The Riviera Maya Film Fest Announces Program

More than 70 Films from Around the World, Including the Critically Acclaimed ‘Burying the Ex’ and Asia Argento’s ‘Incompresa,’ Have Been Selected To Screen During the 2015 Riviera Maya Film Festival

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 13, 2015) – The Riviera Maya Film Festival (RMFF) today announced its official program of domestic and international films to be screened at this year’s annual event (April 23^rd–29^th). Continuing its mission to promote and distribute the most outstanding productions of the global film industry, the fourth edition of the RMFF will feature three Mexican-production world premieres, 53 international premieres in Mexico, a wide variety of Latin American premieres and about 200 free screening sessions compose our program.

The competitive sections of the Festival are Mexican Platform, in which the jury bestows two Kukulkan Awards endowed with 300,000 MXN each and a Kukulkan Youth Jury Award, endowed with 100,000 MXN; the RivieraLAB/Co-production Forum, where two selected projects will receive a financial incentive of 200,000 MXN each; and the RivieraLAB/Work in Progress, where two selected projects will receive a financial incentive of 100,000 MXN each. In total, the Festival grants 1,300,000 MXN in awards and prizes.

"We are constantly trying to create a festival that has what is important: a solid program with guests that represent it. We will have 70 films, from which 53 are premiering nationwide. Thus, RMFF brings an added value to the people and visitors of Riviera Maya", said Paula Chaurand, director of the festival.

"What is important about festivals, film shows and events that promote national film production, is not for them to be numerous, but to have an identity of their own,” said Cristina Prado Arias, Director for Cultural Film Promotion. “That is the match point of this festival –RMFF, as it was born with an identity that has respected and reinforced.”

"The importance of RivieraLAB lies in the fact that, through its activities, incentives and support for creators, it has achieved to get films released in and out of the country.” Said Sandra Gómez, RivieraLAB chief coordinator.

The Riviera Maya Film Festival will take place in Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, from April 23^rd to the 29^th.

Below you can find a selection of the films which will be shown at the 2015 Riviera Maya Film Festival:

GALAS

·       Burying the Ex (2014, United States) Director: Joe Dante 

·       Elvira, te daría mi vida pero la estoy usando (2014, Mexico) Director: Manolo Caro 

·       Incompresa (2014, Italy / France) Director: Asia Argento 

MEXICAN PLATFORM

The board composed by Maximiliano Cruz, Fernando del Razo and Claudio Zilleruelo has chosen 14 films from a total of 71 national films entering the call. All corresponding screenings will include special guests. The selected films are:

·       Alexfilm (2015, Mexico) Director: Pablo Chavarría 

·       El regreso del muerto (2014, Mexico) Director: Gustavo Gamou 

·       El señor de las 3 caídas (2015, Mexico) Director: Roberto Olivares Ruiz *World Premiere 

·       El silencio de la princesa (2014, Mexico) Director: Manuel Cañibe 

·       Ícaros (2015, France / Mexico) Director: Pedro González Rubio 

·       Juanicas (2014, Canada / Mexico) Director: Karina García Casanova

·       La maldad (2015, Mexico) Director: Joshua Gil 

·       Los muertos (2014, Mexico) Director: Santiago Mohar Volkow 

·       Lucifer (2014, Belgium / Mexico) Director: Gust Van den Berghe 

·       Me quedo contigo (2014, Mexico) Director: Artemio Narro 

·       Memoria oculta (2014, Mexico) Director: Eva Villaseñor 

·       Muchachas (2015, Mexico) Director: Juliana Fanjul 

·       Noche de resurrecciones (2015, Mexico) Director: Raúl Rico *World Premiere 

·       Plan sexenal (2014, Mexico) Director: Santiago Cendejas 

PLANETARIUM

The selected films deal with the juncture issues of today’s social structure. Planetarium takes a stand before aspects of the world: political, cultural, historical, social and environmental. The selected films are:

·       Atlas (2014, France) Director: Antoine d'Agata

·       La obra del siglo (2015, Argentina/Cuba/Switzerland/Germany) Director: Carlos Machado Quintela

·       Of Men and War (2014, France Switzerland/United States) Director: Laurent Bécue-Renard

·       Over the Years (2015, Austria) Director: Nikolaus Geyrhalter

·       The Postman's White Nights (2014, Russia) Director: Andrei Konchalovsky

·       Violencia (2015, Colombia / México) Director: Jorge Forero *Screening will be attended by special guests

WIDE AUDIENCE 

A showcase of diverse outlooks aimed to mass audiences. Films arriving from diverse territories proffer ways, perhaps unheard, to entertainment. The selected films are:

·       3 Hearts (2014, France/Germany/Belgium) Director: Benoît Jacqot

·       Among the Living (2014, France) Directors: Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury

·       Buzzard (2014, U.S.A.) Director: Joel Potrykus

·       Caprice (2015, France) Director: Emmanuel Mouret *Screening will be attended by special guests

·       Cub (2014, Belgium) Director: Jonas Govaerts

·       Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2 (2014, Hong Kong/China) Director: Johnnie To

·       Fires on the Plain (2014, Japan) Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto

·       Girlhood (2014, France) Director: Céline Sciamma *Screening will be attended by special guests

·       Goodnight Mommy (2014, Austria) Directors: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz *Screening will be attended by special guests

·       Los hongos (2014, Colombia/France/Argentina/Germany) Director: Óscar Ruiz Navia *Screening will be attended by special guests

·       Queen and Country (2014, Ireland/France/Rumania) Director: John Boorman

·       Results (2015, EEUU) Director: Andrew Bujalski *Screening will be attended by special guests

·       The Golden Era (2014, China/Hong Kong) Director: Ann Hui

·       The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq (2014, France) Director: Guillaume Nicloux

·       The Midnight After (2014, Hong Kong) Director: Fruit Chan

·       Tokyo Tribe (2014, Japan) Director: Sion Sono

·       Victoria (2015, Germany) Director: Sebastian Schipper *Screening will be attended by special guests

·       Slow West (2015, United Kingdom-New Zeland) Director: John Maclean

AUTHOR PANORAMA

A film panorama for international film creators. The section exhibits alternative ways to tell stories, produce films and approach film language and diverse film genres.  The selected films are:

•       Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories (2015, Vietnam/France/Germany/Holland) Director: Phang Dang Di

•       Fort Buchanan (2014, France/Tunisia) Director: Benjamin Crotty *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       Heaven Knows What (2014, United States) Directors: Joshua and Ben Safdie *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       Hide and Seek (2014, United Kingdom/United States) Director: Joanna Coates

•       In the Basement (2014, Austria) Director: Ulrich Seidl

•       Iris (2014, United States) Director: Albert Maysles

•       La mujer de los perros (2015, Argentina) Directors: Laura Citarella and Veronica Llinás 

•       Le Paradis (2014, France) Director: Alain Cavalier

•       Lulú (2014, Argentina) Director: Luis Ortega *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       Mar (Chile / Argentina) Director: Dominga Sotomayor

•       Meurtre à Pacot (2014, Haiti/France/Norway) Director: Raoul Peck *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       Near Death Experience (2014, France) Directors: Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern

•       Red Amnesia (2014, China) Director: Wang Xiaoshuai

•       Saint Laurent (2014, France/Belgium) Director: Bertrand Bonello *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       Taxi (2015, Iran). Director: Jafar Panahi

•       The Forbidden Room (2015, Canada) Directors: Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       The Kindergarten Teacher (2014, Israel/France) Director: Nadav Lapid *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       The Smell of Us (2014, France) Director: Larry Clark *Screening will be attended by special guests

RivieraLAB PRESENTS

A showcase for films that went through former editions of RivieraLAB, as projects. This fourth edition outstands the world premiere of the Mexican documentary Los días no vuelven, directed by Raúl Cuesta. The selected films are:

•       Adventure (2014, Kazakhstan) Director: Nariman Turebaev

•       El tiempo nublado (2014, Switzerland/Paraguay) Director: Arami Ullón

•       Feguibox (2015, Equatorial Guinea/Spain) Directors: Rubén Monsuy and Gabriel Amdur

•       La princesa de Francia (2014, Argentina) Director: Matías Piñeiro

•       Los días no vuelven (2015, Mexico) Director: Raúl Cuesta. * World Premiere *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       Ruined Heart! Another Love Story Between a Criminal & a Whore. (Philippines/Germany) Director: Khavn De la Cruz *Screening will be attended by special guests

•       The Iron Ministry (2014, China) Director: J. P. Sniadecki

SELECTION - RivieraLAB 2015

RivieraLAB is the project laboratory and the production incentive platform of the Riviera Maya Film Festival. It presents, in its two sections, Coproduction Forum and Work in Progress, film projects in stage of development and post-production, accordingly. In addition to pursuing coproduction, sales agency, international funding, distribution and alternative financing, the chosen projects compete for economic and in-kind support.

RivieraLAB/ Coproduction Forum 2015: 

From 94 projects entering the call from 20 countries, the members of the board, Sandino Saravia, Rebecca de Pas, Jorge Forero and Sandra Gómez, chose 9 projects in stage of development. The selected projects are:

•       Am I Demon (United States) Director: Joel Potrykus

•       Carroña (Mexico) Director: Sebastián Hiriart

•       Tiempo vertical (Spain) Director: Lois Patiño

•       Rojo (Argentina) Director: Benjamín Naishtat

•       Nona (Chile) Director: Camila José Donoso

•       Soy una estrella del rock (Mexico) Director: Raúl Fuentes

•       Mis violentas flores (Mexico) Director: Tin Dirdamal

•       Pistolero anónimo (Mexico) Director: Leo Marz, Angel Marz

•       Mariana (Colombia) Director: Chris Gude

RivieraLAB / Work in Progress 2015:

From 93 projects that entered the call from 22 countries, the members of the board, John Campos, Gonzalo de Pedro, Susana Santos, Sandra Gómez and Maximiliano Cruz, chose 7 projects with a cut in post-production stage. The selected projects are:

•       La balada del Oppenheimer Park (Mexico) Director: Juan Manuel Sepúlveda

•       Lazar (Macedonia/Croatia/Bulgaria/France) Director: Svetozar Ristovski

•       I, Olga Hepnarova (Czech Republic/Poland Slovakia/France) Directors: Petr Kazda and Tomas Weinreb

•       El rastreador de estatuas (Chile) Director: Jerónimo Rodríguez

•       ¿Dónde estás? (Mexico) Director: Maricarmen Merino

•       Maquinaria Panamericana (Mexico) Director: Joaquín del Paso

•       Silenciosa (Argentina) Director: Sofía Medrano

PENINSULAB: Training workshop for producers and directors of the Mexican Southeast

PENINSULAB was created by RivieraLAB to enable counseling and follow up for 3 projects selected from the CAI Audiovisual Itinerating Camp, given by lecturers and special guests of RivieraLAB 2015.  


 

CAI is an initiative that promotes production and development of audiovisual projects for communities of the State of Oaxaca. The program arranges workshops, training, meeting, and exhibition of the projects.

PENINSULAB together with CAI share the purpose of contributing to decentralization of the film culture in Mexico. We believe that quality films can and should be accessible to everyone. Beyond technical effort and high budget, the most important aspect of filmmaking is the common language and the stories to be told.

TEACHINGS/RMFF 2015

In order to take the next step regarding the exchange between film creators and audiences, the Riviera Maya Film festival has created TEACHINGS/RMFF 2015, a program for gatherings, conversations and master classes that will be held on April 26 and 27 in Playa del Carmen.

It intends to bring the audience closer to the experience of filmmaking, through the teachings of important creators. TEACHINGS/RMFF 2015 brings a complete schedule of academic activities, lecturers and disciplines such as direction, performance, production, sound design or scriptwriting.

Among the lecturers that will be attending the event, we have: Asia Argento, Joshua Safdie, Gust van den Berghe, Pedro González Rubio, Evan Johnson and Nathalia Acevedo. The complete list of lecturers will soon be announced.

 For further information please visit www.rmff.mx 

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About the Riviera Maya Film Festival

The Riviera Maya Film Festival was created in 2012 with the goal to meet one of the greatest needs of the film industry in Mexico and perhaps in the entire world: the distribution of quality international cinema.

By bringing this sort of films to a larger number of people we reaffirm our belief in the transforming power of cinema due to its ability to show different glances and ways of thinking. That’s why we decided the festival should be for free and that is also why we decided to revitalize the experience of watching a film by organizing screenings in all kinds of stages and contexts, such as at the beach or in public squares.

4th Annual Comics Rock! Convention Hits LA

Hollywood, CA - What do you get when you mix a room full of comedic talent? Comedians that rock, that's what! Funny lady Hope Flood is taking over the stage once again with her 4th Annual Comics Rock! Convention, April 23 through 26, 2015, in the comedy capital, Los Angeles! The Comics Rock! Convention (CRC) will gather a diverse group of professional talent, from up and comers to veteran stand ups, with the intent of discoursing all things related to the industry of funny and beyond. Workshops and seminars will be held at comedian/radio personality J. Anthony Brown's JSpot Comedy Club, located 5581 W Manchester Boulevard in Westchester, CA. Master comic, social/civil rights activist and humanitarian Dick Gregory will be the keynote speaker at the convention on Saturday, April 25, during a luncheon held at The Mavericks Flat Bar & Grill on 4225 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles. A legendary octogenarian, Gregory was recently feted with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.   Industry experts such as Kym Whitley (OWN TV's "Raising Whitley"), Luenell ("Katt Williams: American Hustle"), Mother Love (LA Talk Radio's "The Mother Love Show"), Rodney Perry (BET's "The Mo'Nique Show"), Shang Forbes (BET's "Comic View"), Joe Torry ("Def Comedy Jam") and The Mooney Twins (sons of comedy legend Paul Mooney) are only a sampling of the talent slated to conduct workshops and seminars over the course of the four days. Workshops including "Social Media & More," "The Art of Stand-Up Comedy," and "Intro to Voiceovers" will assist comedians with conquering every aspect of the business. On Saturday, April 25, KJLH radio host Tammi Mac will also lend her comedic flair with her "On the Radio" workshop.   "Comics On the Catwalk 4a Cause Fashion & Comedy Show," featuring a special musical guest and after party, promises to be an added event highlight. A co-production with Los Angeles' premier event host, Kevin Rouse of Rouse House Entertainment, comedienne Cocoa Brown (Tyler Perry's "For Better or Worse") and comic and New York's KISS-FM morning show host, Talent Harris, will preside as comedians temporarily forfeit stand-up for fashion on the runway. The affair will benefit The American Diabetes Association and A Nickel of Hope, Inc., a non-profit founded by Hope Flood that helps mentor at-risk girls in the inner cities ( www.anickelofhope.org ). "Comics On the Catwalk 4a Cause Fashion & Comedy Show," will take place Sunday, April 26 at 3:00 p.m. at OHM Nightclub, 6801 Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood. Tickets for this fundraising event are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comics-on-the-catwalk-for-a-cause-2015-tickets-16368124501 .     Comics Rock! founder, comedienne Hope Flood As the founder of Females in Comedy Association (FICA), Flood originally launched her comedy convention a few years ago as the "Females in Comedy Convention," but has since expanded her vision to embrace both genders. With FICA however, she continues to offer female comedians tools for networking, mentoring, and collaborating as well as fueling awareness for comediennes in the entertainment industry. Comics Rock! will honor females in comedy with a special day of gifting and pampering.   "Comedy on stage and in life is a crucial component for happiness," cites Flood. "This year's convention is particularly special as we acknowledge all things funny but also all things crucial to survival in this ever changing business. It is especially heart warming for me to pay tribute to pioneer and icon, Dick Gregory. As a guide and mentor, it is his work and dedication that drives me to continue to present this convention year after year."   Hope Flood has always made waves with her humor, reaching beyond the stage to influence and motivate.  Early on in her career she was not only producing weekly showcases that served to propel the career of many comedians, but also publishing her own magazine, "Comedy the Magazine," the first nationally distributed comedy magazine. She has served as an on-air radio personality on Dallas' KRNB 105.7 radio with BJ & The Morning Show and has appeared on the Russell Simmon's HBO All-Star Def Comedy Jam, Comedy Central's "Comic Groove" hosted by Tracy Morgan, and "Comics Unleashed Hot Chocolate with Byron Allen," to name a few. Hope has been a semi-finalist in the Old English 800 Women's Comedy Crunch and a two-time semi-finalist in the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition.    For registration and more information regarding sponsorship, vendors or attendance, go to www.comicsrockconvention.com. The Comics Rock! Convention is going to seriously shake up the funny.

Will Downing Teases Fans With 'Chocolate Drops'

To some, Will Downing is known as “The Prince of Sophisticated Soul.” He could also go by the alias, WD Chocolate.  It’s no small coincidence that you can use the same words describing the taste of chocolate to define the “Will Downing sound”?  Don’t believe it? Let’s test it.   Rich…Smooth…Silky…Irresistible…Addictive.  If you share cravings for both, you can get your fix when you unwrap the sweet poetic symbolism of his 18^th studio release…wait for it…Chocolate Drops.

Chocolate Drops is Will Downing’s heart-shaped music sampler for the many fans that have followed his incredible 27 year career.  Like any good sampler, it’s a pleasing mix of the things you love and expect along with a few tasty surprises.  What should be correctly expected is the classy high-quality vocals, songwriting and production that has been increasingly handled by Downing himself over the last decade.  The surprises come in the form of some bold and daring interpretative/remake choices. 

So let’s dig into this ear-candy!  Can’t start without first appreciating the wrapper, which for the second release in a row, features “Ohio Players-esque” cover art showcasing the sensual female form in lieu of the slick shots of Downing we’ve seen over the years.  The release kicks off in fine fashion with the uplifting message and Stepper’s tempo of “This Song Is For You”, sure to touch anyone needing an extra kick of motivation just to make it through the day.  Immediately following is the album’s first single, “I Could Never Say No To You”, a mid-tempo expression of the sometimes crazy desire to always please and never disappoint the ones we love.  Rounding out this opening trio of songs co-written and co-produced by Downing and Grammy Nominated keyboardist Chris “Big Dog” Davis, is a slight departure from the norm, “Till U Come Back”…(this is that chocolate drop with the cream filling in the middle that you didn’t see coming)!  You might not be use to hearing Will Downing like this, but you’ll hope you get a chance to in the future.

The Atlantic Starr gem, “Let’s Get Closer”, is the first of the three interpreted classics on Chocolate Drops, which is no easy feat considering how well engrained the original has been in the collective music memory of the listening public all these years.  Downing manages to put his unique production stamp on it and yet retain that familiar Quiet-Storm vibe.  Another trio of originals cue up next with, singer-songwriter Gordon Chambers and band member Mike Logan teaming up with Downing on one of the more Urban Jazz formatted songs on the album, “Deep As The Ocean”, which contains a beautiful break from the expert bow of violinist Regina Carter.   New collaborators Aaron Marcellus and Producer Shedrick Mitchell penned the final two new songs, “Run Away, Fall In Love” and “It’s Real” and show a true gift for writing catchy hooks that linger on the palate long after the last note fades.

Chocolate Drops is far from done at this point…we’re just getting to the “daring” part!  Will Downing loves to re-imagine songs made famous by female vocalists and put a male point of view of them.  This time he chose one of the biggest hits by arguably the most iconic female voice of this generation…the late great Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You”!  You read that right!  I’m not personally familiar with anyone touching this…male or female…in the 30 years since it’s release, and there couldn’t be a greater natural vocal range difference between the two artists…but somehow (after the initial shock) you won’t find it strange at all.  In fact it’s a fitting tribute to the fallen songbird.  But as they say, wait…that’s not all!  Downing shocks us with one more ace up his sleeve with the late 60’s definitive send up on interracial dating, Bobby Taylor and the Vancouver’s “Does Your Momma Know About Me”.  I think it says a great deal about racial progress in this country that in this day and age you can now simply enjoy the beauty of this song without getting lost in the social statement originally intended.

Will Downing seems to be having so much fun in the studio these days with very little left to prove and the freedom to take all the chances. Downing is the CEO of  Sophisticated Soul Records label imprint and his latest album release, Chocolate Drops is another Prince Of Sophisticated Soul sensational musical gift for all with a  brand new flavor for  your senses!

Downing scheduled two important performance dates in April. For more performances  cities locations, go to www.willdowning.com and tweet Downing
@WILLDOWNING3

04/12/15 New Brunswick, NJ State Theatre

04/11/15 New York, NY B.B King Blues Club & Grill

MTV Unveils 'Straight Outta Compton' Posters

Yesterday was the official unveiling of the STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON character posters! Gearing up for the August 14 debut, MTV gave the world a first look at the new faces playing the most notorious group in hip hop. The cast breakdown is as follows:

·         Eazy-E played by Jason Mitchell

·         Ice Cube played by O’Shea Jackson Jr.

·         Dr. Dre played by Corey Hawkins.

·         MC Ren played by Aldis Hodge.

·         DJ Yella played by Neil Brown Jr.