GEMS 2017 booklet 24pgs.indd 1 9/15/17 12:33 PM...a cheap motel tucked near a freeway and a theme...

GEMS_2017_booklet_24pgs.indd 1 9/15/17 12:33 PM

MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL'S GEMS | 32 | MIAMI DADE COLLEGE 3 | MIAMI DADE COLLEGE MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL GEMS 2017 | 3GEMS 2015 | 3

GEms

miami Film society mEmBErs: Friday, september 15Look for special instructions by email to place your order (order by Sept 21 for priority)Review benefi ts and/or become a Member at miamifi lmfestival.com/membership or call 305-237-7979.

GEnEral puBliC: Friday, september 22online: miamifi lmfestival.comphone: 1-844-565-6433 (MIFF) Mon - Fri: 9 AM – 6 PM Sat - Sun: 10 AM – 2 PM

in pErson: mdC’s tower theater Box offi ce: 1508 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33135

during Festival: Box Offi ce opens one hour before the fi rst screening of the day. Patrons may purchase tickets for all Festival screenings, when available. Same-day tickets take priority in lines.

rush line: If screening nears capacity, rush line forms at venue. If seats become available, 2 tickets per person max.

plEasE notEWhen planning your outing, make sure to allow time for traffi c and parking. Seating for Ticket Holders is guaranteed up to 15 minutes prior to start of screening. If you arrive after this, even a ticket does NOT guarantee a seat. At 15 minutes to showtime, the theater manager reserves the right to release your seat to the Rush Line. no refunds or exchanges. All programs and times are subject to change without notice. Students & Seniors must show valid ID at Box Offi ce.

GEMS is Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival’s annual fall showcase for the best fi lms of the season, in preparation for the 35th annual Miami Film Festival (which runs next year March 9-18, 2018). Taking place over four days (October 12-15, 2017), GEMS will provide Floridians and visitors with an exclusive specially curated program of new movies that will dominate award-season conversations, as well as international box offi ce sensations and special discoveries.

on salE datEs

Friday, sEptEmBEr 15Tickets on sale to Miami Film Society Members & Sponsors

Friday, sEptEmBEr 22Tickets on sale to General Public

priCEs

General screeningsGeneral Admission $13Miami Film Society Members $10Seniors (65+) $12Students $10Masterclass Seminars $9 (MDC Students FREE with student ID)

special Event Opening Night Film Only $25 | MFS $20Opening Night Film & Party $50 | MFS $40Can't Say Goodbye Brunch $50

Group rates15% off with a single purchase of 20 or more tickets to the same screening. NOTE: A $1 per ticket processing fee applies to all regular screenings and seminar. A higher per-ticket fee may be appliedto special events.

VEnuEs

mdC's tower theater miami 1508 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33135

Ella's oyster Bar1615 SW 8th Street Miami, FL 33135

hoW to Buy

/MiamiFilmFestival/TowerTheaterMiami———————————————@miamifi lmfest@towertheatermia———————————————@miamifi lm@towertheatermiami

#MiamiFF#GemsFF#TowerTheaterMiami

director bio

Sean Baker was born in Summit, New Jersey. He received his degree in fi lm studies from New York University. His television credits include Greg the Bunny (05), which he co-created. His fi lms include Prince of Broadway (08), which screened at Miami Film Festival 2009, Starlet (12) and Tangerine (15). The Florida Project (17) is his latest fi lm.

Director Sean BakerExecutive Producers Darren Dean, Elayne Schniederman SchmidtProducers Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching TsouScreenwriters Sean Baker, Chris BergochCinematographer Alexis ZabéMusic Matthew Hearon-SmithCast Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Valeria CottoProduction Company June PicturesUS Distributor A24

thursday, oCtoBEr 5 @ 7:00pm

Following his micro-budget break-out Tangerine, Sean Baker cements his status as one of our freshest and most vital fi lmmakers with The Florida Project.

Set in Orlando, this freewheeling fi lm, like its predecessor, off ers a big-hearted portrait of America’s marginalized. This time around Baker’s subjects are 22-year-old Halley and her six-year-old daughter Moonee. The pair resides in a cheap motel tucked near a freeway and a theme park. Halley struggles to pay for cereal and shelter, while Moonee doesn’t let a little thing like destitution prevent her from exploring her surroundings or playing jokes on a motel staff -member (beautifully depicted by Willem Dafoe). The Florida Project is pure film of the highest order; it reminds us that even in the direst circumstances life will always yield small yet unforgettable joys. –Jaie Laplante

USa | 2017 | 115 min | English

SPECIALGEMSPREVIEW

SPECIALGEMSPREVIEW

SPECIALGEMSPREVIEW

talEnt ExpECtEd

Visit miamifi lmfestival.comfor the most up-to-date info.Visit miamifi lmfestival.comfor the most up-to-date info.

GEMS_2017_booklet_24pgs.indd 2-3 9/15/17 12:33 PM

gemS ScHedUle6:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

6:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

tHUrSdaY, october 12

t1

t26:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

VirtUalrealitY

SpecialeVent

6:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

6:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

FridaY, october 13

t1

t26:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

VirtUalrealitY

6:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

6:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

SatUrdaY, october 14

t1

t26:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

VirtUalrealitY

6:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

6:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

SUndaY, october 15

t1

t26:30PM

6:45PM

7:00PM

7:15PM

7:30PM

7:45PM

8:00PM

8:15PM

8:30PM

8:45PM

9:00PM

9:15PM

12:00PM

12:15PM

12:30PM

12:45PM

1:00PM

1:15PM

1:30PM

1:45PM

2:00PM

2:15PM

2:30PM

2:45PM

3:00PM

3:15PM

3:30PM

3:45PM

4:00PM

4:15PM

4:30PM

4:45PM

5:00PM

5:15PM

5:30PM

5:45PM

6:00PM

6:15PM

9:30PM

9:45PM

10:00PM

10:15PM

10:30PM

10:45PM

11:00PM

11:15PM

11:30PM

11:45PM

12:00AM

11:00AM

VirtUalrealitY

Vr eScape6:00 PM

call me bY YoUr nameItaly, France - 132 min

7:00 PM

opening nigHt partY9:30 PM

Vr eScape6:00 PM

Vr eScape 2:30 PM

Vr eScape3:00 PM

SUmmer 1993Spain - 96 min

7:00 PMmY Friend daHmer

USA - 107 min7:15 PM

tHe SQUareSweden, Germany, France - 145 min

6:30 PM

tHe WorKSHopFrance - 113 min

4:00 PMdon't taKe YeS For an anSWer Edson Jean, Joshua Jean-Baptiste

and VAKABONSeminar Conversation - 1:00 PM

in tHe FadeGermany - 106 min

6:00 PM

liFe andnotHing more

Spain, USA - 113 min - 9:15 PM

tHe deSert brideArgentina, Chile - 78 min

9:30 PMSon oF SoFia

Greece, France, Bulgaria - 111 min9:00 PM

eric clapton:liFe in 12 barS

UK - 135 min - 7:30 PMFaceS placeSFrance - 89 min

6:30 PM

can't SaY goodbYe

Spain - 96 min - 5:00 PM

no, aFlamenco taleSpain - 75 min - 9:30 PM

no, a Flamenco taleSpain - 75 min - 3:00 PM

TALENT EXPECTED

SpecialeVent

can't SaY goodbYe brUncH

@ Ella's Oyster Bar 11:00 AM


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------thursday, oCtoBEr 12 @ 7:00pmopEninG niGht party @ 9:30pm

Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love) makes splashy, sensual films brimming with big emotions, but the foundation of his work is a rare tenderness.

In 1983 in the Lombardy countryside, an antiquities academic, Professor Perlman (Michael Stuhlbarg, who could earn an Oscar for this role), invites a young American Jewish scholar named Oliver (Armie Hammer) to stay with his family at their 17th century palazzo, and assist him with a summer research project. To the Professor's dismay, his restless adolescent son Elio (Timothée Chalamet) soon falls under a spell of fascination with the gregarious, extroverted American. As Elio shows Oliver the natural delights of an Italian summer with nearby Swiss and French influences, exquisite dreams begin to take fl ight before our eyes—and those of Elio’s watchful father and mother, Annella.

Call Me By Your Name, adapted by the legendary James Ivory (of the famous Merchant-Ivory filmmaking team) from a novel by André Aciman, is swooning and alive - a new masterpiece. Sufjan Stevens contributes original new songs that add immeasurably to the fi lm's heart-fl uttering texture, and the fi lm also does for peaches what I Am Love did for prawns! –Jaie Laplante.

director bio

Luca Guadagnino is an Italian fi lmmaker. He spent his early childhood in Ethiopia and studied at the University of Palermo and Rome’s University La Sapienza. His fi lms include I Am Love (09), A Bigger Splash (15) and Call Me By Your Name (17).

Director Luca GuadagninoProducers James Ivory, Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixera, Marco Morabito, Howard RosenmanScreenwriter James IvoryCinematographer Sayombhu MukdeepromMusic Sufjan StevensCast Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther GarrelProduction Company Frenesy FilmDistributor Sony Pictures Classics

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------thursday, oCtoBEr 12 @ 7:00pmopEninG niGht party @ 9:30pm

italY, France | 2017 | 132 min. | English, Italian, French, German, with English subtitles

MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL GEMS 2017 | 7

Call Me By Your Name

6 | MIAMI DADE COLLEGE

Opening Night Par ty Open ing Night Par ty Open ing Night Par ty After the premiere of Call Me by Your Name, be transported to Northern Italy while staying in the heart of Little Havana. Enjoy Alta Italia- inspired cuisine,

wines and delicacies while we capture the Italian zest for life.

9:30pm inside mdc’s tower theater


MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL'S GEMS | 9

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------sunday, oCtoBEr 15 @ 5:00pm

cAN'T SAY gOODBYE(NO SÉ DEciR ADiÓS)Spain | 2017 | 96 min. | Spanish with English subtitles

director bio

Lino Escalera is a Spanish fi lm-maker. He studied cinema at New York University and la Escuela Inter-nacional de Cine y Televisión in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. His short fi lms include “Espacio 2” (01), “Elena quiere” (07) and “Australia” (17). Can’t Say Goodbye (17) is his feature directorial debut.

Director Lino EscaleraExecutive Producer Damián París , Sergy Moreno, José Carlos Conde, Lino EscaleraProducer Damián ParísScreenwriter Pablo RemónCinematographer Santiago RacajEditor Miguel DobladoMusic Pablo TrujilloCast Nathalie Poza, Juan Diego, Lola Dueñas, Pau Durá, Miki EsparbéProduction Company Lolita FilmSales Agent Inside Content

Balancing a barrage of unruly feelings with an air of philosophical wisdom, Spanish director Lino Escalera’s feature debut, winner of four awards at this year’s Málaga Film Festival, is an emotionally searing portrait of familial strife.

José Luis (Juan Diego) is dying. His daughter Carla (Nathalie Poza), a bored executive who self-medicates with booze, cocaine and male attention, insists her father keep fi ghting the grim reaper. His daughter Blanca (Lola Dueñas), an aspiring actress, is willing to submit José Luis to palliative care and let him go gently into that good night. These confl icting attitudes lay bare the sisters’ divergent coping mechanisms and teach them a great deal about their own fraught lives.

Watch this intense, smart, tender drama—and you might learn something too. –Jaie Laplante

nortH american premiere

2017 Winner SilVer biZnaga Special JUrY aWard For

beSt ScreenplaY, actreSS and SUpporting actor

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------saturday, oCtoBEr 14 @ 9:30pm

ThE DESERT BRiDE(lA NOViA DEl DESiERTO)argentina, cHile | 2017 | 78 min. | Spanish with English subtitles

director bioS

Cecilia Atán is from Buenos Aires. After working as assistant director on numerous features, she made her directorial debut with El mar (12). The Desert Bride (17), co-directed with Valeria Pivato, is her feature directorial debut.

Valeria Pivato is an Argentine fi lmmaker. She studied at the University of Buenos Aires and the Cievyc School of Cinematography. She has collaborated with such luminaries as Walter Salles and Pablo Trapero. The Desert Bride (17), co-directed with Cecilia Atán, is her directorial debut.

Director Cecilia Atán, Valeria PivatoProducer Alejo Crisóstomo, Eva Lauria, Vanessa RagoneScreenwriter Cecilia Atán, Valeria PivatoCinematographer Sergio ArmstrongMusic Leo SujatovichCast Paulina García, Claudio RissiProduction Companies Ceibita Films, El Perro en la Luna, Haddock FilmsUS Distributor Strand Releasing

The inimitable Paulina García (star of Sebastián Leilo’s soaring character study Gloria) stars in this story of mid-life self-discovery from directorial duo Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato.

After working more than three decades as housekeeper to a Buenos Aires family, Teresa (García) is let go and must travel 700 miles for a new position in San Juan. On route, Teresa’s bus is forced to make an unexpected overnight stop in a desert town. A sudden storm and a lost bag propel Teresa on an unexpected odyssey in the company of a charismatic merchant named El Gringo (Claudio Rissi). Their search becomes a kind of impromptu courtship—and this elegant little fi lm assumes a seductive air that will stay with you long after the closing credits. -Jaie Laplante

talEnt ExpECtEd

Join director Lino Escalera before the screening at our can’t SaY goodbYe Sunday brunch. It’s always tough to say goodbye to another year of GEMS, but Ella’s Oyster Bar is the way to do it. See page 22 for details



Imagine you have a dream to create your own episodic series. You enter your three-minute video pitch in Project Greenlight's first post-HBO initiative—and you win the $25,000 top prize! That's what happened last year to Miami's Haitian-American filmmakers, actors and roommates Edson Jean and Joshua Jean-Baptiste. Dream come true? Not so fast. "Edson won't take YES for an answer," explained producer Andrew Hevia (Moonlight). If Edson and Joshua’s proposed web series VAKABON (a Haitian-Creole word meaning "delinquent, vagabond, troublemaker") is good enough to win the "Get The Greenlight" prize, why not fund the entire eight-episode first season? Flash-forward to the summer of 2017: with L.A.-based Adaptive Studios on board with a $2.5 million budget, Edson and Joshua are shooting the full season on location in Miami just blocks from the locations that inspired their idea.

Join Edson, Joshua and Festival director Jaie Laplante as they discuss the journey from shooting no-budget test-episodes to working with a 70-person crew and over 50 Miami-based actors. Learn the secrets of a helming a successful production during a sweltering Miami summer, and about their current editing and post-production process in anticipation of VAKABON’s 2018 premiere.

Seminar participant bioS

Edson Jean is from Delray Beach, Florida. He received his Bachelors in Fine Arts degree in theater from New World School of the Arts in Miami. Edson went on to write, direct and star in The Adventures of Edson Jean (2012), which was a finalist of the HBO Short Film Competition at American Black Film Festival, and has appeared in television's Bloodline (Netflix) and Ballers (HBO) and the feature films War Dogs and Moonlight. He was featured in I've Never Not Been From Miami at 2016 Miami Film Festival's theatrical premiere of WPBT2 South Florida's 10 short films on Miami artists, in an episode directed by Andrew Hevia.

Joshua Jean-Baptiste is a Miami native and graduate of New World School of The Arts. He holds a BFA in acting and began his writing career shortly after finishing school, he was inspired by seeing a horrible play, which sparked a fury of creation. Recent plays include Plenty of Shrimp a short play touching on the madness of online dating, which premiered at Micro Theater Miami and Them Beaux, a romantic comedy about slavery at The Miami Theater Center. He and his creative accomplice Edson Jean were recent winners of the Project Greenlight Digital Studio competition, for their digital series VAKABON (formerly known as #JOSH, inspired by events in Joshua’s life). Joshua's work primarily focuses on culture, social satire, technology, introspection, and MAKING IT HAPPEN!

DON'T TAKE YESFOR AN ANSWER:Edson JEan, Joshua JEan-BaptistE and VaKaBon

sEminar ConVErsation


MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL'S GEMS | 11MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL GEMS 2017 | 11


ERic clApTON: liFE iN 12 BARSUnited Kingdom | 2017 | 135 min. | English

director bio

Lili Fini Zanuck is an Oscar and Emmy-winning producer of films such as Driving Miss Daisy (89), Reign of Fire (02) and Cocoon (85). She made her directorial debut with Rush (91). Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (17), her latest film, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Director Lili Fini ZanuckExecutive Producer Vinne Malhotra Producers Lili Fini Zanuck, Scooter Weintraub, Larry Yelen, John BattsekCast Eric ClaptonProduction Company Passion PicturesSales Agent Altitude Film Sales

For over five decades, Eric Clapton has been creating rock music deeply influenced by the blues. This documentary traces the guitar virtuoso’s career through the Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & the Dominos and his solo years, telling the stories behind hits like “For Your Love,” “Layla,” and “Tears in Heaven.”

Clapton struggled with the demands of the music business, tumultuous love affairs, drug addiction and the tragic loss of his young son. Featuring a candid interview with Clapton and drawing from an extensive archive of performances and home movies, Life in 12 Bars traces how Clapton coped with these challenges. We come away with a deeper sense of what has inspired so much memorable music. –Thom Powers



MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL'S GEMS | 1312 | MIAMI DADE COLLEGE


FAcES plAcES(ViSAgES VillAgES)France | 2017 | 89 min. | French with English subtitles

director bioS

Agnès Varda was born in Ixelles, Belgium. She studied art history and photography at Paris’ École des Beaux-Arts. Her many fi lms include Cléo from 5 to 7 (62), One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (77), Vagabond (85), which won the Golden Lion at Venice, The Gleaners & I (00) and The Beaches of Agnès (08). Faces Places (17) is her latest fi lm.

JR is a French artist. His primary artistic activity has been documenting his travels and anonymously pasting the evidence on outdoor façades all over the world, including Miami Dade College's Freedom Tower in 2013. His work as a fi lmmaker has included Women Are Heroes (10), Walking New York (15), Ellis (15) and Faces Places (17), made in collaboration with Agnés Varda.

Director JR, Agnès VardaProducers Rosalie Varda, Charles S. Cohen, Julie Gayet, Nadia Turincev, Nichole Fu, Etienne Comar Cinematographer Roberto De Angelis, Claire Duguet, Julia Fabry, Nicolas Guicheteau, Romain Le Bonniec, Raphaël Minnesota, Valentin VignetMusic Matthieu Chedid aka -M-Cast Agnès Varda, JR, Jean-Luc Godard, Laurent LevesqueDistributor Cohen Media Group

Agnès Varda may now be one of our oldest fi lmmakers, but her work possesses a youthful vivacity unparalleled among her peers of any age. Her latest documentary, co-directed with the mysterious French street artist known only as JR, is inquisitive and playful. The fi lmmakers board JR’s photo-truck—painted to resemble a giant camera—and travel from village to village, where they meet locals, talk to them about their lives and create immense portraits of them, which are mounted on buildings throughout their communities. Not unlike Varda’s fi rst fi lm, La Pointe Courte, Faces Places pays homage to the vibrancy, diversity and dignity of life beyond the urban centers that typically dominate the big screen. Vive la diff érence! –Jaie Laplante

2017 Winnergolden eYe

For beSt docUmentarY


iN ThE FADE(AuS DEM NichTS) germanY | 2017 | 106 min. | German with English subtitles

director bio

Fatih Akin is a Turkish-German fi lmmaker. He studied visual communications at University of Fine Arts of Hamburg. His fi lms include Head-On (04), The Edge of Heaven (07), which won numerous prizes, including the Berlinale’s Golden Bear, Soul Kitchen (09) and The Cut (14). In the Fade (17) is his latest fi lm.

Director Fatih AkinProducer Fatih Akin, Mélita Toscan du Plantier, Marie-Jeanne PascalScreenwriter Fatih AkinCinematographer Rainer KlausmannMusic Josh HommeCast Diane Kruger, Denis Moschitto, Johannes Krisch, Ulrich Tukur, Samia Chancrin, Numan Acar, Rafael SantanaProduction Company Bombero InternationalDistributor Magnolia Pictures

Turkish-German fi lmmaker Fatih Akin (The Edge of Heaven) boldly navigates the confl uence of cultures that comprises contemporary Europe. This new tale of terror and vengeance is just as brilliant as Akin’s previous fi lms—and much more bracing.

Katja (Inglorious Basterds’ Diane Kruger) experiences the unthinkable: her husband, a legal advisor to Germany’s Turkish and Kurdish communities, and her young son are killed in a Neo-Nazi terrorist bombing. As In the Fade draws us ever-deeper into the myriad ways that the legal system fails Katja, our heartbroken heroine takes justice into her own hands.

Akin tackles the boggling complexities of modern violence with intelligence and focus. Kruger, meanwhile, is an actress of astonishing emotional dexterity, and In the Fade pushes her—and her character—to new limits. –Jaie Laplante

germanY'S SUbmiSSion to 90tH academY aWardS

2017 Winner beSt actreSS aWard


14 | MIAMI DADE COLLEGE14 | MIAMI DADE COLLEGE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Friday, oCtoBEr 13 @ 9:15pm

liFE AND NOThiNg MORESpain, USa | 2017 | 113 min. | English

director bio

Antonio Méndez Esparza was born in Madrid. He has also lived in Mexico and New York, where he studied film at Columbia University. His feature debut Aquí y allá (12) won numerous international awards, including the Critics Week Grand Prize at Cannes. Life and Nothing More (17) is his second feature.

Director Antonio Méndez EsparzaExecutive Producer Paul CohenProducer Pedro Hernández SantosScreenwriter Antonio Méndez EsparzaCinematographer Barbu BalasoiuCast Andrew Bleechington, Regina William, Robert Williams, Ry'nesia ChambersProduction Company Aqui Y Alli Films Sales Agent Film Constellation

Still in the prime of her life, Regina works long hours at a Tallahassee fast-food stop, barely earning enough to scrape by and feed her two children – Andrew, an emotionally cagey adolescent, and her young daughter. When a charismatic stranger shows interest, Regina isn’t sure she can muster enough trust to let him into her fraught life—and Andrew’s ongoing confrontations with authorities don’t help matters. With smoldering resentment at his incarcerated father and dealing with a mother nearing the end of her fraying tether, Andrew is more at risk than he realizes.

Dividing its attention—and compassion—evenly between Andrew and Regina, Life and Nothing More is an invigorating work of modern neorealism set on the fringes of urban Florida. Spanish writer-director Antonio Méndez Esparza displays an astonishing grasp of the conundrum of race, family and justice that suffuse our contemporary America. Life and Nothing More is essential cinema for our present moment. –Jaie Laplante

US premiere


MY FRiEND DAhMERUSa | 2017 | 107 min. | English

director bio

Marc Meyers has written and directed the features Approaching Union Square (06), Harvest (10), How He Fell in Love (15). His most recent film, My Friend Dahmer (17), had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Director Marc MeyersProducer Jody Girgenti, Marc Meyers, Adam Goldworm, Michael Merlob, Milan ChakrabortyScreenwriter Marc MeyersCinematographer Daniel KatzMusic Andrew HollanderCast Ross Lynch, Anne Heche, Alex Wolff, Dallas Roberts, Miles Robbins, Tommy Nelson, Vincent KartheiserProduction Company Ibid FilmworksDistributor FilmRise

There’s something different about Ohio high school student Jeff Dahmer. To get through the days, Jeff plays the class clown, feigning spastic fits to attract attention. After school, he retreats to his makeshift lab, where he dissolves roadkill in jars of acid. No one could foresee what he would become...

Based on the graphic novel by John Backderf—one of Dahmer’s former classmates—My Friend Dahmer is a grim origin story. Anchored by former Disney star Ross Lynch’s chilling lead performance, this is a terrifying, surprisingly empathetic look into one troubled teen’s descent into madness. Jeffrey Dahmer would later become one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. But here, he's simply known as “Dahmer” – a not-so-regular high school student. –Lauren Cohen

MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL GEMS 2017 | 15

talEnt ExpECtEd


16 | MIAMI DADE COLLEGE MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL GEMS 2017 | 17


SON OF SOFiAgreece, France, bUlgaria | 2017 | 111 min. | Greek, Russian with English subtitles

director bio

Elina Psikou is a Greek filmmaker. She studied filmmaking and sociology in Athens. She had directed the short films Kyriakatikes diadromes (04), Summer Holidays (06) and the features The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas (13) and Son of Sofia (17).

Director Elina PsykouProducer Giorgos Karnavas, Konstantinos KontovrakisScreenwriter Elina PsykouCinematographer Dionysis EfthimiopoulosCast Victor Khomut, Valery Tscheplanowa, Thanassis Papageorgiou, Artemios Havalits, Areti Seintaridou, Ivonni MaltezouProduction Company Heretic OutreachSales Agent Heretic Outreach

Winner of the Best International Narrative feature prize at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Greek writer-director Elina Psikou’s second feature is a visionary fusion of realism and fable.

Following a painful two-year separation, Misha, a Russian boy, is reunited with his beloved mother Sofia in Athens, where she constructs toy animals for a living. Misha’s relief proves short-lived, however: his mother lives and works for Mr. Nikos, a bossy old man who once starred in a television show in which he performed fairy tales, playing every character himself.

Set during the 2004 Summer Olympics, Son of Sofia captures Greece in a moment of anticipation, just as it captures Misha in a moment of precarious transition. Exploring identity, desire and fantasy in a precise and exhilarating high style, Son of Sofia marks Psikou as a major new voice. –Jaie Laplante

2016 JUrY aWard ForbeSt international

narratiVe

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Friday, oCtoBEr 13 @ 9:30pmsunday, oCtoBEr 15 @ 3:00pm

NO, A FlAMENcO TAlE(NO, uN cuENTO FlAMENcO)Spain | 2016 | 75 min | Spanish with English subtitles

director bio

José Luis Tirado was born in Seville. He is a visual artist and filmmaker. He has made numerous short film and video works. NO, A Flamenco Tale (17) is his first theatrical feature film.

Director José Luis TiradoProducers María Rosa Hidalgo, José Luis TiradoScreenwriter José Luis TiradoCinematographer José Luis TiradoMusic Raúl Cantizano

A beguiling fusion of thrilling cinema and passionate music, No, A Flamenco Tale sweeps us off to a land where the joys and hardships of life are expressed in breathtaking spectacle and song.

Clapping hands, stamping feet, stirring singing, intricate guitar and arresting dance: flamenco is a tradition of bold, soul-piercing gestures. Spanish director José Luis Tirado matches these gestures with a loose story about No, a dancer who works at a small venue in Seville’s Triana Market. At times No feels alienated by the world she inhabits, yet she finds communion in sundry public spaces where her dance provokes reactions from fellow citizens.

Let NO take hold of your senses—and you too will be provoked, inspired and moved. –Jaie Laplante


MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL'S GEMS | 1918 | MIAMI DADE COLLEGE


ThE SQuARESWeden, germanY, France | 2017 | 145 min.Swedish, Danish, French, German, English with English subtitles

director bio

Ruben Östlund is a Swedish fi lmmaker. His fi lms include Involuntary (08), a 2009 Miami Film Festival offi cial selection, Play (11) and Force Majeure (14), which swept major prizes at festivals all over the world. The Square (17), his latest fi lm, won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Director Ruben ÖstlundExecutive Producers Tomas Eskilsson, Agneta Perman, Dan Friedkin, Bradley ThomasProducers Erik Hemmendorff , Philippe BoberScreenwriter Ruben ÖstlundCinematographer Fredrik Wenzel Cast Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West, Terry Notary Christopher Laessø, Marina Schiptjenko, Elijandro EdouardProduction Companies Plattform Produktion, Essential Films, ParisienneUS Distributor Magnolia Pictures

It has been 23 years since a comedy won the highest fi lm award of Cannes Film Festival, the Palme d'Or - and it took The Square, a jaw-dropping art-world satire to do it.

Needing a provocative idea to draw attention to his palatial Stockholm museum, head curator Christian spends millions on “The Square,” a barely-visible installation that invites visitors to exercise altruism. When the museum's uber-cool ad agency comes up with an "edgy" campaign for the accompanying exhibit, Christian is too obsessed with the loss of his cell phone to pay much attention. The downward spiral that transpires is a neat summation of our current anxieties, and a gnawing dread that civilization's advances since our evolution from the apes may all be for naught.

The Square is brilliant, biting and unnervingly hilarious. –Jaie Laplante

SWeden'S SUbmiSSion to 90tH academY aWardS


SuMMER 1993(ESTiu 1993)Spain | 2017 | 96 min. | Catalan with English subtitles

director bio

Carla Simón is a Spanish fi lmmaker. She studied at various institutions, including the University of California, the Universitat Autónoma of Barcelona and the London Film School. Her short fi lms include “Lipstick” (13) and “Las pequeñas cosas” (15). Summer 1993 (17) is her fi rst feature.

Director Carla SimónProducer Valérie DelpierreScreenwriter Carla Simón Cinematographer Santiago RacajCast Laia Artigas, Paula Robles, Bruna Cusí, David Verdaguer, Fermi ReixachaProduction Company AvalonUS Distributor Oscilloscope

Winner of the Best First Feature Award in Berlin, Spanish writer-director Carla Simón’s autobiographical coming-of-age tale is delicate, transporting and, in its confi dent, unassuming way, profoundly moving.

Sublimely embodied by little Laia Artigas—whose arresting presence at times recalls the young Ana Torent—six-year-old Frida is sent from Barcelona to her aunt and uncle’s home in the Catalán countryside. Frida has lost both her parents, and though her new family is welcoming, her new surroundings overturn her inchoate understanding of the world.

In its steady accumulation of precise, evocative moments—a child’s upturned face lit by fireworks; two girls sharing a bath and learning to hold their breath—Summer 1993 renders a time of tumultuous transition with grace and wonder. –Jaie Laplante

2017 gWFF beSt FirSt FeatUre

JUrY aWardJUrY aWard

2017 Winnergolden biZnaga

aWard




ThE WORKShOp(l’ATEliER )France | 2017 | 114 min. | French with English subtitles

director bio

Laurent Cantet is a French fi lmmaker. His fi lms include Time Out (01), Heading South (05), The Class (08), which won the Cannes Palme d’Or and was nominated for an Oscar, and the Havana-set Return to Ithaca (14), scripted by Leonardo Padura. The Workshop (17) premiered at Cannes earlier this year.

Director Laurent CantetProducer Denis FreydScreenwriters Robin Campillo, Laurent CantetCinematographer Pierre MilonMusic Bedis Tir, Edouard PonsCast Marina Foïs, Matthieu LucciProduction Companies Archipel 35, France 2 CinemaUS Distributor Strand Releasing

Laurent Cantet’s Palme d’Or-winning The Class was a profound examination of contemporary education in all its social and pedagogical complexities. Set in a summer creative writing workshop Cantet's new film The Workshop veers into a very diff erent, very intriguing direction. Presided over by a published crime novelist and comprised of a handful of working-class, mixed-race adolescents, the workshop’s objective is to collectively compose a novel set in their coastal French town. Reaching consensus proves difficult, and Antoine, the most outspoken, contentious participant begins to dominate—and destabilize—the proceedings.

Under Cantet’s steely focus, The Workshop seamlessly shifts from a film in which people discuss a thriller to a film that is itself a fiercely intelligent thriller, grounded in the fraught sociopolitical landscape these kids are inheriting. –Jaie Laplante

Dive headlong into the world of virtual reality with VR Escape, a sensorial extravaganza taking place at the Tower Theatre. Partnering with MDC’s MAGIC (Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex), this thrilling exhibition will feature a selection of fi ve 360° videos by Los Angeles-based, Puerto Rican artist and fi lmmaker Angel Manuel Soto, whose feature fi lm La granja, or The Farm, was an offi cial selection at the 33rd edition of the Festival. Presenting spectacularly rendered stories about refugees, a natural disaster, and the wildly inventive Chicago-based rock band Wilco, VR Escape is an extra-cinematic experience not to be missed. –Diana Cadavid

Dive headlong into the world of virtual reality with VR Escape, a sensorial extravaganza taking place at the Tower Theatre. Partnering with MDC’s MAGIC (Miami Animation & Gaming

VREscape

director bio

Angel Manuel Soto was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He has made numerous short fi lms, among them In the Privacy Of My Home (2011), which screened at the Festival. The Farm (2015), his feature debut as writer-director, also screened at the Festival. Angel is also in the forefront of Virtual Reality, directing and supervising VR Content for RYOT News. His latest critically acclaimed VR doc, Bashir’s Dream, premiered in Sundance and has since then been presented all over the world, including the 2017 Cannes Film Festival NEXT Program.

AFTER THE STORM

In After the Storm you will witness the struggles

of entire communities that were destroyed by

Hurricane Matthew, creating the potential for cholera outbreaks

in its wake.

INTERCEPT PIECE

As Puerto Rico’s debt crisis deepens and

legislators in Washington continue not to act,

ordinary Puerto Ricans are taking matters into

their own hands.

THE WORLDINSIDE ROOM

The World Inside Room off ers an exclusive

behind-the-scenes onto the set of the highly

suspenseful and deeply emotional fi lm Room.

BASHIR’S DREAM

Bashir's Dream centers around Qusai Bashir

Masaama, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee in Jordan

who was shot in the back by a sniper while

on a candy run. VR ESCAPE EXPERIENCE

WILL BE LOCATED ON THE

MEZZANINE LEVEL OF

MDC'S TOWER THEATER


GEms sponsors

prEmiErE FEstiVal sponsors

miami dade college diStrict board oF trUSteeS

armando J. bucelo Jr.

Chair

armando J. oliveraVice Chair

marili canciobenjamin león, iiidaniel diaz leyva

bernie navarro

dr. eduardo J. padrón, President, Miami Dade College

C I N E M A D / F F U S I O N

MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL'S GEMS | 23

Close out GEMS 2017 on a delicious note with our Can't Say Goodbye Brunch at the newest Miami gem, Ella's Oyster Bar. Join other fi lm lovers and director of Can't Say Goodbye, lino escalera at a classic Oyster Bar reimagined in the heart of Little Havana. Providing sophisticated fl avors in a playful atmosphere that's comfortable and casual with the exciting variety of a modern Miami Oyster Bar.

CAN'T SAY GOODBYE Brunch

1615 SW 8th Street Miami, FL 33135

SUNDAY

OCT 1511:00 AM - 1:00 PM

35

miami dade college oFFice oF tHe preSident

dr. eduardo J. padrón

President

dr. lenore p. rodicioExecutive Vice President & Provost

george F. andrews

Chief of Staff

Juan c. mendietaDirector of Communications

natalia crujeiras

Executive Director, Cultural Aff airs



GEMS_2017_booklet_24pgs.indd 24 9/15/17 12:34 PM

GEMS 2017 booklet 24pgs.indd 1 9/15/17 12:33 PM...a cheap motel tucked near a freeway and a theme...

Documents

Transcript of GEMS 2017 booklet 24pgs.indd 1 9/15/17 12:33 PM...a cheap motel tucked near a freeway and a theme...