Press release from Miranda Brown Publicity
La Mirada Film Festival, Australia’s most dynamic niche film festival, is set to return to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) from 1 to 11 April 2010 presenting a rich and diverse program of feature films and documentaries that will showcase the best of classic Spanish language cinema and the most significant new works by budding talents of the contemporary Spanish language cinema scene.
From its inception in 2007 La Mirada has been unlike any other film festival thanks to its unique approach to programming that has included ‘Almodóvar Presents’, a classics section curated by legendary Spanish filmmaker and patron of La Mirada, Pedro Almodóvar, along with international cinema luminaries acting as guest curators each year.
The 2010 guest curators will be two of cinema’s greatest auteurs, Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese and Stephen Daldry (The Reader, Billy Elliot), who will share their favourite Spanish films. These selected films will be surprise screenings for the audience, not revealed until the credits start to roll. Previous guest curators have been author Paul Auster, director Woody Allen and actor Penelope Cruz.
La Mirada is officially supported by the Spanish, Argentinean, Australia governments and their respective consulates and embassies, in addition to the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts in Spain and Argentina (ICAA), the Institute of Cervantes, the Mexican Institute of Cinematography, Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), FILMOTECH, the Audiovisual Producers’ Rights Management Association (EGEDA) and the Agency for External International Cooperation for Development (AEICD), ensuring the best films of the current year as well as classics are available for the festival.
Included in the eclectic 2010 program will be new releases, documentaries, a student film competition, and a vibrant thematic strand, Tango and Cinema – a selection of films about the Argentinean tango which will be complemented by tango performances and classes. The deliciously indulgent Spanish Cuisine and Film section will be complemented by authentic Spanish dishes prepared by one of Melbourne’s hottest chefs and premium Spanish wines. The program will also include an innovative addition, a quirky section consisting of “fake” film trailers made by high-profile directors, such as Isabel Coixet, Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza (REC), amongst others, promoting never-to-be-made films.
Full program details will be announced in early 2010.