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[12/17] Preview: Cine Las Americas and Violet Crown Cinema present screening of ‘La Jaula De Oro’

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LaJaulaDeOro
‘La Jaula De Oro’ screens on Dec. 17 in Austin at Violet Crown Cinema.

Wednesday, Dec. 17, Cine Las Americas (CLA) and Violet Crown Cinema will present the screening of La Jaula De Oro (The Golden Dream), a film by Diego Quemada-Díez. The screening will be presented as part of the Violet Crown Cinema’s Arthouse Monthly, an ongoing series showcasing internationally acclaimed art cinema. The film was a 2013 Cannes Film Festival entry, where filmmaker Diego Quemada-Diez won the A Certain Talent award for his directing work and the ensemble cast.

Synopsis:

Juan, Sara, and Samuel, three teenagers from the slums of Guatemala, travel to the United States in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico, they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn’t speak Spanish. Traveling together in freight trains and walking on railroad tracks, they soon have to face a harsh reality.

Violet Crown Cinema is located at 434 West 2nd Street. Film begins at 7:30 p.m. The film duration is 108 minutes. Spanish with English subtitles. CLA members will receive a $2 discount on tickets purchased at the box office or by phone at (512) 495-9600. Visit the Facebook event page here.

Watch the trailer for La Jaula De Oro below.

[11/15] Preview: Cine Las Americas and ACC to screen ‘Granito: How to Nail a Dictator’

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‘Granito’ will screen at the Austin Community College Eastview Campus on Nov. 15

Cine Las Americas International Film Festival along with the Peace and Conflicts Program at Austin Community College will present the social movement documentary Granito: How to Nail a Dictator on Friday, Nov. 15.

Filmmaker Pamela Yates unveils the story of former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Rios Montt whom was charged by the court for committing war brutality against the country’s Mayan people in the 1980s. His genocide crimes were documented by Yates in ’83 in her documentary When the Mountains Tremble, which provided and provoked evidence during his trial. Roughly 30 years later, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator captures the story of how a film, planting a new seed of human rights activists, became granito- a tiny grain of sand- that helped bring justice.

The Peace and Conflicts Program at the Austin Community College provides the community with knowledge and empowerment through films that relate to social justice, conflict and sustainable peace. As a part of their program they host a year-long screening series for the community.

The event will be held at the Austin Community College Multipurpose Room 8500 (Eastview campus) located at 3402 Webberville Rd.The event is free and open to the public. Screening at 8 p.m. followed by a talk about the Guatemala National Police Archive by guest speaker Kent Norsworthy, digital scholarship coordinator at LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections. For additional updates on upcoming screenings and information on the event visit the Peace and Conflicts Program’s website.

(11/3) Preview: Cine Las Americas presents dinner and a movie featuring ‘Cronos’

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Cine Las Americas presents, Cronos, on Nov. 3. Cine Las Americas International Film Festival hosts a dinner and a movie in celebration of Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 6 pm. Join Cine Las Americas as they present the notable director Guillermo del Toro’s first feature film, Cronos.

Cronos, with its psychologically haunting style, has become a timeless thriller, and seemingly one of the best Latin American horror films. When a mysterious device, designed to provide its owner with eternal life, resurfaces after almost four hundred years, it causes a stir of destruction and chaos.

The event will be held at Cantina el Milamores at Takoba. Doors open at 5:30 p.m, following the dinner at 6 p.m. and the film at 7 p.m. General Admission prices are $25 and Cine Las Americas member prices are $15. All proceeds will help benefit the 17th annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival. For more information and event details visit Cine Las Americas’ website.

Watch the unofficial movie trailer for Cronos below.

Cine Las Americas presents screening of ‘A Migrant’s Masterpiece: The Life and Legacy of Patrick Flores’

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Hector Galán’s film ‘A Migrant’s Masterpiece: The Life and Legacy of Patrick Flores’ screens tonight at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. Photo courtesy of Cine Las Americas.

Tonight at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) local-nonprofit Cine Las Americas will present the free screening of nationally recognized documentarian Hector Galán’s film, A Migrant’s Masterpiece the Life and Legacy of Patrick Flores.  Tonight’s screening is part of a new Cine Las Americas series titled Las Movies: Mexican American Cinema. The series will continue through August of 2014 and is co-presented by the ESB-MACC. See details and the official synopsis for A Migrant’s Masterpiece the Life and Legacy of Patrick Flores below.

Official synopsis:

The extraordinary life and legacy of Patrick Flores, America’s first Mexican American Catholic Bishop; his childhood and early years as a migrant farm worker, high school dropout and cantina musician. Patrick Flores dreamed of becoming a priest, a nearly impossible goal for a Mexican American in those days.

Intimate interviews with Patrick Flores, family, friends, and rich imagery makes this an unforgettable story that mirrors the history of the Mexican American experience. Patrick Flores devoted his entire life to helping the poor and disenfranchised. If his life and legacy were a painting, those he served would consider it a masterpiece.

The ESB-MACC is located at 600 River Street. Screening begins at 8 p.m. All ages are welcome. Event is free. All films in the series are in English. A Migrant’s Masterpiece the Life and Legacy of Patrick Flores has a 60 minute run time. View the official trailer here.

 

Preview: (10/1) ‘La Maleta Mexicana’ screens at UT Belo Center

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The free screening is on Oct. 1.
The free screening is on Oct. 1.

On Tuesday, Oct. 1, Cine Las Americas and The University of Texas at Austin have collaborated to present the award winning documentary film La Maleta Mexicana (The Mexican Suitcase). Director Trisha Ziff will be in attendance for the screening.

The documentary feature is centered around a suitcase containing original photos that documented the Civil War. Three photojournalists Robert Capa, David Seymour and Gerda Tara traveled to Spain to capture the war, but during the turmoil of World War II they were never able to develop their negatives. Seventy years later (2207), their unpublished, untouched photos were discovered in their original form in the back of a closet in Mexico City. The film captures the essence of memory and the power pictures hold, especially when they are capturing history.

The screening and conversation with director Trisha Ziff is free and open to the public. The event is from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at the Belo Center for New Media at the University of Texas at Austin. The BMC is located at 2504 Whitis Ave., and the screening will be held in room BMC 5.102.  For more information and updates visit Cine Las Americas website.

 

 

 

Pablo Berger’s ‘Blancanieves’ takes Snow White to a new perspective

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The 16th Cine Las America’s International Film Festival opened up on a spectacular note at the Stateside Theatre on April 16 with Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves.

Blancanieves is the retelling of the Grimm brother’s classic, Snow White, set in 1920s Spain through a black and white silent film. The film has a very unique take on the classic, incorporating Spanish culture through elements of bullfighting and flamenco dancing. It comes as no surprise that the film has won 10 Goyas, the Spanish equivalent to the Oscars. The emotion that is transmitted through the cinematography and the soundtrack of the film transform the classic into an artful tale following Carmen who is Snow White.

The beginning of the film shows Antonio Villalta, Carmen’s father and famous bull-fighter, in the ring ready to take on a bull. In the stands is her mother, pregnant with her, who is cheering him on. As fate ensues, Carmen’s father ends up being injured by a bull which lands him as well as Carmen’s mother in the hospital. The mother dies in childbirth and soon after Antonio regains consciousness he realizes that he is paralyzed. Encarna, the nurse who is nursing Carmen’s father, takes it as on opportunity to marry him for his money. After her birth, Carmen lived with her grandmother until she died and soon found herself at her father’s house, but soon realizes that Encarna has taken advantage of him and is keeping him locked in a room. Villalta teaches Carmen how to bull-fight, but once he dies Carmen is left alone and becomes a target for Encarna until she manages to get away and earn a name through bull fighting.

Through a string of events which include a wicked step-mother, a troupe of bull-fighting dwarves and a poisonous apple, Berger telling of Blancanieves is intricate and meaningful. The film itself is wonderfully crafted and the cinematography and soundtrack for the film are put together so well that it effortlessly portrays what the actors are saying through their facial expressions, body language and eyes with no need for spoken dialog. The film makes it very clear when the audience is meant to laugh or cry and makes it easy to want to do both at the same time. While the storyline itself is quite predictable, Berger’s take makes Blancanieves a unique and worthwhile watch.

Five must see films at the 16th Cine Las Americas Film Festival

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The 16th Cine Las Americas Film Festival will begins today opening with Blancanieves, the film that represent Spain in the 2012 Academy Awards, at the Stateside Theatre. Film Passes are on sale and individual tickets are available as well. Venues for the film screenings include the Stateside Theatre, Alamo Drafthouse Village, Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, and St. Edwards University.

Program selections include new releases, narrative feature competition, documentary feature competition, new visions and works in progress, panorama feature films, Hecho en Tejas, narrative shorts competitions, documentary shorts competition, panorama short films and Emergencia Youth Film program. While it is impossible to see every film offered at the fest, I have selected five films to put on your festival itinerary this week.

Corazón del Cielo, Corazón de la Tierra at Jones Auditorium at the Ragsdale Center, St. Edwards University on Thursday at 7:00 p.m


Corazón del Cielo, Corazón de la Tierra is a film that explores accounts of today’s Mayan by following six young Maya in Guatemala and Chiapas through their daily lives. It was filmed over a few years and shows the determination to keep their culture strong.

La Noche de Enfrente at the Stateside Theatre on Friday at 10:00 p.m.


Standing on the edge of forced retirement from his office work, Don Celso starts to relive both real and imagined memories from his life. There is a fine line between what is real and what is merely imagination.

Dreamer at the Alamo Drafthouse Village on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.


Jose “Joe” Rodriguez is a bright, smart Mexican immigrant who was raised by a single mother who worked her life to send him to college. He gets a good job at an office and everything in life seems to be going in his favor. However, that all changes when it is revealed that Joe is undocumented.

Nos Vemos, Papá at the Alamo Drafthouse Village on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.


Nos Vemos, Papá is a story that follows Pilar, who loses her father and whose use of heroine leads her to blend in the present with the past. This movie is meant to show the emotion connected to the loss of someone who you depended on.

Estrella del Sur at the Alamo Drafthouse Village on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.


Estrella de Sur follows the story of four teenagers who have grown up together in a violent environment and who have dreams, frustrations, and struggles. Their lives soon encounter a new literature teacher who threatens to end with what they have, more specifically their dream of going to sea, as a “social cleaning”

For more information on screenings, venues and times as well as information on purchasing film passes or individual tickets, visit the Cine Las Americas website.

Cine Las Americas announces opening and closing films for 16th International Film Festival

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Cine Las Americas International Film Festival will inaugurate on Tuesday, April 16 at the Stateside Theatre with the Austin Premiere of Pablo Berger's 'Blancanieves'

It is the time of the year for the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival to begin. Cine Las Americas has announced their opening and closing night screenings for the 16th film festival which will be running April 16 to 21. The opening film will be Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves which will inaugurate the festival at the Stateside Theatre. The closing film will be 7 Cajas which will be held on the last day of the festival at the Stateside Theatre as well.

The film festival will be taking place at the Stateside Theatre, the Alamo Drafthouse Village and the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC), with additional screenings at St. Edward’s University. This year the festival lineup includes approximately 100 films which consist of independent and bigger budget films, documentaries, and short films from over 30 countries including Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, the U.S., and many more.

Blancanieves is a re-telling of the classic Snow White and pays homage to the Golden age of Europe’s silent cinema. The film takes place in 1920s Seville with Carmen, the daughter of a famous bull fighter, as Snow White. She lives under the rule of her evil stepmother, Encarna, but manages to escape and join a troupe of bullfighting dwarves where her talent and beauty captivates the press which sends news to her stepmother Encarna. The film was chosen to represent Spain last year’s Academy Awards.

The closing film, 7 Cajas, is an action thriller from Paraguay which takes place in Asuncion, Paraguay where Víctor, a 17-year-old wheelbarrow delivery boy, gets the job to deliver seven boxes with unknown contents. The job soon turns difficult when something in the boxes is highly coveted and Víctor and his pursuers find themselves caught in a crime which they know nothing about.

All screenings at the MACC and at St. Edward’s University are free and open to the public. All films are subtitled in English. Purchasing a pass gives full-preferred access to the film festival events, including screenings and parties. Special discounts and benefits are available for members of Cine Las Americas. Individual tickets for all screenings are also available online and at the box office of each venue. For more information visit, www.cinelasamericas.org.

Blancanieves trailer

7 Cajas trailer