This morning, Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival announced its GEMS 2016 Lineup. Like last year, the mini film festival will offer an array of films that will satisfy connoisseurs of world cinema, fans of music and those looking for a sneak peak at films that will surely go on to be Oscar contenders.
Unfolding over the course of a long weekend, from Oct. 13 – 16, at Miami Dade College’s Tower Theater, there are some high profile films in store for fans of the festival. The Rolling Stones kick off the festival with The Rolling Stones Olé Olé Olé: A Trip Across Latin America, a documentary about the British legends’ first tour across Latin America in over a decade, capped off with a famous concert in Havana, Cuba, from earlier this year.
Speaking of music, there is another legend from the other side of the Atlantic who will be the subject of a documentary: Iggy Pop. Gimme Danger focuses on Pop’s early days with the Stooges, which also happen to be his most theatrical years. Jim Jarmusch (Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ presents complex, enthralling portrait of the jaded vampire) is at the helm of this one, returning to the music documentary form for the first time in nearly 20 years. There is no word if Pop, who now resides in Miami, will appear at the fest, though. See a clip below:
Beyond these two major music docs, there are some much-anticipated features set to premiere at GEMS, like the latest by former Miami-native Kelly Reichardt (Miami-born Director Kelly Reichardt talks about finding inspiration in her hometown for debut feature River of Grass). Her movie Certain Women, has been riding a wave of buzz since it first premiered at Sundance, earlier this year. Another woman-centric film that set the European film world abuzz is Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, which premiered at Cannes, and is Germany’s entry for the foreign language Oscar race.
Also from Cannes, comes that festival’s Palme D’Or winner, I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach. The film that won that year’s Best Actor awards Best Screenplay will also play GEMS, The Salesman by Iran’s hottest director Asghar Farhadi (About Elly redefines the mystery movie by exploring human shortcomings — a film review).
The weekend film festival will also host its own major premiere. From Argentina, Inseparables, will have its U.S. premiere at GEMS. Writer-director Marcos Carnevale will be present. Some may recognize him from his earlier MFF appearances with the movies Elsa y Fred (2005) and Corazón de León (2013). He will also be the recipient of the event’s annual Precious GEM Award. His latest movie is based on the much-loved French film from 2011, The Intouchables.
Here’s the comprehensive list of all 13 films showing at this years GEMS, with details provided by the fest:
The full GEMS 2016 film slate includes:
- The Rolling Stones Olé Olé Olé: A Trip Across Latin America (UK), directed by Paul Dugdale. *OPENING NIGHT FILM There are few places The Rolling Stones have never played. Until this past spring, Cuba was one of them.
- Inseparables (Argentina), directed by Marcos Carnevale. Spanish with English subtitles. *U.S. PREMIERE, PRECIOUS GEM AWARD NIGHT FILM An inspired Argentine re-imaging of the French film The Intouchables, this version stars Oscar Martinez and Rodrigo de la Serna in bravado performances.
- Certain Women (USA), directed by Kelly Reichardt. FLORIDA PREMIERE Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart and Michelle Williams play three fascinating women not to be underestimated in rural Montana.
- Christine (USA), directed by Antonio Campos. FLORIDA PREMIERE The compassionate true story of one of the most shocking stories in Florida television news history.
- Don’t Call Me Son (Mäe Só Há Uma) (Brazil), directed by Anna Muylaert. Portuguese with English subtitles. FLORIDA PREMIERE The mysteries of maternal love envelop a young man who discovers he was stolen from his crib when he was a baby.
- Gimme Danger (USA), directed by Jim Jarmusch. FLORIDA PREMIERE A candid, funny, and poignant reflection on Iggy Pop’s career.
- I, Daniel Blake (UK/France/Belgium), directed by Ken Loach.FLORIDA PREMIERE. *WINNER OF CANNES FILM FESTIVAL PALME D’OR. A working-class man prevented from working by his health condition fights a soulless bureaucracy that denies him societal aid.
- Kiki, Love To Love (Kiki, El amor se hace) (Spain), directed by Paco Léon. Spanish with English subtitles. *U.S. PREMIERE The biggest box office hit of the year in Spain so far, Kiki is a playful and pleasurable comedy about self-actualization through sexual fulfilment.
- Neruda (Chile/Argentina/Spain/France), directed by Pablo Larrain. Spanish & French with English subtitles.FLORIDA PREMIERE *CHILE’S OSCAR SUBMISSION FOR BEST FOREIGN FILM. Gael Garcia Bernal stars in a slyly imaginative period piece, poised at the intersection of art, ambition and politics in 1940s Chile.
- Old Stone (Lao Shi) (China/Canada), directed by Johnny Ma. Mandarin with English subtitles. FLORIDA PREMIERE Based on real-life incidents in China, Old Stone is both a Kafkaesque nightmare of bureaucratic stupidity and a harrowing, impossible-to-shake thriller.
- The Salesman (Forushande) (Iran/France), directed by Asghar Farhadi. Farsi with English subtitles. FLORIDA PREMIERE *WINNER OF CANNES FILM FESTIVAL BEST ACTOR & BEST SCREENPLAY Two actors in an Iranian production of Death of a Salesman find the production’s morality begins to seep into their own lives after a brutal attack.
- Soy Nero (Germany/Mexico/France), directed by Rafi Pitts. English & Spanish with English Subtitles FLORIDA PREMIERE *BEST FILM WINNER, BUCHAREST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL A DREAM-Act teenager of Mexican descent fights to live in the community in which he was born, trading service to the USA in a quest for legitimization.
- Toni Erdmann (Germany), directed by Maren Ade. English & German with English Subtitles. FLORIDA PREMIERE. *GERMANY’S OSCAR SUBMISSION FOR BEST FOREIGN FILM Beautifully constructed on every level, this German comedy is a love song to the divine maelstrom of parental love.
Tickets go on sale to Miami Film Society members exclusively on Friday, Sept. 16 and to the general public on Thursday, Sept. 22. You can call 1-844-565-6433 for tickets or visit: gems2016.miamifilmfestival.com/program.
