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Wim Wenders To Receive Top Honor At This Year’s Miami International Film Festival

The 23rd Annual Miami International Film Festival will take place March 3 - 12, 2006

The 23rd Annual Miami International Film Festival will take place March 3 - 12, 2006

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January 5, 2006 (New York, NY) –The 2006 Miami International Film Festival, presented by Miami Dade College, will honor Wim Wenders with the Career Achievement Tribute, as announced today by Festival Director Nicole Guillemet. “We are proud to pay tribute to this legendary director, writer, and producer whose contribution to the spirit of independent cinema continues to inspire filmmakers around the globe,” said Guillemet. “Wim’s passion for storytelling, and his ongoing support of young directors and writers are really what the Miami International Film Festival is all about.”

Past Miami International Film Festival honorees have included Liv Ullmann, Carlos Saura, and Hector Babenco.

This year, the Miami International Film Festival honors world-renowned filmmaker Wim Wenders with its fourth annual Career Achievement Tribute. Since bursting on the scene in the late 60s as part of the New German Cinema, he has created a unique body of work, with more than 30 feature films and documentaries. His films, characterized by the melding of a European art film sensibility with a passion for American cinema – particularly the American Western – illuminate consistent themes of alienation, individual pilgrimages toward understanding and all-too-fleeting moments of grace. His towering works —Kings of the Road, The American Friend, Wings of Desire, and Paris, Texas — have secured his place in contemporary filmmaking. More recently, the wildly popular Buena Vista Social Club has created legions of new fans, and his latest American films, particularly Don’t Come Knocking (screening as part of our tribute), reveal that this artist has a continual capacity for exploration and re-invention. Join us on Wednesday, March 8th, as we honor this extraordinary filmmaker.

In addition to receiving his Career Achievement Tribute, Wim Wender’s latest film “Don’t Come Knocking” will screen at this year’s Miami International Film Festival. Director Wim Wenders and playwright Sam Shephard (Paris,Texas) re-team in this compelling and amusing story about a western movie star looking for his past. Featuring Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, Eva Marie Saint and Sarah Polley in a tragic-comic road film about missed chances and family relations.

In celebration of Calle Ocho, the Miami International Film Festival will also be screening Wim Wenders’s “Buena Vista Social Club” on the closing day of the festival (March 12th) at the historic Tower Theater.

From the white sands of South Beach to the Latin cuisine of Little Havana, The twenty-third annual Miami International Film Festival, presented by Miami Dade College, will take place from March 3-12.

In just the last three years, the Miami International Film Festival has featured films from over 50 countries, including Academy Award winners and nominees. Last year’s festival alone drew in an attendance of over 60,000 people. In addition to the global and Ibero-American films, there will be gala premieres, documentaries, short films, panels, seminar series, and, of course, the exciting energy of the city itself. It will be ten days of cinema, parties, beaches, cinema and sun!

Guests who have recently attended the Miami International Film Festival have included Andy Garcia, Jonathan Demme, Woody Harrelson, Geraldine Chaplin, Carlos Saura, Virginie Ledoyen, Zana Briski, HBO, Fox Searchlight, Liv Ullmann, Alexia de la Iglesia, Chris Terrio, Luis Mandoki, Stanley Nelson, Bob Rafelson, Sara Driver, Ted Hope, Sony Pictures Classics, Camilla Belle, Miramax, Baltasar Kormakur, Tony Safford, Rory Kennedy, Daniel Bruhl, Luis Tosar, Stephen Frears, Gaspar Noe, Fred Wiseman, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Jesse Bradford, Daniele Thompson, Mikael Hafstrom, LisaGay Hamilton, Khyentse Norbu, Eve Ensler, Focus Features, ThinkFilm, Venevision, Maverick, Plural, PBS, Wellspring, Global Film Initiative, Emerging Pictures, Paradigm Consulting, Bristol Media, William Morris Agency, Ibermedia, Traction Media, Comerica Bank, amongst others.

The Miami International Film Festival brings the best of world cinema to South Florida and plays a leading role in maintaining and further enriching its film culture. MIFF uses the unique geographical and cultural position of Miami to be a premiere venue for the exhibition of international and US films, with a special focus on Ibero-American cinema.

More than 60,000 people attended the Festival in 2005, a 275% increase since 2002. In addition, more than 220 filmmakers, producers, talent, and industry representatives from around the world attended the 2005 Festival to introduce their work to Miami audiences and industry professionals. During the last three years, under the direction of Nicole Guillemet, the Festival has presented films from more than 50 countries, including 125 East Coast, US, and world premieres, scores of Oscar winners and nominees, and many international prizewinners.

Miami Dade College has a long and rich history of involvement in the cultural arts, providing South Florida with a vast array of artistic and literary offerings, including The Miami Book Fair International, Cultura del Lobo, The Cuban Cinema Series, and the School of Entertainment and Design Technology. MDC is the largest institution of higher education in the country and is nationally recognized for its programs. With an enrollment of more than 163,000 students, MDC is the nation’s top producer of associate of arts and associate of science degrees. The college’s eight campuses and outreach centers offer more than 200 distinct degree programs.

For more information please visit the Miami International Film Festival’s official website at www.miamifilmfestival.com