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QPIX STUDENTS ARE TROPFEST FINALISTS
Graduates of QPIX’s 2011 Diploma of Production course have won their way into the finals of TROPFEST, the world’s largest short film festival, with their student production PHOTOBOOTH. Set in the Afghanistan conflict, PHOTOBOOTH is one of a sequence of...
'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu' Out February 10
(Nationwide)
Over The Fence Comedy Film Deadline
(Nationwide)
Rottofest 2012: Call For Entries Now Open!
(Nationwide)
latest news
Geoffrey Rush Joins Tropfest
The acclaimed actor and newly-crowned Australian of the Year, Geoffrey Rush, will be a key player in 2012’s Tropfest activities.
Naomi Watts To Play Princess Diana
The Aussie actress is set to play the people’s princess in an upcoming film that chronicles the final two years of Diana’s life.
Sullivan Stapleton Signs On To ‘300’ Prequel
The Aussie actor has beat out the competition to land a role in the upcoming blockbuster.
James Cameron Loses Long Time Australian Collaborators
Producer Andrew Wight and cinematographer Mike deGruy lose their lives in a helicopter crash.
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La Mirada Film Festival – An Unconventional Romance
Filmink went along to check out the Opening Night festivities at La Mirada
Latin American and Spanish cinema is a pleasure Australian audiences rarely have a chance to enjoy. Bridging this gap for the last four years is Melbourne's La Mirada Film Festival, showcasing the best in Latin cinema and culture, with none other than the celebrated Pedro Almodovar as programmer and spiritual guide.
Guests at the Opening Night were welcomed by a video of Almodovar and his guest curators, Martin Scorsese and Stephen Daldry, who introduced the varying roster of films, including the Opening Night film, Me Too, the debut feature from directors Alvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro.
As an introduction to Spanish cinema, Me Too is a crowd-pleasing good choice. An unconventional romantic comedy, it tells the story of Daniel, a young man with Down's Syndrome who graduates from college and lands a job at a welfare office, where he meets and falls in love with Laura, a free spirit with a secretive past. The relationship that develops is hampered not just by his condition but by the prejudices of the people around them.
Naharro and Pastor's goals with the film are noble: to denounce discrimination against people with a disability and to portray them as normal members of society who have rights as much as anyone to make a life for themselves and find happiness. Thankfully, they avoid beating audiences over the head with this point, going about it in a much subtler fashion.
Me Too actors Pablo Pineda and Lola Dueñas won acting awards at the San Sebastian Film Festival; and they have surprising chemistry as good friends who might just be more than that. Pineda is especially good, basically playing in a fictional version of his life story, which served as the basis of the film. He's also not afraid to poke fun at himself: this movie is funny in a good-natured way, and we end up laughing with him rather than at him.
Me Too is a romantic comedy which manages to portray a sensitive issue in a respectful manner, without preaching to its audience or being over-the-top (this extends to the climax, unexpected for the rom-com genre but in line with the situation). It's slight, but also good-natured and fun.
Naharro and Pastor's film is a winning way to introduce Melbourne film fans to the joys of Latin American cinema - a crowd-pleasing and undemanding time. La Mirada opened its doors wide, inviting filmgoers to discover something new in the world of film.
La Mirada runs from the 1st to the 12th of April at the ACMI Cinema and Cinema Nova in Melbourne. Me Too will screen on the 12th of April as part of the Best of the Fest programme. For more information head to the Festival website.