda he played an inspirational high school music teacher, and in Radical he is again such a teacher.
Every student in K -12 should be given the opportunity to see this film on the educational non-theatrical circuit as well as theatrical and streaming platforms. This is the film that will inspire children to become teachers like Sergio Juarez as played with all his heart by Eugenio Derbez, Mexico’s top comedian and movie star. The discovery of the joy of learning for the children on Matamorros, Mexico, a place where kids live in a world where they can’t be kids, was based upon a true story.
Eugenio Derbez — Co-Founder, 3Pas Studio — Lead Actor & Producer, Radical speaking at Illuminative’s Indigenous House, courtesy of the social justice organization IllumiNative, a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization dedicated to challenging the narrative about Native peoples:
“I started as a comedian in television. When I made the transition to cinema, I always tried to bring joy into each of my movies. Even though it’s drama, it’s part of our brand. I have a production company called Tripas Studios. Tripas means guts, so when you do everything with your guts, you can make all the decisions with your guts. When we are looking for a project, we always look for the three H’s: Humanity, Humor, and Heart. We need at least two of these elements to be in the movie. But I always need to put in some humor. Even though ‘Radical’ is a drama and a really sad and true story, you’re going to laugh a couple of times because humor makes everything easy. When you show me drama and a true story, I put in a little bit of joy, so you can digest the information much better.”
Eugenio Derbez at the Illuinative panel. Photo Credit: INDÍGENA for IllumiNative
[When asked what he wanted viewers to take away from Radical] “I want to celebrate education. I think education is the base for future generations. I feel that right now education, not just in my country, but worldwide, has been the same for the last 200 years. The same kind of structure, it’s twisted, we’re teaching kids to obey, sit down, shut up, do this, do that, memorize this. We’re teaching them to obey, we’re teaching them to memorize and we need to teach them how to learn.”
Radical shines a light on the incredible potential children can manifest when an innovative teacher empowers them to think for themselves. The Wired article by Joshua Davis (also a producer here) explains it is based on the life of teacher Sergio Juárez Correa, who with his students was the subject of a 2013 Wired magazine cover story titled A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses. The article details Juárez’ rather incredible story as an unorthodox teacher in a poor Mexican border town called Matamoros. It is a forgotten poor city with little hope for its kids, particularly in the elementary school, where he uses a teaching method he stumbled upon seeing a Ted Talks video in which the students lead the curriculum in learning what they want to learn, not what officials dictate through testing and other methods.
Eugenio Derbez conducting a class on the solar system. Courtesy o Sundance Institut
After establishing the To Sir, with Love nature of this school and who the kids in the sixth-grade class are, we meet Sergio. He has turned over all the desks in his classroom and tries to convince the incredulous students to come aboard these “lifeboats” in the make-believe ocean for the kind of off-the-wall lesson they have never encountered before.
As we learn to know the students: Paloma (the nascent shining star Jennifer Trejo), who aspires to be a rocket scientist (That is true and her story is more incredible), Nico, Lupe and others surrounded by cartel culture and bullies, their fates take shape.
Derbez never has been better than in this film, one that’s for sale and, if there is any justice, will be picked up immediately by a distributor looking for a feel-good true story with real potential to make a difference. It co-stars Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mia Fernanda Solis and Danilo Guardiola.
Radical was produced by 3Pas Studios (Derbez’s label run by Benjamin Odell), in association with Epic Magazine and The Lift, and financed by TelevisaUnivision/ViX.
The film is seeking worldwide distribution in all territories, save Mexico. Andrew Herwitz of The Film Sales Company is representing the film.
Eugenio Derbez. Courtesy of Sundance Institute photo by Mateo Londono
“Three Steps” says Ben Odell, co-founder of 3Pas (as in 3Pas, Tripas or tripe, or Guts as Eugenio decribes them), when explaining to me the meanng of the pun. 3Pas in Spanish means three steps, but is also a play on words, something Mexicans like a lot. Personally, I too love tripas y menudo. Delicioso!
Ben and Tripas also won the 2007 Grand Jury Prize Winner at Sundance with the art house Spanish language thriller, Padre Nuestro. IFC changed the title to Sangre de mi sangre for its U.S. release. It also played at New Directors/ New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007, received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature (for which Odell was nominated) and Best Screenplay.
Ben is sure that his producing partner Eugene will go way beyond his current core Latinx market “He is so lovable to watch. He has a magic about him that is undeniable and transcends language and culture.”
When Ben and Eugenio decided to go together they knew it was The-One-Time-In-a-Career-To-Capitalize moment. It happened while Eugenio was making his breakout film Instructions not Included. They formed 3Pas to focus on brand-building based upon Eugenio’s popularity. They planned to go beyond his own work, in English and Spanish. 3Pas Studios signed a first-look deal with Pantelion in August 2014. Neither Eugenio nor Ben had any idea Instructions not Included would be so big. It was released in 2013 by Pantelion and grossed $44.5 million, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. It grossed another $55 million overseas making it the number one Spanish language movie in the world.
Before I met Ben, I always pictured him as my other friend whose last name is Odell, a slight and wiry, dark haired type. How surprised I was to see this big, handsome blond who exuded warmth and a good-willed wit and storytelling skill. Love at first sight! And I am sure I am not the only one who is smitten with him. I wish I could convey his spirit, humor and strength as he recounted his life and career(s) to me in the hour we spent together in his new spacious, airy and bright Santa Monica office where Ben Shalom-Martinez was the third person in the new company, manning a phone system not yet working.
I told Ben I had read his mini bio in IMDb, and it made me want to know how he had gotten into the Latinx side of the business. I expected him to reveal that, in fact, and in spite of his name, he was Latino.
One year out of college, Ben said,
“I worked in editing with the Maysles Brothers. I was a P.A. on the first film John Turturro directed called “Mac”, and I was a reader for Art Linson. And that was my degree in Liberal Arts in Film. I wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn’t feel I had enough life experience. A family friend offered me a job in commercial production in Colombia. It was 1992 and my dad said: “if you love all things Latino, go learn Spanish and become an expert in the Latino market. It’s going to need people that understand it. No one was really talking about its importance then but that piece of advice changed my life. I moved to Colombia to learn Spanish and start what would be a life long journey in all things Latino, from U.S. Latino to Latin America. It’s not a single market but there is a connectivity between all of it.”
Ben grew up in Pennsylvania and when he was six years old, neighbors, who had old friends from Colombia, did an exchange of one of their children with a Colombian child. “My father ended up basically adopting that child for the year he lived with our neighbors and from that grew a friendship with this Colombian family.”
When he was 12 years old the whole Colombian family moved to Philadelphia. “I wanted them to adopt me. They were crazy, emotional, passionate, loving. It was a warmth and lust for life I hadn’t really experienced in suburban white America. And then I realized there was a whole country full of them.” At 15 he went with a friend to Colombia and loved it.
His father eventually married someone from that family. So Ben’s connection to Colombia, if not to all of Latin America was very organic. Colombia is not part of the “U.S. Latino market” per se, but Colombia and the rest of Latin America share certain characteristics and commonalities — views on life and death, family, spirituality — that end up working their way into storytelling that are shared throughout the U.S. Latino market and Latin America along with a larger emotional scale in the tone of their storytelling.
Odell lived in Colombia from 1992 to 2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish language television writer and screenwriter there.
When he was in Colombia working in commercials, he met Tom Quinn, a journalist Iiving there for 25 years, working for Time Magazine and running an English language rag called The Colombian Post. In his youth, Tom had run with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson. He had lots of adventures and lots of stories of those days.
Ben asked Tom what was the most compelling story they could make into a movie that wasn’t about narcotrafficking, and Tom said one word: “Emeralds.” Colombia supplies 60% of the world’s emeralds. The mines in the Emerald Zone have strong drug laundering connections as well, as one might guess. The land is leased by the government to the three or four mining companies and they control everything with no supervision by the government.
Ben thought this was a great story to develop into a movie, and so he went back to New York to the contacts he had made including an exec at Tribeca Films. “They all said the same thing, great story but you are not a writer. Go write the script and then we’ll talk.” Ben returned to Colombia to do research.
In the meanwhile he began writing for Colombian TV. He had never written a feature film script, nor did he speak Spanish. He had, however, taken a course in feature film screenwriting with Robert McKee. And he had a girlfriend who was bilingual. He knew about Colombian TV and he saw the potential for legitimizing the story first as a TV show and then making it into a feature later.
Tom Quinn was very well known in Colombia as he was the Time News correspondent there at a moment when the magazine had a lot of power; the drug wars were one of its most consistent cover stories. They pitched it to Rti TV, and structured it like The Fugitive.
There is a drug, called burandanga, scientifically known as Scopolamine. It comes from a plant that grows wild in Colombia. The drugged one loses control of his or her will. Ben once heard a story about a man in a bar who wakes up in jail accused of a murder he can’t remember. This became the basis of the story. The lead goes into the Emerald Zone and drugged by burundanga, he kills one on the wrong side in a war going on there. He wakes up with no recollection and a full on civil war going on around him. He can’t get out of the Emerald Zone until he finds the man who drugged him. The title of this series that Tom and he pitched and in 1998 created was Fuego verde, like the 1954 Hollywood movie, Green Fire starring Grace Kelly and Stewart Grainger.
As a television writer, he eventually created and wrote over 300 hours of Spanish-language narrative television including Fuego Verde — the first-ever action series. It was one of the highest rated series on Colombian television. He also co-wrote the Colombian political satire feature film, Golpe de estadio, which was nominated for Spain’s Academy Award, the Goya in 1999, and was Colombia’s nomination to the Oscar in 2000. It is still one of the highest grossing Colombian films of all time.
In the film, Golpe de estadio, (Golpe de Estado means “Coup d’état”but it also could mean “Coup de Stadium”), an oil company has set up a camp for geological research in a small village in Colombia that has been named New Texas. It becomes the target of the guerrillas who are constantly clashing with police in the area. The confrontation is put on hold however during the TV transmission of the world Cup qualifiers.
For more about this and Ben, read my blog from several years ago here.
In summary, Tripas has created a feel-good story that has great potential to make a difference and is available for distribution.
EducationMexicoFilm FestivalsInternational FilmFemale Empowerment...
Director Christopher Zalla. Courtesy of Sundance Institute, photo by Erynne Dowe
With Mr. Zalla in Sundance is Mexican Superstar Eugenio Derbez, who appeared at Sundance in 2021 as Bernardo in Sian Heder’s Coda, top prize winner at Sundance and winner of three Oscars including Best Picture. InCoda he played an inspirational high school music teacher, and in Radical he is again such a teacher.
Every student in K -12 should be given the opportunity to see this film on the educational non-theatrical circuit as well as theatrical and streaming platforms. This is the film that will inspire children to become teachers like Sergio Juarez as played with all his heart by Eugenio Derbez, Mexico’s top comedian and movie star. The discovery of the joy of learning for the children on Matamorros, Mexico, a place where kids live in a world where they can’t be kids, was based upon a true story.
Eugenio Derbez — Co-Founder, 3Pas Studio — Lead Actor & Producer, Radical speaking at Illuminative’s Indigenous House, courtesy of the social justice organization IllumiNative, a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization dedicated to challenging the narrative about Native peoples:
“I started as a comedian in television. When I made the transition to cinema, I always tried to bring joy into each of my movies. Even though it’s drama, it’s part of our brand. I have a production company called Tripas Studios. Tripas means guts, so when you do everything with your guts, you can make all the decisions with your guts. When we are looking for a project, we always look for the three H’s: Humanity, Humor, and Heart. We need at least two of these elements to be in the movie. But I always need to put in some humor. Even though ‘Radical’ is a drama and a really sad and true story, you’re going to laugh a couple of times because humor makes everything easy. When you show me drama and a true story, I put in a little bit of joy, so you can digest the information much better.”
Eugenio Derbez at the Illuinative panel. Photo Credit: INDÍGENA for IllumiNative
[When asked what he wanted viewers to take away from Radical] “I want to celebrate education. I think education is the base for future generations. I feel that right now education, not just in my country, but worldwide, has been the same for the last 200 years. The same kind of structure, it’s twisted, we’re teaching kids to obey, sit down, shut up, do this, do that, memorize this. We’re teaching them to obey, we’re teaching them to memorize and we need to teach them how to learn.”
Radical shines a light on the incredible potential children can manifest when an innovative teacher empowers them to think for themselves. The Wired article by Joshua Davis (also a producer here) explains it is based on the life of teacher Sergio Juárez Correa, who with his students was the subject of a 2013 Wired magazine cover story titled A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses. The article details Juárez’ rather incredible story as an unorthodox teacher in a poor Mexican border town called Matamoros. It is a forgotten poor city with little hope for its kids, particularly in the elementary school, where he uses a teaching method he stumbled upon seeing a Ted Talks video in which the students lead the curriculum in learning what they want to learn, not what officials dictate through testing and other methods.
Eugenio Derbez conducting a class on the solar system. Courtesy o Sundance Institut
After establishing the To Sir, with Love nature of this school and who the kids in the sixth-grade class are, we meet Sergio. He has turned over all the desks in his classroom and tries to convince the incredulous students to come aboard these “lifeboats” in the make-believe ocean for the kind of off-the-wall lesson they have never encountered before.
As we learn to know the students: Paloma (the nascent shining star Jennifer Trejo), who aspires to be a rocket scientist (That is true and her story is more incredible), Nico, Lupe and others surrounded by cartel culture and bullies, their fates take shape.
Derbez never has been better than in this film, one that’s for sale and, if there is any justice, will be picked up immediately by a distributor looking for a feel-good true story with real potential to make a difference. It co-stars Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mia Fernanda Solis and Danilo Guardiola.
Radical was produced by 3Pas Studios (Derbez’s label run by Benjamin Odell), in association with Epic Magazine and The Lift, and financed by TelevisaUnivision/ViX.
The film is seeking worldwide distribution in all territories, save Mexico. Andrew Herwitz of The Film Sales Company is representing the film.
Eugenio Derbez. Courtesy of Sundance Institute photo by Mateo Londono
“Three Steps” says Ben Odell, co-founder of 3Pas (as in 3Pas, Tripas or tripe, or Guts as Eugenio decribes them), when explaining to me the meanng of the pun. 3Pas in Spanish means three steps, but is also a play on words, something Mexicans like a lot. Personally, I too love tripas y menudo. Delicioso!
Ben and Tripas also won the 2007 Grand Jury Prize Winner at Sundance with the art house Spanish language thriller, Padre Nuestro. IFC changed the title to Sangre de mi sangre for its U.S. release. It also played at New Directors/ New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007, received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature (for which Odell was nominated) and Best Screenplay.
Ben is sure that his producing partner Eugene will go way beyond his current core Latinx market “He is so lovable to watch. He has a magic about him that is undeniable and transcends language and culture.”
When Ben and Eugenio decided to go together they knew it was The-One-Time-In-a-Career-To-Capitalize moment. It happened while Eugenio was making his breakout film Instructions not Included. They formed 3Pas to focus on brand-building based upon Eugenio’s popularity. They planned to go beyond his own work, in English and Spanish. 3Pas Studios signed a first-look deal with Pantelion in August 2014. Neither Eugenio nor Ben had any idea Instructions not Included would be so big. It was released in 2013 by Pantelion and grossed $44.5 million, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. It grossed another $55 million overseas making it the number one Spanish language movie in the world.
Before I met Ben, I always pictured him as my other friend whose last name is Odell, a slight and wiry, dark haired type. How surprised I was to see this big, handsome blond who exuded warmth and a good-willed wit and storytelling skill. Love at first sight! And I am sure I am not the only one who is smitten with him. I wish I could convey his spirit, humor and strength as he recounted his life and career(s) to me in the hour we spent together in his new spacious, airy and bright Santa Monica office where Ben Shalom-Martinez was the third person in the new company, manning a phone system not yet working.
I told Ben I had read his mini bio in IMDb, and it made me want to know how he had gotten into the Latinx side of the business. I expected him to reveal that, in fact, and in spite of his name, he was Latino.
One year out of college, Ben said,
“I worked in editing with the Maysles Brothers. I was a P.A. on the first film John Turturro directed called “Mac”, and I was a reader for Art Linson. And that was my degree in Liberal Arts in Film. I wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn’t feel I had enough life experience. A family friend offered me a job in commercial production in Colombia. It was 1992 and my dad said: “if you love all things Latino, go learn Spanish and become an expert in the Latino market. It’s going to need people that understand it. No one was really talking about its importance then but that piece of advice changed my life. I moved to Colombia to learn Spanish and start what would be a life long journey in all things Latino, from U.S. Latino to Latin America. It’s not a single market but there is a connectivity between all of it.”
Ben grew up in Pennsylvania and when he was six years old, neighbors, who had old friends from Colombia, did an exchange of one of their children with a Colombian child. “My father ended up basically adopting that child for the year he lived with our neighbors and from that grew a friendship with this Colombian family.”
When he was 12 years old the whole Colombian family moved to Philadelphia. “I wanted them to adopt me. They were crazy, emotional, passionate, loving. It was a warmth and lust for life I hadn’t really experienced in suburban white America. And then I realized there was a whole country full of them.” At 15 he went with a friend to Colombia and loved it.
His father eventually married someone from that family. So Ben’s connection to Colombia, if not to all of Latin America was very organic. Colombia is not part of the “U.S. Latino market” per se, but Colombia and the rest of Latin America share certain characteristics and commonalities — views on life and death, family, spirituality — that end up working their way into storytelling that are shared throughout the U.S. Latino market and Latin America along with a larger emotional scale in the tone of their storytelling.
Odell lived in Colombia from 1992 to 2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish language television writer and screenwriter there.
When he was in Colombia working in commercials, he met Tom Quinn, a journalist Iiving there for 25 years, working for Time Magazine and running an English language rag called The Colombian Post. In his youth, Tom had run with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson. He had lots of adventures and lots of stories of those days.
Ben asked Tom what was the most compelling story they could make into a movie that wasn’t about narcotrafficking, and Tom said one word: “Emeralds.” Colombia supplies 60% of the world’s emeralds. The mines in the Emerald Zone have strong drug laundering connections as well, as one might guess. The land is leased by the government to the three or four mining companies and they control everything with no supervision by the government.
Ben thought this was a great story to develop into a movie, and so he went back to New York to the contacts he had made including an exec at Tribeca Films. “They all said the same thing, great story but you are not a writer. Go write the script and then we’ll talk.” Ben returned to Colombia to do research.
In the meanwhile he began writing for Colombian TV. He had never written a feature film script, nor did he speak Spanish. He had, however, taken a course in feature film screenwriting with Robert McKee. And he had a girlfriend who was bilingual. He knew about Colombian TV and he saw the potential for legitimizing the story first as a TV show and then making it into a feature later.
Tom Quinn was very well known in Colombia as he was the Time News correspondent there at a moment when the magazine had a lot of power; the drug wars were one of its most consistent cover stories. They pitched it to Rti TV, and structured it like The Fugitive.
There is a drug, called burandanga, scientifically known as Scopolamine. It comes from a plant that grows wild in Colombia. The drugged one loses control of his or her will. Ben once heard a story about a man in a bar who wakes up in jail accused of a murder he can’t remember. This became the basis of the story. The lead goes into the Emerald Zone and drugged by burundanga, he kills one on the wrong side in a war going on there. He wakes up with no recollection and a full on civil war going on around him. He can’t get out of the Emerald Zone until he finds the man who drugged him. The title of this series that Tom and he pitched and in 1998 created was Fuego verde, like the 1954 Hollywood movie, Green Fire starring Grace Kelly and Stewart Grainger.
As a television writer, he eventually created and wrote over 300 hours of Spanish-language narrative television including Fuego Verde — the first-ever action series. It was one of the highest rated series on Colombian television. He also co-wrote the Colombian political satire feature film, Golpe de estadio, which was nominated for Spain’s Academy Award, the Goya in 1999, and was Colombia’s nomination to the Oscar in 2000. It is still one of the highest grossing Colombian films of all time.
In the film, Golpe de estadio, (Golpe de Estado means “Coup d’état”but it also could mean “Coup de Stadium”), an oil company has set up a camp for geological research in a small village in Colombia that has been named New Texas. It becomes the target of the guerrillas who are constantly clashing with police in the area. The confrontation is put on hold however during the TV transmission of the world Cup qualifiers.
For more about this and Ben, read my blog from several years ago here.
In summary, Tripas has created a feel-good story that has great potential to make a difference and is available for distribution.
EducationMexicoFilm FestivalsInternational FilmFemale Empowerment...
- 2/11/2023
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
This year, women directors – and their women-centric subjects – swept the awards at Sundance Film Festival. Three women directors – Madeleine Gavin, Maryam Keshavarz, and Noora Niasari – won Audience Awards for their films on North Korea (“Beyond Utopia”), intergenerational motherhood (“The Persian Version”), and custody in diaspora (“Shayda”). Portraits of masculinity were also celebrated as well. First-time feature filmmaker Sing J. Lee won the Directing Award for his touching portrait of masculinity and fatherhood in “The Accidental Getaway Driver,” while Sauvnik Kaur’s intimate documentary on brotherhood “Against The Tide” took home a Special Jury Award. After two years of isolation and virtual festival-ing, it seems that stories of tenderness appealed over aggressive storytelling at Park City this year.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film.
- 2/1/2023
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the festival’s first in-person competition since 2020, has revealed its award winners.
The big winners included Maryam Keshavarz‘s The Persian Version, which earned both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and A.V. Rockwell‘s A Thousand and One, which took home the Grand Jury Prize in the same category.
The Persian Version explores an Iranian-American family’s past as its patriarch gets a heart transplant while A Thousand and One centers around a mother who kidnaps her son from the foster care system in order to find a path toward redemption.
Other winners include Festival Favorite Radical directed by Christopher Zalla and Grand Jury Prize winner for U.S. Documentary, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
The festival has highlighted 101 different features and 64 shorts. These films were selected from a total of 15,856 submissions. Most of...
The big winners included Maryam Keshavarz‘s The Persian Version, which earned both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and A.V. Rockwell‘s A Thousand and One, which took home the Grand Jury Prize in the same category.
The Persian Version explores an Iranian-American family’s past as its patriarch gets a heart transplant while A Thousand and One centers around a mother who kidnaps her son from the foster care system in order to find a path toward redemption.
Other winners include Festival Favorite Radical directed by Christopher Zalla and Grand Jury Prize winner for U.S. Documentary, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
The festival has highlighted 101 different features and 64 shorts. These films were selected from a total of 15,856 submissions. Most of...
- 1/28/2023
- by Alex Nguyen
- Uinterview
While our Sundance Film Festival 2023 coverage continues to roll in, the respective juries at Park City have doled out their winners, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to A Thousand and One (U.S. Dramatic), Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (U.S. Documentary), Scrapper (World Cinema Dramatic), and The Eternal Memory (World Cinema Documentary), and the Next Innovator Award presented by Adobe was awarded to Kokomo City.
Check out the full list of winners below, with our coverage where available.
Grand Jury Prizes
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to A.V. Rockwell for A Thousand and One / U.S.A. — Convinced it’s one last, necessary crime on the path to redemption, unapologetic and free-spirited Inez kidnaps 6-year-old Terry from the foster care system. Holding on to their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability in New York City.
Check out the full list of winners below, with our coverage where available.
Grand Jury Prizes
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to A.V. Rockwell for A Thousand and One / U.S.A. — Convinced it’s one last, necessary crime on the path to redemption, unapologetic and free-spirited Inez kidnaps 6-year-old Terry from the foster care system. Holding on to their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability in New York City.
- 1/28/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Teyana Taylor and Aaron Kingsley in ‘A Thousand and One’ (Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute / Photo by Focus Features)
The Sundance Film Festival named A Thousand and One from writer/director A.V. Rockwell the winner of the prestigious U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic. Directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s The Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2023 festival which hosted in-person screenings as well as access online.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film. Today’s award winners highlight our programs’ most impressive achievements in the current moment of cinematic arts. I hope you will join me in congratulating our winners, as well as thanking all artists across sections...
The Sundance Film Festival named A Thousand and One from writer/director A.V. Rockwell the winner of the prestigious U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic. Directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s The Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2023 festival which hosted in-person screenings as well as access online.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film. Today’s award winners highlight our programs’ most impressive achievements in the current moment of cinematic arts. I hope you will join me in congratulating our winners, as well as thanking all artists across sections...
- 1/27/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
From To Sir, With Love through Stand and Deliver and Dangerous Minds, inspirational dramas about dedicated educators overcoming the apathy of disadvantaged students to expand their horizons generally stick to a formula carved in stone. But when that formula works, it works. In rare instances, a movie in this narrative ballpark breaks the mold, like Laurent Cantet’s The Class, with its granular documentary-style textures and illuminating social and political context. Writer-director Christopher Zalla adheres to the subgenre’s conventions and doesn’t stint on sentimentality, but Radical more than earns its surging emotional payoff.
Given its assault on the tear ducts combined with its resolute channeling of hope even in the wake of tragedy, it’s no surprise that the film snagged Sundance’s Festival Favorite Award, voted by the audience. That should help give it an acquisitions nudge, along with a big-hearted lead performance from superstar Mexican actor and comedian Eugenio Derbez,...
Given its assault on the tear ducts combined with its resolute channeling of hope even in the wake of tragedy, it’s no surprise that the film snagged Sundance’s Festival Favorite Award, voted by the audience. That should help give it an acquisitions nudge, along with a big-hearted lead performance from superstar Mexican actor and comedian Eugenio Derbez,...
- 1/27/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Every few years there comes another drama that focuses on a teacher facing seemingly insurmountable odds with a group of students who are challenging to teach. Typically, these movies, such as "To Sir, with Love" starring Sidney Poitier, "Stand and Deliver" with Edward James Olmos, "Lean on Me" led by Morgan Freeman, or "Dangerous Minds" with Michelle Pfeiffer, take place in urban settings where the school is overridden with crime and drugs, resulting in students who have no respect for authority and no interest in learning. Of course, that all changes when each film's respective teacher offers up some kind of revelatory lesson that sparks the interest of the young minds who maybe just need an opportunity to leave their rough upbringing behind.
The new Sundance-selected drama "Radical," written and directed by Christopher Zalla and starring Eugenio Derbez, is one of those movies, but there's something a bit different about...
The new Sundance-selected drama "Radical," written and directed by Christopher Zalla and starring Eugenio Derbez, is one of those movies, but there's something a bit different about...
- 1/27/2023
- by Ethan Anderton
- Slash Film
Festival runs through January 29.
A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand And One took the 2023 Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic prize and Charlotte Regan’s UK entry Scrapper earned the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2023 Sundance awards ceremony on Friday.
Audience award winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version in U.S. Dramatic Competition, Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia in U.S. Documentary, Mstylav Chernov’s 20 Days In Mariupol in World Cinema Documentary, and Noora Niasari’s Shayda in World Cinema Dramatic.
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said the selection “demonstrated a sense of...
A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand And One took the 2023 Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic prize and Charlotte Regan’s UK entry Scrapper earned the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2023 Sundance awards ceremony on Friday.
Audience award winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version in U.S. Dramatic Competition, Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia in U.S. Documentary, Mstylav Chernov’s 20 Days In Mariupol in World Cinema Documentary, and Noora Niasari’s Shayda in World Cinema Dramatic.
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said the selection “demonstrated a sense of...
- 1/27/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A Thousand and OneU.S. – DRAMATICGrand Jury PrizeA Thousand and One (A.V. Rockwell)Directing PrizeSing J. Lee (The Accidental Getaway Driver)Audience Award The Persian Version (Maryam Keshavarz)Special Jury Award: ActingLio Mehiel (Mutt)Special Jury Award: Creative VisionMagazine Dreams (Elijah Bynum)Special Jury Award: Ensemble CastTheater Camp (Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman)Waldo Salt Screenwriting AwardMaryam Keshavarz (The Persian Version)
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project U.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury Prize Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson)Directing Prize Luke Lorentzen (A Still Small Voice) Audience Award Beyond Utopia (Madeleine Gavin)Jonathan Oppenheim Editing AwardDaniela I. Quiroz (Going Varsity in Mariachi)Special Jury Award for Freedom of ExpressionBad Press (Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler)Special Jury Award: Clarity of VisionThe Stroll (Kristen Lovell, Zackary Drucker)
ScrapperWORLD Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury Prize Scrapper (Charlotte Regan)Directing Prize Marija Kavtaradze (Slow)Audience AwardShayda (Noora Niasari)Special Jury...
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project U.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury Prize Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson)Directing Prize Luke Lorentzen (A Still Small Voice) Audience Award Beyond Utopia (Madeleine Gavin)Jonathan Oppenheim Editing AwardDaniela I. Quiroz (Going Varsity in Mariachi)Special Jury Award for Freedom of ExpressionBad Press (Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler)Special Jury Award: Clarity of VisionThe Stroll (Kristen Lovell, Zackary Drucker)
ScrapperWORLD Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury Prize Scrapper (Charlotte Regan)Directing Prize Marija Kavtaradze (Slow)Audience AwardShayda (Noora Niasari)Special Jury...
- 1/27/2023
- MUBI
The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its Jury and Audience Award winners for 2023.
The day’s big winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version, which claimed both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in U.S. Dramatic Competition, as well as A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One for Focus Features, which took the Grand Jury Prize in the same section.
Other titles taking top awards included Festival Favorite Radical from filmmaker Christopher Zalla and 3Pas Studios; Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project from Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, which took the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary; Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia, which nabbed the U.S. Documentary Audience Award; and D. Smith’s Kokomo City, which dominated the Next section as it claimed both the Innovator and Audience Award.
Written, directed and produced by Keshavarz for Archer Grey, The Persian Version watches...
The day’s big winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version, which claimed both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in U.S. Dramatic Competition, as well as A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One for Focus Features, which took the Grand Jury Prize in the same section.
Other titles taking top awards included Festival Favorite Radical from filmmaker Christopher Zalla and 3Pas Studios; Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project from Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, which took the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary; Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia, which nabbed the U.S. Documentary Audience Award; and D. Smith’s Kokomo City, which dominated the Next section as it claimed both the Innovator and Audience Award.
Written, directed and produced by Keshavarz for Archer Grey, The Persian Version watches...
- 1/27/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Back in Park City, Utah, for the first time since 2020, the Sundance Film Festival concluded with an in-person awards show. The U.S. dramatic grand jury prize went to the Focus Features release “A Thousand and One,” from debut writer-director A.V. Rockwell, one of eight women in this year’s female-led competition.
Jeremy O. Harris, a member of the three-person U.S. dramatic jury at Sundance, choked back tears as he presented the award to Rockwell, admitting that he left the director’s premiere screening and cried on the street, as the film unearthed “all the feelings I’ve learned to mask in public spaces.”
Rockwell’s film is set in an unforgiving New York City in the late ’90s, where a single mother moving from shelter to shelter kidnaps her 6-year-old son from foster care. As they improbably forge a life and bond, their darkest secret threatens to disrupt what they’ve built.
Jeremy O. Harris, a member of the three-person U.S. dramatic jury at Sundance, choked back tears as he presented the award to Rockwell, admitting that he left the director’s premiere screening and cried on the street, as the film unearthed “all the feelings I’ve learned to mask in public spaces.”
Rockwell’s film is set in an unforgiving New York City in the late ’90s, where a single mother moving from shelter to shelter kidnaps her 6-year-old son from foster care. As they improbably forge a life and bond, their darkest secret threatens to disrupt what they’ve built.
- 1/27/2023
- by Matt Donnelly and Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
As the first in-person Sundance Film Festival since 2020 draws to a close, it’s time to see which films are taking home the festival’s most coveted awards. While there are many ways to measure success at Sundance — and many filmmakers are certainly more interested in a big sale than a trophy — the awards are nevertheless an important way of measuring which films resonated with the Park City crowd.
Friday’s award ceremony is the culmination of what has already been a very eventful festival. Despite the multitude of changes that the independent film world and the streaming industry are currently undergoing, this year’s festival still featured its share of buzzy premieres and splashy acquisitions. One of the most talked about movies in Park City has been Chloe Domont’s erotic thriller “Fair Play,” which sold to Netflix for a reported price of 20 million. The festival also featured some...
Friday’s award ceremony is the culmination of what has already been a very eventful festival. Despite the multitude of changes that the independent film world and the streaming industry are currently undergoing, this year’s festival still featured its share of buzzy premieres and splashy acquisitions. One of the most talked about movies in Park City has been Chloe Domont’s erotic thriller “Fair Play,” which sold to Netflix for a reported price of 20 million. The festival also featured some...
- 1/27/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Everyone remembers that one teacher they had growing up that changed their lives. There is always at least one teacher who goes above and beyond, who approaches teaching as something more than just a job, or a chance to make kids remember some facts. My favorite teacher growing up was one named Mrs. Richards. Radical is a remarkable film from Mexico made by a filmmaker named Christopher Zalla, best known for his Sundance 2007 film Padre Nuestro before (I actually watched this one at Sundance and reviewed it way back then). He returns to Sundance again 16 years later to premiere his latest film, based on a true story about a "radical" Mexican teacher in a small border town called Matamoros (see Google Maps). Going into this film, I was initially expecting a light-hearted comedy, about kids feuding with their teacher. What I was not expecting was to discover a generous, warm-hearted,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Two years ago a film premiered at Sundance and would go on to make history. Coda opened at Sundance 2021 flooring audiences around the world and over a year later it culminated its incredible run by celebrating a Best Picture win at the Academy Awards.
The feel good film won over everyone’s hearts as it followed a sweet young student who with the help of a caring teacher and a solid support system learned to break away from her family and do something great. It was a beautiful story that won over audiences and became one that Sundance will remember forever.
Radical premiered opening night in Park City’s largest theater and audiences were swept off their feet with one of the most touching, sweet films of the past few years. And much like Coda, the success is largely attributed to an amazing performance by a teacher, portrayed by Eugenio Derbez.
The feel good film won over everyone’s hearts as it followed a sweet young student who with the help of a caring teacher and a solid support system learned to break away from her family and do something great. It was a beautiful story that won over audiences and became one that Sundance will remember forever.
Radical premiered opening night in Park City’s largest theater and audiences were swept off their feet with one of the most touching, sweet films of the past few years. And much like Coda, the success is largely attributed to an amazing performance by a teacher, portrayed by Eugenio Derbez.
- 1/24/2023
- by Nathan McVay
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
While introducing “Radical,” director Christopher Zalla (“Sangre de Mi Sangre”/”Blood of My Blood”) said it was a labor of love. In addition to that, he said it’s a “movie about what happens when kids are empowered.” And while the film definitely explores this in a well-crafted display of filmmaking, it also leaves a bit of a dark shadow in the minds of those allergic to the notion that your mind is all you need to succeed.
Continue reading ‘Radical’ Review: Eugenio Derbez Stars In Heartfelt But Flawed Teaching Drama [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Radical’ Review: Eugenio Derbez Stars In Heartfelt But Flawed Teaching Drama [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/21/2023
- by Alani Vargas
- The Playlist
Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Participant and Pantelion Films releases the film in theaters on Friday, November 3.
The figure of the selfless teacher with an idealist mindset about education has abundant onscreen representation. Of these, Edward James Olmos’ lively, Oscar-nominated portrayal of Jaime Escalante, who taught math to marginalized teens at James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, in “Stand and Deliver,” serves as quintessential example of these admirable paladins of knowledge in American popular culture.
In the well-intentioned drama “Radical,” Eugenio Derbez boasts similar, if more subdued charisma as unorthodox elementary teacher Sergio Chavez. This crowd-pleaser based on a remarkable true story documented in a Wired article by Joshua Davis (also a producer here), marks the Sundance return of director Christopher Zalla, whose 2007 debut “Padre Nuestro” won the top jury prize in the U.S. Dramatic competition.
The role...
The figure of the selfless teacher with an idealist mindset about education has abundant onscreen representation. Of these, Edward James Olmos’ lively, Oscar-nominated portrayal of Jaime Escalante, who taught math to marginalized teens at James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, in “Stand and Deliver,” serves as quintessential example of these admirable paladins of knowledge in American popular culture.
In the well-intentioned drama “Radical,” Eugenio Derbez boasts similar, if more subdued charisma as unorthodox elementary teacher Sergio Chavez. This crowd-pleaser based on a remarkable true story documented in a Wired article by Joshua Davis (also a producer here), marks the Sundance return of director Christopher Zalla, whose 2007 debut “Padre Nuestro” won the top jury prize in the U.S. Dramatic competition.
The role...
- 1/20/2023
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Indiewire
If there’s one thing the movies have taught us, it's that the world loves the tale of an inspirational teacher who is working against the odds. From The School Of Rock to Dead Poets Society and Dangerous Minds, they’re an almost constant part of the school curriculum - and if the kids are from a disadvantaged background of some sort or another then that gains extra points with producers. There’s a reason why formulas work and this one is marked: Caution, may make you cry.
Radical is the new kid in this class - and it comes with a Mexican twist. Christopher Zalla’s based-on-a-true–story cockle-warmer was one of this year’s Day One films at Sundance and saw the writer/director return to the festival after his Padre Nuestro (later renamed Sangre De Mi Sangre) won the Grand Jury Prize back in 2007.
Those who caught...
Radical is the new kid in this class - and it comes with a Mexican twist. Christopher Zalla’s based-on-a-true–story cockle-warmer was one of this year’s Day One films at Sundance and saw the writer/director return to the festival after his Padre Nuestro (later renamed Sangre De Mi Sangre) won the Grand Jury Prize back in 2007.
Those who caught...
- 1/20/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Idealistic teachers propel some of the most shamelessly schmaltzy tearjerkers of cinema, but whether we like it or not, we all respond to them at some sincere, emotional level. Christopher Zalla’s resolute crowdpleaser “Radical” is a heart-tugger in the mold of such old-school “inspiring teacher changes everything” tales as “To Sir With Love,” “Dead Poets Society” and even recent Oscar winner “Coda,” with which it shares star Eugenio Derbez. It’s a conventional film with broad audience appeal — watch it without tissues at your own risk — and hits all the expected notes.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing for a film centered on time-honored themes. Based on a true story, Zalla’s script is inspired by a decade-old Wired article titled “A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses” — the writer of which, Joshua Davis, serves as a producer here. In the piece, Davis zeroed in on...
That’s not necessarily a bad thing for a film centered on time-honored themes. Based on a true story, Zalla’s script is inspired by a decade-old Wired article titled “A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses” — the writer of which, Joshua Davis, serves as a producer here. In the piece, Davis zeroed in on...
- 1/20/2023
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
The last time Mexican superstar Eugenio Derbez had a film at Sundance was just in 2021. The movie was Coda, and it not only swept all the top prizes at the fest that year, it went on to win three Oscars including Best Picture. He had a supporting role in that film as an inspirational high school music teacher, and now in Radical, which just had its world premiere at Sundance on opening night at the Eccles Theatre, he essays another inspirational teacher. This time it’s a true story and one in which he plays the lead role of Sergio Juarez.
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Juarez (full name Sergio Juarez...
Related Story 20 Titles To Heat Up Chilly 2023 Sundance Festival Related Story Ryan Coogler On Sundance & 'Fruitvale Station' A Decade Later & How 'Creed' May Be The Most Park City Franchise Ever Related Story Brett Kavanaugh Investigation Documentary 'Justice' From Doug Liman Added To Sundance Lineup
Juarez (full name Sergio Juarez...
- 1/20/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
International comedy star Eugenio Derbez has touched down in Utah for the world premiere of his latest dramatic turn in “Radical,” one of the opening night presentations at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Variety has an exclusive first look at the project, the story of an outside-the-box teacher in a crime-ridden Mexican border town.
The film is directed by Christopher Zalla, who won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize in 2007 for “Sangre de Mi Sangre.” In the exclusive clip, Derbez can be seen changing the physical layout of a classroom — and removing his own desk — at a hard-knock school known more for discipline than academic encouragement. Already getting pushback from the establishment faculty, Derbez admits he wants to try something different.
The film marks Derbez’s return to Sundance after the record-breaking sale of “Coda,” which would go on to win the Oscar for best picture. “Radical” was chosen by the festival...
Variety has an exclusive first look at the project, the story of an outside-the-box teacher in a crime-ridden Mexican border town.
The film is directed by Christopher Zalla, who won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize in 2007 for “Sangre de Mi Sangre.” In the exclusive clip, Derbez can be seen changing the physical layout of a classroom — and removing his own desk — at a hard-knock school known more for discipline than academic encouragement. Already getting pushback from the establishment faculty, Derbez admits he wants to try something different.
The film marks Derbez’s return to Sundance after the record-breaking sale of “Coda,” which would go on to win the Oscar for best picture. “Radical” was chosen by the festival...
- 1/19/2023
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Uljhan / The Knot, directed by Ashish Pant and Produced by Kartikeya Narayan Singh, will have its Asian premiere in Shanghai International Film Festival as official selection in the Siff Gala section. The Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff), is one of the largest film festivals in Asia. Siff this year is from June 11th to June 20th and Uljhan / The Knot will be screened at the festival on 13th and 14th June.
Uljhan / The Knot was recently screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) and Indian Film Festival In Los Angeles (Iffla) where it received positive reviews from media as well as the audience.
Siff press release describes Uljhan / The Knot as "A middle-class couple drove and knocked down someone. The two had completely different attitudes towards the accident, which caused an unbridgeable crack in their relationship. The film uses a realistic style to discuss issues such as class...
Uljhan / The Knot was recently screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) and Indian Film Festival In Los Angeles (Iffla) where it received positive reviews from media as well as the audience.
Siff press release describes Uljhan / The Knot as "A middle-class couple drove and knocked down someone. The two had completely different attitudes towards the accident, which caused an unbridgeable crack in their relationship. The film uses a realistic style to discuss issues such as class...
- 6/10/2021
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
The Sundance Film Festival has always been one of the premiere places for discovery, providing a launching pad for breakout films en route to mainstream acclaim and awards. But oftentimes, the best of Sundance — films that are truly original, fresh, and worthy — go on to smaller victory laps. These are the festival’s hidden gems, and though they might not be getting Oscar nods, they’re just as deserving of our attention. In advance of this year’s virtual fest, we’ve partnered with AMC+ to assemble a varied list of past Sundance stunners. Featuring early films from the likes of Miranda July and the Safdie’s to Spike Lee’s adaptation of a hit Broadway musical, all of these gems are available via AMC+ streaming platform.
“Daddy Longlegs”
The brothers Safdie are, by now, an indie household name — but a decade ago, they burst onto the map with this captivating dramedy.
“Daddy Longlegs”
The brothers Safdie are, by now, an indie household name — but a decade ago, they burst onto the map with this captivating dramedy.
- 1/29/2021
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
Fox Searchlight's "The Wrestler" was named best feature at the 2009 Film Independent's Spirit Awards. It also scored trophies for actor Mickey Rourke and cinematograper Maryse Alberti.
"The thing I love about the Spirit Awards is every film here is a passion piece; we all bled to get to this room," director-producer Darren Aronofksy said as he accepted the award with fellow producer Scott Franklin at the free-wheeling ceremony held Saturday in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.
"I realized while doing special effects on a space movie that I really loved working with actors more than anything else," Aronofsky said about his decision to make a movie about a washed-up wrestler trying to reclaim his life.
In the weekend's first showdown between Rourke and "Milk's" Sean Penn, it was Rourke who triumphed as best male lead.
In a raucous acceptance speech, in which he freely lobbed...
"The thing I love about the Spirit Awards is every film here is a passion piece; we all bled to get to this room," director-producer Darren Aronofksy said as he accepted the award with fellow producer Scott Franklin at the free-wheeling ceremony held Saturday in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.
"I realized while doing special effects on a space movie that I really loved working with actors more than anything else," Aronofsky said about his decision to make a movie about a washed-up wrestler trying to reclaim his life.
In the weekend's first showdown between Rourke and "Milk's" Sean Penn, it was Rourke who triumphed as best male lead.
In a raucous acceptance speech, in which he freely lobbed...
- 2/21/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Family drama "Rachel Getting Married", border-smuggling saga "Frozen River" and struggling mother tale "Ballast" have shown their domination on the run for the 2009 Spirit Awards. Upon the announcement of the awards' nominees on Tuesday, December 2, it has been revealed that those three films have collected six counts each.
From all of the nominations "Rachel", "Frozen" and "Ballast" received, the three will have to go head-to-head for best feature title along with "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler". Their directors, Jonathan Demme, Courtney Hunt and Lance Hammer, will also compete for the best director prize which also lists Ramin Bahrani of "Chop Shop" and Tom McCarthy of "The Visitor" as the competitors.
On the performer categories, it is uncovered that Javier Bardem of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", Sean Penn of "Milk" and Mickey Rourke of "The Wrestler" are among the contenders for best male lead. Additionally, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams have...
From all of the nominations "Rachel", "Frozen" and "Ballast" received, the three will have to go head-to-head for best feature title along with "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler". Their directors, Jonathan Demme, Courtney Hunt and Lance Hammer, will also compete for the best director prize which also lists Ramin Bahrani of "Chop Shop" and Tom McCarthy of "The Visitor" as the competitors.
On the performer categories, it is uncovered that Javier Bardem of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", Sean Penn of "Milk" and Mickey Rourke of "The Wrestler" are among the contenders for best male lead. Additionally, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams have...
- 12/3/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
The Film Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced this morning by Jason Bateman and Sandra Oh and there is a three-way tie at the top of the pack as Ballast, Frozen River and Rachel Getting Married each received six nominations each. All three films will compete in the Best Feature, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Screenplay categories. Also competing for feature will be Wendy and Lucy and The Wrestler which received two and three nominations respectively. Milk scored four nominations. What does any of this mean in terms of Oscar? Well, one thing you will notice come this Thursday when I present my latest predictions will be that I have corrected my accidental snub of Melissa Leo in Frozen River as she should have been on the list already in the Best Actress category and she will most likely find herself in the top five. I think this confirms...
- 12/2/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Independent Spirit Awards announced its list of 2008 nominees, and at the top of the heap stands Rachel Getting Married, Frozen River, and Ballast, all with six nominations.
Rachel is, of course, anchored by Anne Hathaway, who is a likely Best Actress nominee for the Academy Awards. The same could be said of Frozen River's Melissa Leo, quickly becoming the trendy pick nobody had ever heard of until a few weeks ago. And Ballast is a drama about the way one suicide affects the lives of others.
Other multiple nominees include Milk, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Synecdoche, New York, with four nominations each (although Synecdoche really only received three nominations and was awarded a fourth, the Robert Altman Award, given to the ensemble, casting director, and the director).
The Independent Spirit Awards will air live on IFC Saturday, February 21st. For a complete list of nominees, check out Variety.
Rachel is, of course, anchored by Anne Hathaway, who is a likely Best Actress nominee for the Academy Awards. The same could be said of Frozen River's Melissa Leo, quickly becoming the trendy pick nobody had ever heard of until a few weeks ago. And Ballast is a drama about the way one suicide affects the lives of others.
Other multiple nominees include Milk, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Synecdoche, New York, with four nominations each (although Synecdoche really only received three nominations and was awarded a fourth, the Robert Altman Award, given to the ensemble, casting director, and the director).
The Independent Spirit Awards will air live on IFC Saturday, February 21st. For a complete list of nominees, check out Variety.
- 12/2/2008
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
By Stephen Saito
Jason Bateman and Sandra Oh braved the early call time this morning in Los Angeles to announce this year's nominees for the Spirit Awards. The awards will take place on February 21st, and will be broadcast live and uncut on IFC at 5pm Et/2pm PT. Here are the nominees:
Best Feature
"Ballast"
Producers: Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh
"Frozen River"
Producers: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae
"Rachel Getting Married"
Producers: Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt
"Wendy and Lucy"
Producers: Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani
"The Wrestler"
Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin
Best Director
Ramin Bahrani, "Chop Shop"
Jonathan Demme, "Rachel Getting Married"
Lance Hammer, "Ballast"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Thomas McCarthy, "The Visitor"
Best First Feature
"Afterschool"
Director: Antonio Campos
Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond
"Medicine for Melancholy"
Director: Barry Jenkins
Producer: Justin Barber
"Sangre de Mi Sangre"
Director: Christopher Zalla
Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell
"Sleep Dealer"
Director: Alex Rivera
Producer: Anthony Bregman
"Synechdoce, New York"
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
"In Search of a Midnight Kiss"
Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge
Producers: Seth Caplan and Scoot McNairy
"Prince of Broadway"
Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Darren Dean
Producer: Darren Dean
"The Signal"
Writer/Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry
Producers: Jacob Gentry and Alexander Motiagh
"Take Out"
Writer/Directors/Producers: Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou
"Turn the River"
Writer/Director: Chris Eigeman
Producer: Ami Armstrong
Best First Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
Lance Hammer, "Ballast"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Jonathan Levine, "The Wackness"
Jenny Lumet, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, "Sugar"
Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"
Howard A. Rodman, "Savage Grace"
Christopher Zalla, "Sangre de Mi Sangre"
Best Female Lead
Summer Bishil, "Towelhead"
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Tarra Riggs, "Ballast"
Michelle Williams, "Wendy and Lucy"
Best Male Lead
Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Best Supporting Female
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Rosemarie DeWitt, "Rachel Getting Married"
Rosie Perez, "The Take"
Misty Upham, "Frozen River"
Debra Winger, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Supporting Male
James Franco, "Milk"
Anthony Mackie, "The Hurt Locker"
Charlie McDermott, "Frozen River"
JimMyron Ross, "Ballast"
Haaz Sleiman, "The Visitor"
Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti, "The Wrestler"
Lol Crowley, "Ballast"
James Laxton, "Medicine for Melancholy"
Harris Savides, "Milk"
Michael Simmonds, "Chop Shop"
Best Documentary
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
Director: Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
"Encounters at the End of the World"
Director: Werner Herzog
"Man on Wire"
Director: James Marsh
"The Order of Myths"
Director: Margaret Brown
"Up the Yangtze"
Director: Yung Chang
Best Foreign Film
"The Class" (France)
Director: Laurent Cantet
"Gomorrah" (Italy)
Director: Matteo Garrone
"Hunger" (UK/Ireland)
Director: Steve McQueen
"Secret of the Grain" (France)
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
"Silent Light" (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)
Director: Carlos Reygadas
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)
"Synecdoche, New York"
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams
Someone to Watch Award
Barry Jenkins, "Medicine for Melancholy"
Nina Paley, "Sita Sings the Blues"
Lynn Shelton, "My Effortless Brilliance"
Truer Than Fiction Award
Margaret Brown, "The Order of Myths"
Sacha Gervasi, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil"
Darius Marder, "Loot"
Producers Award
Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, "Treeless Mountain" and "I'll Come Running"
Jason Orans, "Goodbye Solo" and "Year of the Fish"
Heather Rae, "Frozen River" and "Ibid"...
Jason Bateman and Sandra Oh braved the early call time this morning in Los Angeles to announce this year's nominees for the Spirit Awards. The awards will take place on February 21st, and will be broadcast live and uncut on IFC at 5pm Et/2pm PT. Here are the nominees:
Best Feature
"Ballast"
Producers: Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh
"Frozen River"
Producers: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae
"Rachel Getting Married"
Producers: Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt
"Wendy and Lucy"
Producers: Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani
"The Wrestler"
Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin
Best Director
Ramin Bahrani, "Chop Shop"
Jonathan Demme, "Rachel Getting Married"
Lance Hammer, "Ballast"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Thomas McCarthy, "The Visitor"
Best First Feature
"Afterschool"
Director: Antonio Campos
Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond
"Medicine for Melancholy"
Director: Barry Jenkins
Producer: Justin Barber
"Sangre de Mi Sangre"
Director: Christopher Zalla
Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell
"Sleep Dealer"
Director: Alex Rivera
Producer: Anthony Bregman
"Synechdoce, New York"
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
"In Search of a Midnight Kiss"
Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge
Producers: Seth Caplan and Scoot McNairy
"Prince of Broadway"
Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Darren Dean
Producer: Darren Dean
"The Signal"
Writer/Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry
Producers: Jacob Gentry and Alexander Motiagh
"Take Out"
Writer/Directors/Producers: Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou
"Turn the River"
Writer/Director: Chris Eigeman
Producer: Ami Armstrong
Best First Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
Lance Hammer, "Ballast"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Jonathan Levine, "The Wackness"
Jenny Lumet, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, "Sugar"
Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"
Howard A. Rodman, "Savage Grace"
Christopher Zalla, "Sangre de Mi Sangre"
Best Female Lead
Summer Bishil, "Towelhead"
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Tarra Riggs, "Ballast"
Michelle Williams, "Wendy and Lucy"
Best Male Lead
Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Best Supporting Female
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Rosemarie DeWitt, "Rachel Getting Married"
Rosie Perez, "The Take"
Misty Upham, "Frozen River"
Debra Winger, "Rachel Getting Married"
Best Supporting Male
James Franco, "Milk"
Anthony Mackie, "The Hurt Locker"
Charlie McDermott, "Frozen River"
JimMyron Ross, "Ballast"
Haaz Sleiman, "The Visitor"
Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti, "The Wrestler"
Lol Crowley, "Ballast"
James Laxton, "Medicine for Melancholy"
Harris Savides, "Milk"
Michael Simmonds, "Chop Shop"
Best Documentary
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
Director: Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
"Encounters at the End of the World"
Director: Werner Herzog
"Man on Wire"
Director: James Marsh
"The Order of Myths"
Director: Margaret Brown
"Up the Yangtze"
Director: Yung Chang
Best Foreign Film
"The Class" (France)
Director: Laurent Cantet
"Gomorrah" (Italy)
Director: Matteo Garrone
"Hunger" (UK/Ireland)
Director: Steve McQueen
"Secret of the Grain" (France)
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
"Silent Light" (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)
Director: Carlos Reygadas
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)
"Synecdoche, New York"
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams
Someone to Watch Award
Barry Jenkins, "Medicine for Melancholy"
Nina Paley, "Sita Sings the Blues"
Lynn Shelton, "My Effortless Brilliance"
Truer Than Fiction Award
Margaret Brown, "The Order of Myths"
Sacha Gervasi, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil"
Darius Marder, "Loot"
Producers Award
Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, "Treeless Mountain" and "I'll Come Running"
Jason Orans, "Goodbye Solo" and "Year of the Fish"
Heather Rae, "Frozen River" and "Ibid"...
- 12/2/2008
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
With six nominations each, "Ballast," a drama about survival in the Mississippi Delta, "Frozen River," a portrait of two single moms on the Canadian border, and "Rachel Getting Married," the account of a dysfunctional family wedding, led the nominees for Film Independent's Spirit Awards, announced Tuesday morning.
All three films were nominated for best feature along "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler."
Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York," a twisty, M.C. Escher-like film, was singled out as the winner of the group's Robert Altman Award, give to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast. Kaufman will share the award with casting director Jeanne McCarthy and his actors Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, and Michelle Williams when the Spirit Awards are handed out Feb. 21.
"Synecdoche" also figure in the best first feature lineup, along with Antonio Campos' "Afterschool,...
All three films were nominated for best feature along "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler."
Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York," a twisty, M.C. Escher-like film, was singled out as the winner of the group's Robert Altman Award, give to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast. Kaufman will share the award with casting director Jeanne McCarthy and his actors Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, and Michelle Williams when the Spirit Awards are handed out Feb. 21.
"Synecdoche" also figure in the best first feature lineup, along with Antonio Campos' "Afterschool,...
- 12/2/2008
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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