The 40-year-old Chilean filmmaker, the Oscar-nominated director behind such titles as Jackie and Neruda, is attached to direct Tom Hardy in Annapurna Pictures’ The True American.
The project is based on Anand Giridharadas’ nonfiction book of the same name, which is set in Texas in the days following 9/11. It follows the story of Rais Bhuiyan, a Muslim immigrant and Bangladesh Air Force veteran who narrowly survived a killing spree that took the lives of two other immigrants. Employed at a Dallas-area convenience store as he established himself in America, Bhuiyan worked to have his attacker, self-styled “Arab-slayer” Mark Stroman, spared from execution.
This is a project that has been kicking around for a few years now, with Kathryn Bigelow attached to direct at one point, but now it’s moving forward with Bigelow taking a producer role on the film.
Larraín is fast becoming one of the most sought after international directors after his recent effort Jackie, starring Natalie Portman as the former First Lady in the days following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, was nominated for three Oscars.
His Spanish-language film Neruda, a twist on the biopic genre about the eponymous Nobel Prize-winning poet, was made in Chile and debuted at the Cannes Film Festival while his 2012 political satire No was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas was published in 2014 by W.W. Norton & Company.
Sebastián Lelio’s latest project is expanding globally…
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American, Australian and New Zealand rights to the 42-year-old Argentine-Chilean filmmaker’s A Fantastic Woman, ahead of its world premiere in competition Sunday at the Berlin Film Festival.
Written by Lelio and Gonzalo Maza, the Spanish-language film stars Daniela Vega as Marina, a waitress and singer, and Orlando (Francisco Reyes), an older man, who are in love and planning for the future. After Orlando suddenly falls ill and dies, Marina is forced to confront his family and society, and to fight again to show them who she is: complex, strong, forthright, fantastic.
The Chile-U.S.-Germany-Spain co-production is produced by Fabula’s Juan de Dios Larraín and Pablo Larraín with German banner Komplizen Film.
Lelio’s previous film, Gloria, won Best Ibero-American Film at the 1st Platino Awards.
The 38-year-old Mexican actor picked up the FIPRESCI Prize for best actor at the 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival for his performance in Pablo Larrain’s Neruda.
Garcia Bernal portrays Oscar Peluchonneau, the fascist Chief of the Policía de Investigaciones, in the film about poet and Communist Senator Pablo Neruda.
Neruda, which was selected as the Chilean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, also picked up the fest’s Cine Latino Award.
The John Schlesinger Award, presented to a director of a first or second feature documentary, was awarded to Cristina Herrera Borquez for No Dress Code Required, which looks at a same-sex couple as they fight for the right to marry in their hometown of Mexicali, Baja California.
The fest, which ran through January 16, announced its juried award winners at a luncheon Saturday at the Hilton Palm Springs.
Here’s the complete list of winners:
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Toni Erdmann (Germany), directed by Maren Ade
FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actor in a Foreign Language Film Gael García Bernal in Neruda (Chile)
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress in a Foreign Language Film Isabelle Huppert in Elle(France)
New Voices/New Visions Award Winner: White Sun (Nepal/U.S./Qatar/Netherlands), directed by Deepak Runiyar
Special Mentions: Kati Kati (Kenya/Germany), directed by Mbithi Masya and Mellow Mud (Latvia), directed by Renārs Vimba
The John Schlesinger Award Winner: No Dress Code Required (Mexico), directed by Cristina Herrera Bórquez
Special Mention: Beauties of the Night (Mexico), directed by Maria José Cuevas
Cine Latino Award Winner: Neruda (Chile), directed by Pablo Larraín
Special Mention: Everything Else (Mexico), directed by Natalia Alamda
HP Bridging the Borders Award Winner: Mercenary (France), directed by Sacha Wolff
Pablo Larraín’s latest film will get the AFI Fest treatment…
The 40-year-old Chilean director’s latest film Jackie has joined the American Film Institute’s slate of AFI Centerpiece Galas at this year’s AFI Fest.
From Fox Searchlight and starring Oscar winner Natalie Portman, the film will screen on Monday, November 14, at the TCL Chinese Theatre.
Jackie, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival, is an intimate portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, which takes us into the iconic First Lady’s world during the difficult days immediately following her husband’s assassination.
Noah Oppenheim penned the screenplay.
In addition to Portman, the film stars Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and Oscar nominee John Hurt.
Jackie joins previously announced Mike Mills-directed20th Century Women; Elledirected by Paul Verhoeven; and Damien Chazelle-helmedLa La Land starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
The 34-year-old Colombian film director and screenwriter ‘s latest film Embrace of the Serpent took the Astor award for best film at the 30th edition of the FestivalInternacional de Cine deMar del Plata, which officially closed on Saturday night.
Earlier this year, the Colombian-Venezuelan-Argentine co-production topped the Director’s Fortnight at the last edition of the Cannes Film Festival, and was selected by the Colombian Film Academy as the country’s submission for the Oscars in the best foreign-language film category.
The best actor award was delivered to the entire male cast of Pablo Larrain‘s The Club: Alfredo Castro, Roberto Farias, Jaime Vadell and Alejandro Goic.
The film, Chile’s Oscar candidate, also grabbed best screenplay for writers Guillermo Calderon, Daniel Villalobos and Pablo Larrain.
The best actress award went to Erica Rivas (Wild Tales), for Ariel Rotter‘s Incident Light.
In the Latin American competition, the jury formed by Valdivia film fest director Raul Camargo Borquez, Jang Byungwon, and Andrea Picard selected Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias‘ Santa Teresa & Other Stories as best film, and Natural Arpajou‘s Princesas for best short.
Benjamin Naishtat‘s Locarno entry El movimiento won best film in the local competition.
The best director award went to Fernando Salem for How Most Things Work.
The only A class festival in Latin America, Mar del Plata runs October 30 to Novenber 7.
Here’s a look at the main awards:
International Competition Best Film: Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra)
Best Director: Ivan Ostrochovsky, for Koza.
Best Actor: the male cast of The Club – Alfredo Castro, Roberto Farías, Jaime Vadell and Alejandro Goic.
Best Actress: Erica Rivas (Incident Light)
Best Screenplay: The Club – Guillermo Calderon, Daniel Villalobos and Pablo Larrain.
Latin American Competition Best Film: Santa Teresa & Other Stories (Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias)
Best Short Film: Princesas (Natural Arpajou)
Argentine Competition Best Film: El movimiento (Benjamin Naishtat)
Special Mention: Docile Bodies (Matias Scarvaci and Diego Gachassin)
Best Director: Fernando Salem, for How Most Things Work.
Best Short Film: Fantastico (Matias Sposato)
Best Short Film Director: Pablo Camaiti, for Gomorra.
DAC Award for Best Argentine Film in All Competitions: Docile Bodies
Other Awards FIPRESCI Award: Incident Light (Ariel Rotter)
Best Work in Progress: The Corroborators (Luis Bernardez)
Jury Prize Work in Progress: La helada negra (Maximiliano Schonfeld)
Alfredo Alcon Award: Guillermo Francella
Pablo Larrain is Chile’s choice for Oscar glory once again…
The 39-year-old Chilean filmmaker and former Oscar nominee’s latest film, The Club, has been selected as the nation’s bid for the Academy Awards‘ Best Foreign Language Film category, the Chilean Minister of Culture Ernesto Ottone has announced.
At the official send-off for the delegation that will attend the San Sebastian Film Festival, Ottone also announced Maite Alberdi’s documentary Tea Time will be the candidate for the Spanish Goya Awards.
A gripping portrait of four former priests who live secluded in a cabin as a punishment for their past sins, Larrain’s film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
One of Chile’s most renowned directors today, Larrain’s previous film No, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, grabbed a Foreign Language nomination in 2013. Before that, his film Tony Manero was Chile’s entry in 2008, but it failed to get a nomination.
Garcia Bernal also stars in Larrain’s upcoming Neruda, about the political persecution of Chile’s renowned poet and left-wing senator Pablo Neruda, played by Luis Gnecco.
His next project, the Jackie Kennedy biopic Jackie, starring Natalie Portman, will be produced by Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin, and Chile’s Fabula, lead by Larrain’s brother Juan De Dios.
“What is relevant now is that we have two Chilean films that have already been awarded abroad, and they are aiming to secure a nomination for these academies,” said Ottone. “These awards are an important platform to make local productions visible, as they are creating a unique mark. So, we congratulate their creative teams for proposing new ways to see today’s Chilean society, both from an intimate perspective in Tea Time, and from the social questioning The Club suggests,” he added.
The Spanish costume designer has earned his first Academy Award nomination in the Best Costume Design category for his impressive work in Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper‘s film adaptation of the Broadway musical Les Misérables.
Meanwhile, Chilean cinematographer Claudio Miranda has picked up his second Oscar nomination for his work Ang Lee’s adventure drama Life of Pi. He’d previously earned a nod for 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Pablo Larraín earned his firstAcademy Awardnomination in the Best Foreign Language Film categoryfor directingthe Spanish-language drama No, starring Gael García Bernal as an in-demand advertising executive who develops a campaign that helps overthrow Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime.
Mexican sound mixer José Antonio García, who earned critical acclaim for his sound mixing Alejandro González Iñárritu’sBabel, earned his first Academy Award nomination in the Best Sound Mixing category for his work on Ben Affleck’s Argo.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has nominated Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching for Sugar Man – the critically acclaimed film which tells the story of Mexican-American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez – in the Best Documentary Film category.
Click here for a complete look at this year’s nominees.
The 85th Academy Awards will be broadcast live on February 24 on ABC.
Sony Pictures Classics has released a subtitled trailer for Pablo Larraín‘s critically acclaimed film No…
The 36-year-old Chilean director’s film, which stars Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal, tells the based-on-facts story of an advertising executive who engineered a marketing campaign that toppled Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in a 1988 referendum.
Based on a true story, No stars Bernalas a brash young Chilean advertising executive who spearheads a campaign that helps topple Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime
Also from Chile, Andres Wood’s Violeta Went to Heaven came in second in the same competition, and also won Best Art Direction, while the 3rd Choral Award went to Claudio Assis’ Rat Fever from Brazil.
The Jury granted a Special Prize for Carlos Sorin’s Fishing Days (Argentina) and a Special Mention for Brazil/France co-production Once Upon a Time Was I, Verônica, directed by Marcelo Gomes
The fest’s First Film competition was topped by William Vega’s La Sirga (Colombia), followed by Alejandro Fadel’s The Wild Ones (Argentina) which also picked the Choral Award for Best Artistic Contribution. The 3rd Choral prize went to Fernando Guzzoni’s Dog Flesh (Chile)
Local documentary El evangelio según Ramiro by Juan Carlos Calahorra picked the 1st Choral in the Documentary competition, while Maria Veronica Ramirez’s Anima Buenos Aires topped the Animation category.
The FIPRESCI Award went to Nicolas Pereda’s Greatest Hits (Mexico)
Here’s the complete list of awards:
FICTION
Short Films
Jury Mention: Detras del espejo – Julio O. Ramos (Peru)
Choral Award to Best Short Film: Los anfitriones – Miguel Angel Moulet (Cuba)
Feature Length Films
First Choral Award: No – Pablo Larrain (Chile, USA, Mexico)
Second Choral Award: Violeta Went to Heaven – Andres Wood (Chile, Argentina, Brazil)
Third Choral Award: Rat Fever – Claudio Assis (Brazil)
Special Jury Prize: Fishing Days – Carlos Sorin (Argentina)
Jury Mention: Once Upon a Time Was I, Veronica – Marcelo Gomes (Brazil, France)
Best Direction: Michel Franco – After Lucia (Mexico)
Best Script: Eduardo del Llano and Daniel Díaz Torres – La película de Ana (Cuba)
Best Actor: Andres Crespo – Pescador (Ecuador, Colombia)
Best Actress: Laura de la Uz – La película de Ana (Cuba)
Best Editing: Pablo Trapero and Nacho Ruiz Capillas – White Elephant (Argentina, Spain, France)
Best Original Score: Jacobo Lieberman, Leonardo Heiblum – The Delay (Uruguay, Mexico)
Best Soundtrack: Gilles Laurent – Post Tenebras Lux (Mexico, France, Germany, The Netherlands)
Best Cinematography: Alexis Zabe – Post Tenebras Lux (Mexico, France, Germany, The Netherlands)
Best Art Direction: Rodrigo Bazaes – Violeta Went to Heaven (Chile, Argentina, Brazil)
Best Film about Latin America by a non-Latin American filmmaker: Here and There – Antonio Mendez Esparza (USA, Spain, Mexico)
FIRST FILMS
First Choral Award: La Sirga – William Vega (Colombia, France, Mexico)
Second Choral Award: The Wild Ones – Alejandro Fadel (Argentina)
Third Choral Award: Dog Flesh – Fernando Guzzoni (Chile)
Mention: El limpiador – Adrian Saba (Peru)
Choral Award to the Best Artistic Contribution: The Wild Ones – Alejandro Fadel (Argentina)
ANIMATED FILMS
First Choral Award: Anima Buenos Aires – Maria Veronica Ramirez (Argentina)
Second Choral Award: Luminaris – Juan Pablo Zaramella (Argentina)
Third Choral Award: Fat Bald Short Man – Carlos Osuna (Colombia, France)
Special Jury Prize: Selkirk, el verdadero Robinson Crusoe – Walter Tournier (Uruguay, Argentina, Chile)
Mention: La luna en el jardin – Adanoe Lima and Yemelí Cruz (Cuba)
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
First Choral Award: El evangelio segun Ramiro – Juan Carlos Calahorra (Cuba)
Second Choral Award: Con mi corazon en Yambo – Fernanda Restrepo (Ecuador)
Third Choral Award: Cuentos sobre el futuro – Patricia Bustos (Chile)
Best Film about Latin America by a non-Latin American filmmaker: Escenas previas – Aleksandra Maciuszek (Cuba, Poland)
Special Prize: De agua dulce – Damian Sainz (Cuba)
Pablo Larraín’s latest screen effort could be considered one of the best received films at the Cannes Film Festival with raves from critics… And, now he’s reaping his own rewards.
The 35-year-old Chilean director/screenwriter’s latest film No took top honors at the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at the 65th Cannes Film Festival. The historical drama claimed the Art Cinema Award on Friday.
Based on a true story, No stars 33-year-old Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal as a brash young Chilean advertising executive who spearheads a campaign that helps topple Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime.
“This movie is a masterfully engaging and energetic drama about politics and power, a tonic for the brain that is also a major entertainment,” says Sony Pictures Classics, which bought the North American rights to the film following its well-received screening. “No establishes Pablo Larraín as a major international director and Gael Garcia Bernal gives his finest performance.”
Other winners in this year’s Directors’ Fortnight section include Merzak Allouache‘s El taaib(The Repentant) and Noemie Lvovsky‘s Camille redouble(Camille Rewinds). Also on Friday, The Repentant was honored with the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film running in Cannes’ official selection.
Directors’ Fortnight opened with Michel Gondry‘s The We and the I and also featured Ben Wheatley‘s Sightseers and Rodney Ascher’s Room 237.
