Maria, she's got a secret

Maria Sunshine thinks she is perceived as a cool, smart, well-dressed young woman. And maybe she is. But is not definitely what defines her. 

She was born in San Francisco, California in 1988, but nowadays lives in Mexico City. She's daughter of two latin immigrants. Not illegal immigrants, but  Berkeley professors. Chemistry professors. Her parents are as dorky as one can imagine; brilliant, as one can imagine. 

Everybody in her family believes she's a bit shallow -particularly her parents-, and should end up as a stylist or something like that. They've already gave up on her. She's not going to be a chemist. She loves buying clothes, accessories and all this stuff women like. But she likes even more than the rest!

She studied college like many other americans are seen outside USA: Only they know what did they study. 

At 24, she went to Mexico "following" and old boyfriend but it was her way to escape the family pressure. But she has a secret: Maria certainly doesn't want to be a chemist. But she also doesn't want to be a stylist! In fact, that sounds as absurd to her, as thinking of her as an astrophysicist for her parents. Yes, she has this kind-of-cute feminine vanity most man like -even if they say they don't-. She walks gracefully the same with jeans and flats, the same with high heels and a spring floral skirt. And she can spend almost all her salary buying clothes, but that's just a hobby for her, another escape.

She's afraid of coming clean with her parents because she strongly believes they wouldn't understand. They are chemists! But saddly, she underestimates them. 

While pursuing her dream (whatever this is), Maria lives with a bounch of people in a small apartment located in Mexico City's downtown. She's a  fair-skinned, 5'8" brunette mexican american woman, meaning, for mexican standards, she's a bit tall, a bit different, a bit international. This allows Maria to get jobs almost without looking for them. Jobs Maria doesn't really like -such being a model in a bridal shop or being a host at a fancy restaurant-. 

Certainly Maria's last name is not Sunshine but she like this kind of incognito life she thinks she has. Of course, this is just a week facade, once you know her, she seems so sweet it doesn't matter if she wants to be called Egg, sweet bird or Juan. Never the less, she loves the way most people in mexico doesn't ask questions about her name, her parents or her previous life. 

Maria believes in all this corny things women believe before 30. But as chemists' daughter she has a strong sense of responsability and logic. She wants to believe in true love and fairy tales (she loves sci-fi, by the way), but she also knows that's almost impossible. She would like her family to give her some credit, and expect a little more of her, instead of a little less. 

She studies Spanish by watching telenovelas, a comedic entertainment for her, the best way to laugh if sad and alone is to watch this over-acted and exaggerated scenes with the same cinderella story every time. 

Beside her secrets, Maria is well known as a good friend, sociable, reliable but a little crazy, and a little odd for her closest friends. She loves helping her student roomates finishing essays, answering questions and doing some brain-storming when needed. And they repay her by brining her "esquimales", this frozen vanilla lollypops covered with chocolate and pecans. She is a smart girl disguised by her looks as someone else. Her biggest flaw could turn into her biggest perk: She doesn't trust anybody, so she's never able to talk about her real existential issues or purposes in life. 

Maria is looking for something else in life. She knows it's not the american average dream she's running from, she knows it's not being a face or a chemist... I she only knew. And she so vulnerable. 

One character profile

My second creative task at the course The future of Storytelling, is to create a Character Profile, based in all his/her characteristics and personality. I must say, it wasn't as easy as I tought, but great excercise.

Here it is. The second point of this task (beside learning how-to do this), is interaction. So please read the profile and try to guess who this is.

If by this far you still don't know who this is, it's only because you have never seen the show where he belongs. But if you are interested or you want to check if your aswer is right, please click here, bitch!

The Oblong Box

Long time ago, when I was a teenager, I was deeply impressed by a a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, who -by the way-, became my favorite writer: The Oblong Box. 

Now that I'm taking The Future of Storytelling course, my first task was to remember this story (the one that impressed me the most) and to talk about it, so here I go... 

Sorry, this text may contain spoilers!

The story talks about a man bording a steamboat where he finds an old friend. This friend is traveling with his wife and two sisters but has reserved 3 rooms. The narrator doesn't understand the dynamics of this group of people: Each day the sisters go to one room and his friend goes to another one, with his wife; but every night the wife goes out to sleep in the third room, leaving her husband crying, alone.

I remember almost everything about this story: The way the narrator is surprised by the ugliness of the wife when it supossed to be a beautiful woman (the hook), the strange behavior of the husband along the trip (the hold), when this tale rapidly becomes a true mistery story, where the narrator, and therefore the reader, jump into several conclusions to finally, be surprised with a poetic ending (the payoff). 

At the end I believe this is a true love story (but maybe not the one you expect), and that's why I got the most impressed with it. So, if you want to read it, please do it, it's a short story, it will take you just 10 minutes, or less: The Oblong box online. 

Epilogue

One of the most amazing talents of Mr. Poe, besides his unique writing style, is his ability to create suspense almost about any topic. Many people believe his tales are about horror (and some of they are), but I think they are more about intelligent suspense. In his literature, you are taken into the journeys he deliberatly wants, to finally, release you in a free-fall for you to be amazed. 

Festival directors from Stockholm Film Festival show their support for Iranian filmmaker

Photo by Carla Orrego Veliz

 

We just recieved this info from the international Stockholm Film Festival:

 

Director Mohammad Rasoulof (Manuscripts Don’t Burn) recently had his passport confiscated and is forbidden to leave Iran. Stockholm International Film Festival wants to show its support and put the spotlight on the fact that many filmmakers are not able to perform their work without the influence of censorship.

 

Mohammad Rasoulof is participating in the 24th edition of Stockholm International Film Festival with his film Manuscripts Don’t Burn. Mr. Rasoulof is invited to the festival but had his passport confiscated during a recent visit to Iran and has since then been prohibited from leaving the country.

Stockholm International Film Festival and a number of Swedish and international directors today gathered outside the Iranian embassy to show their support for Mohammad Rasoulof. The support will continue on the official festival website, www.stockholmfilmfestival.se/en.

– We want to show that it is unacceptable to prevent filmmakers, artists and journalists from performing their work. Therefore it is important that we colleagues jointly raise our voices and protest against the censorship that Mohammad Rasoulof is subjected to, says Chairman of the film festival jury, Kristian Petri.

– Iran has produced films of world class and Stockholm International Film Festival just wishes that Iranian directors are able to make the films they want and are able to travel to the countries they wish, says Festival Director Git Scheynius.

On Saturday the 16th, the Stockholm International Film Festival arranges a freedom day with a number of films related to the section being shown. There will also be a seminar arranged by Mark Cousins at the Zita cinema in Stockholm and a screening of Manuscripts Don't Burn.

This year’s spotlight is Freedom and Mohammad Rasoulof’s film is part of this section.

The Stockholm International Film Festival has earlier announced that the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who also is being prohibited from leaving his country, is a jury member.

____

 

Everybody can have an opinion on this, we definetly stand against censorship.

 

 

 

The 24th Stockholm International Film Festival November 6-17 2013.
The Stockholm International Film Festival started in 1990 and is today one of the leading competitive film festivals in Northern Europe. The festival takes place every year in November with more than 180 films from more than 50 countries. More than a festival: we organize exclusive screenings and the popular Summer Cinema – an outdor mini-festival. Every year in spring the Stockholm International Film Festival Junior brings the latest films to youngsters between 6 and 16 years of age.

 

 

Versión en Español 

AFI FEST FULL PROGRAM

 

AFI FEST 2013 presented by Audi
ANNOUNCES FULL PROGRAM INCLUDING WORLD CINEMA SELECTIONS

FREE TICKETS TO ALL SCREENINGS AVAILABLE STARTING OCTOBER 30
Early Access to Tickets for AFI Members and Alumni on October 28
Limited Number of Express Passes on Sale Now

 

LOS ANGELES, CA, October 22, 2013 – AFI FEST 2013 presented by Audi, a program of the American Film Institute, today announced the remaining sections and films that will screen in the festival's World Cinema, American Independents, Breakthrough, Midnight, Cinema's Legacy and Presentations programs. AFI FEST, which redefines Hollywood today as a place where icons and emerging artists bring audiences together to experience global cinema in the movie capital of the world, will take place November 7 through 14 at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

World Cinema showcases the most anticipated and prize-winning international films of the year, the American Independents section features work by U.S. filmmakers, Breakthrough highlights work discovered only through the blind submission process, Midnight's selections tend toward the macabre and Cinema's Legacy highlights restorations and classic films.

This year's program includes the return of several filmmakers to AFI FEST including CLOSED CURTAINS's Jafar Panahi; MOEBIUS' Kim Ki-duk; OUR SUNHI's Hong Sang-soo; TOM AT THE FARM's Xavier Dolan and WE ARE THE BEST!'s Lukas Moodysoon.

This year's program also includes 14 films from 54 AFI alumni, including BREATHE IN by DIR/SCR Drake Doremus (AFI Class of 2005); LA JAULA DE ORO by PRO/DIR/SCR Diego Quemada-Diez (Class of 2001); WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THIS PLACE by PRO Brian Udovich (AFI Class of 2004) and DIR Zeke Hawkins (AFI Class of 2009) and MACHSOM by DIR Bayard Outerbridge (AFI Class of 2012).

The complete AFI FEST 2013 program includes 119 films (83 features, 36 shorts), representing 43 countries. There are 27 films directed/co-directed by women and 10 documentaries. The breakdown by section is: Galas/Tributes (8), Special Screenings (7), American Independents (6), New Auteurs (10), World Cinema (32), Midnight (5), Breakthrough (4), Guest Artistic Director (6), Presentations (2), Cinema's Legacy (3) and Short Films (36), and includes 15 official Foreign Language Film Oscar^® submissions.

The films in the World Cinema, American Independents, Breakthrough and the previously announced New Auteurs sections are eligible for their respective section's Audience Award, while the previously announced Shorts and New Auteurs programs also feature jury-selected prizes.
For the fifth consecutive year, AFI FEST will offer free tickets to all screenings, but only the Cinepass Express will provide priority entry to all regular screenings including all sections announced today, as well as access to the cinema lounge. These and other AFI FEST Passes are on sale now at AFI.com/AFIFEST.

Free individual tickets to AFI FEST screenings and galas will be available to AFI members on Monday, October 28 and Tuesday, October 29 in a 48-hour advance window before they become available to the general public on Wednesday, October 30 and Thursday, October 31. In addition, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all AFI FEST Patron Packages and Passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership.
For the 10th year, Audi returns as the festival's presenting sponsor. Additional sponsors include American Airlines, the official airline of AFI; The American Film Market (AFM); AT&T; Coca Cola; The Egyptian Theatre; Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; National Geographic Channel; Stella Artois and TCL Chinese Theatre, among many others.
Film stills are available for press use only and can be downloaded at: http://afifestpress.afi.com

WORLD CINEMA SELECTIONS (32 titles)
This section presents new work by many of the world's most renowned filmmakers.
BABY BLUES – DIR/SCR Kasia Rosłaniec. Poland.
BETHLEHEM – DIR Yuval Adler. SCR Yuval Adler, Ali Waked. Isarel.
BORGMAN – DIR/SCR Alex van Warmerdam. Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark.
CHILD'S POSE – DIR Călin Peter Netzer. SCR Răzvan Rădulescu, Călin Peter Netzer. Romania.
CLOSED CURTAIN – DIR Jafar Panahi, Kamboziya Partovi. SCR Jafar Panahi. Iran.
THE CONGRESS – DIR/SCR Ari Folman. Israel, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg.
AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF AN IRON PICKER – DIR/SCR Danis Tanovic. Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Slovenia.
EXHIBITION – DIR/SCR Joanna Hogg. United Kingdom.
GABRIELLE – DIR/SCR Louise Archambault. Canada.
GLORIA – DIR Sebastián Lelio. SCR Sebastián Lelio, Gonzalo Maza. Chile, Spain.
GRAND CENTRAL – DIR Rebecca Zlotowski. SCR Gaëlle Mace, Rebecca Zlotowski. France, Austria.
THE GREAT BEAUTY – DIR Paolo Sorrentino. SCR Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello. Italy, France.
HALF OF A YELLOW SUN – DIR/SCR Biyi Bandele. Nigeria, United Kingdom.
HELI – DIR Amat Escalante. SCR Amat Escalante, Gabriel Reyes. Mexico, France, Germany, Netherlands.
JUVENILE OFFENDER – DIR Kang Yi-kwan. SCR Kang Yi-kwan, Park Joo-young. South Korea.
LA JAULA DE ORO – DIR Diego Quemada-Diez. SCR Diego Quemada-Diez, Gibrán Portela, Lucía Carrera. Mexico, Spain.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON – DIR/SCR Hirokazu Kore-eda. Japan.
THE LUNCHBOX – DIR/SCR Ritesh Batra. India, France, Germany.
MANAKAMANA – DIR Stephanie Spray, Pacho Velez. Nepal, USA.
MANUSCRIPTS DON'T BURN – DIR Mohammad Rasoulof. Iran.
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS – DIR Thomas Imbach. SCR Thomas Imbach, Andrea Štaka, Eduard Habsburg. Switzerland, France.
THE MISSING PICTURE – DIR Rithy Panh. SCR Christophe Bataille. Cambodia, France.
MOEBIUS – DIR/SCR Kim Ki-duk. South Korea.
OMAR – DIR/SCR Hany Abu-Assad. Palestine.
OUR SUNHI – DIR/SCR Hong Sang-soo. South Korea.
THE ROCKET – DIR/SCR Kim Mordaunt. Australia.
STRANGER BY THE LAKE – DIR/SCR Alain Guiraudie. France.
TOM AT THE FARM – DIR Xavier Dolan. SCR Xavier Dolan, Michel Marc Bouchard. Canada, France.
VIC + FLO SAW A BEAR – DIR/SCR Denis Côté. Canada.
WE ARE THE BEST! – DIR/SCR Lukas Moodysson. Sweden.
WHEN EVENING FALLS ON BUCHAREST OR METABOLISM – DIR/SCR Corneliu Porumboiu. Romania, France.
THE WIND RISES – DIR/SCR Hayao Miyazaki. Japan.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS SELECTIONS (6 titles)
The American Independents section features work by emerging U.S. filmmakers.
AWFUL NICE – DIR Todd Sklar. SCR Todd Sklar, Alex Rennie. USA.
BLUE RUIN – DIR/SCR Jeremy Saulnier. USA.
BREATHE IN – DIR Drake Doremus. SCR Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones. USA.
CAUCUS – DIR AJ Schnack. USA.
CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO – DIR Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Karlyn Michelson. SCR Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory. USA.
WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE – DIR Zeke Hawkins, Simon Hawkins. SCR Dutch Southern. USA.
BREAKTHROUGH SELECTIONS (4 titles)
B FOR BOY – DIR/SCR Chika Anadu. Nigeria.
North American Premiere.
CONGRATULATIONS! – DIR/SCR Mike Brune. USA.
LITTLE BLACK SPIDERS – DIR Patrice Toye. SCR Ina Vandewijer, Patrice Toye. Belgium.
MY AFGHANISTAN – LIFE IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE – DIR/SCR Nagieb Khaja. Denmark.
MIDNIGHT SELECTIONS (5 titles)
This section showcases comedy and horror programming worth staying up late for.
BIG BAD WOLVES – DIR/SCR Navot Papushado, Aharon Keshlaes. Israel.
THE GREEN INFERNO – DIR Eli Roth. SCR Eli Roth, Guillermo Amoedo. USA, Chile.
R100 – DIR/SCR Hitoshi Matsumoto. Japan.
THE SACRAMENT – DIR/SCR Ti West. USA.
THE STRANGE COLOUR OF YOUR BODY'S TEARS – DIR/SCR Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani. Belgium, France, Luxembourg.
CINEMA'S LEGACY SELECTIONS (3 titles)
THE COURT JESTER (1955) – DIR/SCR Norman Panama, Melvin Frank. USA.
MARY POPPINS (1964) – DIR Robert Stevenson. SCR Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi. USA.
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964) – DIR/SCR Jacques Demy. France.
PRESENTATIONS SELECTIONS (2 titles)
The Whitewater Films Roundtable
Micro-Budget Filmmaking – The New Paradigm
Producer and Director Rick Rosenthal brings the famed Whitewater Films roundtable to AFI FEST for a conversation about how micro-budget filmmaking has emerged as the new paradigm for independent filmmakers. The conversation will be followed by a screening of Rosenthal's micro-budget film DRONES.
DRONES – DIR Rick Rosenthal. SCR Matt Witten. USA.
Michael Stevens presents HERBLOCK: THE BLACK AND THE WHITE
Special guests join director Michael Stevens for a panel discussion about the influence of the political cartoons of Herbert Lawrence Block. The conversation will be followed by a screening of Stevens' HERBLOCK: THE BLACK AND THE WHITE.
HERBLOCK: THE BLACK AND THE WHITE – DIR Michael Stevens. SCR Sara Lukinson, Michael Stevens. USA.

About the American Film Institute
AFI is America's promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com

AFI FESTIVAL 2013 ANNOUNCES NEW GALAS

Let me share with you this amazing galas and screenings about to take place in this year AFI FEST. Including great directors such as Spike Jones, Bertolucci and Ralph Fiennes.

Take a look!

 

 

AFI FEST presented by Audi
ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL GALAS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

 

 

Los Angeles, CA, October 17, 2013 – The American Film Institute (AFI) today announced additional Centerpiece Galas and Special Screenings – comprised of a world premiere, award season contenders and highly anticipated independent and international films of the fall – for AFI FEST 2013 presented by Audi.

There will be a red carpet Gala each night of the festival. The additional Centerpiece Galas are AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (DIR John Wells) on Friday, November 8; THE LAST EMPEROR 3D (DIR Bernardo Bertolucci) on Sunday, November 10; and the World Premiere of LONE SURVIVOR (DIR Peter Berg) on Tuesday, November 12. All Galas will be presented in the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.

AFI FEST's Special Screenings are HER (DIR Spike Jonze); THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (DIR Ralph Fiennes); JODOROWSKY'S DUNE (DIR Frank Pavich); MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM (DIR Justin Chadwick); THE PAST (LE PASSÉ) (DIR Asghar Farhadi); PHILOMENA (DIR Stephen Frears); and THE UNKNOWN KNOWN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DONALD RUMSFELD (DIR Errol Morris).

As previously announced, Agnès Varda, considered "the Mother of French New Wave cinema," will serve as Guest Artistic Director. The North American Premiere of SAVING MR. BANKS (DIR John Lee Hancock) is the Opening Night Gala on Thursday, November 7 and INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (DIR Ethan Coen, Joel Coen) is the Closing Night Gala on Thursday, November 14. Previously announced Centerpiece Galas include the World Premiere of OUT OF THE FURNACE (DIR Scott Cooper) on Saturday, November 9, NEBRASKA (DIR Alexander Payne) featuring a Tribute to Bruce Dern on Monday, November 11, and THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (DIR Ben Stiller) on Wednesday, November 13.

The Star Patron Package and Marquee Patron Package will provide reserved seating for the festival's announced Galas and the Special Screenings Pass offers priority seating for all of the festival's Special Screenings. These and other AFI FEST Passes are on sale now at AFI.com/AFIFEST.

For the fifth consecutive year, AFI FEST will offer free tickets to all screenings. On Monday, October 28 and Tuesday, October 29, AFI Members will have an exclusive 48-hour advanced opportunity to select tickets before they become available to the general public on Wednesday, October 30 and Thursday, October 31. In addition, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all AFI FEST Patron Packages and Passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership.

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My winners for this Oscar night

BEST MOVIE		ARGO
DIRECTING		STEVEN SPIELBERG
BEST ACTOR		DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
BEST ACTRESS		JENNIFER LAWRENCE
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS		ANNE HATHAWAY
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR		PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY		DJANGO UNCHAINED
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY		ARGO
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY		LIFE OF PI
BEST EDITING		ARGO
PRODUCTION DESIGN		LINCOLN
COSTUME DESIGN		LES MISERABLES
MAKE UP AND HAIRSTYLING		LES MISERABLES
VISUAL EFFECTS		LIFE OF PI
MEJOR SONIDO		SKYFALL
MEJOR EDICION DE SONIDO		SKYFALL
BEST SCORE		LIFE OF PI
ORIGINAL SONG		SKYFALL, ADELE
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM		AMOUR
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM		WRECK IT RALLPH
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE		SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN
DOCUMENTARY SHORT		INOCENTE
SHORT FILM		CURFEW
ANIMATED SHORT		PAPERMAN