June 2010 Newsletter - Las Américas Film Network


JUNE 2010
In this issue New Releases Tijuana Project update Traveling this summer? Help us find new films! El Buen Viaje Film Series NEW RELEASES NOMADAK TX Named one of the Top 20 documentaries of the last 20 years by the International Documentary Foundation; Winner at Guadalajara, San Sebastián, Silverdocs and many more. Nomadak TX tells the story of two Basque musicians moving across the globe with their unique musical instrument, the txalaparta. As they travel to India, Lapland, the Sahara and Mongolia, they fuse their musical tradition with that of the locals. Our musicians - Igor and Harkaitz - travel across long deserts, frozen wastelands and treacherous mountains in search of the sound that creates culture. Ultimately they find a space where are all people come together. Watch YouTube trailer. REHJE Mexican Academy Awards Nomination, April 2010 After forty years living in Mexico City, Antonia longs to go back to her home town, a Mazahua village in the state of Mexico. When she finally decides to do that, she encounters a lot of things that she didn’t expect, like the scarcity of water that threatens life in her community. Watch YouTube trailer. TIJUANA PROJECT NARRATED BY EDWARD JAMES OLMOS This past winter a mutual friend introduced director John Sheedy to the legendary actor Edward James Olmos. Mr. Olmos took an immediate interest in the film, recognizing the value of this historically important documentary. As a personal contribution to the project, Mr. Olmos agreed to narrate the film. We applaud Mr. Olmos for his involvement in this project. "After winning the "Kaiser Permanente Thrive" award at it's premier at Cinequest, The Tijuana Project, has been accepted to six other film festivals including The San Diego Latino Film Festival, The Durango Indie Film Festival, The San Francisco Latino Film Festival, and the Arizona International Film Festival in Tucson. As part of the Arizona festival, The TJP participated in the "Festivals in the Schools" program, reaching more then a thousand students with the film and activities relating to the film. The Tijuana Project also recently screened for the Environmental Protection Agency in Southern California and at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana". - Director, John Sheedy. TRAVELING THIS SUMMER? HELP US FIND NEW FILMS! As many of you set off on your summer travel, we would like to ask that you be on the look-out for new films for our catalog. Finding films that do not make it in the traditional festival circuit are always difficult. Often filmmakers do not have the resources to even enter their films in festivals, since now, so many festivals are charging incredibly inflated submission prices. Additionally, some educational and research based films are not suited for festivals and thus don't the exposure they deserve. As you travel to far away, and not so far away, places this summer, remember that we are always looking for new films to add to our catalog. Ultimately making these films available to a wider audiencec will be of benefit to both the filmmaker and the research community. When you find a film that you think would be valuable to academics and general enthusiasts, contact the filmmaker and let them know you know of a distributor in the US that might be interested in seeing their work. If possible, receiving a copy of the film would be best. At the very least, simply send us an email stating the name of the film, director and any other information you have, and we will try to track it down. Thanks for your help as we continue to grow our collection. EL BUEN VIAJE FILM SERIES Attention Programs! Are you looking for an easy to organize film series, where all the work is done for you? Do you want to establish a series, but do not have the time or resources to rent the films and develop promotional materials? Our Buen Viaje Film Series could be the perfect option for you. Rental of the series includes four to eight curated films, a poster, postcards and a web site to promote the event. While the film selection is ongoing, we are currently accepting inquires from potential venues. The Buen Viaje series is the perfect package for easy programming that won't break your budget. Allow Las Américas Film Network to do the work for you by programming this series in the fall or spring. For more information, please email us. RECENT RELEASES ¿QUIÉN SOY YO ? (WHO AM I? THE FOUND CHILDREN OF ARGENTINA)The children of Argentina's disappeared are now young adults struggling with such complex and traumatic discoveries. For three decades, the Plaza de Mayo Grandmothers have been searching for their 500 stolen grandchildren. SUPER AMIGOS is a feature-length documentary that follows these five modern-day Super Heroes as they fight for social justice and human rights in Mexico City. DOS PATRIAS: CUBA Y LA NOCHE is the story of five gay men and one transsexual woman living in and around Havana. "Portrayed with sensitivity", The New York Times GRISSI SIKNIS: THE MAGIC SICKNESS OF THE JUNGLE “An epidemic of collective madness is affecting the Miskito communities of the banks at Coco River. Twenty people are suffering the disease and many of them are lost in the mountain where they ran as the result of the state of madness this strange disturbance is causing them”

In this issue

New Releases
Tijuana Project update
Traveling this summer? Help us find new films!
El Buen Viaje Film Series

NEW RELEASES

NOMADAK TX

Named one of the Top 20 documentaries of the last 20 years by the International Documentary Foundation; Winner at Guadalajara, San Sebastián, Silverdocs and many more.

Nomadak TX tells the story of two Basque musicians moving across the globe with their unique musical instrument, the txalaparta. As they travel to India, Lapland, the Sahara and Mongolia, they fuse their musical tradition with that of the locals. Our musicians - Igor and Harkaitz - travel across long deserts, frozen wastelands and treacherous mountains in search of the sound that creates culture. Ultimately they find a space where are all people come together. Watch YouTube trailer.

REHJE

Mexican Academy Awards Nomination, April 2010

After forty years living in Mexico City, Antonia longs to go back to her home town, a Mazahua village in the state of Mexico. When she finally decides to do that, she encounters a lot of things that she didn’t expect, like the scarcity of water that threatens life in her community. Watch YouTube trailer.

TIJUANA PROJECT NARRATED BY EDWARD JAMES OLMOS

This past winter a mutual friend introduced director John Sheedy to the legendary actor Edward James Olmos. Mr. Olmos took an immediate interest in the film, recognizing the value of this historically important documentary. As a personal contribution to the project, Mr. Olmos agreed to narrate the film. We applaud Mr. Olmos for his involvement in this project.

"After winning the "Kaiser Permanente Thrive" award at it's premier at Cinequest, The Tijuana Project, has been accepted to six other film festivals including The San Diego Latino Film Festival, The Durango Indie Film Festival, The San Francisco Latino Film Festival, and the Arizona International Film Festival in Tucson. As part of the Arizona festival, The TJP participated in the "Festivals in the Schools" program, reaching more then a thousand students with the film and activities relating to the film. The Tijuana Project also recently screened for the Environmental Protection Agency in Southern California and at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana". - Director, John Sheedy.

TRAVELING THIS SUMMER? HELP US FIND NEW FILMS!

As many of you set off on your summer travel, we would like to ask that you be on the look-out for new films for our catalog. Finding films that do not make it in the traditional festival circuit are always difficult. Often filmmakers do not have the resources to even enter their films in festivals, since now, so many festivals are charging incredibly inflated submission prices. Additionally, some educational and research based films are not suited for festivals and thus don't the exposure they deserve. As you travel to far away, and not so far away, places this summer, remember that we are always looking for new films to add to our catalog. Ultimately making these films available to a wider audiencec will be of benefit to both the filmmaker and the research community.

When you find a film that you think would be valuable to academics and general enthusiasts, contact the filmmaker and let them know you know of a distributor in the US that might be interested in seeing their work. If possible, receiving a copy of the film would be best. At the very least, simply send us an email stating the name of the film, director and any other information you have, and we will try to track it down.

Thanks for your help as we continue to grow our collection.

EL BUEN VIAJE FILM SERIES

Attention Programs! Are you looking for an easy to organize film series, where all the work is done for you? Do you want to establish a series, but do not have the time or resources to rent the films and develop promotional materials? Our Buen Viaje Film Series could be the perfect option for you. Rental of the series includes four to eight curated films, a poster, postcards and a web site to promote the event. While the film selection is ongoing, we are currently accepting inquires from potential venues. The Buen Viaje series is the perfect package for easy programming that won't break your budget. Allow Las Américas Film Network to do the work for you by programming this series in the fall or spring. For more information, please email us.

RECENT RELEASES

¿QUIÉN SOY YO ? (WHO AM I? THE FOUND CHILDREN OF ARGENTINA)The children of Argentina's disappeared are now young adults struggling with such complex and traumatic discoveries. For three decades, the Plaza de Mayo Grandmothers have been searching for their 500 stolen grandchildren.

SUPER AMIGOS is a feature-length documentary that follows these five modern-day Super Heroes as they fight for social justice and human rights in Mexico City.

DOS PATRIAS: CUBA Y LA NOCHE is the story of five gay men and one transsexual woman living in and around Havana. "Portrayed with sensitivity", The New York Times

GRISSI SIKNIS: THE MAGIC SICKNESS OF THE JUNGLE “An epidemic of collective madness is affecting the Miskito communities of the banks at Coco River. Twenty people are suffering the disease and many of them are lost in the mountain where they ran as the result of the state of madness this strange disturbance is causing them”