Miss Bala

Diego Luna Talks MISS BALA, CASA DE MI PADRE, Neill Blomkamp’s ELYSIUM, and CONTRABAND

by Sheila Roberts    Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 8:42 am

Miss Bala, Mexico’s official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, chronicles three terrifying days in the life of Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman), a beautiful young woman whose humble effort to escape a life of grim poverty goes diabolically wrong when it delivers her into the hands of a gang that’s terrorizing northern Mexico led by drug boss Lino (Noé Hernández). Although she wins the beauty queen crown she aspires to, her experiences as an unwilling participant in Mexico’s violent war leave her shaken and transformed.

In an exclusive interview at the press day for Miss Bala, we sat down with the film’s executive producer, Diego Luna, to talk about the acclaimed crime drama which opens in New York and Los Angeles on January 20th. Luna told us about his longtime collaboration with director Gerardo Naranjo, how the character of Laura is really a metaphor for what’s happening today in Mexico, and why he believes film has the ability to bring about social change by raising awareness. He also discussed his upcoming projects, Contraband which opens this weekend, Casa de mi Padre with Will Ferrell and Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium. Hit the jump for the full interview.

Stephanie Sigman, Gerardo Naranjo, and Producer Diego Luna Interview MISS BALA

by Sheila Roberts    Posted: January 16th, 2012 at 7:00 am

Miss Bala, the official Mexican Oscar entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category, works brilliantly as both a realist film and as an allegory for what is happening today in Mexico. The film tells the story of Laura Guerrero, a young woman whose aspirations of becoming a beauty queen inadvertently deliver her into the hands of a gang that’s terrorizing northern Mexico. Her experiences as an unwilling participant caught in the crossfire of Mexico’s violent drug war leave her shaken and transformed.

At a recent press day for Miss Bala, we sat down at a roundtable interview with director Gerardo Naranjo, actress Stephanie Sigman, and executive producer Diego Luna to talk about what inspired them to make a film about what was happening today in their country. They discussed how they struggled to find the right tone for a difficult and suspenseful story that shows but does not judge and where nothing is clearly black and white. They described the logistical challenges they faced making the film safely on location. They also shared their viewpoint that everyone on both sides of the drug war is in some way a victim, why all of us share some responsibility for what is happening, and how they hope the film will inspire a debate that will raise awareness.

Full List of Submissions for the Best Foreign Film Oscar; Includes MISS BALA and THE ELITE SQUAD: THE ENEMY WITHIN

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 13th, 2011 at 2:47 pm

As you may or may not know, every country is only allowed to submit one movie for consideration.  It’s a little weak that a country can have multiple Oscar-worthy films but can only submit one and I think it would be better if each country could submit three to five films (unlimited submissions would be unfeasible).  The full list of eligible contenders for this year’s Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar has been announced and it features some notable submissions that have already picked up some buzz.  Brazil submitted its highest-grossing film of all-time, The Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, directed by RoboCop reboot helmer Jose Padilha.  Mexico has chosen the acclaimed crime thriller Miss Bala as its submission, Germany put forward Wim Wenders’ snooze-fest Pina, and China has selected Zhang Yimou’s historical drama The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale

Hit the jump for the full list.  Only five of the films will receive nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film.  Oscar nominations will be announced on January 24, 2012, and the winners will be announced at the 84th Academy Awards on February 26, 2012.

Cool Trailer for Mexican Crime Thriller MISS BALA

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 29th, 2011 at 2:09 pm

I hadn’t been paying much attention to Miss Bala and after seeing the trailer that just went online, I’m definitely paying attention now.  The film picked up strong reviews out of Cannes and the fine folks over at The Playlist raved about it.  Gerardo Naranjo’s movie clashes the world of beauty pagents and Mexican drug cartels and while that may sound like a premise for a comedy, it’s actually a harrowing look at modern Mexican society and the violence of the country’s drug wars.  The plot centers on “Laura (Stephanie Sigman), the only witness to a night-club massacre by a group of narcos, who realizes her goal of becoming Miss Baja California – although the gang’s hand in the coronation makes it fall short of what she had dreamed it would be.”  It looks like an exciting flick and I’m hoping I can find time in my schedule to catch it at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  No release date has been announced, but Fox International will distribute the film stateside.

Line-Up Announced for New York Film Festival; Features CARNAGE, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, and THE DESCENDANTS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 17th, 2011 at 10:38 am

This year’s festival season continues to take shape as the full line-up for the 2011 New York Film Festival has been revealed.  Roman Polanski’s Carnage will open the festival, Simon Curtis’ My Week with Marilyn will be the “Centerpiece Gala Section”, there will be special gala presentations of David Croneneberg’s A Dangerous Method and Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In, and Alexander Payne’s The Descendants will close out the festival.  Other noteworthy films playing are the Cannes’ sensations The Artist and Melancholia, the hit Sundance films Marcy Martha May Marlene, Martin Scorsese’s documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Abel Ferrara’s 4:44: Last Day on Earth, and Wim Wenders’ 3D film Pina.

Hit the jump for the full line up.  The New York Film Festival runs from September 30 – October 16th.

New Images for THIS MUST BE THE PLACE Starring Sean Penn and MISS BALA

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 14th, 2011 at 9:10 am

New images have been released for the Cannes selections This Must Be the Place starring Sean Penn and Miss Bala.  This Must Be the Place follows an aging rock star (Penn) who picks up his father’s mission to hunt down a Nazi war criminal.  As for Miss Bala, no synopsis has been supplied but we’ll provide one as soon as we get it.  In the meantime, the image from the film leads me to believe that Miss Bala is a harrowing drama about a woman struggling to fix her car’s windshield.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The 2011 Cannes Film Festival runs from May 11 – 22nd.

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