Kieran Culkin, left, co stars in "A Real Pain," written, directed, and starring by Jesse Eisenberg. The film will screened at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at Regal South Beach on Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. (Photo courtesy of MDC-Miami Film Festival)
The GEMS Festival has some of the biggest names and biggest film titles we've seen in a while from GEMS. Its first night is already sold out and no wonder.
Miami Film Festival's fall midseason event, organized by the Film Society of Miami and Miami Dade College, features "The Room Next Door," the eagerly awaited (by me and the industry at large), Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's first English-language full-length feature, which stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.
The film recently received the Golden Lion award for best film at the Venice Film Festival. Written and directed by Almodóvar and based on the novel "What Are You Going Through," it is about two professionals who were great friends in their youth, separated by life circumstances, who, after years without contact, meet again in an extreme situation.
This year's GEMS will take place in several venues in Miami beginning Wednesday, Oct. 30 through Sunday, Nov. 3, featuring 30 films from more than fifteen countries.
GEMS will open at the Koubek Center on October 30 with "The Room Next Door," the first film shot in English by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar and starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. (Photo courtesy of MDC-Miami Film Festival)
Here are some of the other highlights:
"Emilia Pérez": (at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31 at the Silverspot Cinema Downtown Miami). In Spanish by French director Jacques Audiard, it won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie is described as a French musical crime comedy-drama. With a cast headed by Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoé Saldaña, Selena Gómez, and Adriana Paz, Audiard's film tells the story of four extraordinary women in Mexico. It mixes themes of transsexuality and organized crime and has been recognized for its narrative and unique approach. (See film critic Ruben Rosario's review.)
"Emilia Pérez" is a French film directed by Jacques Audiard that mixes transsexuality and organized crime themes and has been recognized for its narrative and unique approach. (Photo courtesy of MDC-Miami Film Festival)
"Maria": By director Pablo Larraín, a psychological, biographical drama inspired by the last days in Paris of Maria Callas, the legendary opera diva (born in New York to Greek parents), at the end of a glamorous and tumultuous career. Angelina Jolie, certain to receive an Oscar nomination for this roles, stars as Callas. The film, also distributed by Netflix with a premiere in movie theaters Wednesday, Nov. 27 and streaming on Netflix on Wednesday, Dec. 11, is the third and the last of a trilogy that the Chilean filmmaker has dedicated to iconic women of the 20th century, also made up of "Jackie" (2016) and "Spencer" (2021). (7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 1 at Silverspot Cinemas)
"María," by director Pablo Larraín, a psychological, biographical drama inspired by the last days in Paris of Maria Callas and stars Angelina Jolie as the legendary opera diva. (Photo courtesy of MDC-Miami Film Festival)
"Men of War": Miami filmmaker Billy Corben's tragicomedy co-directed by Jen Gatien. An insider account of the failed 2020 coup in Venezuela as told by former US Army Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, a three-time Bronze Star recipient who organized the ill-fated mission. A mission to overthrow the Venezuelan government that was conceived of out of a WeWork in Miami – what could go wrong? (7 p.m., Nov. 1, Regal South Beach Lincoln Road)
The documentary "Men of War" by Miami filmmaker Billy Corben and New York-based Canadian co-director Jen Gatien screens on Friday, Nov. 1. (Photo courtesy of MDC-Miami Film Festival)
"The Brutalist:" An epic historical drama written and directed by Brady Corbet in an Anglo-American and Hungarian co-production, the film narrates 30 years in the life of László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor. At the end of World War II, he emigrated to the United States with his wife, Erszebét (Felicity Jones), in search of the "American Dream." At first, László faces a time of poverty and misery but soon secures a contract with a mysterious and wealthy client, who will completely change the course of his life. The film, winner of the Best Director Award at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, will be screened in its original 70mm format. (6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 2 at at the Coral Gables Art Cinema)
"A Real Pain": Written, directed, and starring Jesse Eisenberg, closes the festival on Sunday, Nov. 3. The comedy about two incompatible cousins who travel through Poland to honor their grandmother in a trip complicated by the resurgence of old family tensions co-stars Kieran Culkin of the HBO hit "Succession." (8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 3, Silverspot Cinema 13)
"The Brutalist" narrates 30 years in the life of Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor. Also in photo is co-star Felicity Jones. (Photo courtesy of MDC-Miami Film Festival)
This year, Miami Film Festival is launching The Louies. This initiative will benefit local filmmakers with funding, a new initiative the film festival is launching in partnership with the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation.
- WHAT: 11th Annual GEMS 2024 Miami Film Festival
- WHERE: Silverspot Cinema Miami, 300 S.E. 3rd St., Miami; MDC's Koubek Center, 275 SW 3rd St., Miami; Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; Regal Cinemas South Beach, 1120 Lincoln Road, and MDC's Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami.
- WHEN: Various times beginning Wednesday, Oct. 30 through Sunday, Nov. 3.
- COST: Prices vary from $15.50 to $50 ($50 ticket is for opening night screening and party, prices vary for films and events).
- INFORMATION: More information at (305) 237-3456 miamifilmfestival.com
