Another day of Miami International Film Festival: what to avoid and what to see

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Las Oscuras Primaveras

It’s getting hard to keep track of the films and parties, heck, even the days at Miami Dade College’s 32nd Miami International Film Festival. Just Tuesday, I was struck by an empty Regal Cinemas on Miami Beach and wondered if I went to the wrong venue on the wrong day. Thankfully, I have not lost my mind that bad. It just turned out that the jury for the Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriter Award, which I am a member of, had a private screening for A Girl at My Door, an East Coast premiere from the Republic of Korea. Later that day we had to see Tour de Force, a U.S. premiere from Germany, and last night we watched They Are All Dead, a U.S. premiere from Spain. Those are films I cannot comment on … yet, but I will note that my partner will soon offer an interview with the lead actress of They Are All DeadElena Anaya. Watch for that tomorrow morning.

The final jury screenings are Friday evening. They include Shrew’s Nest, a co-production from France and Spain that will have its Florida premiere, and Theeb, which comes out of the Arabian Peninsula, also a Florida premiere. Jury deliberation then commences, and the winner will be announced Saturday night, before the screening of Sidetracked at the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts.

In the meantime, there are still films I am trying to catch as a critic and journalist for the Miami New Times. Jump through the logo for the paper’s “Cultist” art and culture blog below to find my latest review for the film pictured at the top of this post, The Obscure Spring:

cultist banner

Spoiler alert: I was not very impressed. Out on newsstands now, however, the paper’s film section features an article I wrote trying squeeze in as many recommendations for movies still screening at the festival. You can read some of it online right here:

Miami Film Festival 2015: Five Movies to See in the Final Week

Still ahead, I hope to see more movies and report back on how the festival ended by early next week. There are lots of recommendations, premieres and interesting films to catch (for instance, the remaining features in the “Visions” category), so stay tuned. Tomorrow, the Miami New Times “Cultist” blog will publish an interview I did with first-time feature director Lulu Wang, who spoke to me about her film Posthumous, which stars Brit MarlingJack Huston and Lambert Wilson. It’s a notable indie comedy that will have its North American premiere at the festival.

Finally, tune in to WLRN 91.3 FM at around 5:30 p.m. today, if you are in the Miami area, or wlrn.org to stream my live interview about some more films coming up during the festival. Or just skip the wait and play it here. I was asked to give some advice to aspiring filmmakers and share what films have so far impressed me while I was still previewing some of the movies coming to the film festival. Here’s a trailer for one them:

Hans Morgenstern

(Copyright 2015 by Hans Morgenstern. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

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