Cameras…lights…action! It’s only been a month since Hurricane Odile struck a devastating blow to the southern tip of Baja California, but already Los Cabos is preparing for its close-up at the third annual Los Cabos International Film Festival on November 12 through 16. A record number of film industry professionals and fans are expected to join the unstoppable community of Los Cabos, to enjoy gala celebrations, panels, exhibitions, outdoor screenings, and a grand total of 49 scheduled films including 39 premieres.
The Festival will open on Wednesday, November 12 with “Wild,” starring Reese Witherspoon, who will be in attendance to support the film’s Latin American premiere. On Saturday, November 15th, Rosario Dawson will attend Los Cabos International Film Festival to present the Latin American premiere of Atom Egoyan’s “The Captive” and will have the honor to grant the Canadian tribute award to Mr. Egoyan himself. Dawson plays a detective in the film, which also stars Ryan Gosling. Also on November 15, Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater, the protagonists of “Boyhood,” will present the film, the synthesis of Linklater’s 12 years of filming (2002-2013) to achieve a simple but endearing portrait of the passage from childhood to adulthood.
Through Industry and Official Selection (Los Cabos Competition and Mexico First) activities, the Festival will award a total of USD$335,850 in prizes and incentives for the regional industry. The 2014 Official Selection program includes nine films from Mexico, USA and Canada compete for a USD $15,000 cash prize, and six Mexican productions, director’s first or second film, compete for a USD $15,000 cash prize in the Mexico First section.
The winning films of Los Cabos Competition and Mexico First will be awarded during the Festival’s closing ceremony on November 15. The Los Cabos Competition jury — Diego Luna, Mexican actor, director and producer, Piers Handling, CEO and director of the Toronto International Film Festival, and Mark Adams, chief critics and reviews editor for Screen International — will judge nine films:
• “3 Histories D’Indiens” by Robert Morin (Canada) in its Latin American premiere.
• “10,000 KM” by Carlos Marques-Marcet (USA-Spain) in its Mexican premiere.
• “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” by Ana Lily Amirpour (USA– Iran) in its Mexican premiere.
• “El Regreso Del Muerto” by Gustavo Gamou (Mexico) in its World Premiere.
• “Gueros” by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Mexico).
• “Listen Up Philop” by Alex Ross Perry (USA) in its Mexican premiere.
• “The Overnighters” by Jesse Moss (USA) in its Latin American premiere.
• “Tu Dors Nicole” by Stéphane Lafleur (Canada) in its Mexican premiere.
• “Violent” by Andrew Huculiak (Canada) in its Latin American premiere.
Los Cabos Film Festival will also feature four World Highlights films from different corners of the planet:
• “Eden” by Mia Hansen-Løve (France- 2014) in its Latin American premiere.
• “Kaguyahime no Monogatari -The Tale of Princess Kaguya” (Japan- 2013) in its Latin American premiere.
• “Kraftidioten – In Order of Disappearance” by Hans Petter Moland (Norway, Sweden, Denmark- 2014) in its Latin American premiere.
• “Love is Strange” by Ira Sachs starring John Lithgow (USA- 2014) in its Mexican Premier.
Quebecoise director, Xavier Dolan – for the first time in Mexico — will attend the Latin American Premier Gala of his film “Mommy.” Director Guillermo Arriaga and directors of “Words with Gods” will attend the Gala, accompanied by the cast.
This year’s program also includes tributes to filmmakers Atom Egoyan, and a posthumous tribute to American film critic, Roger Ebert. In their honor iconic works related to their career will be screened including “The Captive” (2014) by Atom Egoyan, and “Life Itself,” a documentary by filmmaker Steve James, based on the life of Roger Ebert (1942-2013).
The Festival also posthumously honors Gabriel Figueroa, one of the greatest filmmakers of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, with the third edition of the photo exhibition “Homage to Gabriel Figueroa,” which highlights the work of the cinematographer in several foreign productions filmed in Mexico, including “The Pearl” (1945), “The Fugitive” (1947) and “The Night of the Iguana” (1962). The exhibition will be open to the public at the Pabellón Cultural de La República from November 12-16.
Local hotels have quickly been restored to reopen in time to welcome Los Cabos Film Festival attendees, including eight hotels partnered with the Festival: Grand Solmar Land’s End, Playa Grande, Marina Fiesta, Hacienda Encantada, and four Pueblo Bonito Resorts and Spas properties at Sunset Beach, Pacifica, Rose and Los Cabos.
