LVL: JEDI MASTER CHIEF SUPREME SAMURAI GAMER "THE KING OF KONG" / A fistful of quarters

Under the name of "The King Of Kong: A fistful of Quarters*" this documentary takes us back to the beginning: The arcade video games. The origin. The first gamer's battle. 

As a gamer, I saw this movie as a journey. I grew up with this video games and were "pure" concentration and ability. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga (I had my personal record of 2 million points), JOUST (one of my favorites)... All takes us to the first video game arcades AND the 80's. As the story unfolds, I felt identified at many levels.

As a movie maker, I can tell you that the story was there waiting for someone to tell. It had a great potential and the way that they put it together is greatly done. You will find your favorite characters from your favorite movies IN the real life. IN flesh and bones. This story is amazingly told, full of nerdy gags and Star Wars mentions. It will be a guaranteed ride of emotions (between frustration and glory).

This is one of the most epic battles between video gamers EVER. 

You will take sides, remember, shout, and if you are from the 70's / 80's, you will want to put your hands on the Atari again. AND if you are one of many gamers that NEVER went through more than 3 levels on King Kong, you will receive a shock when you see what this guys do and what is beyond on this classic game.

Absolute concentration, dedication and perfect timing! This is a MUST SEE for any REAL gamer out there. 

An incredible story, great documentary and a journey to the past that you can't miss.

*NOTE: This tittle does honor to Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars", the first Italian spaghetti western movie from 1964, what makes this documentary: 

"A Modern Video Games Spaghetti Western"

The Good... The Bad... And... the Nerd?? Well, you get the idea...

Check: BILLYvsSTEVE.com

   

The Trailer

To live and die in Mexico: Webseries Trailer

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The Gangster's Granny (Trailer) / La Abuelita de los Gangsters (Trailer)

(English below)

Estimados compañeros y amigos,

Es un orgullo para nosotros presentar nuestro documental sobre una increíble mujer que ha dedicado su vida a procesos de paz en todo el mundo. Ella es Nelsa Curbelo. Hoy dirige la fundación Ser Paz en Guayaquil, Ecuador, cuya misión es reintegrar jóvenes pandilleros a la sociedad.

El documental forma parte de la serie Witness de Al Jazeera English y se estrena el 8 de Febrero a las 2230 EST. De ahí se vuelve a trasmitir en varias ocasiones y estará disponible en internet esa misma semana.

Aquí les pasamos un pequeño avance.

Saludos,
John Dickie y Ioan Grillo

Dear friends and colleagues,

We are proud to present our documentary about an amazing woman who has dedicated her life to resolving conflicts around the world: the one and only Nelsa Curbelo. Today, she is the director of Ser Paz in Guayaqui, Ecuador, a foundation that works with youth street gangs, helping reintegrate them into society.

The film is part of Al Jazeera English's Witness series and will premiere on February 8th at 2230 EST. It will be rebroadcast several times and will also be available online.

Here is a little trailer

(See the trailer above)

Cheers,

John Dickie and Ioan Grillo

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The most expected movie…

The first time I got the Hobbit book in my hands, in fact, it was an unexpected Journey. Back then, I devoured books one after another. I loved the adventures and almost became the characters, saying out loud (but in silence) the dialogues that they were saying in the book. It was my escape. It was back then, when I decided that I wanted to tell that wonderful stories, in my own personal way.

I remember where, and vividly, how the adventure started…

In a hole in the ground, where lived a hobbit.

Lots of stories unfolded in front of my eyes. Pirates, dinosaurs, and even one or two tragedies of kings and queens.

But this, my friends, was not a common story. I was in the brink of the greatest adventure I had ever the honor to live.

Yes. I lived every word that was on that book. I went through caves and forests. I crossed rivers and mountains. I was in peril and danger with Bilbo.

And this was just the beginning…

I didn’t knew that I was just scratching the tip of the iceberg. At that moment I wasn’t aware that I was just reading the prologue to the greatest adventure I had… wait… I already said that.

But it was true. Every book of the trilogy was greater than the other. It was not only a story that happened to a little Hobbit. It was the story of the fellowship. It was the story of wizards and humans and dwarves and elves and creatures and adventures and death. It had everything.

I didn’t realize until the end (that I’m not going to spoil to those unfortunate that haven’t read the book), that in fact I was so immerse on the book, that I was one of the fellowship. I was the 10th member of the fellowship.

And just then, when Sam exhales deeply and says: “Well… I’m back…” It hitted me deeply. The adventure was over. It was one of the foulest moments of my life. I had adventured with my friends a lifetime of 1400 pages. Centuries and millennia’s of dark and light ages.

And I felt empty.

They were all gone. It was the saddest farewell. My best friends were all gone (yea, it sounds sad in many ways). And for almost two weeks, I had a hole in the center of my chest.

Every fragment of the story was tattooed on my soul. Every heroic act. Every song of love. Every word was stained with the blood of memories and battles that were all a Middle Earth between my mind, and reality.

And then it happened. Not years later. No. Just a few weeks later when the grieve was starting to mourn in my days because the loss of my friends, that I decided I wanted to do a movie about this book to keep alive the memories and images and words and songs. I saw a great world that someday would be the scenario of another adventure. And all was inspired by the greatest wizard of all… J.R.R. Tolkien (some say he was a hobbit). I think he was a word wizard.

Although… I didn’t knew a thing about filmmaking back then.

So I decided to study to become a movie director. It was really the moment when I took the decision of what I wanted to be.

Just to know 2 weeks later that some guy named Peter Jackson was starting preproduction of LOTR in New Zealand. (True Story)

In the beginning, I hated him. HE ROBED MY STORY!!

But later on… the expectation started to grow.

And I can’t forget the day I was at the movie theatre. The lights went off. My heart skipped a beat. And with the first chord of the marvelous music of Howard Shore, I was there and back again… with my friends. My fellowship. And a lonely tear escaped through my eyes like the day that I closed the book, 4 years before.

I forgive him. He was just another guy like me, who lived the adventure.

Today, he doesn’t know me. But more than 12 hrs of behind the scenes material have been of the greatest school I could ever ask. He made one of the greatest movie projects of all times and gave inspiration to a lot of movie makers and story tellers.

And he will continue making history…

 The Hobbit: An unexpected journey Official Trailer

Lanzamiento official en EXCLUSIVA MSN: Trailer “Tequila: Historia de una pasión”

ESTRENO
04 de Noviembre

59 días, 12 horas, 49 mins, 58 segs

 

SOLO EN CINES!!

Distribución: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

GTA 12 Nominado a MEJOR ROMANCE EXTRANJERO / GTA 12 Nominee BEST FOREIGN ROMANCE

 http://www.goldentrailer.com/GTA12-Trailers/tequilafbr.php

Pelicula / Movie: Tequila
Trailer: Fix Comunicacion
Casas Productoras / Production: ELITE STUDIOS y OPEN WINDO FILMS

Tequila: Historia de una pasión (Trailer Extendido) / Tequila: A Story of Passion (Extended Trailer)

Edición: Dankmar García / Sergio Sánchez

Trailer de Tequila nominado para los “Golden Trailer Awards” / Tequila’s Trailer Nominated for the “Golden Trailer Awards”

(English text bellow)

Un Trailer es una de las herramientas de venta más importantes de un proyecto cinematográfico. Es el primer acercamiento visual a la historia (después del poster de la película) que tendrá la capacidad (o no) de atrapar con anterioridad al público potencial del proyecto. En si, es una obra que nace del proyecto original y debe contar con una serie de elementos específicos que combinan los elementos cinematográficos de una película con la mercadotecnia y publicidad de la misma.

Los “Golden Trailer Awards” precisamente es una de las premiaciones enfocadas a reconocer el talento de aquellos que tienen que atrapar al publico en menos de 60 segundos. Plantear una historia, el conflicto y los valores de producción en un corto tiempo requiere de un arduo trabajo de edición visual y sonora, conocimiento de la historia y trabajo en conjunto con el director y productores del proyecto.

El Trailer de “Tequila: Historia de una pasión” realizado por la empresa FIX, fue nominado para la 12 entrega de los “Golden Trailer Awards” en la categoría de “Mejor Trailer de Romance Extranjero” compitiendo con los proyectos cinematográficos: “Empire of Silver”, “Goethe!” y “Rosebud”.

Los ganadores serán anunciados durante la premiación el Miércoles 29 de Junio en el “Music Box Theatre” en Los Ángeles, California.

Muchas gracias a nuestros amigos de FIX por el excelente Trailer realizado para nuestro proyecto y felicitaciones por esta nominación.

A Trailer is one of the most important sales tools of a cinematography project. Is the first visual approach to the story (after the movie poster) that will have the capacity (or not) of capturing the audience's attention with anticipation. In fact, it is a piece of work born from the original project. Thus it must have a series of specific elements that combine the cinematographic elements with the merchandising and advertising of the movie.

Precisely, “Golden Trailer Awards” is one of the platforms focused on recognizing those who have the task of capturing an audience in less than 60 seconds. Setting the story, the conflict, and the production values of a movie in a short time requires arduous work in visual and sound edition, knowledge about the story, and endless hours of work with the director and producers of the project.

“Tequila: A Story of Passion” Trailer realized by the company FIX, was nominated for the 12th “Golden Trailer Awards” on the category of “Best Foreign Romance Trailer” competing with the projects: “Empire of Silver”, “Goethe!” and “Rosebud”.

The winners will be announced during the awards show on Wednesday June 29th at the Music Box Theatre on LA.

Thanks to our FIX friends who did an excellent job on our Trailer and congratulations for this nomination.

 

 

FIX COMUNICACIÓN:
http://www.fixcomunicacion.com/

GOLDEN TRAILER AWARDS:
http://www.goldentrailer.com/awards.gta12.php

Real Steel Official Trailer & Theatrical Trailer / (Héroes de acero*)

(Texto en Español abajo)

Real Steel is a 2011 release from DreamWorks SKG that will be directed by Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Date Night, Cheaper by the Dozen) and starred by Hugh Jackman. The script is based on the short story “Steel” (1956) from Richard Matheson, which was adapted as a Twilight Zone episode in 1963.

The synopsis from what I have seen in the trailer and the web, is: In the near future, robots have replaced humans in boxing. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) being 2nd best boxer in the world, loses his chance to become a boxing champion when the fight game changes and humans are replaced by robots on the ring. He becomes a small-time promoter. He and his son Max (Dakota Goyo) discover an abandoned “Sparring-bot”. Max ask his father to “train” the old robot with his moves so they can contend for the championship.

The boxing legend, Sugar Ray Leonard supervised all the motion captured scenes for the robot fights. For the fight scenes they used animation and motion capture. For scenes where the actors interact with the robots, 19 animatronics robots were constructed. The movie was going to be released in November 18, but to avoid competition with “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” was moved earlier to October 7th, 2011.

Richard Burton Matheson has had a very prolific writing career and, even though he didn't wrote “Real Steel”, he wrote the story that gives life to this script. He primarily writes about Fantasy, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, Duel, The Incredible Shrinking Man and I Am Legend. All five stories were later adapted as major motion pictures being “Duel” Steven Spielberg’s first movie in 1971. He wrote “I Am Legend” in 1954, which gave birth later to 4 movies: The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971), I Am Omega (2007) and I Am Legend (2007). He has been an inspiration to the movie making industry and has been very close related to Movies, TV series and Short films since long time ago.

Real Steel – Héroes de Acero, es un estreno para 2011 de DreamWorks SKG que será dirigido por Shawn Levy (Noche en el Museo, Una noche fuera de serie, Más barato por docena) y protagonizada por  Hugh Jackman. El guión esta basado en la historia corta de “Steel” (Acero) de Richard Matheson, la cual fue adaptada para un episodio de la serie de Dimensión Desconocida en 1963.

La sinopsis, por lo que he visto en el trailer y en la red, es: En el futuro cercano, los robots han reemplazado a los humanos en el box. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) siendo el segundo mejor boxeador en el mundo, pierde su oportunidad de convertirse en el campeon cuando el juego de peleas cambia y los humanos son reemplazados por robots en el ring. Se convierte en un promotor de peleas sin importancia. Él y su hijo Max (Dakota Goyo) descubren un “Robot de entrenamiento”  abandonado. Max le pide a su padre que “entrene” al viejo robot con sus propios movimientos para que puedan competir por el campeonato.

La leyenda de boxeo, Sugar Ray Leonard supervisó todas las escenas de pelea capturadas por motion control. Para las peleas de los robots se utilizó animación y motion control. Para las escenas donde los robots interactuaban con los humanos, se construyeron 19 robots de animatronics. La película iba a ser estrenada el 18 de Noviembre, pero para evitar la competencia con la saga de “Twilight: Amanecer”, su estreno fue adelantado al 7 de Octubre del 2011.

Richard Burton Matheson ha tenido una carrera de escritor prolífica , y aun cuando no escribió “Real Steel”, él escribió la historia que le da vida a este guión. Escribe principalmente acerca de fantasía, horror y ciencia ficción. Es más conocido como el escritor de Más allá de los sueños, Pídele al tiempo que vuelva, Duel (Duelo), El increíble hombre menguante y Soy Leyenda. Las cinco historias fueron adaptadas después a grandes producciones cinematográficas siendo “Duel” la primera película de Steven Spielberg en 1971. Escribió “Soy Leyenda” en 1954, historia que posteriormente dio vida a 4 películas: El Último Hombre Sobre la Tierra (1964), El Hombre Omega (1971), Yo Soy Omega (2007) y Soy Leyenda (2007). Ha sido una gran inspiración la industria de la realización cinematográfica y ha estado relacionado con Películas, Series de televisión y cortometrajes desde hace mucho tiempo.

Production Companies / Compañías Productoras:  DreamWorks SKG / Angry Films / ImageMovers
Director-Producer / Director-Productor: Shawn Levy
Producers / Productores: Robert Zemeckis, Susan Montford, Don Murphy
*Héroes de Acero (Titulo provisional para la traducción por el autor)

Another Earth / La otra Tierra

(Texto en español abajo)

“On the night of the discovery of a duplicate planet in the solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident. (IMDB)” This indie low budget film was written by Mike Cahill and Brit Marling, both deeply involved on the project being Cahill the Director, Producer, Cinematographer and Editor and Marling the Co-producer and Star of the movie.

“Opens the Vast,
still largely unexplored terrain
of the human heart.”
-The Hollywood Reporter

The movie won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance this Year. This award is given to movies which theme is about science or technology. Is going to be distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures in North America. The jury has remarked about the movie “it’s original use of concepts taken from the science to explore themes like regret and forgiveness”. Cahill and Marling present a fiction and drama mixture that we can guess that is going to be a journey through the human soul.

Mike Cahill is mostly known by his works on National Geographic documentaries and Brit Marling was originally an investment-banking analyst, when she decided co-direct the documentary Boxers and Ballerinas with Mike. We can feel the documentary eye on Mike’s images with a great commitment with the story which promise to be a great combination. What feels great about the trailer is the void that is left within yourself with the question: What would happen if one day, another planet earth would shine in the firmament and the answer to the question, Are we alone? would finally be answered…? But the answer is still being kept by your other self…

“Another Earth, an outstanding Sundance discovery… The outstanding credits across the board demonstrate once more how much can be achieved in film even on a modest budget. Meanwhile, Sundance can boast of another discovery and the birth of two more stars in its already crowded firmament.”
-Reuters, Kirk Honeycutt

“En la noche del descubrimiento de un planeta duplicado en el sistema solar, una ambiciosa estudiante y un compositor exitoso cruzan sus caminos en un trágico accidente. (IMDB)”. Esta película independiente de bajo presupuesto fue escrita por Mike Cahill y Brit Marling, ambos profundamente implicados en el proyecto, siendo además Cahill el Director, Productor, Director de Fotografía y Editor y Marling la Co-Productora y estrella de la película.

“Abre el vasto,
y aun ampliamente inexplorado terreno
del corazón humano.”
-The Hollywood Reporter

La película ganó el premio Alfred P. Sloan en Sundance este año. Este premio se entrega a las películas cuyo tema es acerca de ciencia o tecnología. Será distribuida por Fox Searchlight Pictures en Norteamérica. El jurado resaltó acerca del proyecto “su original uso de conceptos tomados de la ciencia para explorar temas como el arrepentimiento y el perdón”. Cahill y Marling presentan una mezcla entre ficción y drama que podemos adivinar será un viaje a través del alma humana.

Mike Cahill es conocido por sus trabajos en documentales de National Geographic y Brit Marling era originalmente una analista de inversión bursátil, hasta que decidió co-dirigir el documental “Boxers and Ballerinas” con Mike. Podemos sentir el ojo documental de Mike en las imágenes con un gran compromiso con la historia que promete ser una gran combinación. Lo que se siente bien acerca del trailer, es el vacío que deja en uno mismo con la pregunta: ¿Que pasaría si un día otro planeta tierra brillara en el firmamento y la pregunta ¿Estamos solos? fuera al fin respondida…? Pero la respuesta aun la guardara tu otro yo…

“La otra Tierra, un grandioso descubrimiento de Sundance… Los grandiosos créditos a lo largo del cartel demuestran una vez más todo lo que se puede lograr en una película aun con bajo presupuesto. Mientras tanto, Sundance puede jactarse de haber realizado otro descubrimiento y del nacimiento de dos estrellas más en su ya concurrido firmamento.”
-Reuters, Kirk Honeycutt

Official Pages / Paginas oficiales:

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1549572/
Apple Trailers: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox/anotherearth/
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hEwMMDtFY
Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/25/us-film-earth-idUSTRE70O0OI20110125

Lars Von Trier – Melancholia “A beginning just at the end…”

(Texto en español abajo)

A beautiful movie about the end of the world…

Melancholia from Zentropa on Vimeo.

Little is know about this movie. The tagline that we can read on the IMDb is: “Two sisters find their relationship challenged as a nearby planet threatens to collide into the Earth”. What I get from the trailer above from the voice of the child is that “a planet that has been hiding behind the sun, now passes by us…”

With a very talented cast (Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgard, Stellan Skarsgard, John Hurt and Keifer Sutherland), and a very interesting plot, Lars Von Trier let us know little between images and whispers that this is not going to be a happy ending… but is going to be beautiful.

“In Melancholia I start with the end. Because what is interesting is not what happens but how it happens! So we begin by seeing the world being crushed, then we can tell the story afterwards. In this way you don't have to sit and form theories about what will happen, but can delve down into some other levels and become interested in the pictures and the universe. That's what I imagine.”

With this, Lars Von Triers demonstrates us how little interest he has on making a cataclysmic film. “Melancholia” is the name of the planet that is going to collide with the earth, but as you can Imagine, this is not a Hollywood movie about destruction and VFX. It would be more focused about the emotions of the people that is attending to a wedding and is about to live this. A beginning just at the end. The script is from Lars Von Trier and some of the emotions in the film come from his childhood, were fears of nuclear war plagued his mind.

The movie will be released on the upcoming Cannes Festival.

Una hermosa película acerca del final del mundo…

Poco se sabe acerca de esta película. El tagline que se puede leer en el IMDb es: “Dos hermanas ven su relación confrontada cuando un planeta amenaza colisionar con la Tierra”. Lo que saco del trailer de arriba de la voz del niño es que “un planeta que había estado escondido detrás del sol, ahora pasará cerca de nosotros…”

Con un talentoso reparto (Kristen Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgard, Stellan Skarsgard, John Hurt and Keifer Sutherland) y una interesante trama, Lars Von Trier nos deja saber en un destello entre imágenes y susurros que este no será un final feliz… pero que va a ser hermoso.

“En Melancolía comienzo con el final. Por que lo que es interesante no es lo que pasa si no COMO pasa! Así que comenzamos viendo el mundo aplastado, y así podemos contar la historia hacia atrás. En esta forma no se tienen que sentar a generar teorías de que es lo que sucederá, pero pueden sumergirse en otros niveles e interesarse en las imágenes y el universo. Eso es lo que imagino.”

Con esto, Lars Von Triers nos demuestra el poco interés que tiene en hacer una película cataclísmica. “Melancolía” es el nombre del planeta que colisionará con la tierra, pero como pueden imaginar, esta no será una película Hollywoodense acerca de destrucción y Efectos Especiales. Estará más enfocada en las emociones de la gente que está participando en una boda y está a punto de vivir esto. Un comienzo justo al final. El guión es de Lars Von Triers y algunas de las emociones del filme vienen de su infancia, cuando los miedos de una guerra nuclear plagaban su mente.

Esta película será estrenada en el próximo Festival de Cannes.

Adiós Mundo Cruel / Goodbye, Cruel World

Tuve la oportunidad de ir a una de las funciones de Adiós Mundo Cruel, opera prima de Jack Zagha en el FICG 26. Jack nos presenta una comedia inteligente, llena de giros y peripecias donde Ángel, un contador honesto y preocupado por su familia, pierde su empleo a causa de un “recorte de personal”. Se ve obligado a buscar otro empleo, el cual lo llevará hasta lo más obscuro de la ciudad… y de su conciencia. Una comedia extremadamente inteligente que, según sus propios productores: “encuentra el humor en una serie de desafortunados eventos”. Y es totalmente cierto. La narrativa y edición de la película es totalmente propositiva y definitivamente pocas veces vista en el cine mexicano.

 

Esta fue una de las películas afectadas por las pésimas proyecciones del festival, teniendo que detener la proyección a los 15 minutos de haber comenzado. A pesar de los problemas, el público esperó pacientemente más de 40 minutos a que se reanudara la proyección… y reanudaron las risas. Reímos de principio a fin.

 

Definitivamente es una película que te atrapa. Con una propuesta actoral muy interesante y divertida, siendo el protagónico Carlos Alberto Orozco, un actor que no es muy conocido pero que quedó increíble en el papel de Ángel. Jack me comenta: “La verdad  encontré a Carlos a través del proceso de casting. Decidí escogerlo porque era el mejor, aunque no fuera famoso. Si esta era mi opera prima y era una gran oportunidad para mi, ¿por qué no darle también esa oportunidad a otro?”. Creo que es una apuesta arriesgada que ha tenido su recompensa. El actor se adueña de personaje con naturalidad y su capacidad histriónica lo llevará a grandes proyectos más adelante. Además de que cuenta con varios actores de soporte que en conjunto, hacen un increíble equipo.

“Hace cinco años caminaba por las calles del D.F.,” comenta Jack, “ cuando se me acercaron dos personas armadas y me pidieron que subiera a un coche con ellos para pasar por distintos cajeros automáticos mientras sacaban mi dinero. Sin embargo se convirtió en una situación algo cómica cuando me percaté que los ladrones estaban más nerviosos que yo. Pensé que seguramente se trataba de su primer asalto. Un ladrón calmaba al otro. De pronto sonó un teléfono y uno de ellos contestó “Estoy trabajando amor, ahorita que salga voy para allá.”

Es ahí donde nace la inspiración para escribir el guión que le da vida a este paseo por lo absurdo que puede llegar a ser nuestro país. En general creo que muchos tendrán la oportunidad de identificarse con los personajes o algunas de las situaciones.

Jack es originario de la Ciudad de México. Ha trabajado en la producción con renombrados directores como Luis Mandoki, Rodrigo García y Roberto Sneider, entre otros. En 2005 funda Avanti Pictures. Desde entonces ha escrito, dirigido y producido más de 10 cortometrajes incluido “Yo también te quiero”, el cual tuvo distribución a nivel nacional y obtuvo más de cuatro millones de visitas en Youtube, convirtiéndolo en el cortometraje más visto en México.

Adiós Mundo Cruel es una película altamente recomendable, en la que puedo asegurar que el espectador se olvidará por un rato de su día, el precio del boleto del cine, los problemas de la oficina… y saldrá con una sonrisa en la boca. Y… ¿el león?. Si. Hay un león en la película. Pero eso tendrán que descubrirlo en pantalla. Acerca de ello Jack comenta: “Es un animal impresionante. Pero no vuelvo a trabajar con un animal de esos.”

I had the opportunity to assist to one of the projections of Goodbye, Cruel World, Jack Zagha first feature film at the FICG 26. Jack presents us a very intelligent comedy, plagued of twists and turns where Angel, an honest accountant worried about his family, loses his job because a “downsizing”. He is forced to look for another job that takes him to the darkest parts of the city… and his consciousness. An extremely clever comedy that, in the producer’s words: “finds the humor in a series of unfortunate events”. And it’s totally true. The narrative and edition of the movie are totally provocative and definitively slightly seen in Mexican movies.

This was one of the movies affected by the bad projections of the festival. They had to stop the projection at the 15 minutes that started the movie. Despite of the problems, the audience patiently waited more than 40 minutes to the projection to start again… and the laughter started to. We laugh since the beginning to the end.

Definitively is a movie that gets you. With a very interesting and funny acting proposal, being the main character Carlos Alberto Orozco, an actor that is not very famous but that is incredible for Angel’s role. Jack tells me: “To say the truth, I found Carlos through the casting process. I decided to choose him because he was the best, even though he was not famous. If this was my first feature film and was a great opportunity for me, ¿why not give the same opportunity to others?” I believe that was a risky bet that paid the prize. The actor takes the character with naturalness and his histrionic capacity will take him to bigger projects later. Moreover that he has various supporting actors that together make an incredible team.

“Five years ago, as I was walking on a Mexico City Street”, coments Jack, “I was mugged by a couple of thugs. They forced me into a car and drove me from one ATM to another, drawing money from my bank account. Oddly enough, this became a comic situation, as I noticed they were more nervous than I was. I thought that this might have been their first robbery attempt. One thieve was trying to calm the other. Then a phone rang and one answered. “I’m at work honey. I’ll be home soon.”

There’s where the inspiration is born to write the script that gives live to this absurd walk through our country. In general, I believe that many will have the opportunity to identify themselves with the characters or some situations.

Jack is native to Mexico city. He has worked on production with renown directors like Luis Mandoki, Rodrigo García and Roberto Sneider, among others. In 2005 he founds Avanti Pictures. Since then, he has writed, directed and produced more than 10 short films including “I love you… Too.”, short film that had national distribution and obtained more than four million visits on Youtube, making it the most seen short film in Mexico.

Goodbye, Cruel World is a movie highly recommendable, about which I can assure that the spectator would forget for a moment his day, the price he paid for his ticket, the problems of the office… and will go out with a smile on his face. And ¿The lion?. Yes. There is a lion on the movie. But that you will have to discover it on the screen. About that Jack says: “Is an impressive animal. But I would NEVER work with one of those animals again.

FICHA TECNICA:

Título / Title: Adiós mundo cruel / Goodbye cruel world
País / Country: México.
Duración / Running Time: 90 min.
Formato / Format: Color / 35mm
Género / Genre: Comedy.
Dirección / Directed by: Jack Zagha Kababie.
Director de Fotografía / Cinematography: Gonzalo Amat.
Guión / Script: Jack Zagha / Enrique Chmelnik.
Asesoría de Guión / Script Consultant: Felipe Cazals, Vicente Leñero, Judith Weston, Paul T. Gray, Steve Kaplan.
Productor Ejecutivo / Executive Producer: Yossy Zagha
Productores / Producers: Sandra Paredes / Elsa Reyes / Jack Zagha
Editor: Elise DuRant / Jack Zagha
Dirección de Arte / Art Direction: Ivonne Fuentes
Música Original / Original Score: Juan Lino.
Diseño de Sonido / Sound Design: Miguel Hernández Montero / Mario Martínez Cobos
Vestuario / Wardrobe: Alejandra Dorantes.
Maquillaje / Make up: Maripaz Robles
Post-Productor / Post-producer: Ariel Gordon

Con la actuación de / Cast:
Carlos Alberto Orozco
Mónica Bejarano
José Montini
Lourdes Villarreal
Sandra Sánchez Cantú
Carlos Aragón
Justo Martínez
Pedro Gámez

Adios Mundo Cruel / Goodbye, Cruel World (Trailer)

Yo también te quiero / I love you… Too (Cortometraje / Short Film)

Cineminuto del FICG 26 / FICG 26 60'' Shortifilm