Miami Film Festival unveiled the lineup of 26 films from 14 countries for its 10th Miami Film Festival (MFF) GEMS taking place from November 2 – 5, 2023.
GEMS will open with the Mexican drama Radical. Four Centerpiece Screenings – the survivalist thriller Society of the Snow, the animated feature “The Boy and the Heron,” provocative comedy “American Fiction”and psychological thriller drama Saltburn – leading to the closing night feature, The Holdovers, a comedy-drama by Alexander Payne starring Paul Giamatti.
The festival will open on Nov. 2 with Radical, directed by Christopher Zalla, based on a true story about a teacher in a Mexican border town full of neglect, corruption and violence who tries a new method to unlock his students’ curiosity, potential…and maybe even their genius. The film stars Eugenio Derbez, who will receive GEMS’ Impact Award for his extraordinary contribution to the Latin American entertainment landscape, as well bringing attention to the advancement of educational equity for Latino students. Immediately following the screening, GEMS will host its annual Opening Night Celebration, celebrating Mexican culture on the Day of the Dead.
Four Centerpiece Screenings will take place over the weekend. Spain’s official submission to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature, “Society of the Snow,”directed by J. A. Bayona, recounts the thrilling true story about the flight of a rugby team that crashes on a glacier in the Andes. The few passengers who survive the crash find themselves in one of the world’s toughest environments to survive. TIFF Audience Award winner “American Fiction,” directed by Cord Jefferson, tells the story of Monk, a frustrated novelist who is fed up with the establishment that profits from Black entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, he uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain. The MGM/Orion Pictures film stars Jeffrey Wright, Adam Brody, Issa Rae, Keith David, Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown. Animated film “The Boy and the Heron,”directed by Hayao Miyazaki, is about a young 12-year-old boy who struggles to settle in a new town after his mother’s death until a talking heron informs Mahito that his mother is still alive and transports him to another world. “Saltburn,” directed and written by Emerald Fennell and starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, is about a student who is invited to an eccentric classmate’s estate for an exciting summer.
The festival has arranged a special culinary pairing with Undisclosed by Meat N’ Bone: “The Taste of Things: A Culinary Ode in 8 Acts,” a dining experience that transcends mere meals to resonate with the very essence of the film that inspired it. Chef Chucho Rojas’ custom-designed eight-course culinary experience evokes the magic and emotion of the cinema. Chucho trained and worked under the tutelage of Chef Pierre Gagnair, who not only appeared in the film but also served as its culinary director.
Closing out the 10th edition on Nov. 5, GEMS will present The Holdovers by acclaimed director Alexander Payne. The film stars Paul Giamatti as a cranky history teacher at a prep school who is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a student who has no family plans.
Other notable films screening at the 2023 GEMS festival includes 7 Official Submissions to the Academy Awards Best International Feature Film award category:
- “All of Us Strangers” (Directed by Andrew Haigh)
- “The Delinquents” (Directed by Rodrigo Moreno)
- “Dream Scenario” (Directed by Kristoffer Borgli)
- “Drift” (Directed by Anthony Chen)
- “Evil Does Not Exist” (Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
- “Fallen Leaves” (Directed by Aki Kaurismäki) *Finland’s Official Submission
- “I Used to Be Funny” (Directed by Ally Pankiw)
- “La Chimera’ (Directed by Alice Rohrwacher)
- “Memory” (Directed by Michel Franco)
- “The Monk and The Gun” (Directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji) *Bhutan’s Official Submission
- “Monster” (Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda)
- “Pay Or Die” (Directed by Rachael Dyer and Scott Alexander Ruderman)
- “Perfect Days” (Directed by Wim Wenders) *Japan’s Official Submission
- “The Promised Land” (Directed by Wim Wenders) *Denmark’s Official Submission
- “Robot Dreams” (Directed by Pablo Berger)
- “The Taste of Things” – Culinary Pairing (Directed by Anh Hung Tran) *France’s Official Submission
- “The Teacher’s Lounge” (Directed by Ilker Çatak) *Germany’s Official Submission
- “They Called Him Mostly Harmless” (Directed by Patricia E. Gillespie)
- “Totem” (Directed by Lila Avilés) *Mexico’s Official Submission
GEMS Preview Night on October 10 features Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. This thrilling drama plays out like an operatic autopsy, dissecting one woman’s life – and tumultuous marriage – after her husband dies under suspicious circumstances. Part courtroom drama, part mystery, the film will have you questioning the very nature of truth itself.
“This year’s GEMS is all about coming together to celebrate excellence in cinema. This lineup gives audiences not just cultural diversity, but a curated package of films that span the gamut of everything from star-studded crowd pleasers to prestige pictures from some of cinema’s most beloved auteurs. We’re so proud to have a lineup of films that will inspire audiences and reignite their love of cinema,” said Lauren Cohen, Director of Programming.
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