2014 Festival du Cinéma Latino-américain de Montréal, Apr 24-May 8

LATIN AMERICA LIVES HERE

From April 24 to May 8, Cinema du Parc is featuring a selection of the best Latin-American films, a few Spanish films, and a Portuguese film by a Brazilian director, which is opening the festival. Sixteen films were chosen from Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Guadalajara in 2013-2014.

Come discover the hidden wealth of talented directors, actors and actresses from countries whose films we don’t get to see all year long. As long as there isn’t a Latin-American movie on the bill in Montreal every week, a festival like this will always have a raison d’être.

2013 Festival du cinéma latino-américain de Montréal, Apr 5-25

Cinema du Parc is proud to announce the return of the biggest Latin-American film festival in Canada from April 5th to 25th. For its 4th consecutive year, the Festival du cinéma latino-américain de Montréal (Latin-American Film Festival of Montreal) will host the best films from South America, Spain and Portugal.

CARLOS SORIN, one of Argentina’s most important living director (HISTORIAS MINIMAS, THE WINDOW, EL PERRO) will join us in order to present his newest feature, GONE FISHING, as the opening film of the festival.

For its 4th year, FCLM will also present a brand new section: NEW CLASSICS ON 35MM. In this section, you will be able to rediscover screen gems on the big screen that helped redefine Latin American cinema in recent years. These new classics will be shown in their original format on 35mm in order to celebrate the magic of cinema.

2013 aluCine Latin Film & Media Arts Festival, Mar 21-31

The 13th aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival opens tonight with the unveiling of Juan Si Gonzalez’s Stay-at-Home Dad multimedia installtion at the Toronto Free Gallery (1277 Bloor Street West at Lansdowne). The gallery also be open free to the public Friday and Saturday from noon-6pm, Sunday 2-6pm, and Tuesday through Saturday next week from noon-6pm. Juan will discuss his installation on Friday, March 22, 7-9 also at The Toronto Free Gallery. Free to all.

Juan Andrés Arango’s La Playa D.C. will make its Canadian premiere when it opens the thirteenth annual film programme of the multi-disciplinary festival. A native-born Bogotáno, writer/director Arango has trained and worked in his homeland, Canada and the Netherlands. He returned to Bogotá to shoot La Playa D.C., his debut feature, which he will personally present on March 27 at 7:30pm at Jackman Hall inside the Art Gallery of Ontario.

UofT's Caribbean Film Festival, March 7-8

On March 7th and 8th the Caribbean Studies Students Union (CARSSU) and the Cinema Studies Students Union (CINSSU) will be hosting the first-ever Caribbean Film Festival at the William Doo Auditorium on U of Tʹ St. George Campus.

This festival will showcase documentaries and narrative films that pertain to the Caribbean region, its diaspora, and will traverse a number of topics that delve into gender, race, ethnicity, popular culture, politics, sustainability of the environment, as well as the standing legacies of colonialism that still haunt the Caribbean. Our current line-up includes films with stories and histories from Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad. Prior to screening each individual film, an introduction will be made to the film and followed by a brief Q + A discussion with the director.

2012 Latin Grammy Awards – winners

The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences held their XIII Latin Grammy Awards last night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Jesse & Joy topped the field with four awards. They won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album and Best Short Form Music Video.

The Colombian singer/songwriter Juanes won Album of the Year and Best Long Form Music Video for Juanes MTV Unplugged.

Trumpeter and pianist Arturo Sandoval picked up three awards. He won Best Tango Album for Tango Como Yo Te Siento, and Best Latin Jazz Album and Best Engineered Album for Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You).

Double award-winners included Don Omar, Carla Morrison, El Cuarteto de Nos, Milly Quezada, and Juan Luis Guerra. Luis Guerra's two awards give him a total of 19 over the years and he has matched the record of Calle 13.

2012 Toronto Crē’ōl Film Fest, Oct 5-7

Tonight, the second edition of the Toronto Crē’ōl Film Fest kicks off with a screening of Toussaint Louverture, about the leader of the Haitian Revolution who successfully led a rebellion slaves to create a society of free, self-governing people.

The closing film will be Donoma about a female teacher who begins an ambiguous relationship with a student, an agnostic teenager is "called" by God.

The Toronto Crē’ōl Film Fest (CFF) is dedicated to celebrating Creole culture from around the world through the art of cinema. In promoting theatrical displays of work that pertain to Creole culture, CFF aims to increase opportunities for the Canadian public to share in works to which they may not otherwise have access.

2012 ALMA Awards – winners

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) held their 6th annual American Latino Media Arts Awards (or ALMA Awards) at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, at a gala hosted by Eva Longoria and George Lopez. The ALMA Awards are held to recognize Latino entertainers and those who promote positive portrayals of Latinos in entertainment.

Patricia Riggen's Girl in Progress led the winners with three awards. It won for Favorite Movie, Favorite Movie Actress – Supporting Role (Cierra Ramirez), and a Special Achievement Award for director Patricia Riggen.

Dean Wright's For Greater Glory had led the field with five nominations. However, it came away empty-handed.

CaribbeanTales 2012 Toronto Film Showcase, Sept 4-15

The CaribbeanTales 2012 Toronto Film Showcase began yesterday with the start of the Market Incubator program for emerging filmmakers. But the event officially launches tonight with the opening Gala Reception at the Lakeshore Terrace at Harbourfront. The evening includes the music video Sort out Yuh Life Jamaica directed by Kush Asher with the band No Maddz, and the short film In Stereo: Joyce and Herman by Keston Neunie, followed by feature The Story of Lover’s Rock by Menelik Shabazz.

Also playing at the festival will be a short film I helped co-produce by Trinidadian-Montrealer Faisal Lutchmedial called Mr. Crab. It plays as part of a short film program on Friday September 14 at 9:15pm, which will then be followed by the feature I'm Santana The Movie by Roger Alexis.

2012 Imagen Awards for Latino entertainment – winners

The 27th Annual Imagen Awards ceremony took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel International Ballroom last night. The awards are given to recognize Latinos and their positive representations in the entertainment industry.

Patricia Riggen's Girl in Progress emerged with the most wins with three trophies from its leading five nominations. It won for Best Feature Film, Director, and Supporting Actress (Cierra Ramirez).

Filly Brown by Youssef Delara and Michael Olmos was next with two wins. It won both Lead Acting categories with Lou Diamond Phillips winning Best Actor and Gina Rodriguez winning Best Actress. Casa De Mi Padre actor Diego Luna won for Best Supporting Actor.

2012 ALMA Awards – nominees

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) has announced the nominations for their 2012 American Latino Media Arts Awards (or ALMA Awards) to recognize Latino entertainers and those who promote positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment field.

Dean Wright's For Greater Glory led the field with five nominations. Its nods were for Favorite Movie, Movie Actor (Andy Garcia), Movie Actress—Drama/Adventure (Eva Longoria), and Movie Actor—Supporting Role (Rubén Blades, Oscar Isaac)

Oliver Stone's Savages picked up four awards. All were for acting, with mentions given to Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demián Bichir and Mia Maestro.

2012 Imagen Awards – nominations

The Imagen Foundation has announced the nominations for the 27th Annual Imagen Awards to recognize Latinos and their positive representations in the entertainment industry.

Patricia Riggen's Girl in Progress led the film nominees with five mentions. It received nods for Best Feature Film, Director, Actress (Eva Mendes), Supporting Actor (Eugenio Derbez) and Supporting Actress (Cierra Ramirez).

The other nominees for Best Feature Film were Matt Piedmont's Casa De Mi Padre and Filly Brown by Youssef Delara and Michael Olmos. Each picked up four nominations as did Gabriela Tagliavini's Without Men.

Latinordicos, Festival du Film Immigrant, June 13-Aug 15

After their inaugural edition last year of the Latinordicos Festival du film interculturel de Montréal, they have returned with a screening series this summer, the Latinordicos Festival du Film Immigrant. Starting tonight, they will present a weekly screening at Au Café de Da, 545, rue Fleury Est starting at 7pm. All of the screenings are free.

Tonight's opening film will be the documentary La Dérive douce d'un enfant de Petit-Goâve (The Gentle Drifting of a Little Boy from Petit-Goâve) by Pedro Ruiz. It tells the story of the life of novelist, journalist and director Dany Laferrière.

2012 Premios Ariel (Mexican film awards) – winners

This Saturday night, the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas (Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences) held the gala ceremony for their 54th Premios Ariel (Ariel Awards) at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

The awards were largely split between the gritty Días de gracia (Days of Grace) by Everardo Gout and the comedic Pastorela by Emilio Portes. They had led the nominations with fifteen and fourteen respectively. They went back and forth all night with the awards and when the dust settled, Días de gracia came out with eight awards to seven for Pastorela.

However, Pastorela claimed the top prize of Best Picture as well as Best Director and Best Screenplay for Portes. Carlos Cobos won for Best Supporting Actor. Its remaining wins were for Costume Design, Make-Up and Visual Effects.

2012 Premios Ariel (Ariel Awards) for Mexican film – nominations

The Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas (Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences) announced the full nominations for their 54th Premios Ariel (Ariel Awards) for Mexican film.

Everardo Gout's thriller Días de gracia (Days of Grace) led the way with fifteen nominations. It nods included Best Picture, Director, Actor (Tenoch Huerta), Supporting Actress (Eileen Yáñez) and Supporting Actor (both Krystyan Ferrer and Mario Zaragoza).

Following closely with fourteen bids was Emilio Portes' comedy Pastorela. Its mentions included Best Picture, Director, Actor (Joaquín Cosío), Supporting Actor and Screenplay.

Gerardo Naranjo's Miss Bala was the other nominee for Best Picture and Director. However, its only other nomination was for Noé Hernández as Best Actor.

2012 Festival Du Cinéma Latino-Américain De Montréal, Apr 6 – 22

The third Festival du Cinéma Latino-américain de Montréal (FCLM) kicks off two-and-a-half weeks of Latin American films starting tonight. The opening films are El lenguaje de los machetes (Machete Language) and Medianeras (Sidewalls). They will be followed by screenings of Silencio en el Paraiso (Silence in Paradise) and Bonsai.

Highlights from the festival include the Oscar-nominated films A Better Life (Best Actor nomination for Demian Bichir) and the animated feature Chico Y Rita (Chico and Rita). Pedro Almodovar's latest dark thriller La Piel que Habito (The Skin I Live In) will screen, as will the Sundance Film Festival selection Joven y alocada (Young and Wild) about a young woman's awakening sexuality.

The documentaries being co-presented with Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal are José y Pilar (José and Pilar) about the Nobel Prize-winning novelist and his wife, and Yatasto which profiles young recyclables collectors.

Call for submissions: aluCine Film Festival

The aluCine Toronto Latin Film & Media Arts Festival has put out a call for submissions for their 13th edition of the festival.

aluCine's mandate is to showcase excellence and innovation in contemporary independent short film/video and new media; to promote and nurture works made by emerging and established Latin artists living in Canada, Latin America, and the Diaspora; to provide a vital outlet to have their works disseminated to a broader public both nationally and internationally; to transcend pre-established notions of representation and to cross borders; aesthetically, ideologically and geographically with the screening of Canadian works in Latin America and elsewhere.

2012 Festivalíssimo, March 1-11

The 17th Festivalíssimo, Festival de Cinéma Latino-Américains de Montreal (Montreal Latin-American Film Festival) kicks off tonight with a screening of the action-thriller La Hora Cero (The Zero Hour) by Venezuelan director Diego Velasco. This screening marks its Canadian premiere.

Other films receiving a Canadian, Quebec or North American premiere are Las Acacias, El Premio (The Prize), Riscado (Craft), Porfirio, La Mitad De Oscar (Half of Oscar), Sentados Frente Al Fuego (By the Fire), Paraísos Artificiales (Artificial Paradises), Gordo, Calvo y Bajito (Fat, Bald, Short Man), No tengas miedo (Don't Be Afraid), Habanastation, La mujer de Iván (Ivan's Woman), La Independencia Inconclusa (Unfinished Independence), and Anónimo (Anonymous).

The 17th Festivalíssimo, Festival de Cinéma Latino-Américains de Montreal continues to Sunday, March 11 at Cinéma Excentris located at 3536, Boul. St-Laurent, Montréal.

New Mexican Film Week, February 3-9

For the next week, Cinéma du Parc and FCLM Festival du Cinéma Latino-américain de Montréal present New Mexican Film Week.

The films they will be screening are Miss Bala, Presunto culpable (Presumed Guilty), Las marimbas del infierno (Marimbas from Hell), Tierra Madre (Mother Earth), Cefalópodo (Cephalopod) and Verano de Goliat (Summer of Goliath). Tierra Madre will be screened with some short films.

All films will be screened in the original Spanish with English subtitles. All screenings take place at Cinéma du Parc located at 3575, av. du Parc.

Inaugural Haiti Movie Awards - winners

On November 20, the Motion Picture Association of Haiti (MPAH) held their first ever Haiti Movie Awards at the UMass Boston campus center ballroom. The MPAH is based in Boston and is dedicated to helping and developing the emerging film industry in Haiti. The country is still struggling to recover from the devastating January 2010 earthquake.

The winner of the Best Picture prize was Oasis II, directed by Reginald Lubin. It was, however, it's only win of the ceremony. The Best Director Award went to Tutu Demosthène for The birth of an assassin.

San pran souf won two acting prizes. It took Best Actor for Jean Alix Holmand and Best Actress for Myriam Jean. Le peché et le pardon (Sin and Forgiveness) was also a double winner for acting. It took the supporting categories for Supporting Actor Huberman Saintil and Supporting Actress Martine Joseph.

Arnold Antonin was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. MPAH also honoured Governor Deval Patrick and State Representative Linda Forry with Humanitarian Awards for their efforts following the 2010 earthquake.