What’s the Use?

  • Cine Las Americas International Film Festival Announces 2015 Film Lineup

    Agave is Life movie   Cine Las Americas International Film Festival announced  its 2015 program, including the Hecho en Tejas showcases. All films are presented in English or with English subtitles (if English is not the original language). The 18th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival is scheduled for April 22-26, 2015, in Austin, Texas. The full festival lineup includes 41 feature films, 49 short films, and 5 music videos, in representation of 18 countries’ participation in production and co-production of the films. Hecho en Tejas films are shot and/or produced in Texas and showcase the wide variety of work by filmmakers with varied backgrounds and experience.  This year, the Hecho en Tejas program includes two feature films, six short films, and two music videos. About the Hecho en Tejas Films Features Agave is Life (pictured above) Dir. David Brown, Meredith Dreiss Historical/Cultural Documentary, 2014 AGAVE IS LIFE is the story of mankind’s alliance with the agave plant, from which tequila is derived. Told through the lens of archaeological and historical investigations, and narrated by Edward James Olmos, the film explores ten thousand years of the human-agave relationship. Once a critical resource for hunter-gatherers, agave was a source of food, drink, textiles, fuel, and medicines. We learn that this unique desert plant, once embedded in cultural identity, mythology, art, and rituals, faces an uncertain future. Today, ancient folkways, from fiber craftsmanship to traditional pulque and mescal productions, are rapidly disappearing. While entrepreneurs and scientists work to turn the tide, a loss of diversity of both cultivated and wild species may be the ultimate arbitrator.   What’s the Use? Dir. Nicole Elmer Alternative/Comedy/Drama, 2014 Seventeen year-old Sara defends her pride from a career oriented greasy-spoon waitress and her potty mouth. In the gymnastics of her self-defense, she recalls the night when she moved home to live with her father Tony, a skinny loser fresh out of rehab. Determined to start their lives over, he throws her a birthday party, only to have it wrecked by Shy, a dangerous loan shark. Pissed by her father’s passive retreat into his bedroom, Sara sets off to find Shy and take care of her father’s debt on her own. On her journey through the 4th of July heat of Austin, Texas, she meets a love-starved perfectionist, a professional Love Guru, and an eccentric who is planning a painless suicide. Finally reaching Shy, he pushes her fragile ego to the edge, where she is forced to finally see her family’s dark secret and realize she might be her own greatest enemy.   Shorts ¿Por qué el recuerdo? (The Solitude of Memory), Dir. Juan Pablo González El fuego detrás (The Fire Behind), Dir. Leo Aguirre Jornaleras (Women Workers), Dir. Marcela Moran Morgan Robyn Collado, Dir. Danea Johnson Sunrise, Dir. Diego Rico Yo soy Juan (I am Juan), Dir. Patrick Rangel   Music Videos El marinero y la sirena (The Sailor and the Mermaid), Dir. Patricia Vonne Whispers and Dreams, Dir. Sharon Arteaga   Film Titles from Full Program, by Program Section New Releases OPENING NIGHT: The Martini Shot, Dir. Demetrius Navarro, USA CLOSING NIGHT: Mr. Kaplan, Dir. Álvaro Brechner, Spain/Uruguay/Germany   ADDITIONAL TITLES: Buscando a Gastón (Finding Gaston), Dir. Patricia Perez, USA/Peru Castanha, Dir. Davi Pretto, Brazil Dólares de arena (Sand Dollars), Dir. Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán, Argentina/Mexico/Dominican Republic Feriado (Holiday), Dir. Diego Araujo, Ecuador/Argentina La isla minima (Marshland), Dir. Alberto Rodríguez, Spain La voz en off (Voice Over), Dir. Cristián Jiménez, Chile/France/Canada The Lodge, Dir. Terril Calder, Canada This May Be the Last Time, Dir. Sterlin Harjo, USA Tres D (Three D), Dir. Rosendo Ruíz, Argentina Viejos amigos (Good Old Boys), Dir. Fernando Villarán, Peru   Narrative Feature Competition Climas, Dir. Enrica Pérez, Peru El futuro (The Future), Dir. Luis López Carrasco, Spain Los enemigos del dolor (The Enemies of Pain), Dir. Arauco Hernandez, Uruguay O Último Cine Drive-in (The Last Drive-in Theater), Dir. Iberê Carvalho, Brazil Viento aparte (A Separate Wind), Dir. Alejandro Gerber Bicecci, Mexico   Documentary Feature Competition Gazelle – The Love Issue, Dir. Cesar Terranova, Brazil/French Polynesia/USA Hotel Nueva Isla, Dir. Irene Gutierrez, Javier Labrador, Cuba/Spain La Violencia: The Untold Truths of Guatemala, Dir. Pia Janning, Til Frohlich, Ireland/Guatemala Poder e impotencia, Un drama en 3 actos (Power and Impotence: A Drama in 3 Acts), Dir. Anna Recalde Miranda, Paraguay/France/Italy Tres mujeres guerreras (Three Women Warriors), Dir. Alexander Preuss, Germany/Colombia   Ambulante Showcase El hogar al revés (Upside Down Home), Dir. Itzel Martínez del Cañizo, Mexico H20mx, Dir. José Cohen, Mexico Retratos de una búsqueda (Portraits of a Search), Dir. Alicia Calderón, Mexico   Panorama Features Algún lugar (On the Road, Somewhere), Dir. Guillermo Zouain, Dominican Republic Anatomía de un vestido (Anatomy of a Dress), Dir. Flora Pérez Garay, Puerto Rico Asolagados (Flooded), Dir. David Vázquez Vázquez, Spain Ati y Mindhiva (As the Tree Under the Hurricane), Dir. Claudia Fischer, Colombia BKLYN 11211, Dir. Zac73dragon, Spain/Bolivia/USA Chuy, El hombre lobo (Chuy, The Wolf Man), Dir. Eva Aridjis, Mexico Dos Aguas (Two Waters), Dir. Patricia Velásquez, Costa Rica/Colombia Flory’s Flame, Dir. Curt Fissel, USA Genoveva, Dir. Paola Castillo Villagran, Chile Icaros, Dir. Georgina Barreiro, Argentina/Peru Les indiens, l’aigle et le dindon (The Indians, the Eagle and the Turkey), Dir. Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier, Karine van Ameringen, Canada Movimientos espectaculares (Spectacular Movements), Dir. Mateo Hinojosa, Bolivia/USA/Venezuela Oil & Water, Dir. Francine Strickwerda, Laurel Spellman Smith, USA Salgán & Salgán: A Father-Son Tango, Dir. Caroline Neal, Argentina   Narrative Shorts Competition Bolero para surfear en Moravia (Bolero for Surfing in Moravia), Dir. Valerio Mendoza Guillén, Venezuela/Czech Republic El sermón de la montaña (Sermon on the Mount), Dir. Pepe Puertas Piñero, Spain Indigo, Dir. Amanda Strong, Canada La carta (The Letter), Dir. Mara Soler, Mexico Leonard Peres, Dir. Missy Hernandez, USA   Documentary Shorts Competition Dona Rosa, Dir. Mathias Mangin, Lucas Mandacaru, Brazil Elena Asins – Génesis, Dir. Álvaro Giménez Sarmiento, Spain Flor de la mar (Flower of the Sea), Dir. Jorge Thielen Armand, Venezuela I Was Born in Mexico, But…, Dir. Corey Ohama, USA Nuestro hogar (Our Home), Dir. Detsy “Mara” Barrigon, Iván Jaripio, Panama   Music Videos C.T.R.L, Dir. Mariana Conde, United Kingdom El marinero y la sirena (The Sailor and the Mermaid), Dir. Patricia Vonne, USA (Hecho en Tejas) La ciudad (The City), Dir. Javier Orman, Tom Farrell, USA Nitahkôtân (I Have Arrived), Dir. Moe Clark, Canada Whispers and Dreams, Dir. Sharon Arteaga, USA (Hecho en Tejas)   Indigenous Shorts Program – Retrospective Día 2 (Day 2), Dir. Dante Cerano Bautista, Mexico Late, Dir. Christi Bertelsen, USA Mohawk Midnight Runners, Dir. Zoe Leigh Hopkins, Canada Poi Dogs, Dir. Joel Moffett, USA Roberta, Dir. Caroline Monnet, Canada Search for the World’s Best Indian Taco, Dir. Steven Judd, USA Smoke Break, Dir. Sally Kewayosh, USA   Panorama Shorts 2 and 2, are 4, Dir. Pedro Sena Nunes, Portugal Aceito (I Do), Dir. Felipe Cabral, Brazil Beyond Recognition, Dir. Michelle Grace Steinberg, USA Bloodlines, Dir. Christopher Cegielski, USA Caballo de mar (Knight of the Seas), Dir. Fernando Alcántara, Iñaki Gaztañaga, Spain Deseo (Desire), Dir. Carolina Cortella, Argentina En la orilla (At the Edge), Dir. Liza Hoos, Xavier Basurto, Mexico Inch’ Allah, Dir. Angélica Romanini, Mexico Nudo (Knot), Dir. Juliana Gómez Castañeda, Cuba Soberano papeleo (Sovereign Paperwork), Dir. Lala Severi, Uruguay Una pared (A Wall), Dir. Javier Ferreiro, Cuba YO, la PEOR de TODAS (I, the WORST of ALL), Dir. Francisco Lupini, USA   Emergencia “Youth Film” Special Presentation Cine Joven Latinitas Showcase, Various Directors, USA   Emergencia “Youth Film” Competition Lineup A Harmonious Cacophony, Dir. Marielle Boland, Isabela Reid, USA A Pirate’s Life, Dir. Isabella Olaguera, Nick Haaf, USA Can I Help You?, Dir. Pedro Salles Leite, Brazil Ella (Elle), Dir. David Hebrero, Spain Growing, Dir. Allison Coon-Come, Canada Háblame (Talk to Me), Dir. Alba Linares, Spain Kayna Wawaiki Jamuni (Now I Come as Your Son), Dir. Nicolas Page, Chile La boda de las calaveras, Dir. Ricardo Miguel Salazar, USA Little Red, Dir. Wynter Rhys, USA Never Comes Easy, Dir. Naate, Canada Pleasant, Dir. Miranda Whitus, USA Sin madre (Without A Mother), Dir. Buffy Almendares, USA The Lonely Baker, Dir. Cyntheara Tham, Allison McInerney, Ayanna Marte, USA The Only Road, Dir. Sergio Valencia, Nathan Miguel, Alan Bagh, USA For the 18th consecutive year, Austin will serve as host to a wide range of international films and filmmakers as the festival creates networking opportunities for industry professionals, and provides a rich cultural experience for statewide audiences. The festival will showcase contemporary films from the US, Canada, Latin America, and the Iberian Peninsula. All films are presented in English and/or subtitled.

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