Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) has announced the films selected to screen during its 31st edition of the annual 10-day event, which will be held March 7-16, 2014. This year’s festival, which is a program of Miami Dade College’s MDCulture, will premiere 92 feature films and 28 short films from 38 countries, participating in competition and non-competition categories.
MIFF will open at the Olympia Theater at Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, and will begin with the North American premiere of ‘Elsa & Fred’ from director Michael Radford. Academy award winners Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer play the titular characters originated by China Zorrilla and Manuel Alexandre in the remake of the 2008 release of the Argentine/Spanish film of the same name.
Among the competitions featured at this year’s MIFF include the Knight Competition, which features dramatic works from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, as well as Latino-themed works produced in the United States. It will feature 10 films eligible to receive $40,000 in achievement recognition from the Festival, courtesy of James L. & John S. Knight Foundation. The 10 films competing in this category are:
‘All About The Feathers (Por las plumas)’ (Costa Rica, directed by Neto Villalobos) *US Premiere
‘Asteroid (Asteroide)’ (Mexico, directed by Marcelo Tobar) *World Premiere
‘Club Sandwich’ (Mexico, directed by Fernando Eimbcke)
‘The Man of the Crowd’ (O homem das multidões) (Brazil, directed by Marcelo Gomes and Cao Guimarães) *North American Premiere
‘Memories of the Desert’ (Romance policial) (Brazil / Chile, directed by Jorge Durán) *World Premiere
‘Natural Sciences’ (Ciencias naturales) (Argentina, directed by Matias Lucchesi) *North American Premiere
‘Séptimo’ (Spain / Argentina, directed by Patxi Amexcua) *North American Premiere
‘To Kill A Man’ (Matar un hombre) (Chile / France, directed by Alejandro Fernández Almendras)
‘We All Want What’s Best For Her’ (Tots volem el millor per a ella) (Spain, directed by Mar Coll)*North American Premiere)
‘A Wolf at the Door’ (O lobo atrás da porta) (Brazil, directed by Fernando Coimbra)
The Knight Documentary Competition is open to engaging and thought-provoking feature-length documentaries created by international filmmakers that examine social issues, diverse cultures, icons and inspiring people. It will feature 10 films eligible to receive $10,000 in achievement recognition from the Festival, courtesy of James L. & John S. Knight Foundation. The 10 films competing in this category are:
‘The Art Rush’ (France, directed by Marianne Lamour) *North American Premiere
‘The Dog’ (USA, directed by Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren)
‘Europe in 8 Bits’ (Spain, directed by Javier Polo)
‘Finding Vivian Maier’ (USA, directed by Charlie Siskel and John Maloof)
‘Ivory Tower’ (USA, directed by Andrew Rossi)
‘Locations: Looking For Rusty James’ (Locaciones: buscando a Rusty James) (Chile, directed by Alberto Fuguet)
‘The Notorious Mr. Bout’ (USA / Russia, directed by Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin)
‘The Overnighters’ (USA, directed by Jesse Moss)
‘Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon’ (USA, directed by Mike Myers)
‘Whitey: United States of America V. James J. Bulger’ (USA, directed by Joe Berlinger)
The Papi Shorts Competition, which will be presented by Macy’s, will feature 10 accomplished short films from around the world. The films are eligible to receive $1,000 in achievement recognition from the Festival, courtesy of Papi and Macy’s. The 10 films competing in this category are:
‘A Big Deal’ (????) (China, directed by Yoyo Yao) *US Premiere
‘Blue’ (USA, directed by Justin Malone) *World Premiere
‘Chub’ (USA, directed by Samuel Albis) *World Premiere
‘Flamingo’ (Venezuela, directed by Carl Zitelmann)
‘Grace’ (Graça) (Brazil, directed by Anna Clara Peltier) *North American Premiere
‘The Phone Call’ (United Kingdom, directed by Mat Kirkby)
‘Skin’ (France, directed by Cédric Prévost) *North American Premiere
‘Shirt Out, Game Over!’ (Switzerland, directed by Eric Paternot) *World Premiere
‘Unicorn (Unicornio)’ (Bolivia, directed by Rodrigo Bellott)
‘Xenos’ (United Kingdom / Greece / Denmark, directed by Mahdi Fleifel) *North American Premiere
MIFF’s screening venues prove to be as unique as the films themselves, as they reflect the communities MIFF serves through film. One of the theaters participating in the festival, the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, is a historic landmark, as its a grand movie palace evoking the golden age of Hollywood, and tailor-made for major red carpet events. The Festival will also screen films at the Paragon Grove, O Cinema, Regal South Beach Cinemas, Miami Beach Cinematheque and Coral Gables Art Cinema. Special event venues include Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College, The Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building, and New World Center.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 14th. For membership opportunities or more information, visit the festival’s official website, or call 305-237-FILM(3456). The Festival is the only major film festival event housed within a college or university.
Written by: Karen Benardello
