Santiago Mitre’s “Argentina, 1985” Sweeps This Year’s Platino Awards

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Santiago Mitre has picked up another award…

The 42-year-old Argentine film director and screenwriter’s Argentina, 1985 swept the top prizes for Best Picture on Saturday night at the 2023 Platino Awards.

News of a Kidnapping, created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, is another top award winner.

One highlight of the ceremony, dedicated to films and television shows in the Spanish-speaking world, was Benicio del Toro’s acceptance speech of a honorary Platino in which he reflected on being typecast for many years in Hollywood as a Latino actor.

“If I had to play stereotypes, I tried to find the character’s humanity, a sense of complicity, so that audiences felt what my character felt and whilst they’re watching, don’t forget who I am and where I come from.,” he said. “What’s important is to share more than be divided,” he added.

Del Toro received a standing ovation by an audience made up of some of the best actors in Spain, which hung on his every word.

Directed by Mitre, who broke out to attention with The Student, then conquered Cannes with Paulina, the Academy Award-nominated “Argentina, 1985,” produced by Amazon Studios, Infinity Hill, Mitre’s label Unión de los Rios and star Ricardo Darín’s Kenya Films swept best picture, screenplay (Mitre, Mariano Llinás) actor (Darín), among five awards.

Commissioned by Prime Video in 2020, in the same funding round that included “Iosi, the Repentant Spy,” “News of a Kidnapping” scooped best series, creators (Wood, García), series actress (Cristina Umaña) and supporting actress (Majida Issa).

Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios and Chile’s Invercine & Wood produce.

It may or may not be a coincidence that both titles, as well as Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts, which swept four prizes including best director, talk about how individuals or institutions – the Colombian senator husband of an abduction victim in “News,” Darin’s crusading public prosecutor in “Argentina, 1985,” a French couple in deep Galicia in “The Beasts” – confront violence, whether the institutionalized torture and murder under Argentina’s Junta, endemic drug gang coercion in “News” and wounded machismo in “The Beasts.”

“Thank you to the thousands and thousands of Colombians who, silently, without any show, try to make peace and a country, despite all the obvious difficulties,” said Umana.

“Memory is important. We can’t allow violence to be the innate solution in any part of the world,” said Infinity Hill’s, Axel Kuschevatzky, a producer of “Argentina, 1985.”

In other Awards highlights, Spain’s Laia Costa and Susi Sánchez repeated their Goya plaudits taking best film actress and supporting actress as daughter and mother in “Lullaby.”

FILM

Best Feature
“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina)

Director
Rodrigo Sorogoyen, “The Beasts”

Lead Performance
Laia Costa, “Lullaby”
Ricardo Darín, “Argentina, 1985”

Screenplay
Mariano Llinás, Santiago Mitre, “Argentina, 1985”

First Feature
“1976” (Chile, Argentina)

Best Feature Comedy
“Official Competition,” (Argentina, Spain)

Original Score
Sergio Prudencio, “Utama”

Supporting Role Performance
Susi Sanchez, “Lullaby” (Spain)
Luis Zahera, “The Beasts” (Spain, France)

Animated Feature
“The Eagle and the Jaguar: the Legendary Warriors” (Mexico)

Documentary Best Feature
“El Caso Padilla,” (Cuba, Spain)

Editing
Alberto del Campo, “The Beasts”

Art Direction
Micaela Saiegh, “Argentina, 1985)

Cinematography
Barbara Álvarez, “Utama”

Sound Direction
Aitor Berenguer, Fabiola Ordoyo, Yasmina Praderas, “The Beasts”

Film & Education In Values
“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina, U.S)

HONORARY AWARD
Benicio del Toro

Best Series Or Mini-Series
“News of a Kidnapping” (Colombia, Chile, U.S.)

Best Series Or Mini-Series Creator
Andrés Wood, Rodrigo García, “News of a Kidnapping”

Actor In A Series Or Mini-Series
Guillermo Francella, “The One in Charge”

Actress In A Series Or Mini-Series
Cristina Umaña, “News of a Kidnapping”

Supporting Actor In A Series Or Mini-Series
Alejandro Awada, “Iosi, The Regretful Spy”

Supporting Actress In A Series Or Mini-Series
Majida Issa, “News of a Kidnapping”

Ana de Armas Has Earned Her First-Ever Oscar Nomination

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Ana de Armas is celebrating her first Academy Awards nomination…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have revealed the nominations for the 95th Oscars, with the 34-year-old Cuban and Spanish actress earning a nod.

de Armas is nominated in the Actress in a Leading Role category for her starring role in Netflix’s Marilyn Monroe film Blonde.

She is the first the Cuban to be nominated for a leading role at the Oscars. Fellow Cuban actor Andy Garcia was nominated for best supporting actor in 1990.

Guillermo del Toro has picked up a nod in a new category…

The 58-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning filmmaker is nominated in the Animated Feature Film category for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.

del Toro previously won Best Picture and Best Direction Oscars for The Shape of Water.

Santiago Mitre, who recently won his first Golden Globe, has earned his first Oscar nod.

The 42-year-old Argentine film director and screenwriter is nominated in the International Feature Film category for directing the Argentine Spanish-language film Argentina, 1985.

Alfonso Cuarón has picked up another Academy Award nod.

The 61-year-old Mexican four-time Oscar winner is up for Live Action Short Film for producing Walt Disney’s Le Pupille.

Cuarón previously won Oscars for Best Director for Gravity and Roma, Best Film Editing for Gravity, and Best Cinematography for Roma. He is the first Mexican filmmaker to win the Best Director award and one of the two persons to have been nominated for Academy Awards in seven different categories

The Academy’s final voting runs March 2-7, with the Oscars set58 for Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theater in a ceremony airing live on ABC and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

Here’s the full list of 2023 Oscar nominees:

Best Picture

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
A Netflix/Amusement Park Film in co-production with Gunpowder Films in association with Sliding Down Rainbows Entertainment/Anima Pictures Production
Malte Grunert, Producer

“Avatar: The Way of Water” (Walt Disney)
A 20th Century Studios Production
James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers

“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight)
A Blueprint Pictures/Film4/TSG Entertainment Production
Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers

“Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
A Bazmark Production
Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
A Hot Dog Hands Production
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers

“The Fabelmans” (Universal/Amblin Partners)
An Amblin Partners Production
Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers

“Tár” (Focus Features)
A Standard Film Company/EMJAG Production
Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers

“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount)
A Paramount Pictures/Skydance/Jerry Bruckheimer Films Production
Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers

“Triangle of Sadness” (Neon)
A Plattform Production
Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers

“Women Talking” (Orion Pictures/United Artists Releasing)
A Plan B Entertainment / hear/say Production
Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Austin Butler in “Elvis”
(Warner Bros.)

Colin Farrell in “The Banshees of Inisherin”
(Searchlight)

Brendan Fraser in “The Whale”
(A24)

Paul Mescal in “Aftersun”
(A24)

Bill Nighy in “Living”
(Sony Pictures Classics)

Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett in “Tár”
(Focus Features)

Ana de Armas in “Blonde”
(Netflix)

Andrea Riseborough in “To Leslie”
(Momentum Pictures)

Michelle Williams in “The Fabelmans”
(Universal/Amblin Partners)

Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
(A24)

Directing

Martin McDonagh
“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight)

Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)

Steven Spielberg
“The Fabelmans” (Universal/Amblin Partners)

Todd Field
“Tár” (Focus Features)

Ruben Östlund
“Triangle of Sadness” (Neon)

Actor in a Supporting Role

Brendan Gleeson in “The Banshees of Inisherin”
(Searchlight)

Brian Tyree Henry in “Causeway”
(Apple)

Judd Hirsch in “The Fabelmans”
(Universal/Amblin Partners)

Barry Keoghan in “The Banshees of Inisherin”
(Searchlight)

Ke Huy Quan in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
(A24)

Actress in a Supporting Role

Angela Bassett in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
(Walt Disney)

Hong Chau in “The Whale”
(A24)

Kerry Condon in “The Banshees of Inisherin”
(Searchlight)

Jamie Lee Curtis in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
(A24)

Stephanie Hsu in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
(A24)

Animated Feature Film

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
(Netflix)
Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley

“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”
(A24)
Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
(Universal)
Joel Crawford and Mark Swift

“The Sea Beast”
(Netflix)
Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger

“Turning Red” (Walt Disney)
Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Documentary Feature Film

“All That Breathes” (Submarine Deluxe and Sideshow in association with HBO Documentary Films)
A Kiterabbit Films and Rise Films in collaboration with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios Production
Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer

“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (Neon)
A Participant Production
Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov

“Fire of Love” (National Geographic)
A National Geographic Documentary Films/Sandbox Films/Intuitive Pictures & Cottage M Production
Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman

“A House Made of Splinters”
“A House Made of Splinters” A Final Cut For Real Production
Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström

“Navalny” (Warner Bros./CNN Films/HBO Max)
A Fishbowl Films/RaeFilm Studios/Cottage M Production
Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

International Feature Film

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany)
A Netflix/Amusement Park Film in co-production with Gunpowder Films in association with Sliding Down Rainbows Entertainment/Anima Pictures Production

“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina)
A La Unión de los Ríos Production

“Close” (Belgium)
A Menuet Production

“EO” (Poland)
A Skopia Film Production

“The Quiet Girl” (Ireland)
An Inscéal Production

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
Screenplay – Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix)
Written by Rian Johnson

“Living” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Written by Kazuo Ishiguro

“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount)
Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks

“Women Talking” (Orion Pictures/United Artists Releasing)
Screenplay by Sarah Polley

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight)
Written by Martin McDonagh

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

“The Fabelmans” (Universal/Amblin Partners)
Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner

“Tár” (Focus Features)
Written by Todd Field

“Triangle of Sadness” (Neon)
Written by Ruben Östlund

Cinematography

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
James Friend

“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” (Netflix)
Darius Khondji

“Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
Mandy Walker

“Empire of Light” (Searchlight)
Roger Deakins

“Tár” (Focus Features)
Florian Hoffmeister

Film Editing

“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight)
Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

“Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
Paul Rogers

“Tár” (Focus Features)
Monika Willi

“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount)
Eddie Hamilton

Music (Original Score)

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
Volker Bertelmann

“Babylon” (Paramount)
Justin Hurwitz

“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight)
Carter Burwell

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
Son Lux

“The Fabelmans” (Universal/Amblin Partners)
John Williams

Music (Original Song)

“Applause” from “Tell It like a Woman”
(Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”
(Paramount)
Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop

“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler

“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”
(Variance Films/Sarigama Cinemas)
Music by M.M. Keeravaani Lyric by Chandrabose

“This Is A Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
(A24)
Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne

Production Design

“All Quiet on the Western Front”
(Netflix)
Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck
Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper

“Avatar: The Way of Water”
(Walt Disney)
Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter
Set Decorator: Vanessa Cole

“Babylon”
(Paramount)
Production Design: Florencia Martin
Set Decorator: Anthony Carlino

“Elvis”
(Warner Bros.)
Production Design: Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy
Set Decoration: Bev Dunn

“The Fabelmans”
(Universal/Amblin Partners)
Production Design: Rick Carter
Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara

Costume Design

“Babylon” (Paramount)
Mary Zophres

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Walt Disney)
Ruth Carter

“Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
Catherine Martin

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
Shirley Kurata

“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” (Focus Features)
Jenny Beavan

Makeup and Hairstyling

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová

“The Batman” (Warner Bros.)
Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Walt Disney)
Camille Friend and Joel Harlow

“Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti

“The Whale” (A24)
Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

Live Action Short Film

“An Irish Goodbye” (Network Ireland Television)
A Floodlight Pictures Production
Tom Berkeley and Ross White

“Ivalu”
An M&M Production
Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan

“Le Pupille” (Walt Disney)
An Esperanto Filmoj and Tempesta Production
Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón

“Night Ride” (The New Yorker Studios)
A Cylinder Production
Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen

“The Red Suitcase”
A Cynefilms Production
Cyrus Neshvad

Documentary Short Film

“The Elephant Whisperers” (Netflix)
A Netflix Documentary/Sikhya Entertainment Production
Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

“Haulout” (The New Yorker Studios)
An Albireo Films Production
Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev

“How Do You Measure a Year?”
A Jay Rosenblatt Films Production
Jay Rosenblatt

“The Martha Mitchell Effect” (Netflix)
An Outspoken Films Production
Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison

“Stranger at the Gate” (The New Yorker Studios)
A Smartypants Pictures Production
Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Animated Short Film

“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” (BBC and Apple Original Films)
A NoneMore and Bad Robot Production
Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud

“The Flying Sailor”
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

“Ice Merchants”
A COLA Animation Production
João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano

“My Year of Dicks”
An FX, Wonder Killer and Cat’s Pajamas Production
Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon

“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”
A Griffith Film School Production
Lachlan Pendragon

Sound

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte

“Avatar: The Way of Water” (Walt Disney)
Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges

“The Batman” (Warner Bros.)
Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson

“Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller

“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount)
Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

Visual Effects

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar

“Avatar: The Way of Water” (Walt Disney)
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

“The Batman” (Warner Bros.)
Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Walt Disney)
Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick

“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount)
Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

Sofia Carson to Participate in Variety’s “FYC Fest: The Shortlist” Virtual Event

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Sofia Carson has made the shortlist…

The 29-year-old half-Colombian American actress/singer will take part in Variety’s second annual FYC Fest: The Shortlist.

It’s a virtual event featuring 13 panels with the top contending filmmakers and artisans that were shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in the documentary film, international film, song, hair and makeup, animated short, live-action short film and visual effects categories.

Other Latinx artists joining Carson include Selena Gomez, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Santiago Mitre.

Each conversation will last for 15 minutes and be moderated by a Variety editor.

Conversations include:

Colm Bairéad, director and writer of “The Quiet Girl”
Edward Berger, director, producer and writer of Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Jason Billington, VFX supervisor of Amazon Films’ “Thirteen Lives”
Sofia Carson, performer and Diane Warren, songwriter of “Applause” from the film “Tell It Like a Woman”
Chanda Dancy, composer from the Sony Pictures film “Devotion”
Alexandre Desplat, composer for Netflix’s “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
Simon Franglen, composer; Joe Letteri, senior VFX supervisor; and Julian Howarth, sound mixer for Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of the Water”
Selena Gomez, co-songwriter of “My Mind & Me” from the Apple TV+ documentary “My Mind & Me”
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, director, producer and writer of Netflix’s “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”
Charlie Mackesy, author and co-director of the animated short film “The Boy, the Mole and the Horse”
Santiago Mitre, director, producer and writer of Amazon Films’ “Argentina, 1985”
Sukari Jones, songwriter; Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, executive producers and songwriters of “Good Afternoon” from Apple TV+’s “Spirited”
Steve Boeddeker, sound mixer; Geoffrey Baumann, VFX; and Camille Friend, hair artist, from Disney’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Registration is free but required for access. Register at today at https://varietyshortlist.splashthat.com/.

National Board of Review Recognizes Claudio Miranda with Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Award

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Claudio Miranda is under review…

The National Board of Review has announced its 2022 film honorees, with the the 57-year-old Chilean Oscar-winning cinematographer earning a shout out.

Miranda was recognized with the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography award for his work on Top Gun: Maverick, which was Best Film.

“Top Gun: Maverick is a thrilling crowd-pleaser that is expertly crafted on every level,” said NBR President Annie Schulhof. “Tom Cruise, Joseph Kosinski and the entire filmmaking team have succeeded in making an incredibly popular film that brought audiences back to theaters, while at the same time being a full-on cinematic achievement.”

Miranda had previously picked up the Best Cinematography prize from New York Film Critics Circle.

Santiago Mitre’s Argentina, 1985 picked up two recognitions…

The 42-year-old Argentine directors historical drama, starring Ricardo Darín, was recognized as one of the NBR Freedom of Expression Awards honorees, as well as one of the NBR’s selections for Top 5 International Films.

Here’s a look at NBR’s list of the year’s 10 best films and its other award winners:

Best Film
Top Gun: Maverick

Best Director
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

Best Actor
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actor
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Supporting Actress
Janelle Monáe, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Best Original Screenplay
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Adapted Screenplay
Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell, All Quiet on the Western Front

Breakthrough Performance
Danielle Deadwyler, Till

Breakthrough Performance
Gabriel LaBelle, The Fabelmans

Best Directorial Debut
Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

Best Animated Feature
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Best International Film
Close

Best Documentary
Sr.

Best Ensemble
Women Talking

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick

NBR Freedom of Expression Awards
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Argentina, 1985

Top Films (in alphabetical order):
Aftersun
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
RRR
Till
The Woman King
Women Talking

Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order)
All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
Decision to Leave
EO
Saint Omer

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
All That Breathes
Descendant
Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb
Wildcat

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
Armageddon Time
Emily the Criminal
The Eternal Daughter
Funny Pages
The Inspection
Living
A Love Song
Nanny
The Wonder
To Leslie

Argentina Submits Santiago Mitre’s “Argentina, 1985” into the Oscars’ Best International Film Race

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Santiago Mitre latest film is hopin’ for a little Oscars glory…

Argentina has submitted the 41-year-old Argentine film director and screenwriter’s political drama Argentina, 1985 into the Academy Awards’ Best International Film race.

Mitre’s drama, which debuted in Competition at the Venice Film Festival, winning the Fipresci prize, is inspired by real-life Argentinian lawyers Julio Strassera and

The David and Goliath tale follows how the pair and their young legal team daringly prosecuted members of the former military junta to bring justice to the victims of their deadly regime. Under their rule from 1976 to 1983, an estimated 30,000 people disappeared.

Award-winning actor Ricardo Darin plays Strassera alongside Peter Lanzani as Ocampo.

Mitre wrote the screenplay with Mariano Llinás.

Argentina has garnered seven nominations to date for Sergio Renán’s The Truce (1974), Maria Luisa Bemberg’s Camila (1984), Luis Puenzo’s The Official Story (1985), Carlos Saura’s Tango (1998), Juan José Campanella’s Son Of The Bride (2001), and Campanella’s The Secret In Their Eyes (2009) and Damian Szifrón’s Wild Tales (2014).

Two of them went on to win the Oscar: The Secret In Their Eyes, exploring a crime through the eyes of numerous witnesses, and The Official Story about an upper-middle class woman who comes to suspect that her adopted daughter could be the child of someone who disappeared under the dictatorship.

Perez’s “Based on a True Story” to Screen at the Cannes Film Festival

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Vincent Perez is headed to the French Riviera…

The Cannes Film Festival has just added new films to its Official Selection list, including Roman Polanski’s Based on a True Story, starring the 52-year-old half-Spanish actor.

Based on a True Story, which also stars Eva Green, will screen out of competition.

The film is based on the novel by Delphine de Vigan and was co-scripted by Olivier Assayas. It tells the story of a writer who gets involved with an obsessive admirer after the release of her latest book.

Meanwhile, Santiago Mitre’s La Cordillera has been added to the Un Certain Regard lineup.

The 36-year-old Argentine film director’s film centers on the president of Argentina, Hernán Blanco, who is facing a very important decision. He’s participating in a meeting between different state leaders, which takes place in La Cordillera. From there, in the middle of the Summit of Latin American presidents, he will have to be able to solve a very complicated personal matter that can affect both his private and public life.

The Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 17–28, 2017.

Guerra’s “Embrace of the Serpent” Sweeps Platino Ibero-American Film Awards

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Ciro Guerra continues to slither his way to the awards stage…

The 35-year-old film director and screenwriter’s critically acclaimed Embrace of the Serpent, which earned an Academy Award nomination, swept the 3rd Platino Ibero-American Film Awards on Sunday night in Uruguay, taking home seven of the eight categories for which it was nominated.

Although the awards had no clear favorite, Embrace of the Serpent, with Ixcanul, had scored the most nominations and its plaudit sweep did not seem to surprise many.

Shot in widescreen in 35 mm and in black and white Serpent claimed best picture, director, editing (Etienne Boussac, Cristina Gallego), art direction (Angélica Perea), original music (Nascuy Linares), cinematography (the film was shot by David Gallego) and sound (Carlos García, Marco Salavarría).

The story of Karamakate, a shaman who is the last survivor of his tribe and asked, 30 years apart, by two explorers – based on the figures of Theodor Koch-Gruenberg and Richard Evans Schultes – to help them discover the yakuna plant, Embrace of the Serpent charts the devastation of the Amazon by colonial powers, whether Colombian rubber companies or a crazed Spanish priest, but more particularly the loss of indigenous knowledge as whole peoples disappeared under the influx of invasion.

“The ravages of colonialism cast a dark pall over the stunning South American landscape in Embrace of the Serpent, he latest visual astonishment from the gifted Colombian writer-director Ciro Guerra,” Variety wrote in its Cannes Film Festival review.

Ciro Guerre’s third movie has won a string of significant festival, Academy and pan Latin American awards, including a Mexican Silver Ariel, Fénix Film Awards, and plaudits at the Mar del Plata and Palm Springs fests, among others.

Platino acting awards went to two Argentine talents who most certainly deserve wider recognition, Dolores Fonzi, star of Santiago Mitre’s Cannes Critics’ Week winner Paulina, who plays a young lawyer who refuses to compromise her principles when raped while working as a rural teacher, and Guillermo Francella, who portrays a real-life family patriarch and psychopath in Pablo Trapero’s The Clan, who continues for personal profit Argentina’s Dirty War practice of kidnapping and murder after the fall of Argentina’s military junta.

A third Argentine actor, Ricardo Darin, took the Platino Lifetime Achievement Award.

“We have the talent. We just need to have confidence in ourselves,” Darin said on stage, receiving the plaudit. ”That’s why we and Ibero-America need these awards,” he added.

A searing but crafted indictment of the tribulations of a young pregnant and unmarried girl in rural Guatemala, Berlin Silver Bear winner Ixcanul, the feature debut of Jayro Bustamante, once more confirmed its audience appeal, at least with the who have seen it, taking the Platinos’ Audience Award, plus best first feature.

BEST PICTURE
“Embrace of the Serpent,” (Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela)

BEST DIRECTOR
Ciro Guerra (“Embrace of the Serpent”)

BEST ACTOR
Guillermo Francella (“The Clan,” Argentina, Spain)

BEST ACTRESS
Dolores Fonzi (“Paulina,” Argentina)

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Nascuy Linares (“Embrace of the Serpent”)

BEST ANIMATION MOVIE
“Capture the Flag,” (Enrique Gato, Spain)

BEST DOCU FEATURE
“The Pearl Button,” (Patricio Guzmán, Chile, Spain)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Pablo Larraín, Guillermo Calderón, Daniel Villalobos (“The Club”)

FIRST FEATURE
“Ixcanul” (Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala, France)

EDITING
Etienne Boussac, Cristina Gallego (“Embrace of the Serpent”)

ART DIRECTION
Angélica Perea (“Embrace of the Serpent”)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
David Gallego (“Embrace of the Serpent”)

SOUND
Carlos García, Marco Salavarría (“Embrace of the Serpent”)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ricardo Darín

PLATINO AWARD FOR FILM AND EDUCATION IN VALUES
“The Second Mother,” (Anna Muylaert, Brazil)

AUDIENCE AWARDS

FEATURE
“Ixcanul,” (Guatemala, France)

ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz (“Ma ma,” Spain)

ACTOR
Ricardo Darín (“Truman,” Spain, Argentina)

Fonzi to Star in Horror Film “El diablo blanco”

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Dolores Fonzi has landed a devilish role…

The 37-year-old Argentine actress is set to star in the horror film El diablo blanco, converting the project into one of the highest-profile genre offerings coming down the pike in Latin America.

Fonzi joins an Argentine A-list cast that includes Esteban Lamothe and Julieta Zylberberg.

Juan Pablo Gugliotta, co-founder of Buenos Aires’ Magma Cine, a pioneer in pan-Latin American co-production and auteur genre movies, will introduce the horror movie to potential co-production partners and sales agents at next week’s Bogota Audiovisual Market (BAM).

The screenplay allows the involvement of one or two actors from outside Argentina, Gugliotta said.

The feature debut of Ignacio Rogers, a theater actor-turned-filmmaker who is writing the screenplay, El diablo blanco kicks off with three male friends going off camping in the mountains. They meet three girls and immediately hit it off. Romance flowers as they decide to continue the trip together. One of them, Fernando, has a strange encounter with a mysterious man and suffers premonitory dreams of this man killing people, after which a once-carefree holiday trip turns into a ghastly nightmare.

El diablo blanco has its origins in classic American horror, but at least two factors set it apart, said Gugliotta. One is the presence of “deep Latin American roots, Argentine indigenous myths and legends.”

El diablo blanco’s friends are also not teens but adults in their mid-to-late-thirties, one a divorcee, another about to inherit local land, and two of the women qualified anthropologists, searching for traces of the mountains’ original indigenous settlers.

About 60% of “The White Devil’s” budget is covered between Magma Cine’s own financing and subsidy from Argentina’s Incaa film board, Gugliotta said.

Fonzi, Lamothe and Zylberberg have all broken through to international recognition this decade. Fonzi toplined Santiago Mitre’s Paulina, which won the Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize last year; Lamothe was the star of Mitre’s debut, The Student. Zylberberg co-starred in Anna Katz’s My Friend From the Park, a Sundance Film Festival 2016 best screenplay winner.

El diablo blanco is scheduled to shoot in the first quarter of 2017, during Argentina’s summer.

Darin to Receive Honorary Platino Award

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Ricardo Darin will soon be shining as bright as platinum…

The 59-year-old Argentine actor will be honored at the third edition of the Platino Awards, the Latin America equivalent of the Oscars, which will be held on July 24 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Darin, who starred in Argentina’s 2009 best foreign-language film Oscar winner The Secret in Their Eyes and the Cannes Film Festival 2014 hit Wild Tales, is one of the most popular actors in Latin America and one of the very few who has box-office appeal across the region.

His popularity also reaches the Spanish market, where he recently starred in Cesc Gay‘s Goya winner Truman, a role for which he’s also nominated for a Platino in the best actor category.

Darin was recently confirmed as the star of La cordillera, the next movie from Argentina’s ascending indie filmmaker Santiago Mitre. The film is Mitre’s follow-up to Critics’ Week winner Paulina and was selected for Cannes’ L’Atelier de la Cinefondation program. La cordillera is set during a three-day presidential summit in the Andes Mountains, and Darin will play the Argentine head of state.

The Honorary Platino will praise “the honesty, talent and charisma with which he has engrossed some of the most renowned films made in the last three decades of Ibero-American cinema,” according to a press release Thursday from the Platino Awards organization, led by EGEDA and producers federation FIPCA.

Previous recipients of the Honorary Platino were also actors: Antonio Banderas was honored in 2015 and Brazilian legend Sonia Braga (Aquarius) in 2014.

Mitre’s “Paulina” Wins Top Prize at the Beijing International Film Festival

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Santiago Mitre is earning acclaim in China…

The 35-year-old Argentinian filmmaker’s latest thriller Paulina (aka La Patota) has won the Tiantan Award at the closing ceremony of the Beijing International Film Festival, which took place from April 16-23.

The film centers on Paulina, who after moving back home to teach in a suburban high school, must deal with the disapproval of the people around her when she returns to work after being brutally assaulted by a gang.

The film, directed by Mitre, also picked up the best screenplay and best actress (Dolores Fonzi) awards at a ceremony held on Saturday night.

The best director award went to Denmark’s Christina Rosendahl for her film, The Idealist. Louis Hofman was named best actor for his role in another Danish film Land of Mine (aka Under Sandet.) China’s “Go Away, Mr Tumor” was given the best visual effects award.

The competitive section was announced only days before the festival began. It came as a surprise, as many in the industry had been led to believe that the BJIFF had become a non-competitive festival. The jury was headed by Brett Ratner.

The sixth edition of the festival again included a film market, a conference series and a project pitching section. The popularity of the pitching sessions continued to boom with the number of projects submitted increasing by half to 674.

Mitre, whose credits include The Student and Carancho, picked up four prizes for Paulina at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and two prizes at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

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