Festival:
The 35th Miami Film Festival
Dates:
March 9-18
About:
The popular Floridian event presents nearly 100 features, among them 30 documentaries, and offers a distinctive focus on Ibero-American work.
AMIGO SKATE, CUBA
Among the projects exploring Ibero-American themes are several world premieres: Vanesa Wilkey-Escobar’s
AMIGO SKATE, CUBA, exploring Cuba’s nascent skate culture; Marcel Beltrán’s
THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES (LA MÚSICA DE LAS ESFERAS), a personal and political consideration of the love story of the Cuban filmmaker’s parents; and Omilani Alarcón’s
LATINEGRAS: THE JOURNEY OF SELF-LOVE THROUGH AN AFROLATINA LENS, an exploration of identity by women with both Latin and African heritage. International or US premieres include Julio César Torres and Ricardo Olivero Lora’s
NUYORICAN BASQUET, on the Puerto Rican national basketball team’s experience of the 1979 Pan American Games; Rosana Matecki’s
THE OLDIES (LOS VIEJOS), a portrait of three older Cubans; and Asori Soto’s
CUBAN FOOD STORIES, which explores Cuba’s characteristic cuisine.
WHEN THE BEAT DROPS
Other selections include the world premieres of Djimon Hounsou’s
IN SEARCH OF VOODOO: ROOTS TO HEAVEN, which seeks to reclaim the stigmatized spiritual practice; and of Jamal Sims’
WHEN THE BEAT DROPS, an exploration of the black dance subculture of bucking; the North American premiere of Lefteris Charitos’
DOLPHIN MAN, about famed free-driver Jacques Mayol; and the Florida premiere of David Abel’s
GLADESMEN: THE LAST OF THE SAWGRASS COWBOYS, on the vanishing – and contentious – culture of Floridian Everglades airboaters.
what (not) to doc 