Welcome to the first edition of Latin Beat! I'll be your host, spearheading a collection of news, notes, and other sundry items of interest to our worldwide readership, featuring contributions from our team of writers located throughout Latin America.
We begin modestly, with news on local films in Chile and a Mexican film that is poised to make a big splash in France.
Chile
Jaime Grijalba Gomez reports:
"Local films are currently being released into theaters every week. This is because new distribution companies in Chile have received grants from the government to release Chilean films on many screens."
The next two releases:
May 1: I'm So Much Better Than you (Soy mucho mejor que vos)
An urban comedy, written and directed by Che Sandoval.
Matias Garrido adds:
"They are now running a pretty strong viral campaign with the main character tweeting and creating memes with stills from the movie.
"The movie is about Naza, a 40 year old man living a midlife crisis, his life being a trainwreck and getting his macho-ego crushed by his ex-girlfriend being successful, so he goes on in the bohemian night of Santiago, looking for revenge sex and easy satisfaction."
Look for Jaime's review, which will be published shortly.
Chile
May 8: Land of Blood (Tierra de Sangre, The Vineyard)
A horror movie set in the 19th century, directed by James Katz. Little is known about the film so far, beyond the trailer, which features English-language narration with Spanish subtitles.
Mexico
Eric Ortiz reports:
"The Incident to screen at the Cannes 2014 Blood Window Midnight Galas.
"Isaac Ezban is one of Mexico’s most promising genre filmmakers. He has directed so far only short films, but last year at Fantastic Fest’s Fantastic Market, his feature-length debut The Incident (El Incidente) was winner for Best Presentation and it eventually went into production. The Incident is currently in post-production and it was confirmed yesterday as one of the films for Blood Window’s Cannes 2014 Midnight Galas.
"Blood Window teamed with six fantastic film festivals, including Fantastic Fest and Sitges, to bring the midnight extravaganza to the French Riviera. The Incident screens as Fantastic Fest’s choice, while two Argentinean productions (Martin Desalvo’s Darkness by Day and Gabriel Grieco’s Still Life), one from Venezuela (Alejandro Hidalgo’s The House at the End of Time) and one from Spain (Santiago Alvarado’s Fallen Cape) complete the Midnight Galas."