Tag Archives: Alzheimer’s Disease

MTV Documentary Films Acquires Worldwide Rights to Maite Alberdi’s “The Eternal Memory”

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Maite Alberdi’s latest project is going global…

MTV Documentary Films has acquired the worldwide rights to the love story The Eternal Memory, the 39-year-old Chilean film producer, director, documentarian, screenwriter and film critic’s follow-up to her Oscar nominated documentary The Mole Agent.

Maite Alberdi,The price is said to be approaching $3 million in a competitive situation with a number of bidders.

The film, which screened in the Sundance Film Festival World Documentary Competition section, will have its international premiere at the Berlinale next month in the Panorama Section and the company is planning a theatrical release and robust awards campaign later this year.

The Eternal Memory was produced by Alberdi, Juan De Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín and Rocío Jadue.

In the film, Augusto and Paulina have been together and in love for 25 years. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and his wife has since become his caretaker. As one of Chile’s most prominent cultural commentators and television presenters, Augusto is no stranger to building an archive of memory, having been responsible for that herculean task following the Pinochet dictatorship and its systematic erasure of collective consciousness. Now he turns that work to his own life, trying to hold on to his identity with the help of his beloved wife. Day by day, the couple face this challenge head-on, adapting to the disruptions brought on by the taxing disease while relying on the tender affection and sense of humor shared between them that remains intact.

“I am so happy that The Eternal Memory has found its home at MTV Documentary Films, which in recent years, has believed in the artistic innovation of documentaries and has released documentaries that I greatly admire,” said Alberdi. “Working with Sheila Nevins is an honor, and I admire what she has built in the documentary industry.”

“The gift of love that lasts is revealed in The Eternal Memory. One cannot be cynical in Maite’s verité film – a remarkable achievement that allows us to observe what remains as memory fades. We reconsider the value of a long life lived and consider in our own lives the eternal reach of comfort and caring to an otherwise merciless end,” said Nevins, Executive Producer, MTV Documentary Films.

Nina Diaz and Liza Burnett Fefferman, Co-Head, MTV Documentary Films, called the doc “an extraordinary and sublime love story, we simply couldn’t take our eyes off the screen. The Eternal Memory left us so deeply moved and devoted to Augusto and Pauli – we can’t stop thinking, talking and marveling about the beautiful work Maite has done and how elated we are to bring this film out into the world.”

The film is a Micromundo and Fabula production. Submarine and United Talent Agency Independent Film Group brokered the deal with MTV Documentary Films on behalf of the filmmakers.

UTA also represents Alberdi, the first Chilean woman to be nominated at the Academy Awards, and an important voice in Latin American documentary. She premiered her last film The Mole Agent at Sundance in 2020. It was the first Chilean documentary to be nominated for an Oscar.

In 2011, Alberdi released her first feature film, The Lifeguard. Through Micromundo, her production company, she directed her second film Tea Time, which won more than 12 international awards, and was nominated for the 2016 Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film. In 2016, she released the short film I am not from here nominated for the European Films Award and also premiered her third feature The Grown-Ups that got 10 international awards.

Mariana Lima to Star in Walter Salles-Directed Film “I’m Still Here”

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Mariana Lima is still here…

The 48-year-old Brazilian actress will star in I’m Still Here, which will be directed by Walter Salles.

Mariana Lima

The film is based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s best-selling memoir about his mother Eunice Paiva, a housewife forced to reinvent herself as an activist when her husband fell victim to the military regime that took control of Brazil in 1964. Her husband became among many who were tortured and disappeared with no due process.

Lima, one of Brazil’s most acclaimed actresses with credits that include Dark Days and Father’s Chair, will play Paiva.

Murilo Hauser scripted the 2019 Un Certain Regard winning-Invisible Life, adapted the screenplay, with Salles overseeing the development process.

The film is set to begin production in Brazil early next year, with Library Pictures International providing financing. CAA Media Finance will broker domestic distribution while Wild Bunch is handling international sales, excluding Brazil.

The author was 11 when his father, leftist congressman Rubens Paiva, was dragged off for interrogation by the military, this after he returned from exile. He was never seen again. His wife campaigned relentlessly to find his whereabouts, at a very dangerous time when Brazilian was controlled by military dictatorship. Eunice Paiva was arrested along with her husband and held in a dark cell for 12 days before taking on her new role, which would become a race against Alzheimer’s Disease. While she was still able, she got to the bottom of her husband’s disappearance and made sure the records of events were recorded to be shared with future generations. It was concluded by the National Truth Commission that her husband had been tortured to death for receiving letters from leftist organizations. The tragic history of torture in Brazil came to light recently when Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro waxed nostalgic for the days when the military dictatorship was in place, much to the outrage of many.

“Most of my personal projects required very long development processes, back to Central Station, which was five years, and Motorcycle Diaries was four,” Salles said. “None took as much time as this one that I in part was a witness to when I was 13 years old,”

Salles said he prepped I’m Still Here in relative secrecy, he knew from moment one that he wanted Lima for his protagonist.

“Mariana is an extraordinary theater actress, and one of the most sensitive film actresses of her generation in Brazil,” Salles said. “We’ve talked about collaborating, but I waited to find the role that could truly benefit from her extraordinary talent to give birth to this character. I thought of her since the very beginning, because of her unique talent and the economy she has in transmitting the emotional core of a character and a story. [Eunice Paiva] had to build an internal fortress to survive, but you could sense the trauma she went through. Marina is the actress to best portray this role. I most like movies where the arc of the main character somehow reflects the arc of the country itself as it goes through a specific period of time and tries to determine what it wants to be,” he said. “We had that in Central Station, and we have it here.

“Having known Eunice, her husband and her children, makes this is a very unique project to me,” Salles said. “I never came so close to my own life experience in a movie than this. In that sense, it feels a little like my Roma, in terms of the personal nature of Alfonso Cuaron’s film which I love so much.”

Documentary on Augie Nieto to Open in LA and New York in November

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Augie Nieto’s inspirational story is headed to the big screen…

Following up his Oscar nominated documentary chronicling the late Glen Campbell’s fight against Alzheimers Disease, director James Keach tackles the inspirational story of the Latino fitness guru who is often called “the Steve Jobs of the fitness industry.”

Augie Nieto

Nieto is the founder and retired chief executive of Life Fitness, as well as the current chairman of the ALS Therapy Development Institute.

At age 47, Nieto was diagnosed with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gerhig’s Disease.

He’s noted for fighting against ALS by creating “Augie’s Quest“, which has raised over $45 million in funds for research into the disease.

The film Keach made is being hailed as a love story between Nieto and his wife Lynne, who are active in the battle against the devastating condition that has taken so many lives.

The remarkable documentary shows it doesn’t have to be a death sentence, especially when you have the fighting spirit of Augie and Lynne involved.

The film will open on November 3 in Los Angeles and November 17 in New York in an Oscar qualifying run.

Manuelle Gearing Up for 20-City U.S. Tour

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Victor Manuelle is hitting the road…

Following a string of smash singles on Billboard’s airplay charts, the 46-year-old Puerto Rican salsa star is gearing up for what could very well be his most extensive U.S. tour in recent history.

Victor Manuelle

Manuelle’s Que Suenen Los Tambores tour, named after his most recent album and single (which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart), kicks off on August 25 at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater. From there, he’ll play a total of 20 dates, ending in Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater on November 28. Tickets go on sale Friday, at 10:00 am ET.

Manuelle’s nearly 20-year career has been marked by innovation and risk. He’s recorded pop and at one point recorded independently. Most recently, on the album Que Suenen los Tambores, he included a track dedicated to his father, who’s suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.

Through it all, Manuelle has remained a constant on the charts. Earlier this year, his single “Agua Bendita” became his 25th No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Songs chart, tying him with Marc Anthony for the most No. 1s on the chart.

For the chart dated August 8, his new single “No Queria Enganarte” arrived at No. 9, giving him his 60th charting hit and extending his record as the act with the most hits on the chart in its 21-year history (Anthony follows with 50). The entrance of the latest single marks Manuelle’s 49th top 10 — also furthering his lead for most top 10s.

In addition to the album track, a pop/ballad version featuring singer Raquel Sofia, is expected to be released on August 14.

Manuelle’s tour will serve as a retrospective of his No. 1s, those close to him told Billboard. He will be touring with his full salsa band (who also accompanied during his Billboard en Vivo performance in April) and new production.

Que Suenen Los Tambores U.S. tour dates:

Aug. 29 – CHICAGO, IL – Auditorium Theatre
Oct. 9 – NEWARK, NJ – NJ Performing Arts Center
Oct. 10 – ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Tropicana Casino & Resort
Oct. 11 – BOSTON, MA – Orpheum Theatre
Oct. 16 – ORLANDO, FL – Hard Rock Live at Universal Studios
Oct. 17 – HOLLYWOOD, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hotel & Casino
Oct. 18 – ATLANTA, GA – Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Oct. 22 – CHARLOTTE, NC – The Fillmore
Oct. 23 – RALEIGH, NC – The Ritz
Oct. 24 – JACKSONVILLE, FL
Nov. 5 – COLUMBUS, OH – The Palace Theater
Nov. 6 –  ROCHESTER, NY – Auditorium Theatre
Nov. 7 – MASHANTUCKET, CT – Foxwoods Resort Casino
Nov. 14 – SAN JUAN, PR – Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot
Nov. 20 – HOUSTON, TX – Bayou Music Center
Nov. 21– SAN ANTONIO, TX – Aztec Theater
Nov. 22 – DALLAS, TX – House of Blues
Nov. 25 – SAN DIEGO, CA – Balboa Theatre
Nov. 27 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Warfield Theater
Nov. 28 – LOS ANGELES, CA – Microsoft Theater

Manuelle Releases Moving Video for His Latest Single, “Algo le pasa a mi héroe,”

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It’s a bittersweet Father’s Day for Victor Manuelle…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican salsa singer has released the official music video for “Algo le pasa a mi héroe,” which he wrote and recorded not only as an homage to his father, but also to raise awareness about the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease both on patients and caretakers.

Victor Manuelle

A few years ago, Manuelle’s dad, Victor Ruiz, was diagnosed with Alzheiemer’s. The hardship and brutal reality of the disease was beautifully personalized in the new song, “Algo le pasa a mi héroe.”

Manuelle filmed a moving video, starring Puerto Rican actor Jacobo Morales, that shows the day to day life and times of an Alzheimer’s patient. For maximum effect, he partnered with Puerto Rico’s Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Association for a campaign titled: “They forget, but you shouldn’t.”

For the single’s release last March, Manuelle stood at a street corner in San Juan and personally distributed 50,000 copies of the song to cars and passers-by.

“Everywhere I went, I found someone affected by this disease,” says Manuelle. “We wanted to take the message to the world. I really didn’t know what was going to happen, but the support has been overwhelming.”