Laura Baumeister: Celebs Rumors

Holly Jones On the heels of a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and ahead of its bow in New Directors competition at San Sebastian, BFF, who heads international sales, has given Variety exclusive access to the trailer for Nicaraguan director Laura Baumeister’s debut feature, “Daughter of Rage.” The film follows 11-year-old María and her mother, Lilibeth, who navigate poverty by collecting and repurposing refuse from the local landfill. A look at stifling generational debt passed on in communities that work hard to stay afloat, the film also tackles precocious familial bonds, abandonment, and the salvation of an imagination that allows the protagonist to cope with uncertainty. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Thanks in part to a strong co-production drive, 13 Mexican-nationality movies play at San Sebastian this year, a major presence.  Perlak frames Alejandro G. Iñarritu Venice player “Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.”  Much of the heat, in industry terms at least, will come from the the premieres and sneak peeks.   In one highlight, Natalia Beristáin will world premiere “Noise” (“Ruido”), before its Netflix November bow. In possibly another, Mexico’s Laura Pancarte (“Non-Western”) unveils “Sueño Mexicano” as a pic-in-post.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBrussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired Laura Baumeister’s feature debut “Daughter of Rage” ahead of its world premiere at Toronto and San Sebastian film festivals. Baumeister previously directed the shorts “Isabel im Winter” which played at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2014 and “Ombligo De Agua” which screened in Rotterdam and Clermont-Ferrand in 2018.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentThree buzzy titles, all turning on women carving out their own destinies  – Carmen Jaquier’s “Thunder,” Laura Baumeister’s “Daughter of Rage” and Dinara Drukarova’s “Grand Marin” – feature in the 13-title lineup of San Sebastian’s 2022 New Directors section.Also making the New Directors’ cut – now firmly consolidated as the most important sidebar at the highest-profile film festival in the Spanish-speaking world – is “Tobacco Barns,” the awaited and second feature from Spain’s Rocío Mesa, as well as Jeong Ji-hye’s Jeonju Festival winner “Jeong-sun” which has its director hailed as a talent to track.Eight of the 13 features are directed by women who also serve as protagonists in most of the section’s films. Their themes range wide, however, from the absurdity of Moldova’s past (“Carbon”) to an allegorical portrait of civil conflict (“Carbide”) to cybershaming (“Jeong-sun”) and women’s love of literature (“To Books and Women I Sing”).

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentJuan Marisé’s “Camionero,” Laura Baumeister’s “Daughter of Rage” and Ion Bors’ “Carbon” triumphed Wednesday at San Sebastian Festival’s prize ceremony for winners at its main industry competitions: the Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum and WIP Latin America and WIP Europa pix-in-post showcases.Also among victors were Juan Andrés Arango’s “Where the River Begins,” María Zanetti’s “Alemania,” Carlos Lechuga’s “Vicenta B.,” and Eduardo Crespo’s “The Wind’s Cave,” the latter walking off with the trophy at San Sebastián’s Ikusmira Berriak, fast emerging as one of the key young talent hubs in Spain.Three of the seven winning titles are from Argentina, a sign of the country’s undeniable depth