MIFFecito: It'a a Wrap!

IT'S A WRAP: Tuesday, October 21, 2014

GREAT ART CHANGES LIVES playwright & filmmaker Moisés Kaufman, MiamiFF director Jaie Laplante; Moisés Kaufman and Knight Foundation VP of Arts Dennis Scholl A Conversation with Moisés Kaufman, moderated by Dennis Scholl The final day of MIFFecito screenings continued to fill MDC’s Tower Theater to capacity starting with a retrospective screening of The Laramie Project—the groundbreaking filmproduced in 2002 for HBO (based on the play of the same name) that tells the story of the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming—directed by visionary playwright/director Moisés Kaufman. An impactful on-stage conversation ensued, with special guest moderator Dennis Scholl, VP of Arts for the Knight Foundation, regarding the positive impact the film (and the original theater production) have had since its debut 12 years ago. The discussion reiterated the fact that great art has a humanizing and civilizing influence, and can truly change lives. Kaufman announced that, 23 years after forming his internationally celebrated Tectonic Theater Project in New York City, he will be forming a new Miami-based theater company with partners Gary Ressler and Michel Hausmann, in 2015. Kaufman is currently in Miami rehearsing for a production of Teutonic’s adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen, set right before the Revolution in1958 Cuba, which is set to run November 12–20 at University of Miami. Blanka Rosenstiel, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Miami and MiamiFF executive director Jaie Laplante Glimpse of guests at the Polish Reception... Cheers / Na zdrowie (Naz-droh-vee-ay) The program continued with Life Feels Good (Chce się żyć)—based on a true story of a young man in 1980’s Poland suffering from cerebral palsy struggling to communicate with those around him that he is an intelligent and conscious human being—by Polish writer-directorMaciej Pieprzyca. After the credits rolled, the audience moved upstairs to a dynamic reception sponsored by The American Institute of Polish Culture and The Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland—though a few woman took a slight detour to the ladies room to wipe away the tears and touch up their makeup prior to joining the reception. l to r: Beata Paszyc, executive director of The American Institute of Polish Culture, Adriana Sabino; Tete Mosso, Simoni Resendi The two additional showings of Spain’s all-time highest-grossing domestic film, Spanish Affair(Ocho apellidos vascos)—a taboo-busting satire of the cultural divide between northern and southern Spain—directed by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro continued to fill every seat in the house, proving three screenings of he film were still not enough to satisfy demand!