INTERNATIONAL FEATURES/U.S. PREMIERE
ABALLAYis the ultimate Latin American western, a return to the grassroots and
those legendary adventures of the unscrupulous gaucho ‘malo’. Canvas meets
celluloid in this cinematic indie piece, an adaptation by award winner director
Fernando Spiner(Adios Querida Luna)from a short story by Antonio Di Benedetto,
with Nazareno Casero ('Buenos Aires', '1977') and Claudio Rissi ('Nine Queens').
Filmed entirely in the remote Tucuman region, ABALLAY is a true sample of fine
alternative south of the border. Winner of 4 international awards, Variety
recommended.
SPECTRUM: SHORT FILMS
Intent on making a film, a group of resourceful young boys decide to go where the cameras are – right in the middle of the Gaza Strip. This is one of 22 shorts based on the major themes of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This film is playing with SPECTRUM: SHORT FILMS
Featured/INTERNATIONAL FEATURES/NEW YORK PREMIERE
Angel is an honest accountant who endeavors to do his best at work. Nevertheless, he gets fired. With a family to sustain and no job in sight, he sets aside his values and gets entangled with a third-rate band of thieves where he discovers friendship, loyalty and self-esteem -- but no money. With his foray into the criminal underworld a failure, Angel is forced to find another way to survive.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES/NEW YORK PREMIERE
On January 19, 2000, Seton Hall University was thrust into the national news when a fire set by arsonists raced through a freshman dorm, killing three students and injuring 58 others. Two of the most critically burned survivors were roommates Shawn Simmons and Alvaro Llanos.
Juxtaposed against their incredible struggle to recover is the story of the hunt for, and eventual prosecution of, the arsonists. A true story of unimaginable suffering and unbelievable courage; a gripping tale of heroes and cowards
Short Films
Luzia lives in the countryside of Brazil with her parents and her brother, Pedro. When Luzia wants to go to school like her brother, her father tells her no. Repressed by tradition, Luzia learns to read using her own method. This film is playing with SHORTS PROGRAM: CHILD’S PLAY
NEW YORK PREMIERE/PUERTO RICAN SHOWCASE
Starring Edward James Olmos & Lymari Nadal. America, the protagonist whose name might seem to evoke opportunity and safe haven, instead lives a paltry existence in the shadow of abuse and poverty in Vieques--a tiny island east of Puerto Rico. She escapes to New York to work for a wealthy family as a nanny, and with the help of other Latinas, begins to build confidence in a new life. Her lover reappears, however, and again pushes her to her limit, as she barely hangs on to her life and what is left of her dream. America’s story is one of finding the guts to say “No more!” and the courage to mean it.
Cine Gay Showcase/Documania!/Documentary Competition
Angel is a former boxer from Ecuador, now, improbably, a transsexual prostitute in Paris. In his first trip home since he left Ecuador, he is confronted with the harsh reality of his country and with the ambiguity of the relationship with his family that he’s been supporting with his hard-earned wages. Angel is an immersion into the complex reality of Ecuador and the issue of migrants' economic remittances. But, above all, it is the story of a touching individual and his solitary fight for justice and acceptance.
INTERNATIONAL FEATURES/NEW YORK PREMIERE
Negus, Chale, Sapo, and Chata are teenagers living in Mexico’s Guerrero colony. Friends since childhood, they have too much time on their hands and spend most of it drowning their problems in a constant haze of marijuana, lusting after the opposite sex and hanging out at skate parks, graffiti hot spots and hip-hop jam sessions. One day, the foursome have a massive brainstorm — they decide to rob the local cinema! Each finds his or her reason to go ahead with the caper, unaware that the ordeal may threaten the only thing they have — their friendship.
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