Miami Film Festival Announces Full Lineup for In-Person Event

Miami, FL — Miami Dade College’s (MDC) renowned Miami Film Festival today unveiled the line-up for the eighth annual edition of its acclaimed Miami Film Festival GEMS, expanding to seven days from its traditional four-day format. Legendary Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers starring Penélope Cruz will open the Festival. King Richard, produced by and starring Will Smith, will be the Centerpiece screening, while Denmark’s Oscar submission shortlist candidate Flee will close the event. The festival will hold its screenings at MDC’s Tower Theater Miami from November 4-10.

“This year’s GEMS program demonstrates the ongoing vitality and vibrancy of cinema – we expanded the festival due to the increasing number of outstanding films that GEMS has attracted,” said Executive Director Jaie Laplante. “We are grateful to return to our home theater, Tower Theater Miami, and are excited to welcome patrons back to share the communal theater experience.”

Opening GEMS 2021 on November 4 is Parallel Mothers from acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, whose Pain and Glory opened GEMS 2019, and who was awarded the Festival’s highest honor, Precious Gem – Master Award, at the 38^th edition of the Festival earlier this year. Parallel Mothers was nominated for a Golden Lion for Best Film at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, where Penélope Cruz won for Best Actress.

The Centerpiece Screening will take place on November 6. King Richard (United States) is produced by and starring Will Smith in the true story of the hard-driving father of tennis superstars (and South Florida residents) Venus and Serena Williams. The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green.

Raising early excitement for the Festival’s official opening will be Pablo Larraín’s critically revered Spencer (US/UK/Chile/Germany), which will be featured as the GEMS Preview Night on October 27. The drama stars Kristen Stewart (a front-runner for this year’s Best Actress Oscar) as Princess Diana, at the moment when she decides to leave her marriage to Prince Charles.

Closing the Festival on November 10 will be Flee (Denmark), the acclaimed animated documentary that won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Shortlisted for Denmark’s Oscar submission selection, this timely film about an Afghani émigré with a secret is directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen.

GEMS 2021 will include the first three selections of the season competing for the Festival’s prestigious awards. Paris, 13^thDistrict (France), a drama directed by Jacques Audiard, will compete for the GEMS Festival’s top prize, the $25,000 Knight MARIMBAS Award, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. This is a juried prize for a film that best exemplifies richness and resonance for cinema’s future. Audiard previously won the top Award at MFF in 2016 for Dheepan.

Competing for MFF’s Ibero-american Feature Film Award is Chilean filmmaker Claudia Huaiquimilla’s second feature, My Brothers Dream Awake. The film was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the 2021 Locarno Film Festival.

The first selection to compete in the $10,000 Knight Made in MIA Short Film Award, supported by the Knight Foundation, is the world premiere of the short documentary “A Date, with History” (United States), an unexpected glimpse into the complex social history of Miami in 1955, directed by Gaspar González. “A Date, with History” reclaims a historical incident that occurred at the Historic Hampton House in 1955, and will be paired with a retrospective screening of Regina King’s adaptation of Kemp Powers’ One Night in Miami, which also reclaims a Hampton House historical night.

Many of films being presented as Special Presentations in the GEMS 2021 selection are anticipated to be official submissions to the 94^th Academy Awards for the International Feature Film category. The complete list of films screening as Special Presentations include:

7 Prisoners (Brazil), a drama spotlighting the plight of human trafficking, directed by Alexandre Moratto. Moratto is returning to MFF’s Official Selection, following his first feature Socrates winning MFF’s 2019 Jordan Ressler First Feature Award.

Belfast (United Kingdom/Ireland/United States), a drama set in Northern Ireland during the turbulent late-1960s, directed by Kenneth Branagh, winner of TIFF’s People’s Choice Award.

Dear Mr. Brody (United States), a documentary directed by Keith Maitland that tells the strange tale of Michael Brody Jr., a 21-year-old hippie millionaire who in 1970 promised to give away his $25 million inheritance in an effort to usher in a new era of world peace. This screening will take place in a special outdoor setting at Moxy South Beach.

Happening (France), a tense, gripping thriller about a student in 1960s France who seeks an abortion at a time when it was illegal, directed by Audrey Diwan. *Winner of the Golden Lion, top prize of the 2021 Venice Film Festival.*

A Hero (Iran/France), a drama/thriller about a man on leave from debtors’ prison, directed by Asghar Farhadi, winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival.

Huda’s Salon (Palestine/Egypt/The Netherlands), a new drama about blackmail and double-agents in the Palestine occupied territory, from double-Oscar nominated filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad.

Julia (United States), a documentary spotlighting legendary cookbook author and television icon Julia Child, directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West. The screening will be accompanied by a post-screening Julia-inspired dinner at Michelle Bernstein and Julio Cabrera’s popular restaurant Café La Trova.

Lingui, The Sacred Bonds (Chad/France/Germany/Belgium), the story of a woman in Chad navigating the severe legal and religious choice restrictions for her 15-year-old daughter’s unplanned pregnancy, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun.

Mothering Sunday (United Kingdom), which tells the story of a maid coming to terms with her sexuality in post-World War I England, directed by Eva Husson.

The People Upstairs (Spain), a comedy about two couples exploring the complexities of modern-day relationships, directed by Cesc Gay, starring 2021 MFF Precious Gem Awardee Javier Cámara.

Red Rocket (United States), a comedy/drama that follows a washed-up porn star returning to his small Texas hometown, directed by Sean Baker.

A Tale of Love and Desire (France), a romantic drama about an Algerian-French teenager who falls in love with a young Tunisian girl, directed by Leyla Bouzid.

The Worst Person in the World (Norway/France), a comedy/drama on the travails of a young woman navigating her love life and career path, directed by Joachim Trier, winner of the Best Actress award at Cannes for Renate Reinsve.

A selection of films, including the three titles in juried competitions, will be available for 72-hour viewing windows in the Festival’s concurrent Virtual platform.

GEMS 2021 was programmed by co-directors of programming Lauren Cohen and Jaie Laplante, with additional contributions by Ibero-american specialty programmer Carlos Tejera.

All Spanish-language films in Miami Film Festival GEMS are supported by Viendomovies, found on Xfinity, and FlixLatino. AIDS Healthcare Foundation, dedicated to exploring discussions of health and sexuality, will sponsor A Tale of Love and Desire. All French-language films are supported by TV5Monde USA.

The full line-up and schedule of GEMS 2021 will go live at www.miamifilmfestival.com beginning October 8, with tickets on sale exclusively to Miami Film Society members the same day. Tickets to the general public will go on sale beginning October 14.

Celebrating cinema in two annual events, Miami Film Festival GEMS (November 4-10, 2021) and Miami Film Festival (39th annual edition March 4-13, 2022), Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival is considered the preeminent film festival for showcasing Ibero-American cinema in the U.S., and a major launch pad for all international and documentary cinema. The annual Festival welcomes more than 45,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. Major sponsors of Miami Film Festival GEMS include Knight Foundation, American Airlines, Telemundo, NBC, Estrella Damm, and Miami-Dade County. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit kf.org.

American Airlines is proud to sponsor and serve as the Official Airline for the Miami Film Festival. American’s purpose is to care for people on life’s journey. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL and the company’s stock is included in the S&P 500. American’s award-winning website, AA.com®, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. AA.comand AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. Learn more about what’s happening at American by visiting news.aa.com and connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and at Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines

This special award recognizes and supports artists early in their careers as professional filmmakers. It was created by the South Florida family of Jordan Alexander Ressler, an aspiring screenwriter and Cornell University film studies graduate who, during his brief entertainment career, held production positions with the Tony award-winning Broadway hits 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal and Jersey Boys. He died in a tragic hiking accident while traveling in Nicaragua at age 23, before realizing his professional ambitions. This Achievement Award in the amount of $10,000 USD is awarded to a film artist of a narrative first feature film by the Jordan Alexander Ressler Charitable Fund.