Banderas Film Premieres at Sundance

SUMMER RAIN, (El Camino de los Ingleses, Spain), directed by Antonio Banderas had its world premiere at this year's Sundance International Film Festival, wrapping tonight. The film is adapted from an award-winning novel written by the director's childhood friend, Antonio Soler, who wrote the screenplay. It is a deeply personal and lyrical recreation of their generation growing up in Malaga in the late 1970s, pulsating with sexuality, resonant with poetry and song. The cast: Alberto Amarilla, María Ruiz, Raúl Arévalo, Victoria Abril, Félix Gómez, Juan Diego, and Fran Perea. In 1999, Banderas directed his first film, Crazy in Alabama, and then returned to acting in Spy Kids and The Legend of Zorro. With SUMMER RAIN, he returns to his Spanish roots.

— The film follows the lives of three young men--Miguelito, Paco, and Babirusa--each of whom must confront his past, as well as his future, while indulging in the expected pursuits of youth on the threshold of adulthood, especially, of course, love and sex. For Miguelito, the poet, this centers on one girl in particular, Luli. As each young man discovers what life's erratic fortunes have in store for him, they venture forth together, leaving their past and youthful indiscretions behind.

SUMMER RAIN also screened on the evening of 24 January as a part of SUNDANCE EN ESPAÑOL (Sundance in Spanish), which featured a collection of six Spanish Language films, selected from throughout the Festival program. Each film was selected by the Festival’s programming team and reflects a variety of Spanish speaking cultures from Spain, Mexico, Bolivia, and the U.S. The other films screened were:

BAJO JUAREZ, THE CITY DEVOURING ITS DAUGHTERS (Mexico, Alejandra Sánchez and José Antonio Cordero, directors)

— In an industrial town in Mexico near the U.S. border, hundreds of women have been sexually abused and murdered. As the body count continues to rise, a web of corruption unfolds that reaches the highest levels of Mexican society. U.S. Premiere.

COCALERO (Bolivia/Argentina, Alejandro Landes, director)

— Set against the backdrop of the Bolivian government’s attempted eradication of the coca crop and oppression of the indigenous groups that cultivate it and the American war on drugs, an Aymara Indian named Evo Morales travels through the Andes and the Amazon in jeans and sneakers, leading a historic campaign to become the first indigenous president of Bolivia. World Premiere.

LA MISMA LUNA (The Same Moon, U.S., Patricia Riggen, director, and Ligiah Villalobos, screenwriter.)

— When his grandmother dies a young Mexican boy struggles to cross the border to reunite with his beloved mother, who is working hard in Los Angeles to create a better life for the family. World Premiere.

EL BUFALO DE LA NOCHE (The Night Buffalo, Mexico, Jorge Hernandez Aldana, director. Jorge Hernandez Aldana and Guillermo Arriaga, screenwriters,) BUFALO, adapted from a novel by Guillermo Arriaga, who also co-wrote and produced the film, is best known for his longtime collaboration with director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Amores Peros, 21 Grams), and for making waves with their film BABEL at the Golden Globes this year, winning best picture and six other nominations including best screenplay. BABEL is one of the five nominees for best screenplay and best picture Oscar®. See most previous posts.

— The Night Buffalo tells the erotic tale of, Manuel a young man of 22, whose lust for beautiful women leads him down a path of deception, betrayal, and disillusionment. He lays out a plan that will drive him and his lover into an abyss of madness. World Premiere.

PADRE NUESTRO (Our Father, U.S., Christopher Zalla, director and screenwriter)

— Fleeing a criminal past, Juan hops a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to New York City, where he meets Pedro, who is seeking his long-lost father. World Premiere.

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