The Miami International Film Festival is gearing up to showcase over 100 films during its 29th run.
From March 2 to 11, the MIFF will show off films from dozens of countries around the world — and this year, diversity is key. In addition to films with strong Latin themes, which typically dominate the festival, there’ll also be an emphasis on American indie movies, family films, and intense thrillers.
This year’s opening film will be “Mariachi Gringo,” the story of a man from a small town in Kansas, played by Shawn Ashmore, who runs away to Mexico to become a mariachi singer.
Plenty of stars will be represented on the festival’s screens, including Diane Keaton, who in “Darling Companion” plays a woman who loves her dog above all others — including her husband, played by Kevin Kline. How I Met Your Mother’s Jason Segel and The Office’s Ed Helms team up on “Jeff Who Lives at Home,” a Duplass brothers comedy in which the two spy on Segel’s wife to determine whether she’s having an affair. Lucy Liu, Ellen Burstyn, and Aubrey Plaza comprise the supporting cast of “Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You,” in which a teenager deals with the very teenage problem of feeling things too deeply and not knowing how to cope.
For home-grown talent, there’s “About Face” by the Magic City’s own Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, exploring the ways women cope with aging and featuring supermodels Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova, Isabella Rossellini and others.
The festival will also launch a new category this year: the Ibero American Opera Prima competition, a Latin showcase featuring films from Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala — each one a first full-length film for its director.
Tickets to the festival go on sale to the general public Feb. 10. Visit miamifilmfestival.comfor more information.
By Ciara LeVelle, Miami New Times