Coral Gables, FL (Feb. 26, 2009) – The UM School of Communication and the Bill Cosford Cinema have partnered with the 26th annual Miami International Film Festival to present another year of cinematic excellence. 

The Cosford will screen a number of fascinating selections, whose origins range from Sweden to Serbia. Presented by Miami Dade College, the Miami International Film Festival, which runs March 7-15, is an annual showcase of contemporary, multimedia selections from the world’s vast art panorama. 

General Admission is $12 and $7 for students. There are 30 free student admission tickets available for each screening to be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on the Miami International Film Festival and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.miamifilmfestival.com.

The REEL Education Seminar Series also returns this year with informative panels, workshops, seminars and master-classes to educate and entertain. Meet leading film industry professionals, as well as noted filmmakers, as they share their thoughts, insights, experience and advice. Below is a list of School of Communication REEL Seminar events, which are free for students. Tickets can be picked up on the fourth floor reception area of the Frances L. Wolfson Building.

Kodak Presents: Stop By Shoot Film
University of Miami - School of Communication, 3/10/2009 10:00am - 11:30am,
University of Miami - School of Communication, 3/10/2009 1:00pm - 2:30pm,

Guide to Entering the Industry
University of Miami - School of Communication, 3/10/2009 3:30pm - 5:00pm

Miami International Film Festival Selections Presented by the Bill Cosford Cinema:

Saturday, March 7

Involuntary (De Ofrivilliga)
6:00 p.m.

(Sweden, 98 min, 35mm, 2008)
Director : Ruben Östlund
Producers : Erik Hemmendorff
Screenwriters : Ruben Östlund, Erik Hemmendorff
Cast: Maria Lundqvist, Leif Edlund, Olle Lijas, Vera Vitali, Cecilia Milocco, Villmar Björkman, Lola Ewerlund, Linnea Cart-Lamy, Sara Eriksson, Henrik Vikman

Synopsis:
An amusing take on the nature of group dynamics: Two teenage girls chat, take pictures and get drunk, a group of young men experiment with sex, a teacher tries to resolve the problem of a student bullied by another teacher, and a group of passengers are held prisoner by a bus driver.

March (März)
8:30 p.m.

(Austria, 83 min, 35mm, 2008)
Director: Händl Klaus
Producers: Antonin Svoboda, Martin Gschlacht, Händl Klaus
Screenwriters: Händl Klaus
Cast: Isolde Ferlesch, Florian Eisner, Josef Kuderna, Julia Gschnitzer, Alfred Kleinheinz, Julia Strauhal, Ilse Kuen

Synopsis:
The unexplained suicide of three young men sends shockwaves through a small Austrian community in this somber drama. Their friends are confused, unable to come to terms with their apparently motiveless deaths, while their parents and older relatives are struck dumb by their pain. Winner of Best First Feature at the Locarno Film Festival.

Mary
10:30 p.m.

(Italy/France/USA, 83 min, 35mm, 2005)
Director: Abel Ferrara
Producers: Roberto De Nigris, Frank DeCurtis
Screenwriters: Abel Ferrara, Mario Isabella, Simone Lagoles
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Modine, Heather Graham, Marion Cotillard, Stefania Rocca

Synopsis:
Representing a sincere grapple with faith and redemption in cynical times, Mary tells the story of an actress Marie (Juliette Binoche) who plays the part of Mary Magdalene in a revisionist biblical drama. She becomes obsessed with her character and with a cocky film director (Matthew Modine) who casts himself as Jesus.

Sunday, March 8

Anorexia. Story of an Image (Anorexia. Storia Di Un’Immagine)
6:00 p.m.

(Italy, 25 min, DigiBeta, 2008)
Director: Leandro Manuel Emede
Cast: Oliviero Toscani, Isabel Caro, Vittorio Feltri, Vittorio Sgarbi

Synopsis:
When Italian fashion house Nolita used an enormous nude photo of an emaciated, 23-year-old actress as the central image in its advertising campaign with the headline “No anorexia,” it split public opinion. The provocative photo shot by Oliviero Toscani is the focal point of this fascinating short, on how the image was created and received.

Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders
8:30 p.m.

(USA, 93 min, DigiBeta, 2008)
Director: Mark Hopkins
Producers: Naisola Grimwood, Daniel Holton-Roth
Cast: Dr. Chris Brasher, Dr. Davinder Gill, Dr. Tom Krueger, Dr. Chiara Lepora

Synopsis:
The humanitarian agency Doctors Without Borders serves over 70 countries, treating people on the very edges of society. Four volunteer doctors are confronted with the very essence of life and death. In this graphic, life-changing documentary these doctors struggle with their own humanity. Some lose their idealism, but others find themselves

Monday, March 9

Landscape No2 (Pokrajina St.2 )
6:00 p.m.

(Slovenia/Serbia, 90 min, 35mm, 2007)
Director: Vinko Möderndorfer
Producers: Eva Rohrman, Biljana Prvanovic, Andrej Kregar
Screenwriters: Vinko Möderndorfer
Cast: Marko Mandic, Slobodan Custic, Barbara Cerar, Maja Martina Merljak, Janez Hocevar

Synopsis:
A killer representing an ugly, unresolved and nearly forgotten chapter of post-WWII history confronts a cynical, amoral Everyman in Landscape No. 2. Played realistically yet with a wink to Grand Guignol theatrics, this audacious, superbly crafted, contemporary horror picture, spiced with humorous hardcore action, constitutes a true guilty pleasure.

Mental (Seishin)
8:30 p.m.

(Japan/USA, 135 min, DigiBeta, 2008)
Director: Kazuhiro Soda
Producers: Kazuhiro Soda

Synopsis:
Observing the complex world of an innovative outpatient mental health clinic in Japan in cinéma vérité style, Mental breaks a major taboo against discussing mental illness in Japanese society, capturing the candid lives of people coping with suicidal tendencies, poverty, sense of shame, apprehension and sociophobia.

Tuesday, March 10

9 to 5: Days in Porn
6:00 p.m.

(Germany, 96 min, DigiBeta, 2008)
Director: Jens Hoffmann
Screenwriters: Jens Hoffmann
Cast: Belladonna, Sasha Grey, Mia Rose, Katja Kassin, Rody Deville, Otto Bauer, Audrey Hollander, Mark Spiegler, Jim Powers, John Stagliano, Dr. Sharon Mitchell, Tom Herold and others.

Synopsis:
Follows the lives of ten porn stars over the course of a year. A married couple, sisters, and an 18-year-old rising star are some of the characters that offer a glimpse into the inner workings of the adult entertainment industry. Strong Adult Content.

That’s It (Apenas o Fim)
8:30 p.m.

(Brazil, 80 min, DigiBeta, 2008)
Director: Matheus Souza
Producers: Mariza Leão
Screenwriters: Matheus Souza
Cast: Gregório Duvivier. Erika Mader, Marcelo Adnet, Álamo Faccó, Nathalia Dill, Ana Sophia Floch, Julia Gorman

Synopsis:
Strolling through the campus of a Rio de Janeiro University, a young couple argues over the impending end of their relationship. They reminisce and their conversation paints a compelling and hyperrealist portrait of a Brazilian generation influenced by icons of pop culture. A mesmerizing debut feature by Brazilian film students.

Wednesday, March 11

New Rose Hotel
8:30 p.m.

(USA, 93 min, 35mm, 1998)
Director: Abel Ferrara
Screenwriters: Abel Ferrara, Christ Zois
Cast: Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, Asia Argento, Annabella Sciorra

Synopsis:
A well-made and brilliantly performed erotic drama focusing on industrial espionage and corporate skullduggery with Willem Dafoe and Christopher Walken as spies trying to seduce a Japanese geneticist with the help of a compliant, dreamy prostitute (Asia Argento). Adapted from a celebrated short story by cyberpunk scribe William Gibson (Neuromancer).

Servicios Prestados
6:00 p.m.

(Argentina, 52 min, DigiBeta, 2007)
Director: Diego Lerman
Screenwriters: Diego Lerman
Cast: Carmen Felix

Synopsis:
One of Argentina’s boldest young talents, Diego Lerman (Suddenly) returns to the Miami International Film Festival with this compelling documentary on Carmen Felix, a health care agent working in the “hot border” area that separates Argentina and Bolivia. Lerman is clearly inspired by this community organizer.

Thursday, March 12

Perfidy
6:00 p.m.

(Chile/Bolivia/USA, 84 min, DigiBeta, 2009)
Director: Rodrigo Bellott
Producers: David Guy Levi, Rodrigo Bellot
Cast: Gonzalo Valenzuela, Levi Freeman, Heidi Schreck

Synopsis:
A young man embarks on a mysterious journey, taking him to a hotel somewhere in snowy upstate New York. While in his room, a dramatic transformation takes place, resembling a serpent shedding his skin. Suddenly, the phone rings; the plot thickens; things will never be the same.

Unidad 25
8:30 p.m.

(Argentina, 90 min, 35mm, 2008)
Director: Alejo Hoijman
Producers: Hugo Castro Fau, Luis Angel Ramirez
Screenwriters: Alejo Hoijman

Synopsis:
In Alejo Hoijman’s uncompromising documentary, religion and indoctrination blur when violent offender Simon Pedro enters a prison dominated by a strict, relentless program of evangelical Christianity. Criminal banter plays less as streetwise bravado than as churchgoing confessionals. But is faith simply a survival mechanism, or is the inmate soul-searching truly transformative?

Friday, March 13

Past is a Foreign Land, The (Il Passato È Una Terra Straniera)
8:30 p.m.

(Italy, 127 min, 35mm, 2008)
Director: Daniele Vicari
Producers: Tilde Corsi, Domenico Procacci, Gianni Romoli
Screenwriters: Gianrico Carofiglio, Francesco Carofiglio, Massimo Gaudioso, Daniele Vicari
Cast: Elio Germano, Michele Riondino, Chiara Caselli, Valentina Lodovini, Marco Baliani, Daniela Poggi, Maria Jurado, Romina Carrisi, Lorenza Indovina

Synopsis:
Brilliant law student Giorgio, bored with his tedious existence, accidentally crosses paths with a card shark, who entices him into the world of hidden aces and fixed decks. The rush of the con leads Giorgio into a lucrative double life—one with increasingly dangerous stakes, in this brooding, nimble study of temptation and self-destruction.

Road to Fallujah, The
6:00 p.m.

(USA, 80 min, Beta SP, 2007)
Director: Mark Manning
Producers: Mark Manning, Natalie Kalustian, Rana Al Aiouby

Synopsis:
Personal journey of an American citizen into the heart of the Iraq war. Mark Manning, the only westerner to live with the people of Fallujah immediately following the devastating November 2004 battle that destroyed the city, offers a humanizing account of the Iraqi experience, and alternative solutions to war.

Saturday, March 14

Afterschool
8:30 p.m.

(USA, 106 min, 35mm, 2008)
Director: Antonio Campos
Producers: Josh Mond, Sean Durkin
Screenwriters: Antonio Campos
Cast: Ezra Miller, Jeremy White, Emory Cohen, Michael Stuhlbarg, Addison Timlin, Gary Wilmes, Rosemarie Dewitt

Synopsis:
Robert attends an elite east coast boarding school where he accidentally videotapes the death of two popular students. The school assigns Robert an audiovisual project, in memory of the teens, designed to help the students cope with their death. Antonio Campos’ film showcases voyeurism and the YouTube generation.

Beket
6:00 p.m.

(Italy, 80 min, DigiBeta, 2008)
Director: Davide Manuli
Producers: Davide Manuli, Bruno Tribbioli, Alessandro Bonifazi
Screenwriters: Davide Manuli
Cast: Luciano Curreli, Jerome Duranteau, Fabrizio Gifuni, Roberto “Freak” Antoni, Paolo Rossi, Simone Maludrottu, Simona Caramelli

Synopsis:
Loosely based on Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece Waiting for Godot, Beket takes place in a no man’s land outside of time when mankind no longer inhabits the planet. Freak and Jaja meet at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere where a bus arrives but doesn’t stop.

Sunday, March 15

Beautiful Losers
8:30 p.m.

(USA, 90 min, DigiBeta, 2008)
Director: Aaron Rose
Producers: Rich Lim, John Barlow
Cast: Thomas Campbell, Shepard Fairley, Jo Jackson, Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen, Harmony Korine, Geoff McFetridge, Barry McGee, Mike Mills, Stephen Powers, Ed Templeton

Synopsis:
A whirlpool of inspiration, Beautiful Losers reveals what happens when the outside becomes “in”. A loose-knit group of American artists, rooted in the do-it-yourself subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip-hop & graffiti, come together to create art. This hip documentary sheds new light on those who left an indelible mark on the worlds of fashion, music, art, design and film.

Soi Cowboy
6:00 p.m.

(Thailand/UK, 117 min, 35mm, 2008)
Director: Thomas Clay
Producers: Joseph Lang, Tom Waller, Daniel Nixon
Screenwriters: Thomas Clay
Cast: Nicolas Bro, Pimwalee Thampanyasan, Petch Mekoh, Natee Srimanta, Somluk Kuamsing

Synopsis:
In Bangkok, a corpulent Dane and a pregnant Thai woman share a tiny apartment. He takes Viagra and gives her gifts. She’s looking for security and he’s the best way out of Soi Cowboys, the red-light district where they met. Meanwhile, in the countryside, a teenage mafia enforcer faces a dilemma.