Actualités

A few movies would venture into portraying the AIDs scare amongst the homosexual community of the 1980s.

In Chris Mason Johnson’s “Test,” rather than celebrating the death from AIDs, unlike many movies do, it showcased the community living in fear of the disease and the panics surrounding it.

The film is set around the free-spirited San Francisco of 1985 as it follows a young dancer in a modern dance company who must deal with the fear of disease, homophobia, effeminophobia during that period. And his ultimate escapism was through the music and dance.

The dance drama was on the film festival circuit for some time and won two grand jury prizes at Outfest.

Latino-Review had an exclusive phone interview with director Chris Mason Johnson last week. We discussed about the AIDs epidemic of the 1980s, homophobia, and the changes for gay cinema through the years.

“Test” is currently in theaters...

The notion of Keri Russell, still fixed in the minds of so many as the namesake star of small screen college drama “Felicity,” playing a deep-cover Russian operative in a period piece spy drama like “The Americans” always seemed like something of a stretch. But, opposite costar Matthew Rhys, Russell reliably helps anchor FX’s chess-game serial, returning this month for its second season. Created by Joe Weisberg, an ex-cia agent of four years and the brother of Slate Group editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg, “The Americans” is a meat-and-potatoes show whose classic conflict set-up and intriguing explorations of moored (and unmoored) personal identity amidst chronic, ingrained deceit win out over some occasionally soapier instincts. As such, it seems [ Read More ]

The post DVD Column: The Americans: Season One, Cutie and the Boxer, Young Detective Dee, To Dance Like a Man appeared first on Shockya.com.

For the last 40 years, Dance Films Association has produced Dance on Camera its annual film festival. Considered the “mother” of dance film festivals this year’s edition will showcase a diverse array of films including documentaries, shorts, features, and experimental works that celebrate all forms of dance. “Dance on Camera is an exuberant hybrid. Its roots hold the seeds of innovation inherent in the concept of combining dance with cinematography in ways that alter one’s perception of both mediums,” boasts Joanna Ney, co-curator of the Dance on Camera Festival.

Hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Dance Films Association, and running February 1-5, 2013, the series will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Los Tarantos, Francisco Rovira Beleta's Oscar-nominated flamenco classic, with a special screening. Other highlights include the world premiere of Maclovia Martel’s documentary about the life of her mother, Carmen Gutierrez, the first Mexican dancer to perform on Broadway and the Closing Night film To Dance Like a Man, a charming documentary featuring Cuban identical triplets who are students at Cuba’s renowned National Ballet School.

To Dance Like A Man

Director: Sylvie Collier

Country: UK

Year: 2011 | 58 min

North American Premiere - Closing Night

Synopsis: Collier’s documentary follows Cuban identical triplets Angel, César and Marcos, the top young students at Cuba’s renowned National Ballet School as they are poised to begin their dancing careers. Ballet star José Carreño tells the 11-year-olds to pursue their dream, just as he did when he was growing up in Havana and teachers comment that all three show equal emerging talent. The film explores a child’s eye view on determination and hunger for professional success in context of Cuba’s surprising impact on formation of male dancers. Director Sylvie Collier, and the triplets, Angel, César and Marcos will attend the screening.

A Girl From Mexico

Director: Maclovia Martel

Country: Mexico

Year: 2012 | 50 min

World Premiere

Synopsis: A lively and personal documentary on the life of Carmen Gutierrez, the first Mexican dancer to perform on Broadway. The film follows Gutierrez’s career from Bellas Artes in Mexico City with Anna Sokolow to the Ballet Russe (1946), on to Broadway with productions including; “Carousel” choreographed by Agnes de Mille, “Finian's Rainbow” (Michael Kidd), “The King and I” (Jerome Robbins), “Candide” (Anna Sokolow), and “West Side Story” (Jerome Robbins). Her life has a surprise second chapter as a high-end fashion designer in New York. In person mother and daughter, Carmen G. and Maclovia Martel.

Los Tarantos

Director: Francisco Rovira Beleta

Country: Spain

Year: 1963 | 92 min

Synopsis: A 50th anniversary screening of this classic flamenco drama inspired by Romeo and Juliet and possibly West Side Story. Los Tarantos is characterized by a sexy, gritty, Catalan gitano style of dancing and marks the final appearance of the legendary Carmen Amaya in the role of Angustias. The star-crossed lovers are Sara Lezana and the mesmerizing Antonio Gades, best remembered for his dancing (and acting) in Carlos Saura’s flamenco trilogy that began with Carmen. The film was nominated for Best Foreign film in 1963 and has not been shown for many years. Actress Maria Esteve, the daughter of the iconic Gades will make a personal appearance at the screening.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s and Dance Films Association's Dance on Camera festival runs February 1-5, 2013. Screenings will be held at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (located at 144 West 65th Street).

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on twitter.

Here's your daily dose of an indie film in progress; at the end of the week, you'll have the chance to vote for your favorite. In the meantime: Is this a movie you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments. "Test" Tweetable Logline: Dance like a man. San Francisco. 1985. Elevator Pitch: Test is a poignant, powerful story of friendship and hope in a time of crisis, set in the San Francisco modern dance scene of 1985 in the early years of the AIDS epidemic: when headlines threatened a gay quarantine, when nobody knew for certain how the disease spread, when dancers were afraid to touch each other because they might get it from sweat... Production Team: Writer/Director: Chris Mason Johnson Producers: Chris Martin, Chris Mason Johnson Co-Producer: Laura Heberton Executive Producers: Jenni Olson, Ian Reinhard, Nelson Gonzalez Cinematographer: Daniel Marks Editor: Adam Raponi About the...