I rarely make it to the movies. I didn't see any of the Oscar nominated films and I don't have a TV (the one in the picture above is too low-tech to function) so I missed the Oscars--again! I'm hoping I get to see "American Hustle" before it leaves the theaters. Fortunately, my friend Joyce Ferman got me away from the computer to see "Gloria." (By the way, Joyce also turned me on to a fabulous website for movie buffs. Check it out: Rotten Tomatoes)

Sebastián Lelio's "Gloria" was Chile's submission for nomination to the Oscars. It was not selected as a contender, probably because Pablo Larraín's NO was selected last year, and it's unlikely that Chile would have nominations in the Best Foreign Film category for two years in a row.

However, it's great to see that it was "playing at select theaters" in NYC and the Bay Area. It's not too often that Chilean films get distribution and are screened outside the film festival circle. Yay!

"NOT TO MISS" is right! "Gloria" is a tour-de-force. Paulina García... ¡magnifica! Sebastián Leilo... ¡maestro! This film is high art. However, don't take my word for it, check out the reviews:
Los Angeles Time and New York Times.

"Matías Bombal's Hollywood" is produced by one very unique and eccentric Chilean doing his thang... in the Golden State.

I met Matías Bombal in Yuba City when the Chilean government placed the Wooster plaque up north in good ol' gold rush country. From the get go he struck me as someone very unique. As we were all waiting for the official installation of the plaque, he appeared in an impeccable 1959 Mercedes Benz, dressed as if he were stepping out of a 1940's film (I know, the dates don't make sense... but you get my drift). Immediately, I was asking him all sorts of questions about his gorgeous vintage car, and he explained that his father shipped it from Germany to Chile, and years later the family shipped it from Chile to Sacramento, CA.

Bombal's story is remarkable. Visit his website and you'll find photographs of days gone by when an enthusiastic young Bombal rubbed elbows with stardom from Hollywood to the Big Band era. (By the way, he's no foreigner to family fame; his cousin is renowned writer Luisa Bombal).

The Sacramento Bee published the following article on his enchanting story:
"At home with ... film critic and showman Matias Bombal."
Presenting: "Your pal, Matias Bombal"

Gloria (Chile) - Review - Matí­as Bombal's Hollywood

On a different but related note, the Chilean writer/director Sebastián Silva was invited by the San Francisco Film Society to partake in their Artist-in-Residence program. His itinerary included the showing of "Crystal Fairy" (2013), on February 19, at UC Berkeley--a presentation co-sponsored by the San Francisco Film Society and the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). As always, CLAS Chair Harley Shaiken was the consummate hostess-with the-mostest. Check out the Director's Talk session here !

While we are on the subject of Chilean eccentrics linked to film in the Bay Area, I'd like to invite you to view my friend Óscar Abeliuk's documentary "Voces de un Tsunami."

Óscar Abeliuk, MD is a neurologist and film producer/director. He is the founder of the SFNS Neuro Cinema Festival and founded Abeliuk Productions. His documentaries touch on areas dear to his heart: medicine and Chile.

I suppose we should not be surprised that we can add to our long list of Bay Area film festivals one more group: neurologists. The San Francisco Neurological Society's annual meeting hosts an Annual Neuro-Cinema Film Festival. At the 5th Neuro-Cinema Festival last year, Óscar screened "My Recovery: Doctor Robert Fox." I'd like to suggest a sequel, Óscar: "Paula's Recovery."

What I'd really like is to join Óscar's production team on his present film project: a documentary on Easter Island. Easter Island is dear to my heart, as my father spent his early teenage years there, when my grandfather was governor of the Island in the early 1940s.

Also, Óscar is founder of the Strozzi Group. The Strozzi Group is comprised of physicians who graduated from the University of Chile School of Medicine in the 70's. It's goals are cultural and philanthropic.

Following is Óscar's documentary about the tsunami that hit Robinson Crusoe Island; it touches on the Island's history and dives into testimonies by the survivors of the dramatic tsunami that hit the Island following Chile's 8.8 earthquake. As an aside, here's a related article you may want to read: "How a 12-year-old girl saved her Chilean island from catastrophe."

Watch this mini-documentary on a mega natural disaster:

"Director Oscar Abeliuk's audiovisual testament of the suffering and resilience of the people of Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernandez Archipielago off the coast of Chile in the face of one of the worst tsunamis to ever hit the continent."

Voces de un Tsunami

Have you heard of Alejandro Jodorowsky? He has a long list of titles: shaman-spiritual-guru, Tarot-Zen Buddhist teacher, psychomagia master... mentoring disciples worldwide through live performances and lecturing 926K followers through tweets at @alejodorowsky.

Jodorowsky is a writer, theater director, actor, lecturer, and cartoonist. However, directing "cult" films in the 70's New York City midnight film scene is what gave him celeb status. In fact, his magnum opus achievement, El Topo, caught the attention of John Lennon.

I heard the story first hand from my aunt Juanita Rieloff (the first of my mother's sisters to emigrate from Chile to the US in 1955). Juanita, as anyone that knew her called her, was part of the '60s beatnik scene and owned, for a stint, the famous Greenwich Village Café, the Gaslight. She knew (and hired) the likes of Bob Dylan, Bill Cosby, and Peter, Paul and Mary. In fact, Bob Dylan's favorite venue was the Gaslight, because Juanita made everyone listen--highlighting that Dylan was a poet. Anyway, Juanita was present at the release of El Topo in NYC with John Lennon and Yoko Ono in attendance. Lennon was so impressed with El Topo that he offered Jodorowsky $1 million to do whatever he wanted, and thus Jodorowsky went on to direct The Magic Mountain.

After a 23-year hiatus from film making, Jodorowsky is back on the film festival scene, screening the release of The Dance of Reality. The US premiere took place last week at SXSW, where Jodorowsky was scheduled to speak, with film critic Drew McWeeny moderating the conversation.

Reviews

"The film was shot in Tocopilla, a coastal town on the edge of the Chilean desert where Jodorowsky was born and underwent an unhappy childhood as part of an uprooted family." Read on...



Cannes Film Review: The Dance of Reality



Heads up New Yorkers: MoMA in NY will host a screening and Q&A on March 14.

The Dance of Reality by Alejandro Jodorowsky (Official US Trailer)

This year Alejandro Jodorowsky's career seems to be coming full circle. Not only because of his comeback film The Dance of Reality, but rather, owing to a project he envisioned years ago that is now the subject of a documentary directed by Frank Pavich.

Check out Peter Debruge's critique on Variety:

"Indulging one of film history's more entertaining 'what might have been' stories, first-timer Frank Pavich delivers his own mind-blowing cult movie."

Jodorowsky's Dune - Sony Pictures Classics

Jodorowsky's Dune - Official Trailer [HD] Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, H.R. Giger

Friends, this is one concert that I am not about to miss for anything in the world. Mochi Parra is as true to Chilean folk music, as clay is to pottery. Her preference though is for the Afro sounds of Chile's neighbor to the north, Peru. Regardless, whether singing Chilean folk songs or interpreting Afro-Peruvian music, this singer and multi-instrumentalist is a privilege to hear.

Berkeley Jazz School teacher David Pinto is internationally known for his work as music director and arranger. He is the bass player for Grammy-winner Susana Baca.

I first got hip to rap artist Anita Tijoux, back in 2010, at La Peña de Berkeley (a venue that's launched so many careers). At the time she performed with Funky C and local Chilean DJ Juan Data. Since then, her career has rocketed, earning her four Grammy Award nominations. She's now a regular performer at SXSW and regularly plays the Independent in San Francisco.

                         
By Tara Q. Thomas

"Chile is one of the most dynamic wine nations on earth; the sheer pace of change, innovation and advancement is astonishing,"... Check it out