Hot Docs Forum Highlights Chilean Storytelling With Made In Chile Strand

JD Linville Bernardo Quesney’s “History and Geography” and Tomás González Matos’ “Breaking and Entering” are two of the titles screening May 20 at Cannes’ Marché du Film showcase, Sanfic Industria Goes to Cannes. Two other films round out the selection; Andrew Sala’s “The Barbaric” from Argentina, and Esteban García’s Mexico-Columbia co-production “Back to the Sea of my Deseaced.”All four titles screened at Sanfic Industria’s Works in Progress. The 2022 Cannes slate showcases powerful themes of violence, identity and corruption.The Goes to Cannes sessions will run May 20-23 May.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Led by a special screening slot for celebrated documentarian Patricio Guzman’s “My Imaginary Country,” plus Directors’ Fortnights “1976”  and a new short by 2018 Cinéfondation prizewinner Diego Céspedes in Critics’ Week, Chile boats the biggest presence of any Latin American country at Cannes.“Our cinema is a living and pulsating entity, a cinema full of risky auteurist viewpoints that are capable of expressing our particular experiences in a universal way and at the same level playing field as bigger filmmaking territories, says CinemaChile executive director Constanza Arena, taking note of Chile’s strong showing.“The directors of a new wave of Chilean cinema take on powerful themes with deep socio-historical weight, but with fresh stylistically innovation, whether it’s political trauma in ‘1976’ by Manuela Martelli, or the LGBTQ+ theme in ‘Las Criaturas que se Derriten Bajo el Sol’ by Céspedes. With their daring, they are pushing forward a new generation of Chilean and Latin American cinema,” Arena observes.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Thrown into the limelight by the Oscar nomination for Maite Alberdi’s “The Mole Agent” in 2021, Chilean documentaries been growing in stature worldwide for years.At Cannes, venerable Patricio Guzman world premieres his latest doc, “My Imaginary Country” (“Mi País Imaginario”) as a special screening, following on his lauded “The Cordillera of Dreams” which was awarded the 2019 L’œil d’Or award for Cannes’ best documentary. Matias Rojas’ “Our Memory” will be among the spotlighted projects at Cannes Docs.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Following, some potential Chilean highlights at Cannes:“Beautiful Yet Mortal” (“Bella Cosa Mortal”), Nicolás PostiglioneAn Oro Films-Whisky Content co-production about star-crossed lovers in an ultra-traditional German community in Southern Chile, from the director of the acclaimed “Immersion.” To shoot in late 2022.Breaking and Entering” (“Allanamiento”), Tomás Gonzalez MatosFrom Sanfic Industry Goes to Cannes, a police procedural where the deputy commissioner of the investigative police unit asks the commissioner to enter the prosecutor’s office and dispose of recordings implicating them in drug trafficking, torture and corruption. In post.“Conditional,” Alvaro Diaz A youth comedy from Juntos Films following Esteban who, in order to impact the girl he fancies, runs for president of his school’s student union.

Nicolás López, the Chilean director who collaborated with Eli Roth in writing and directing the 2012 movie Aftershock and Roth’s 2015 film Knock Knock starring Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas, was sentenced to five years in prison in Chile on Monday after being convicted of sexual assault against two actresses.

SANTIAGO -- Chilean director Nicolás López, one of the country's highest-profile filmmakers, was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for sexual abuse against two actresses.The sentence coincided with what was requested by prosecutors after a court found him guilty at the end of April. In that verdict, the court absolved López of rape charges because judges determined there was not enough proof.The filmmaker has insisted he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In one of the first high-profile sexual assault cases in Latin America following the #MeToo reckoning, Chilean director Nicolás López, who was renowned for his raunchy box office comedy hits “Sin Filtro,” “No Estoy Loca” and the “Que Pena” trilogy, has been sentenced to five years and one day in prison for two cases of sexual abuse.The charges against López first surfaced in 2018, when several actresses came forward to accuse him of rape and sexual abuse. The court dismissed the charges of rape, but found López guilty of the latter charge.López has also been banned from coming near his accusers and is permanently disqualified from running for public office.

Amanda Seyfried and Colin Firth are very ready for Mamma Mia 3.

Naman Ramachandran Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of Banijay, has revealed the first international adaptation of hit U.K. format “Starstruck,” with a deal confirmed in South America.The show launched earlier this year to a consolidated 4.7 million viewers on U.K. broadcaster ITV and streamer ITV Hub and was re-commissioned for a second series.

Holly Jones Cognizant of the ever-raw emotion elicited by monumental civil unrest, Chilean producer-directors Carola Fuentes and Rafael Valdeavellano glimpse boldly into the Neoliberal structures that seemingly divided and destroyed a nation’s prosperity. With a lens on the uphill battle to achieve a semblance of peace amidst a global pandemic, a country makes an historic and eager leap towards progress, a new constitution and leader at the fore.“Breaking The Brick” dutifully follows the pair’s 2015 feature-length documentary, “Chicago Boys,” which interviewed authors in charge of drafting El Ladrillo, a Neoliberal free market text-turned economic model influenced by Milton Friedman and instituted by the Pinochet dictatorship. Though touted as a miraculous way to bring prosperity to Chile, the system eventually drew criticism when the public saw wealth disparities spiral.

EXCLUSIVE: Los Angeles-based Dark Star Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to Chilean LGBTQ Comedy Phantom Project following its North American Premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival 2022.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Buoyed by the Oscar nomination for Maite Alberdi’s “The Mole Agent” last year, which was also shortlisted in the International Feature category, Chilean documentaries are attracting ever more attention worldwide. One of its leading lights, Patricio Guzman, will have the world premiere of his latest opus, “Mi País Imaginario” as a Cannes  Festival special screening.For the third time in a row, Chiledoc will be presenting a Chilean Docs in Progress showcase, scheduled for May 23 within the framework of Cannes Doc, which runs May 17 to 25.Spearheaded by Chiledoc director Paula Ossandón, the showcase comprises four films at editing stage.

Sean Murray and Gary Cole are opening up about the casting shakeup that happened in the current season of NCIS.

Molly Shannon is opening up about her experience with Gary Coleman.

surprise exit of original cast member Mark Harmon. “NCIS” currently stars Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama, Brian Dietzen, Diona Reasonover, Katrina Law and Rocky Carroll.

Speaking out. Molly Shannon accused the late Gary Coleman of sexually harassing her during a meeting when she was younger.

Molly Shannon has alleged she was sexually harassed by "Diff'rent Strokes" actor Gary Coleman years ago. Shannon, 67, recently appeared on "The Howard Stern Show," where she opened up about an encounter with Coleman that took place at the Plaza Hotel in 1987.The incident is also something she details in her new book, "Hello, Molly!" Speaking of the encounter, Shannon said she and Coleman shared the same agent, Mark Randall.The three met for tea at the Plaza and while there, Shannon confirmed Coleman invited her up to his hotel suite. She said she was thinking nothing of it.  "And I was a virgin so I wasn't even thinking about that," Shannon said.