Noah Centineo to Serve as Member of Tribeca Festival Jury

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Noah Centineo has joined the jury…

The Tribeca Festival, which gets under way on Wednesday in New York, has announced members of the jury, including the 27-year-old part-Puerto Rican actor, who will decide winners in 15 award categories.

In addition to Centineo, the jury roster also includes Brendan Fraser, Stephanie Hsu, Zoey Deutch, Dianna Agron, Zazie Beetz, Kate Siegel, Mark Duplass, Stephen Kay, Nina Dobrev, Clea DuVall, Piper Perabo, Chance the Rapper, Jeremy O. Harris, Andrew Ahn and Chloe Grace Moretz.

Along with the competitive categories, the Nora Ephron Award will be presented in the memory of the filmmaker and writer.

While the festival removed the word “film” from its name several years ago to reflect its broad range of offerings in games, podcasts, music and other areas, the film slate has continued as an identifying aspect of the event.

This year’s U.S. narrative feature jury includes Hsu, Ramin Bahrani, Zoey Deutch, Mike Flanagan and Tommy Oliver; the international feature jury includes Fraser, Zazie Beetz, Alfredo Jaar, Shirin Neshat and Kate Siegel; and the documentary feature jury includes Mark Duplass, Adam Goldberg, Stephanie Linus, Alexandra Pelosi and Ryan White.

Award categories span narrative and documentary features and shorts as well as the immersive Storyscapes vertical, games and audio storytelling. Winners will be announced June 15. The festival runs June 7 to 18.

The Tribeca Festival was founded in 2001 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff. In 2019, James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems bought a majority stake in festival parent Tribeca Enterprises. After a year in virtual mode in 2020 due to Covid, the 2021 edition was the first North American festival to be held in person coming out of the pandemic. The last two Tribecas have unfolded in June, a change from the festival’s longtime berth in April. Organizers have indicated the new timing offers a lot of upside, including more favorable weather in New York, which helps with attendance and logistics for the many outdoor events typically on the schedule.

Natalie Morales to Star in Sony’s R-Rated Jennifer Lawrence Comedy “No Hard Feelings”

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Natalie Morales is feelings so good…

The 37-year-old Cuban American actress and director has joined the cast of Sony’s R-rated Jennifer Lawrence comedy No Hard Feelings.

The Gene Stupnitsky-directed film, which is currently shooting, follows Lawrence as a ne’er-do-well who is hired by a rich couple to befriend their socially awkward kid.

Disney+/Broadway star Andrew Barth Feldman plays the kid; his parents are played by Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti. Ebon Moss-Bachrach also stars.

Morales most recently wrote, directed and starred in Language Lessons opposite Mark Duplass. She also directed the Hulu film Plan B and was nominated for an Imagen Award for her acting work in Language Lessons.

She’ll next be seen in the film I’m Totally Fine, which she executive produces and stars opposite Jillian Bell.

Her television roles include White Collar, The Grinder, Parks and Recreation, and Santa Clarita Diet.

Stupnitsky and John Phillips penned the screenplay for No Hard Feelings. Alex Saks, Marc Provissiero, Naomi Odenkirk, Lawrence and Justine Ciarrochi are producing. John Phillips is executive producing.

No Hard Feelings hits theaters on June 16, 2023.

Natalie Morales Wins SXSW Film Festival Audience Award for feature directorial debut “Language Lessons”

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Natalie Morales is the audience’s choice…

SXSW Film Festival organizers have revealed this year’s Audience Award winners, with the 36-year-old Cuban American actress among the list of honorees for her feature directorial debut.

Morales’ Language Lessons, which she co-wrote, stars in and directed, was named the Audience Award winner in the Narrative Spotlight category.

The film, which also stars Mark Duplass and Desean Terry, centers on a Spanish teacher awho develops an unexpected friendship with her student.

Latina filmmakers Maria Belen Poncio and Rosario Perazolo Masjoan won the Audience Award in the Episodic Pilot competition for 4 Feet High.

Over the course of five days of SXSW Online, the SXSW Film Festival screened 75 features including 57 world premieres, three international premieres, four North American Premieres, one U.S. premiere and 53 films from first-time filmmakers, plus 84 short films.

Here’s the full list of SXSW Film Festival Audience Award winners:

HEADLINERS
Audience Award Winner: Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free
Director: Mary Wharton

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: The Fallout
Director: Megan Park

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Not Going Quietly
Director: Nicholas Bruckman

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: Language Lessons
Director: Natalie Morales

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
Directors: Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler

VISIONS
Audience Award Winner: Inbetween Girl
Director: Mei Makino

MIDNIGHTERS
Audience Award Winner: Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Director: Kier-La Janisse

GLOBAL
Audience Award Winner: Ninjababy
Director: Yngvild Sve Flikke

24 BEATS PER SECOND
Audience Award Winner: Soy Cubana
Directors: Jeremy Ungar, Ivaylo Getov

FESTIVAL FAVORITES

Audience Award Winner: In The Same Breath
Director: Nanfu Wang

2020 SPOTLIGHT

Audience Award Winner: We Are The Thousand
Director: Anita Rivaroli

Shorts

NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Play It Safe
Director: Mitch Kalisa

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Joe Buffalo
Director: Amar Chebib

ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Opera
Director: Erick Oh

MIDNIGHT SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Stuffed
Director: Theo Rhys

TEXAS SHORTS COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Learning Tagalog with Kayla
Director: Kayla Abuda Galang

TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Beyond the Model
Director: Jessica Lin

MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Kuricorder Quartet – ‘Southpaw’
Director: Sawako Kabuki

Episodic Program

EPISODIC PREMIERES
Audience Award Winner: Them
Showrunner: Little Marvin

EPISODIC PILOT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 4 Feet High
Directors: Maria Belen Poncio, Rosario Perazolo Masjoan

Virtual Cinema

VIRTUAL CINEMA COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Biolum
Director: Abel Kohen

VIRTUAL CINEMA SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: Finding Pandora X
Director: Kiira Benzing

SXSW Film Design Awards

EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN
Audience Award Winner: Birds Of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn Title Sequence
Creative Director and Illustrator: Michael Riley

Rosario Dawson to Star in Apple TV+’s Genre-Bending Auditory Adaptation of Canal+’s “Calls”

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson is placing some calls…

Apple TV+ announced the cast, which includes the 41-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist, and set the premiere date for its genre-bending auditory adaptation of Canal Plus’ Calls.

In addition to Dawson, the stars featured in the first season of the nine-part drama, include Nick Jonas, Pedro Pascal, Lily Collins, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Aubrey Plaza are among the stars featuring in the first season of the nine-part drama.

Launching on Friday, March 19, the show uses audio and minimal abstract visuals to tell nine short-form stories. Each episode follows a dark mystery that unfolds through a series of seemingly average, unconnected phone calls that quickly become surreal as the characters face growingly unsettling experiences.

Based on a French series created by Timothée Hochet, it is directed by Fede Álvarez, who directed 2013’s Evil Dead feature and 2016’s horror film Don’t Breathe.

Nicholas Braun, Clancy Brown, Mark Duplass, Karen Gillan, Judy Greer, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, Riley Keough, Joey King, Stephen Lang, Jaeden Martell, Paola Nuñez, Edi Patterson, Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz and Jennifer Tilly also appear in the first season.

Calls was the streamer’s first international series order back in June 2018 and it also marks its first global co-production – a tie up with French pay-TV broadcaster Canal+. Apple will launch the series, which is produced with Studiocanal and Bad Hombre, in 100 countries, while Canal+ will premiere a French-language version in a number of markets.

Apple will launch the series in a number of Spanish-speaking Latin America markets as Llamadas with Spanish-language custom graphics.

Natalie Morales to Make Solo Feature Directorial Debut with “Plan B”

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Natalie Morales is heading behind the camera…

The 35-year-old Cuban American actress, who most recently starred in the second season of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series Dead to Me, will make her solo feature directorial debut with Plan B, a Counterbalance Entertainment and American High comedy that’s set up at Hulu.

Set to begin production next month in Syracuse, NY, the film follows a straight-laced high school student and her slacker best friend who, after a regrettable first sexual encounter, have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in America’s heartland.

Prathi Srinivasan and Joshua Levy penned the screenplay.

Morales has directed and starred in multiple episodes of HBO’s Room 104 from creators Jay and Mark Duplass. On the big screen, her recent credits include Fox’s Stuber with Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Warner Bros.’ forthcoming The Little Things drama with Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Rami Malek.

Méndez Esparza Receives Gotham Independent Film Awards Nod

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Antonio Méndez Esparza is having a notable year…

The 26-year-old Spanish filmmaker has earned a Gotham Independent Film Awards nomination in the Breakthrough Director category.

Méndez Esparza was recognized for his exceptional work on his debut feature film Aquí y Allá (Here and There).

The film, which took top honors at the Critics’ Week sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival, centers on Pedro, a Mexican man who returns home to a small mountain village in Guerrero, after years of working in the US. He finds his daughters older, and more distant than he imagined, while his wife still has the same smile. Having saved money from two trips to the U.S., he hopes to now finally make a better life with his family, and even to pursue his own dreams on the side by starting a band: the Copa Kings.

Meanwhile, Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza has been recognized for her work on the feature film Safety Not Guaranteed, a film that centers on three magazine employees who head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel.

The 28-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian and her co-stars in the film – Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin and Mary Lynn Rajskub – received a nod in the Best Ensemble Performance category.

The Gotham Independent Film Awards are handed out by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers.

The awards signal the kick-off to Hollywood’s awards season. In all, Gotham Independent Film Award nominations were given to a total of 26 films across six competitive categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.

The Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 26th in Manhattan. In addition to the competitive awards, actors Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon, director David O. Russell, and Participant Media founder Jeff Skoll will each be presented with a career tribute.

Here’s a look at the categories with Latinos being recognized:

Best Ensemble Performance

– Bernie, Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey (Millennium Entertainment)
– Moonrise Kingdom, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban (Focus Features)
– Safety Not Guaranteed, Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Film District)
– Silver Linings Playbook, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher (The Weinstein Company)
– Your Sister’s Sister, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass (IFC Films)

Breakthrough Director

– Zal Batmanglij for Sound of My Voice (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
– Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky for Francine (Factory 25 and The Film Sales Company)
– Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin for Now, Forager (Argot Pictures)
– Antonio Méndez Esparza for Aquí y Allá (Here and There) (Torch Films)
– Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

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