Celluloid romanticism and 35mm nostalgia aren’t merely exploited to validate cinematic purism in Dominican director José María Cabral’s most accomplished feature to date, “The Projectionist,” which had its world premiere at the Miami International Film Festival. Instead, the tangible format is put at the service of a fiction that is cleverly intuitive about the narrative value of analog technology and conscious of the socioeconomic situation of its location.
Showing greater stylistic ambition, this substantially more mature work differs from Cabral’s previous drama, “Woodpeckers” (which screened at Sundance 2017), in that the filmmaker suppresses melodramatic outbursts, exchanging them for more symbolic and subdued character construction. Relationships in “The Projectionist” are not grounded on survival instincts, unlike in his last movie, about a prison love triangle. On the contrary, unresolved conflicts and ambiguous attractions take center stage.
Resourceful but lonesome Eliseo (actor-filmmaker Félix German) honors his late father’s laborious...
Showing greater stylistic ambition, this substantially more mature work differs from Cabral’s previous drama, “Woodpeckers” (which screened at Sundance 2017), in that the filmmaker suppresses melodramatic outbursts, exchanging them for more symbolic and subdued character construction. Relationships in “The Projectionist” are not grounded on survival instincts, unlike in his last movie, about a prison love triangle. On the contrary, unresolved conflicts and ambiguous attractions take center stage.
Resourceful but lonesome Eliseo (actor-filmmaker Félix German) honors his late father’s laborious...
- 3/31/2019
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Now in its 36th year, the Miami Intl. Film Festival continues to reflect the cultural vitality and international mindset of its home city. For festival director Jaie Laplante, the programming’s decidedly global focus is a way of accurately representing the city.
“Miami is a very dynamic and cosmopolitan place, really a crossroads between Europe and Latin America,” he says.
This year’s edition, which runs from March 1-10, will showcase more than 160 films from more than 40 different countries.
“We’ve always had a special affinity for works from the Ibero-American world — Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean, Central America, South America,” Laplante says. “It’s a reputation that has been built up over the years.”
To find the most significant international films, Miami’s programmers maintain a presence at the San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival, as well as at those in Ventana Sur and Buenos Aires.
There’s a significant amount...
“Miami is a very dynamic and cosmopolitan place, really a crossroads between Europe and Latin America,” he says.
This year’s edition, which runs from March 1-10, will showcase more than 160 films from more than 40 different countries.
“We’ve always had a special affinity for works from the Ibero-American world — Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean, Central America, South America,” Laplante says. “It’s a reputation that has been built up over the years.”
To find the most significant international films, Miami’s programmers maintain a presence at the San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival, as well as at those in Ventana Sur and Buenos Aires.
There’s a significant amount...
- 3/5/2019
- by Akiva Gottlieb
- Variety Film + TV
The gradual death of celluloid is wistfully mourned in the cine-manic thriller “The Projectionist,” and that’s before it takes on an altogether darker metaphoric resonance — as both physical and psychological projections are spliced in the mind of a lonely traveling cinema manager. The latest feature from prolific young Dominican writer-director José María Cabral — whose last film, “Woodpeckers,” competed at Sundance in 2017 — is his most ambitious and invitingly polished to date, doffing its cap to such intricate Av-based puzzles as “The Conversation” and “Blow Out” while working its own surprising brand of melodrama. Though the drama collapses a little in its cluttered final reels, this is still an inventive vision, carried by the crumpled soulfulness of leading man Felix Germán and vibrant, sweat-soaked visuals: Never has the richness of Kodak stock been more thematically vital to a film’s success.
“The Projectionist’s” cinephilic leanings and nifty genre gymnastics should...
“The Projectionist’s” cinephilic leanings and nifty genre gymnastics should...
- 3/5/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Underscoring the growing appeal of Dominican Republic productions for the international industry, Media Luna New Films has acquired world sales rights to two new film productions: “Mosh,” starring “The Chronicles of Narnia’s” Damian Alcazar, and “Dominicanas,” about how Dominican models have taken the fashion world by storm.
Both films, as well as a third pick-up, “El Rezador,” from Ecuador’s Tito Jara H., will be introduced to buyers at the next week’s Ventana Sur, Latin America’s biggest film market.
Directed by Dominican Juan Antonio Bisonó, in his debut feature, and currently in post-production, “Mosh” toplines Alcázar, who starred in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and “Narcos,” the experimental hip-hop singer and songwriter Omar Augusto Luis (aka Acentoh) and newcomer Rebeca Dalmasí. It turns on Mosh, a contemporary dancer, and her cousin Geronimo, an aspiring rapper. “Set in a colorful and vibrant Dominican Republic, the two will...
Both films, as well as a third pick-up, “El Rezador,” from Ecuador’s Tito Jara H., will be introduced to buyers at the next week’s Ventana Sur, Latin America’s biggest film market.
Directed by Dominican Juan Antonio Bisonó, in his debut feature, and currently in post-production, “Mosh” toplines Alcázar, who starred in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and “Narcos,” the experimental hip-hop singer and songwriter Omar Augusto Luis (aka Acentoh) and newcomer Rebeca Dalmasí. It turns on Mosh, a contemporary dancer, and her cousin Geronimo, an aspiring rapper. “Set in a colorful and vibrant Dominican Republic, the two will...
- 12/7/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
German world sales company Media Luna has snagged international sales rights to Dominican helmer-scribe Jose Maria Cabral’s latest film, “The Projectionist.”
Cabral is best known for his 2017 acclaimed prison-set drama “Woodpeckers” (“Carpinteros”), the first Dominican film to compete at the Sundance Film Festival and the country’s official submission to the 90th Academy Awards’ foreign language film category. In 2012, Cabral’s kidnapping drama, “Checkmate,” represented the country at the Oscars.
Now in post, “The Projectionist” turns on a man who spends many lonely hours operating a projector. His only solace is a woman he sees on a film reel. After an accident with the projector destroys his only connection to her, he travels deep into the remotest and poorest parts of the Dominican Republic to find her.
“José María Cabral is confirming his talent with a maturity that is just impressive,” said Media Luna CEO Ida Martins who closed the deal in Cannes.
Cabral is best known for his 2017 acclaimed prison-set drama “Woodpeckers” (“Carpinteros”), the first Dominican film to compete at the Sundance Film Festival and the country’s official submission to the 90th Academy Awards’ foreign language film category. In 2012, Cabral’s kidnapping drama, “Checkmate,” represented the country at the Oscars.
Now in post, “The Projectionist” turns on a man who spends many lonely hours operating a projector. His only solace is a woman he sees on a film reel. After an accident with the projector destroys his only connection to her, he travels deep into the remotest and poorest parts of the Dominican Republic to find her.
“José María Cabral is confirming his talent with a maturity that is just impressive,” said Media Luna CEO Ida Martins who closed the deal in Cannes.
- 5/12/2018
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Panellists discuss mentors, manuals and experiences.
The need for strong mentors, mutual support, and strong workplace boundaries were among the themes that emerged from an Iff Panama panel on the role of women.
“Start a collective of women because that’s the most powerful thing,” New York-based producer Laura Michalchyshyn said. “That’s how you start to make change. As a producer I ask who are the lead and who are the supporting roles. If women are attached to minor roles or demeaning roles without substance, I throw it in the trash.”
Michalchyshyn (pictured far right), who co-founded Sundance Productions...
The need for strong mentors, mutual support, and strong workplace boundaries were among the themes that emerged from an Iff Panama panel on the role of women.
“Start a collective of women because that’s the most powerful thing,” New York-based producer Laura Michalchyshyn said. “That’s how you start to make change. As a producer I ask who are the lead and who are the supporting roles. If women are attached to minor roles or demeaning roles without substance, I throw it in the trash.”
Michalchyshyn (pictured far right), who co-founded Sundance Productions...
- 4/9/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Director Patricio Guzman’s Cordillera among winners in industry strands.
The 32nd Guadalajara Film Festival (March 10-17), bookended by fierce criticism of Us president Donald Trump by local and international industry, has feted Everardo Gonzalez’s documentary Devil’s Freedom (La Libertad Del Diablo) with best Mexican feature, best Ibero-American documentary and best cinematography as well as the Mexican film critics trophy.
The feature, about violence in Mexico, is handled by Films Boutique and received its world premiere in Berlin earlier this year where it won an Amnesty International award.
Carlos Lechuga’s Santa And Andres, about political dissent in Cuba, was named best Ibero-American feature and also won best script.
Nicaraguan director Jose Maria Cabral’s prison drama Carpinteros (Woodpeckers) won best Ibero-American director in addition to best actor for Jean Jean.
Mexican debutant Sofia Gomez’s The Blue Years (Los Anios Azules), a coming of age drama, garnered five awards including best director, the Fipresci...
The 32nd Guadalajara Film Festival (March 10-17), bookended by fierce criticism of Us president Donald Trump by local and international industry, has feted Everardo Gonzalez’s documentary Devil’s Freedom (La Libertad Del Diablo) with best Mexican feature, best Ibero-American documentary and best cinematography as well as the Mexican film critics trophy.
The feature, about violence in Mexico, is handled by Films Boutique and received its world premiere in Berlin earlier this year where it won an Amnesty International award.
Carlos Lechuga’s Santa And Andres, about political dissent in Cuba, was named best Ibero-American feature and also won best script.
Nicaraguan director Jose Maria Cabral’s prison drama Carpinteros (Woodpeckers) won best Ibero-American director in addition to best actor for Jean Jean.
Mexican debutant Sofia Gomez’s The Blue Years (Los Anios Azules), a coming of age drama, garnered five awards including best director, the Fipresci...
- 3/17/2017
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
Why Sundance Goers, and Audiences at Every Festival, Should Embrace World Cinema Over Popular Main-Slate Titles“God’s Own Country”
Eager to brave the extreme amounts of snow piling on every sidewalk and road in Park City, scores of freezing, malnourished, and often overworked film journalists and industry professionals line up hours in advance in order to secure a satisfying seat to that star-studded, Oscar-friendly, English-language stunner people have been raving about at every party or bus top around town. It’s understandable, they are desperate to become conquerors and be the first to plant their flag on the year’s big discovery. Trendsetting is a currency that in film criticism, like in many other occupations, is vital to acquire a certain level of recognition and validation.
However, even though being able to predict the future and to see the merits of a film before the crowd has sunk their...
Eager to brave the extreme amounts of snow piling on every sidewalk and road in Park City, scores of freezing, malnourished, and often overworked film journalists and industry professionals line up hours in advance in order to secure a satisfying seat to that star-studded, Oscar-friendly, English-language stunner people have been raving about at every party or bus top around town. It’s understandable, they are desperate to become conquerors and be the first to plant their flag on the year’s big discovery. Trendsetting is a currency that in film criticism, like in many other occupations, is vital to acquire a certain level of recognition and validation.
However, even though being able to predict the future and to see the merits of a film before the crowd has sunk their...
- 2/17/2017
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: Dominican filmmaker José María Cabral, just off the Sundance debut of his film Carpinteros (Woodpeckers), has signed with Apa for agency representation. The pic, which Cabral wrote and directed, was one of the 12 films chosen to premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Shot in an actual jail with real inmates and prison guards, the film follows Julián (Jean Jean), who finds love and a reason for living in the last place imaginable: the Dominican…...
- 2/15/2017
- Deadline
What starts as an institutional romance quickly becomes something altogether different in Carpinteros (Woodpeckers), a drama-turned-prison thriller from the Dominican Republic that opens, like many a prison picture, with a gut punch. Julian (Jean Jean) arrives at the Najayo Prison finding himself hazed at every turn. To earn his keep he serves as a tradesman cooking and repairing equipment. For protection he links up with Manaury (Emilo Candelario) a jailhouse powerbroker that deals drugs right out of the kitchen supply cabinet. Manaury is in love with Yanelly (Judith Rodriguez), a prisoner in the women’s compound across the way; they exchange notes, pictures, and soiled panties through a complex system of smuggling as some craftsman are sent to work in the women’s area.
The lovers communicate with each other through sign language, under the guard’s radar, trading glances, flirtations and vows once released. Manaury is on the outs with Yanelly,...
The lovers communicate with each other through sign language, under the guard’s radar, trading glances, flirtations and vows once released. Manaury is on the outs with Yanelly,...
- 1/28/2017
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Dominican writer/director José María Cabral has made several feature films at the age of just 28. His latest, Woodpeckers (Carpinteros), tells a love story inside the Najayo Prison in the Dominican Republic. As he’s done on most of his features to date, Cabral served as the editor on Woodpeckers. Below, Cabral discusses the challenges of editing this film, which relies heavily on a form of prison sign language (or wood-pecking) for communication. Woodpeckers premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to […]...
- 1/24/2017
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
January 19 Update: Heading into Park City’s opening night screening of An Inconvenient Sequel on Thursday, we take a look at a dozen acquisition titles likely to spark deals once the action gets underway.
The Sundance Film Festival will unveil 120 features over the course of ten days, setting the tone of Us independent cinema in 2017, unearthing international gems and launching several potential awards contenders.
While a certain number of films arrived with distribution already in place, others have sparked deals in the last few weeks (we’re thinking of you, Call Me By Your Name, Casting JonBenet, Berlin Syndrome and Long Strange Trip).
Then there are the acquisition titles. Sundance inevitably sparks a multitude of deals during and after the event and buyers expect modestly priced transactions in the $3-5m range. This has been a common refrain every year since 2008. Watch the numbers soar on a handful of titles.
What follows...
The Sundance Film Festival will unveil 120 features over the course of ten days, setting the tone of Us independent cinema in 2017, unearthing international gems and launching several potential awards contenders.
While a certain number of films arrived with distribution already in place, others have sparked deals in the last few weeks (we’re thinking of you, Call Me By Your Name, Casting JonBenet, Berlin Syndrome and Long Strange Trip).
Then there are the acquisition titles. Sundance inevitably sparks a multitude of deals during and after the event and buyers expect modestly priced transactions in the $3-5m range. This has been a common refrain every year since 2008. Watch the numbers soar on a handful of titles.
What follows...
- 1/19/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
January 19 Update: Heading into Park City’s opening night screening of An Inconvenient Sequel on Thursday, we take a look at a dozen acquisition titles likely to spark deals once the action gets underway.
The Sundance Film Festival will unveil 120 features over the course of ten days, setting the tone of Us independent cinema in 2017, unearthing international gems and launching several potential awards contenders.
While a certain number of films arrived with distribution already in place, others have sparked deals in the last few weeks (we’re thinking of you, Call Me By Your Name, Casting JonBenet, Berlin Syndrome and Long Strange Trip).
Then there are the acquisition titles. Sundance inevitably sparks a multitude of deals during and after the event and buyers expect modestly priced transactions in the $3-5m range. This has been a common refrain every year since 2008. Watch the numbers soar on a handful of titles.
What follows...
The Sundance Film Festival will unveil 120 features over the course of ten days, setting the tone of Us independent cinema in 2017, unearthing international gems and launching several potential awards contenders.
While a certain number of films arrived with distribution already in place, others have sparked deals in the last few weeks (we’re thinking of you, Call Me By Your Name, Casting JonBenet, Berlin Syndrome and Long Strange Trip).
Then there are the acquisition titles. Sundance inevitably sparks a multitude of deals during and after the event and buyers expect modestly priced transactions in the $3-5m range. This has been a common refrain every year since 2008. Watch the numbers soar on a handful of titles.
What follows...
- 1/19/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Heading into Park City’s opening night screening of An Inconvenient Sequel on Thursday, we take a look at a dozen acquisition titles likely to spark deals once the action gets underway.
The Sundance Film Festival will unveil 120 features over the course of ten days, setting the tone of Us independent cinema in 2017, unearthing international gems and launching several potential awards contenders.
While a certain number of films arrived with distribution already in place, others have sparked deals in the last few weeks (we’re thinking of you, Call Me By Your Name, Casting JonBenet, Berlin Syndrome and Long Strange Trip).
Then there are the acquisition titles. Sundance inevitably sparks a multitude of deals during and after the event and buyers expect modestly priced transactions in the $3-5m range. This has been a common refrain every year since 2008. Watch the numbers soar on a handful of titles.
What follows is a list of 12 films we believe...
The Sundance Film Festival will unveil 120 features over the course of ten days, setting the tone of Us independent cinema in 2017, unearthing international gems and launching several potential awards contenders.
While a certain number of films arrived with distribution already in place, others have sparked deals in the last few weeks (we’re thinking of you, Call Me By Your Name, Casting JonBenet, Berlin Syndrome and Long Strange Trip).
Then there are the acquisition titles. Sundance inevitably sparks a multitude of deals during and after the event and buyers expect modestly priced transactions in the $3-5m range. This has been a common refrain every year since 2008. Watch the numbers soar on a handful of titles.
What follows is a list of 12 films we believe...
- 1/19/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Film Festival is soon approaching and that means many will be able to catch the first premieres of 2017. One of the films that will premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition is “Carpinteros (Woodpeckers),” about a young man who finds love in a Dominican Republic Prison. When Julián (Jean Jean) steps off the bus and becomes fresh meat in Najayo Prison, he didn’t know that he would become a Woodpecker, prisoners who romance ladies incarcerated at the women’s prison 150 meters across the way, or find the love of his life. But soon, he encounters Yanelly (Judith Rodriguez Perez) and must find a way to win her love, all while keeping it a secret and escaping the walls that trap his heart. Watch an exclusive trailer from the film below and check out the poster as well.
Read More: Sundance 2017 Announces Competition and Next Lineups, Including Returning...
Read More: Sundance 2017 Announces Competition and Next Lineups, Including Returning...
- 1/13/2017
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
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