Pablo Fendrik’s “La sangre brota” (Blood appears) Argentina/France/Germany and “Corazón del tiempo” (Heart of Time) by the Mexican director Alberto Cortés -in world premiere- are two of the 14 films that will be competing for the 35,000 Euro Horizontes Award.

To be consider in this section, feature films must have been totally or partially produced in Latin America, or directed by a Latin filmmaker or be based on a topic related to a Latin community. Beside those pre-requisites, selected films may not have been previously presented in another Spanish film festival or commercially released in Spain.

Fendrik had already won the Young Critic Award this year at the 47 Semaine de la Critique. He belongs to a very select group of directors which had the honour of being invited to the Cannes on two consecutive years.

Besides “La Sangre brota”, there were three other Latinofusion films in SANFIC’s lineup: the documentary “Stranded: I’ve come from a plane that crashed in the mountains” by the Uruguayan Gonzalo Arijón as well as Alejandro Brugués’ (Cuba) “Personal Belongings” , both at the “Novedades de Latinoamérica” section. The doc “Lucio” by Heitor Arregui and José Mari Goenaga (Spain) was screened at the “Latitudes y Paralelos” section.

Alfredo Calvino -Latinofusion CEO- was in Santiago for the event.

Alfredo Calvino -Latinofusion CEO- will be present together with 4 of the company’s latest films: “Blood appears” (La sangre brota), by Pablo Fendrik (Argentina) which is in the international competition; the documentary “Stranded: I’ve come from a plane that crashed in the mountains” by the Uruguayan Gonzalo Arijón as well as Alejandro Brugués’ (Cuba) “Personal Belongings” , both at the “Novedades de Latinoamérica” section. Finally the doc “Lucio” by Heitor Arregui and José Mari Goenaga (Spain) will be screened at the “Latitudes y Paralelos” section.

The complete programme is at SANFIC’s web site

From August 7th and until the15th, the 12ª edition of Lima Film Fest, brings a selection of films from various latitudes – no only in the compettive section, but also at the docs panorama and non-competitive programme, including 5 Latinofusion titles: “Personal Belongings”, by Alejandro Brugués (Cuba), “Blood appears” (La sangre brota), by Pablo Fendrik (Argentina), the documentary “Stranded: I’ve come from a plane that crashed in the mountains” by the Uruguayan Gonzalo Arijón, “Afghan Muscles” by Andreas Dalsgaard (Denmark) and “The Isle of Death” (El cayo de la muerte) by Wolney Oliveira (Brazil).

Besides Latinofusion CEO Alfredo Calvino, some of these filmmakers are present in Lima: Alejandro Brugués, Pablo Fendrik (awarded last year in Lima with his First Feature “The Mugger” (El Asaltante) as well as Wolney Oliveira.

More info and the complete lineup can be found at the event’s new web site .

Alejandro Brugués’ film Personal Belongins had its awaited première in Havana on July 8th at 8:30 pm at Charles Chaplin’s cinema in Havana. On the 10th, the films opened commercially at  the Yara and Acapulco cinemas.

Shoot in Cuba, Brugués managed to get together a team of local pros. Among them: cinematorapher Omar García, the legendary editor Nelson Rodríguez, Inti Herrera as producer and X Alfonso, Sergio Valdés y Marlon Morato, for the original score. The cast counts on Caleb Casas (Ernesto), Osvaldo Doimeadiós (Alberto), Heidi García (Ana), Roly Peña (Leo), Susana Paus (Estela “La española”).

Brugués, born in 1976 in Buenos Aires graduated at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV de San Antonio de los Baños. He has participated as scriptwriter in the Cuban films Tres veces dos, Frutas en el café, Bailando Cha-cha-cha and also for his first feature - Personal Belongins.

The film has already received the “Emilio García Riera” at the 22 Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara in 2007; Best Film-in-Pogress at the 5º Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre in 2007; the 3rd “Coral” de for First feature in Havana Film Festival in 2007 and the Jury’s Special Award at the 6º Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre, Gibara, 2008.

For the first time, Latinofusion is present at the 19th International Documentary Market “Sunny Side of the Doc” which takes place at La Rochelle, France, from June 24th to 27th.

With a lineup focused on the company’s newest Latin documentary features, such as: Matilde Michanie’s License Number One; Gabriel Figueroa and Diego López’ A Portrait of Diego Luis Mandoki’s Stolen; Christiane Burkhard’s Tracing Aleida; Eva Norvind’s Born Without (Nacido sin), Anna Soler & Agustín Tapia’s Days without Joyce, Latinofusion has a stand within the World Umbrella as well as at the market’s video library.

For additional info regarding Latinofusion’s participation at “Sunny Side of the Doc” click here.

Technorati Tags: Christiane Burkhard, Diego López, Eva Norvind, Gabriel Figueroa, Licencia número uno, Luis Madoki, Matilde Machanié, Nacido sin, Sunny Side of the Doc, Trazando Aleida, Un retrato de Diego

One of the latest additions to Latinofusion’s catalogue, the Chile-US documentary co-production Special Circumstances (Circunstancias Especiales) continues its sucessful international film festival turnée. The film by Marianne Teleki and Héctor Salgado has just received the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Utrecht Latin American Film Festival that closed on May 14th.

Previously it had also received a Jury’s Special Mention at the Milan African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival as well as the Best Editing Award at the 18th Cine Ceará in Brazil last April.

More info on this documentary here.

Technorati Tags: Circunstancias especiales, Héctor Salgado, Marianne Teleki, Utrecht Latin American Film Festival, Cine Ceara

With festival and market screenings less than a week away, Latinofusion is ready to depart for the 2008 Festival de Cannes and the Marché du Film.

With a strong focus on new Latin documentary features, Latinofusion’s Cannes lineup highlights Christiane Burkhard’s Tracing Aleida (Trazando Aleida)- which had its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), in November and won the Award for Best Mexican Documentary at Guadalajara International Film Fest last March. She had also received a post-production grant from Gucci and the Mexican documentary program Ambulante, for this film. It follows a Mexican woman who reunites with her brother for the first time since their adoption by different families, after their parents’ disappearance during Mexico’s “dirty war” in 1975.

Tracing Aleida’s trailer

Another highlight is Matilde Michanie’s License Number One - an intimate portrait of the legendary Argentinean first professional female boxer Marcela Acuna better known as “la Tigresa”. The documentary that premiered at Buenos Aires International Film Fest (BAFICI) last month- reaches an intensity mostly reserved to the fictional genre as the story unveils how the protagonist, after growing up in one of the poorest regions of inland Argentina, manages to live out her dream: the wining the world boxing championship.

Fresh from its international debut at Tribeca, where it was honored with a special Gala Presentation, Latinofusion is proud to present in Cannes the film A Portrait of Diego (Un retrato de Diego). The documentary -a brilliantly crafted collaboration between Gabriel Figueroa and Diego López- revives 50-year-old footage on the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, whose huge frescoes exemplify his vision of the landmark moments in the history of Mexico. (see trailer)

Consolidating its sales and financing focus on hot non-fiction pics, Latinofusion is also representing Stolen (Fraude) the highest-grossing Mexican documentay in history. Directed by Luis Mandoki, the documentary feature claims that a right-wing conspiracy involving then-acting Mexican president Vicente Fox stole victory at Mexico’s disputed 2006 election from leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. One of the most impressive angles of this documentary are the extensive use of amateur videos selected from the more of 30,000 hours sent to the director by Mexican citizens.

Trailer of the film “Stolen”

Other doc pic in Latinofusion Cannes lineup is Born Without (Nacido sin) -an intimate though unsentimental portrayal of armless musician-actor Jose Flores. The film surprises the audience as it dismantles the first hand impression that the protagonist is a disabled man barely hanging on to life. Under the eye of his friend - the late Eva Norvind, Jose emerges as an accomplished man, quite capable of carrying on an active living as a musician and actor; while clearly fulfilled in a loving and satisfying marriage to wife Graciela, who’s pregnant with their seventh child. Completed by Norvind’s daughter Nailea, Born wihtout has won several international prizes including the first Prize at its world premiere in 2007 Mexico City Film Festival (FICO). It was also showcased in Venezia last year.

Trailer of the film “Born without”

Nicolás Prividera’s “M” (also in Latinofusion slate) is not just another Latin American film to take on the subject of the political militancy of the 1970s and its brutal repression. According to Claire Rigby, from the Guardian, the doc “stood out like a lantern, illuminating some of the darkest corners of recent Argentinean history”. The film won, among others, the first Che Guevara award for best Latin American film at 2007 Mar del Plata International Film Fest.

Also at the Marché du Film in Latinofusion’s doc slate is Special Circumstances by Marianne Teleki & Héctor Salgado (Chile/USA). Patricio Guzmán, the legendary Chilean Documentary Filmmaker, dirctor of BATTLE OF CHILE is probably who best defined this moving first-hand documentary dealing with one victim’s reencounter with his torturers:

“Héctor Salgado is one of 35,000 Chileans who were incarcerated and tortured by Pinochet’s dictatorship. After many years of exile in the US he decides to return to Chile with a camera to show the world the face of his perpetrators. A dozen cowardly military officers appear before us incapable of explaining or take responsibility for their acts. This documentary, sincere and direct, gives audiences around the world a lesson in political memory. I ask myself what would have happened if each one of us 35,000 political prisoners would have done the same as Héctor. Surely we would have a much better democracy than the one we have today.”

Trailer of the film “Special Cinrcumstances”

Betting on the prospect of an untapped market for high quality international documentaries in the Latin American circuit, as proved by previous sucessfull experiences such Camila Guzman’s The sugar curtain, Latinofusion has taken Latin American rights of AFI winner Afghan Muscles by Andreas Dalsgaard and Lucio by Spanish directors Aitro Arregui and José Mari Goenaga.