24th Miami International Film Festival

Nicole Guillemet who directed the Festival successfully in the last years and made it one of the most interesting events in the US, is leaving; Patrick de Bokay succeeds her, “a film industry professional with more than 30 years of experience”, as the Miami Dade College (which organizes the event) announced. Nicole Guillemet’s last edition brought the best films of the season to Miami, with a traditional focus on Latin American cinemas, and with a tribute to Luc Besson. Also, documentaries and animation were included in the rich and diverse selection.

The Critics’ Prize went to Andrea Arnold’s Red Road (which had its premiere in Cannes 2006, and had already won the FIPRESCI Prize in Reykjavik last autumn). “Although several of the alternative films demonstrated merit and promise,” writes our jury, “none came close to the formal elegance, bold originality, powerful emotion and trenchant social commentary of Red Road. For a first film, it was renmarkably ambitious and close to flawless.”

Miami International Film Festival: www.miamifilmfestival.com