Riviera Maya Film Festival 2016 Program Announced

Just ten days out from the start of the fifth edition of the Riviera Maya Film Festival, RMFF organizers announced the program today at a press conference in Mexico City. The festival, which will be held from June 24-30 in Playa del Carmen, brings world-class cinema at no cost to the public. Starting July 2, the festival will go on the road with free showings of select films in Tulum, Isla Mujeres, and Puerto Morelos.

Under the slogan, “Five Years of Bringing the Screen to You”, the RMFF is back this year in celebration of the festival’s fifth anniversary with 59 films, 43 national premieres, and one world premiere.

Following 980 free showings to approximately 81,000 spectators, the Riviera Maya Film Festival returns in 2016 with yet another diverse and exciting program that has something for everyone.

Sections of the festival include Formation, Mexican Platform, RIVIERALAB, Panorama Autoral (Focus on Directors), Planetario (Planetarium), Gran Publico (Grand Public), Ficción o Realidad (Fiction or Reality), among others.

The Formation section of the festival is among the most anticipated, as it offers a space for workshops, conferences, and Master Classes led by directors, actors, producers and screenwriters. The events will be held on June 27-28 at Blue Parrot Beach Club.

Planetarium will highlight topics such as environmental issues, social transformations, and the consequences of armed conflict. Among the films to be shown in the Planetarium section is Erosion, a documentary about the erosion of the beaches in Playa del Carmen.

Another aspect of this year’s festival is the cooperation with the German-based Goethe Institut, who will sponsor the showing of two films: 24 Weeks directed by Anne Zohra, and Who Is Oda Jaune?, directed by Kamilla Pfeffer.

The Riviera Maya Film Festival will open on June 24th will a gala and presentation of the Pedro Almodovar film, Julieta. Other galas of this year’s fifth-year anniversary celebration include Despite the Night by P. Grandrieux, I Saw the Light, by M. Abraham, and the closing gala with Don Cheadle’s Miles Ahead. Mile’s son and nephew will attend the showing.

The Mexican Platform will treat the public to 13 quality productions made in Mexico.

Several venues will host the Riviera Maya Film Festival, including the beachfront Blue Parrot Nightclub and Playa del Carmen’s recently inaugurated City Theater.

RIVIERA MAYA FILM FESTIVAL 2016 FILMS

Here is the entire list of films to be shown at the festival, with dates, times and venues to be announced.

GALAS

• Despite the Night (France-Canada, 2015). Director: Philippe Grandrieux
• Julieta (Spain, 2016). Director: Pedro Almodóvar
• Miles Ahead (U.S., 2015). Director: Don Cheadle
• I Saw the Light (U.S., 2015). Director: Marc Abraham.

PLANETARIO / PLANETARIUM

• The Good Christian (Mexico, 2016). Director: Izabel Acevedo
• Erosion (Mexico, 2016). Directors: Carlos Underwood and Sergio Santiago
• Estela (Philippines-U.S., 2015). Director: John Gianvito
• A Young Patriot (China-Francia-Estados Unidos, 2015). Director: Du Haibin.

GRAN PÚBLICO / GRAND PUBLIC

• 11 Minutes (Poland-Irland, 2015). Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
• Love and Peace (Japan, 2015). Director: Sion Sono
• Lovesong (U.S., 2016). Director: So Yong Kim
• The Measure of a Man (France, 2015). Director: Stéphane Brizé
• The Summer of Sangaile (Lithuania-France-Holland). Director: Alanté Kavaïté
• Families (France, 2015). Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau
• Bang Gang, A Modern Love Story (France, 2015). Director: Eva Husson
• Les Cowboys (France-Belgium, 2015). Director: Thomas Bidegain
• Maggie’s Plan (U.S., 2015). Director: Rebecca Miller
• Fear of Nothing (France, 2015). Director: Danielle Arbid
• Schneider vs. Bax (Holland, 2015). Director: Alex van Warmerdam
• Trap (Philippines, 2015). Director: Brillante Mendoza
• Disorder (France-Belgium, 2015). Director: Alice Winocour.

PANORAMA AUTORAL / FOCUS ON DIRECTORS

• Actor Martinez (U.S., 2015). Directors: Nathan Silver and Mike Ott
• Sunset Song (U.K.-Luxemburg, 2015). Director: Terence Davis
• The Movement (Argentina-Sout Korea, 2015). Director: Benjamín Naishtat
• The Wind Knows That I’m Coming Back Home (Chile, 2016). Director: José Luis Torres Leiva
• In Jackson Heights (U.S., 2015). Director: Frederick Wiseman
• Eva Doesn’t Sleep (Argentina-Spain-France-Mexico, 2015). Director: Pablo Agüero
• Evolution (France-Belgium-Spain, 2015). Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
• Francofonia (France-Germany-Holland, 2015). Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
• Story of Judas (France, 2015). Director: Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
• Incident Light (Argentina-France-Uruguay, 2015). Director: Ariel Rotter
• No Home Movie (Belgium-Francia, 2015). Director: Chantal Akerman
• Dark in the White Light (Sri Lanka-France, 2015). Director: Vimukthi Jayasundara
• Oleg and the Rare Arts (Spain, 2016). Director: Andrés Duque
• Peace to Us in Our Dreams (Lithuania-France-Russia, 2015). Director: Sharunas Bartas
• How Heavy This Hammer (Canada, 2015). Director: Kazik Radwanski
• Afternoon (Taiwan, 2015). Director: Tsai Ming-liang
• A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (Philippines, Singapure, 2015). Director: Lav Díaz.

PLATAFORMA MEXICANA / MEXICAN PLATFORM

• Atl Tlachinolli (México, 2015). Director: Alexander Hick
• Bictor Ugo (Spain-Mexico, 2015). Directors: Josep María Bendicho and Carlos Clausell
• El Paso (Mexico, 2015). Director: Everardo González
• Epitaph (Mexico, 2015).Directors: Yulene Olaizola and Rubén Imaz
• The Ballad of Oppenheimer Park (Mexico, 2016). Director: Juan Manuel Sepúlveda
• Charity (México, 2015). Director: Marcelino Islas Hernández
• Panamerican Machinery (Mexico, 2016). Director: Joaquín del Paso
• Mañana Psicotrópica (Mexico-Dominican Republic, 2016). Director: Alexandro Aldrete
• Margarita (Mexico, 2016). Director: Bruno Santamaría
• Lenin Park (Mexico-France, 2015). Directors: Itziar Leemans and Carlos Mignon
• Pozoamargo (Mexico-Spain, 2015). Director: Enrique Rivero
• Semana Santa (Mexico, 2015). Director: Alejandra Márquez
• Tempestad (Mexico, 2016). Director: Tatiana Huezo.

RIVIERALAB PRESENTA / RIVIERALAB PRESENTS

• Forastero (Argentina, 2015). Directora: Lucía Ferreyra
• Oscuro animal (Colombia-Argentina-Holland-Germany-Greece). Director: Felipe Guerrero
• The Monument Hunter (Chile, 2015). Director: Jerónimo Rodríguez
• Silenciosa (Argentina-México, 2016). Directora: Sofía Medrano
• I, Olga Hepnarova (Chec Republic-Poland-Slovakia-France, 2016). Directors: Petr Kazda and Tomás Weinreb

CINE ALEMÁN / GERMAN CINEMA

• 24 Weeks (Germany, 2016). Director: Anne Zohra Berrached
• Who Is Oda Jaune? (Germany, 2016). Director: Kamilla Pfeffer.

Stay tuned for our live coverage of the Riviera Maya Film Festival’s 2016 program, and make sure to check out the festival’s website and follow them on social media.

Click on the link to consult the entire RMFF 2016 program, which includes times and venues.

If you plan on traveling to the Riviera Maya Film Festival, contact us via social media or toll-free at 888-537-9797 to arrange flights, accommodations, and/or transfers from Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen.