Heavy Line Up of shorts at The Miami Film Festival

The 24th Annual Miami International Film Festival takes place March 2 - 11, 2007

112 Films—92 Features and 20 Shorts—Highlight 2007 Festival
Including 8 World Premieres, 31 International, North American
& U.S. Premieres, and 47 East Coast Premieres

The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), presented by Miami Dade College (MDC) announced today its Shorts Program comprised of twenty short films in three programs. The Shorts Program screens during the ten-day Festival March 2-11, 2007 at the Regal South Beach Cinema and the Bill Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami.

MIFF is proud to showcase the work of these highly creative and innovative filmmakers. “We are always searching for emerging and innovative filmmakers with a distinctive voice and cinematic vision,” said Karina Rotenstein, Programmer – Shorts/Documentary/World. “These filmmakers provoke, touch and inspire the art form to its highest levels. Festival programmers and Shorts distribution outlets from North America, Europe and Latin America flock to Miami for shorts, while the multi-cultural Miami audience truly appreciates short filmmaking with its variety of content and the International flavours.”

Short films have long been recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures of Arts and Sciences as an art form, but in the past few years, short films have gained momentum due to entertainment-on-demand technologies that lend themselves to shorter works. Although theatrical exposure (film festivals, Pixar animations, etc.) is still considered the ultimate commercial success, Internet sites (YouTube, myspace.com, iTunes), hand-held technologies (PDA’s, cell phones, iPods, etc,) and the rise of digital television (DTV) offer more potential opportunities for accessibility and exposure than ever before.

With the increasing demand for content, film and television producers, agents, programmers and major advertisers are feverishly on the search for new talent. Whether it is a 30-second commercial, a music video, or a short film for new distribution channels, filmmakers Alejandro Inarritu Gonzalez (The Hire), Spike Jonze (Beastie Boys), Michel Gondry (Björk), Bryan Barber (Outkast), Arni & Kinski (Sigur Ros) and Osbert Parker (NIKE/Coca-Cola/MTV) are prime examples that an artistic eye is still the most important ingredient to a successful piece.

The Shorts Programs at MIFF 2007 reflects the maturity of short filmmaking. The program includes the addition of a program of international shorts, a duo of Touching Florida shorts, a Reel Education Seminar on Shorts (“Shorts: Making Award-Winning Shorts, Submitting to Festivals & Distribution Alternatives”) and a student short film competition in partnership with the Miami Coalition for the Homeless titled, “Being Homeless.”

MIFF 2007 Shorts Programs Highlights

Ibero-American

Celso Garcia (Crow’s Foot, MIFF 2005) returns this year with The Milk and the Water (Mexico) his brilliant cinematography shows a promising direction for Mexican cinema. Pablo Agüero’s emotional Cannes’ Jury Prize winner Primera Nieve (Argentina) is currently being developed into a feature length version titled, The Salamander. The North American Premiere of Silencio (Brazil) from Sérgio Borges presents touches of Ingmar Bergman with a Brazilian eye.

World

The Danish Poet (Norway/Canada) by Torill Kove is nominated for a 2007 Academy Award for best animated short and is narrated by previous MIFF Career Achievement Award honoree Liv Ullmann. MIFF presents the World Premieres of Wood (USA) by David Fenster (Trona, MIFF 2006), a stunning documentary debut; and the sentimental, At the End of the Day (USA/Mexico), by Dionisio Ceballos. The imaginative Cannes’ Palme D’Or winner, Sniffer (Norway) by Bobbie Peers is scheduled. BAFTA-nominated director Osbert Parker showcases his most intriguing piece yet, Film Noir (UK). Insight into the lives of children is the focus of Primera Nieve (France/Argentina) by Pablo Agüero, Good Girl (Korea/USA) by Heayun Kang, The Saddest Boy in the World (Canada) by Jamie Travis, and Glosoli (Iceland) by Arni & Kinski.

Tickets are available by phone at 305-405-MIFF (6433) or online at www.miamifilmfestival.com.


SHORTS PROGRAM I Total Running Time: 72min.

REGAL 11, Thursday, Mar. 8, 4:30 p.m.
REGAL 18, Saturday, Mar. 10, 6:45 p.m.

In order of appearance:

The Danish Poet (Den danske dikteren)
DIRECTOR: Torill Kove
Norway/Canada, 15min., 35mm, Color, 2006, Animation, English
Narrated by: Liv Ullmann
The narrator follows Kasper, a poet whose creative well has run dry, on a holiday to Norway to meet the famous writer, Sigrid Undset. 2006 Academy Award Nominee for Best Short Film Animation.

Drake
DIRECTOR: Christoph Rainer
Austria, 5min., 35mm, Color, 2006, No Dialogue
Cast: Tom Hanslmaier, Elke Hagen, Benedikt Bittner
The sky is on fire. The sun fades off the image. A family’s attempt to take the perfect picture at dusk.

Alguma Coisa Assim (Something Like That)
DIRECTOR: Esmir Filho
Brazil, 15min., 35mm, Color, 2006, Portuguese with English subtitles
Cast: Caroline Abras, André Antunes, Daniel Tavares
Two teenagers, Caio and Mari, go out for a great night of fun in the streets of São Paulo. They dance, they laugh, they play, they learn. 2006 Cannes Film Festival - Best screenplay.

Berlitad
DIRECTOR: Pablo Ángeles
“Hombre Zoo”
Mexico, 10min., 35mm, Color, 2006, Animation, No Dialogue
Martinelo is a young worker who dreams of leaving arid lands behind and finding a better life in the aquatic world. For this, he will have to confront Mister Control, lord and master of Robot City.

The Milk and the Water (La leche y el agua)
DIRECTOR: Celso García
Mexico, 12min., 35mm, Color, 2006, Spanish with English subtitles
Cast: Tara Parra
A woman tries to get back her only companion in life: a cow.

Conte de Quartier
DIRECTOR: Florence Miailhe
France/Canada, 15min., 35mm, Color, 2006, Animation, No Dialogue
An insane day in a district in restoration where seven characters brought together by a headstock are involved in a round without end. North American Premiere.


SHORTS PROGRAM II Total Running Time: 84 min.

REGAL 10, Thursday, Mar. 8, 9:15 p.m.
COSFORD, Sunday, Mar. 11, 6 p.m.

In order of appearance:

At the End of the Day
DIRECTOR: Dionisio Ceballos
USA/Mexico, 16min., Beta SP, Color, 2006, English, Spanish
Cast: Marjorie Batik, Dolores Heredia, Silverio Palacios and Richard Williams
An unsolicited Mexican gardener spices up the ordinary life of a retired American. World Premiere.

The Shovel
DIRECTOR: Nicholas Childs
USA, 15min., Digital Betacam, Color, 2006, English
Cast: David Strathairn, Tim Guinee, Neal Huff Some secrets are better left buried.
Tribeca Film Festival – Jury Prize.

La Primavera (Spring)
DIRECTOR: Rubén Obregón Casas
USA/Mexico, 20min., Digital Betacam, Color, 2006, Spanish, English with English subtitles
Cast: Miguel Caballero, Marisol Centeno, Julieta Contreras, Zahaira Gómez, Joaquín Arias
A lyrical telling of a brief encounter between a US Navy Sailor and a young woman, La Primavera delves into the fleeting moments of uncertainty and flux that test the bounds of emotional connection.
A multiple award recipient.

Film Noir
DIRECTOR: Osbert Parker
UK, 4min., Digital Betacam, B/W/Color, 2005, No Dialogue
Created in-camera this mixed media adventure combines live action, objects, photo cutouts into a non linear story of romance and psychological tension.
Best Experimental Doc –World Wide Shorts Film Festival.

Wood
DIRECTOR: David Fenster
USA, 22min., Digital Betacam, Color, 2006, English
Wood illustrates the journey of timber from the forest through the sawmill; revealing intimate portraits of the men who work on various facets of the process. World Premiere.

Glosoli
DIRECTOR: Arni & Kinski
Iceland, 7min., Digital Betacam, Color, 2005, No Dialogue
Drawn to a seductive drum beat, a young boy leads a group of children across a barren landscape to what awaits them at the edge of a cliff. A music video for Sigur Ros. Best Rock Video-CAD Awards.

SHORTS PROGRAM III Total Running Time: 87 min.

REGAL 18, Saturday, Mar. 10, 3:45 p.m.
COSFORD, Sunday, Mar. 11, 8:30 p.m.

In order of appearance:

Primera Nieve (First Snow)
DIRECTOR: Pablo Agüero
France/Argentina, 15min.,
Digital Betacam, Color, 2006, Spanish with English subtitles
Cast: Lucila Urquiola Serrano, Ayrton Rivera Villalba
A young mother lives alone with her little son in an isolated land of Patagonia. She must fight against the nature to survive. But the boy is just asking for love. 2006 Cannes Film Festival - Jury Prize.

Silêncio (Silence)
DIRECTOR: Sérgio Borges
Brazil, 18min., 35mm, B/W, 2006, Portuguese with English Subtitles
Cast: Paulo André, Eva Queiroz, Maria Clara Cheib, Maria Olívia, João das Neves and Luís Arthur
Immersion in a zone where fluid forms and the absence of words reveal that silence precedes all things. North American Premiere.

The Saddest Boy in the World
DIRECTOR: Jamie Travis
Canada, 14min., 35mm, Color, 2006, English
Cast: Benjamin B. Smith, Kirsten Robek, Babz Chula, Hailey Conner
Timothy Higgins, the saddest boy in the world, prepares to hang himself at his ninth birthday party.

We Are Everywhere (Estamos por todos lados)
DIRECTOR: Sofía Pérez Suinaga
Mexico, 9min., 35mm, Color, 2006, Spanish with English subtitles
Cast: Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Claudio Lafarga, Leonardo Ortizgris
Piolo and Claudio, two middle class young men, suffer a psychological attack. An incident causes an unexpected twist.

Good Girl (Cha-khan I-iee)
DIRECTOR: Heayun Kang
South Korea/USA, 21min., 35mm, Color, 2006, Korean with English subtitles
Cast: Lee Ji-eun, Kang Yi-sok, Jung Jaejin
Young girl, Ki-jung living in a redevelopment area in the heart of Seoul, is learning to take care of herself and her younger brother after their mom abandoned them.
Finalist for the 2006 Student Academy Awards.

Sniffer
DIRECTOR: Bobbie Peers
Norway, 10min., 35mm, Color, 2006, No Dialogue
Cast: Danny Schlesinger, Kristin Krogh Sissner
Devoid of sunlight and the open sky, the members of society go about their routine without any hope of personal gratification. One day, however, a man decides he has had enough attempts to challenge the status quo. 2006 Cannes Film Festival – Palme d’Or - Short Film


SHORTS Screening Prior to the feature film, Those I Left Behind

TOWER, Sunday, Mar. 4, 7 p.m.
REGAL 10, Saturday, Mar. 10, 7 p.m.

Wet Foot/Dry Foot
DIRECTOR: Carlos V. Gutierrez
USA, 17 min., Digital Betacam, Color, 2006, Spanish with English subtitles
CAST: Francisco Gattorno, Jorge Alvarez, Ismael "East" Carlo
Stranded on an uninhabited island, two Cuban refugees must struggle against nature and each other to stand a chance at freedom. Regional Finalist for the 2006 Student Academy Awards.

Castro in Central Park
DIRECTOR: A.D. Calvo
USA, 5 min., Beta SP, Color, 2006, English
CAST: Daniel Edwards
Celebrity shock sculptor Daniel Edwards reveals his bizarre tribute to Fidel Castro, a “Deathbed Portrait” commemorating the ailing dictator’s civil rights efforts.

Regal South Beach Cinema is located at 1100 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. The Bill Cosford Cinema is located at the University of Miami, Coral Gables.