Thursday, February 17, 2011

Bella- A beautiful movie!!



I watched a beautiful movie tonight!
It was such a wonderful story, with Mexican people & Puerto Rican - Latino, family, love, sadness, joy, Wow! Wasn't what I was expecting, as I just borrowed it from a friend.  

It really was a treat!

Here's the story from Wikipedia, but if you don't want to spoil it, go rent it, because it really is a lovely story. So touching! So sad! I feel so sad for José.
Like I said, Wow! it really touched me.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_%28film%29




 Bella is a 2006 film directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde starring Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard. Set in New York City, the film is about how one moment changed the lives of three people forever

Bella (film)

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Bella tells the story of Nina, a New York City waitress, and her co-worker Jose, a cook.

The energy in the kitchen of an elegant Mexican restaurant in Manhattan is cranking up steadily, as the staff braces for the noon rush. One waitress, Nina, is running late, which is becoming a habit. She dashes in at the last minute, but Manny, the owner, tells her this is one time too many, and fires her on the spot.

As Nina storms out, the head chef, Manny's brother José, follows her outside to make sure she's okay. She confides in him that she is pregnant, but says she is not ready for a baby and is seriously considering abortion. Over the course of the day, he takes her to his house, and he tells her that a few years ago he had been driving a car when he accidentally hit a little girl, who died instantly from the impact. He was sentenced to four years in jail for vehicular manslaughter. After being released from jail, José tried multiple times to get in touch with the girl's mother; this never happens, as it is said that the mother of the child never forgave him.

After José is done telling his story, he and Nina go into his parents' house, where they eat dinner with José's mother, father, and younger brother and his girlfriend. José's parents say to Nina that she is always welcome to stay at their house if need be. She appreciates the offer, but declines. The next day, José walks with Nina on the street and he leaves as she is going to go get an abortion. José walks back to the restaurant from the beginning of the film, where his brother re-hires him. They hug, and just as Manny starts talking about a new dish he'd like to try out, José whispers something in his ear. José is then seen playing on a beach with a young girl, who we learn is his daughter. It turns out that José got in touch with Nina before her abortion and said he'd like to adopt her baby. Nina then pulls up in a taxi and talks with José and his daughter (later called "Bella") and Bella realizes Nina is her birth mother, and they exchange meaningful gifts. Nina, Bella, and José are then seen walking off the beach together.

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Bella took the "People's Choice Award" at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.[8]

Bella won the Heartland Film Festival's Grand Prize Award Winner for Best Dramatic Feature and the Crystal Heart Awards for Monteverde as writer/director/producer.[9]

Bella's filmmakers received the Smithsonian Institution's "Legacy Award" for the film's positive contribution to Latino art and culture.[10][11] "This movie depicts the culture but also transcends it," said Pilar O'Leary, executive director of the Smithsonian Institution's Latino Center. "It has universal appeal."[12]

Bella received the Tony Bennett Media Excellence Award.[8] Bennett said Bella is "a perfect film, an artistic masterpiece that will live in people's hearts forever."[13]

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting rated Bella as the second-best film of 2007 (with Juno)[14] noting that Bella presents an "affirmative pro-life message," along with "themes of self-forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption that should resonate deeply."[15]

The director of the Department of Citizenship gave the director of Bella, Alejandro Monteverde, the "American by Choice" Award at a White House reception for Bella's positive contribution to Latino art and culture in the United States.[16] Monteverde was also invited to join the First Lady in her private box to watch the State of the Union address.[17]

The Mexican Embassy honored the film and gave Bella a screening at their annual Cinco De Mayo celebration.[12]

Bella broke the record for a Latino-themed film in total box office earnings and box office average per screen for films released in 2007. It was the top-rated movie on the New York Times Readers' Poll, Yahoo and Fandango.[18] The Wall Street Journal said Bella was "the fall's biggest surprise" and stated that "after only four weeks in release Bella has total sales of $5.2 million."[19] Bella ended its U.S. theatrical release with more than $10 million in domestic box office, finishing the year in the top 10-grossing independent films of 2007.

* Sophie Nyweide as Bella
* Eduardo Verástegui as José
* Tammy Blanchard as Nina
* Manny Perez as Manny
* Ali Landry as Celia
* Ramón Rodríguez as Eduardo
* Ewa Da Cruz as Veronica
* Alexa Gerasimovich as Luchi
* Herbie Lovelle plays a cameo role as a homeless person.
* Angélica Aragón as José's mother

Music Wanted!!



http://www.knowledge.ca
Hi Everyone, So you've seen a bunch of my videos for my Adventurez in Mexico-The Movie!
But it's actually 74 videos that each play to a song. They run from 3-8 minutes each and I LOVE THEM! Some are really great, and I have my favourites but my goal was always to make an actual movie.

So I've been working hard on that and I have edited the 1st year down to 1hr 34 minutes and I'm narrating it and now what I really need to do is add music. I might try in year 2 or just make another movie for it as it has lots of really great stuff that I don't you to want to miss out on.

So I need music. Not an easy task for a movie as it can get really expensive is what I have been told and what I have read on the web. So I spoke with Jenn Ashton over at http://raveonstudio.com/

http://twitter.com/jennashton



http://raveonstudio.blogspot.com/
Here's a little about  
Rave On Studio
Burnaby, BC, Canada
Still believing music is art, not just a business. Any music- any time - from pop hits to movie scores. The combined professional musical talent and production skill of two lifetimes is yours for the asking. Great communication, time efficient and affordable with no surprises, you are part of the action, but only if you want to be.

Music services
 include: Pre-Production, Recording/Tracking,
 Mixing
, 
Over-Dubs
, Composition, 
Arrangement, Writing, Artist Management/booking, Design services, Film, TV , Radio and multimedia services, Musical Score, Sound Effects/Design
, 
Foley, 
Editing
, Voice-Overs, Advertising Jingles. Gear includes: Neve, Neumann, Shure, Summit Audio, Lavry, DBX, AT, Fender, Gibson, DrZ, Mesa Boogie, Marshall, VOX, Guild, Pro Tools, Logic and Mac G5 Intel, Mac Book Pro. Don't see something on this list - just ask or visit our website at: http://raveonstudio.com/
-----------
Email Questions for Jenn:

Hi Jenn, so I have been working on a little film/video thing, actually it's 1.5 hrs long it's a mix of photos and videos and I'm going to narrate a lot of it, but I want to add some music. I want to put it on Artshuffle which if they like it, will go on the Knowledge Network. http://www.artshuffle.ca/




What suggestions do you have for me to get free music? I would be willing to barter with people for music, but that seems it could take a long time, and I want to do this now. I saw this one site where you pay a $299 licence( one month) but I have no cash for that right now.


Animoto  http://animoto.com/ makes little 8 minute videos, and I've done that, NOW I want to make a movie- well the best I can with what I have. I have laid it all out, all I need are some nice Mexican or World beat songs. Something very cool and international like Zipolite, very hip and cool and cultural.

I'd really appreciate any suggestions you could make. Thanks so much, Tina and Angel :)

-------------

Jenn Ashton:
Hi! Well I would have offered some of our stuff but we don't really have anything like that...hmm....licencing for film is very expensive and there is a lot of paperwork involved. You could put an ad up on Craigslist? Just make sure you can't pay, but you can tell the artist that you will fill out the paperwork for SOCAN http://www.socan.ca/, so at least if it is broadcast they will be able to get their royalties?
J;-)
-----
From Tina:
So Jenn, I'm still fuzzy on the copyright thing, if I have a friend play some songs for me, and he lets me use them are they free of copyright? Tina :)
----------------
From Jenn:
You can do that, but he needs to register them with SOCAN.ca http://www.socan.ca/ (free) and you need to do cue sheets (available from the site) so that he can get royalties (not paid by you). If he is NOT using 'his own original music' then you need to buy licences for each piece, and that can be expensive for a film.

;-)
--------------------------------

Okay so that's where I am, I am looking for a musician who would be willing for me to add their music to my movie/short film - that's copyright free, so it would need to be their own songs and music for the simplest solution. So if you know anyone who would be interested please let me know. I will agree to fill out all the paperwork on SOCAN,  so if it gets broadcasts, you'll get your royalties.

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.
You can find me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/adventurezinmexicofb
Twitter at http://twitter.com/zipolita
Email tina_winterlik at yahoo.com - change at to @ to elimate SPAM.

Here's a link to my Adventurez in Mexico -The Movie http://adventurezinmexico.blogspot.com/2010/10/join-adventurez-in-mexico-on-their.html and please pass this info to anyone who may be interested. I'm looking for hip, worldbeat, mexican types of music, maybe lots of drumming as we loved listening to the drums in Zipolite, Mexico.
---------------------------------

SOCAN (The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) is the Canadian copyright collective that administers the performing rights of more than 100,000 composer, author and music publisher members by licensing the use of their music in Canada. We collect licence fees on their behalf and distribute royalties to them. http://www.socan.ca/


----------------
Artshuffle   http://www.artshuffle.ca/

About artShuffle.ca
Sharing and discovery. That's what artShuffle.ca is all about.
artShuffle spans artistic disciplines with short films under five minutes. For artists, it's a chance to share your creative work online and on television. It's also a great place to connect with other artists and promote events. For art fans, there's lots to discover. Meet new and established artists through their stories, performances and art.
Knowledge Network, BC's viewer supported public broadcaster, will feature select films on air in 2011. http://www.knowledge.ca/

*** Ha Ha Ha After all this I just read that Artshuffle is for short films under 5 minutes!! I can't believe it. Anyways I still want to make my film, the full length version and I still need music. So please still contact me. Thanks, GRACIAS!!

My Birthday in Zipolite Last Year





Here's my birthday last year. It was a wonderful day. My friend Charlotte treat me to an excellent dinner at one of Zipolite, if not Zipolite's finest restaurant- La Providence. We walked on the beach at sunset and watched the musicians play their drums and instruments on the street in the evening. Was truly a wonderful way to spend one's birthday! I feel so blessed that I was able to. I hope you get too someday!