Latino Films Shine at Sundance Film Festival

  Lock Charmer (El cerrajero)         Lock Charmer (El cerrajero) is Argentine Writer-Director Natalia Smirnoff’s second film. Puzzle, her first, was selected for competition at the Berlin International Film Festival. Lock Charmer (El cerrajero) is the charming tale of a locksmith, Sebastian, who begins having weird visions about his clients after learning his girlfriend, is pregnant. Interested in putting his powers to good use, Sebastian recruits some unlikely assistants. Smirnoff shared with me her thoughts on what Sundance has meant to her career, “from an economic and financial point of view, the venue where a movie makes its ‘world premier,’ is fundamentally for the history of the film—being chosen for Sundance guarantees that you will get into other festivals. It’s about promoting and getting the buzz going about a film, which significantly increases your chances to get distribution in the important North American market, as well as other markets. It doesn’t make or break your film, but it helps and it all adds up,” Smirnoff notes. Cesar’s Last Fast             Cesar’s Last Fast is Director Richard Ray Perez’s multi-platform feature documentary, which was produced with the support of the Latino Public Broadcasting and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The film documents the great civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, and the private sacrifice and spiritual conviction behind his struggle for the humane treatment of America’s farm workers. Chavez’s legacy continues to have great impact on today’s generation of organizers fighting for farm worker rights. This film was completely sold out during the festival and was bought by Pivot, Participant Media’s TV network, and partner Univision. In what may be a first, Cesar’s Last Fast will premiere simultaneously in English and Spanish on the two networks—Pivot and the Univision Network, respectively. The nature of the indie business is evolving, and the mega deals like the $10 million paid for Little Miss Sunshine may be a thing of the past. Compare that deal to the $3 million deal that Sony Pictures Classics made for Whiplash, the Audience and Jury Awards winner this year. This may be as much a function of the business of distribution changing dramatically with influential players like CNN, Netflix and other VOD channels entering the game, as much as the actual economic climate of the last few years. More Latino Stories to Tell I am hopeful that this December, when I hear the line up of films for the 2015 Sundance Festival, I won’t be disappointed, and that it will feature more and a broader spectrum of new Latino filmmakers voices, and that during Sundance madness in January of 2015 more Latino stories will be bought and exposed to U.S. and International audiences. Most recent post by Maria: 2014- The Year of the Latino Entrepreneur 5 Tips- Digital for Small to Midsize Businesses