Miami International Film Festival ‘Miami Encuentros’.

Running in conjunction with this year’s Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) is an exciting new program, Miami Encuentros (Miami Encounters), aimed at supporting new Iberoamerican filmmakers – artists from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries throughout Latin America and Europe.

The brainchild of MIFF Director Nicole Guillemet, Encuentros will focus on development of high-quality, innovative cinema that reflects Latin culture. During this Festival, Encuentros will present seven up-and-coming Iberoamerican filmmakers and their films to distributors, possible financiers and co-producers to help these filmmakers develop and produce their work and eventually exhibiting it to a larger audience.

“One can see from the strength and abundance of Spanish- and Portuguese-language films in this year’s Festival program that the number of good filmmakers in these countries is growing,” said Guillemet. “We already have many first- and second-time Iberoamerican directors represented in this year’s Festival. Our goal is to nurture the next generation of filmmakers.”

Guillemet points to the box office and critical success in recent years of such films as Y Tu Mamá, Tambien, Amores Perros, Habla Con Ella (Talk to Her) and more as the most visible evidence of the trend. “But many other films and filmmakers lack access to acquisition executives and distributors and thus the means to be seen by the public,” said Guillemet. “That’s a shame, because so many of the people behind these pictures have both great stories to tell and have tremendous talent as storytellers.”

Miami’s status as the “gateway to the Americas” makes MIFF a logical forum for such work, said Guillemet. “We want this Festival to become known as one where new films are found and tomorrow’s Sauras and Almodovars are discovered,” she said.

This year’s Encuentros participants were selected in collaboration with Diana Sanchez, director of Latin American Programming for the Toronto International Film Festival.
Participants confirmed thus far for this debut edition of Encuentros are as follows:

La Niña Santa — Director: Lucrecia Martel; Producer: Lita Stantic; from Argentina. Lucrecia Martel’s first feature film, 2001’s La Cienaga (also produced by Stantic) was critical hit, winning many international prizes including the Alfred Bauer Prize for a film debut at the Berlin Film Festival. Lita Stantic is one of Argentina’s most respected producers and has discovered recent talents such as Pablo Trapero, Mundo Grua (1999) and Diego Lerman, Tan de Repente (2002).

Aphrodite — Director: Fernando Solanas; Producer: Luis Bellaba, from Argentina. Fernando Solanas’ latest feature film project is based on the novel by Isabel Allende. His last film Clouds, was also produced by Luis Bellaba, who headed the Spanish/Argentine co-production Tango, by Carlos Saura.

O Amore e outros objetos pontiagudos — Director: Beto Brandt; Producer: Bianca Villar and Renato Ciasca; from Brazil. Beto Brandt has produced all three films with his colleagues Bianca Villar and Renato Ciasca. His latest feature O Invasor, won Best Latin Feature at the Sundance Film Festival, 2002.

(Work in progress, no title) — Director: Montxo Armendariz; Producer: Puy Oria; from Spain. Although Montxo Armendariz is not well known in North America, his films are well known in Europe and Latin America. His fourth film, Kronen Stories, was part of the official selection for Cannes in 1995, while his fifth film, Secrets of the Heart, was one of the five finalist films for an Oscar in 1997, as well as winner of the Audience Award here at the Miami International Film Festival. Puy Oria produced his most recent film, Broken Silence (2001), which is the first of his films to travel extensively throughout the world.

Familia Rodante — Director: Pablo Tapero; Producer: Pablo Tapero; from Argentina.

Changos en la cama, no — Director: Valentina Leduc; from Mexico. This is the only first-film feature project in Encuentros. An additional project from Uruguay is being confirmed.

For more information at http://www.miamifilmfestival.com