Cine Las Americas presents a Sneak Preview of 'Chico & Rita'; NOMINEE FOR 2012 ACADEMY AWARD, BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Cine Las Americas presents a Sneak Preview of: CHICO & RITA

A film by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal

Animation/Music/Romance, Spain/UK, 2010, 94 minutes

In Spanish with English subtitles

WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 29 - 8 PM

WHERE: Regal Metropolitan 901 Little Texas Ln

Tickets are $10.

Tickets are available on-line at www.cinelasamericas.org, and at the theater one hour before the screening.

Discounts for AFS members are available on-line and at the door. Student discounts are also available at the door.

Proceeds from this sneak preview benefit Cine Las Americas programs..

ABOUT THE FILM:

CHICO & RITA

A film by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal

Spain/UK, 2010, Animation/Music/Romance
94 min. 35mm, Color
In Spanish with English Subtitles

NOMINEE FOR 2012 ACADEMY AWARD, BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

WINNER! BEST ANIMATED FEATURE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS - GOYA AWARDS

CRITICS PICK! ALMOST UNIMAGINABLY RICH AND RESONANT!
"A reminder not only of the aesthetic vitality of hand-drawn, two-dimensional animation, but also of the form's ability to provide entertainment and enlightenment for adults." - AO Scott. NY TIMES

CHICO & RITA opens theatrically in Austin on Friday, March 2 at Regal Arbor Cinemas

Oscar®-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque, Calle 54) and Spain's legendary illustrator Javier Mariscal celebrate their passion for the music and culture of Cuba with an epic story of love, passion, and heartbreak.

Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and desire unite them as they chase their dreams and each other from Havana to New York to Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas.

With an original soundtrack by legendary Cuban pianist and five-time Grammy®-winning composer Bebo Valdés, Chico & Rita captures a defining moment in the evolution of history and jazz, and features the music of (and animated cameos by) Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Tito Puente, Chano Pozo, and others.

"A sincerely delightful film! In much the same way that The Artist (Dir. Michel Hazanavicius) stylistically and engagingly captures the waning of Hollywood's silent film era, Chico & Rita brings to life the arts and sensibilities of Caribbean jazz artists at home and abroad prior to the Cuban Revolution. The film is lovingly but not blindly nostalgic, and is not only a tribute to musical genius that can be appreciated both by those familiar with its inspirations and those who are not, but also a cinematographic achievement embedded with homages to film and cultural history... all while inventing its own visual form. In short: this film will sweep you off your feet if you let it, and Chico and Rita and their friends will be in your heart long after you've left the theater."

- Jean Lauer, Film Program Associate, Cine Las Americas

EN ESPAÑOL:

El director ganador del Oscar® Ferbabdo Tureba (BELLE EPOQUE, CALLE 54), y el legendario ilustrador español Javier Mariscal, celebran su pasión por la música y la cultura de Cuba con una épica historia de amor, pasión, y desencuentro.

Cuba, 1948. Chico es un joven pianista con sueños de grandeza. Rita es una hermosa cantante poseedora de una voz extraordinaria. La música y el deseo los unen mientras persiguen sus sueños, y se buscan entre sí, desde la Habana hasta Nueva York, París, Hollywood y Las Vegas.

Con una banda sonora original creada por el legendario pianista cubano y cinco veces ganador del Grammy®, Bebo Valdés, CHICO Y RITA captura un momento decisivo en la evolución de la historia del Jazz, y presenta la música (y actuación especial como personajes animados), de Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Tito Puente, y Chano Pozo, entre otros.

"¡Una película sinceramente deliciosa! De forma muy similar a la que la película EL ARTISTA (Dir. Michel Hazanavicius) captura de manera atractiva y estilística el ocaso de la era silente de Hollywood, CHICO Y RITA recrea vividamente el arte y la sensibilidad de los músicos de Jazz caribeños en su lugar de origen y en el extranjero, justo antes de la revolución Cubana. La película es cariñosa, pero no ciegamente nostálgica, y no sólo es un tributo al genio musical que puede apreciar cualquier persona, mas es también un logro cinematográfico plagado de homenajes a la historia del cine y de la cultura... todo mientras propone e inventa su propio estilo visual. En pocas palabras, CHICO Y RITA y sus amigos permanecerán en su corazón mucho tiempo después de que abandone el cine."

- Jean Lauer, Film Program Associate, Cine Las Americas

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS:
FERNANDO TRUEBA is a multi-award-winning writer, director and producer, with a career spanning more than three decades in film, television, documentaries, theater and music. Belle Epoque, starring ingénue Penelope Cruz, won both the Oscar and BAFTA for Foreign Language Film. Trueba enjoyed a brief flirtation with Hollywood with romantic comedy Two Much, starring Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith and Daryl Hannah, but he returned to his native Spain with films such as La niña de tus ojos (The Girl of Your Dreams), also starring Cruz, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and netted seven Goya awards. Trueba's Latin jazz documentary Calle 54 saw the birth of his collaboration and friendship with Javier Mariscal. Trueba's previous film El Baile de la Victoria (The Dancer and the Thief) was Spain's submission to the 2010 Academy Awards, and received 10 Goya nominations.

JAVIER MARISCAL is an artist and designer, working in multiple fields including illustration, graphics, comic-books, paintings, animation, interiors, product design, furniture and web design. In 1979, he created the Bar Cel Ona (bar, sky, wave) logo for his adoptive city of Barcelona, a powerful and accessible piece of graphic communication that won him instant acclaim. His popularity increased when his merchandise-friendly Cobi was chosen as the official mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Twipsy, chosen as the mascot of the Hanover 2000 Expo, became the star of its own animated TV series. The Valencian-born designer opened Estudio Mariscal in Barcelona in 1989, winning multiple commissions across a range of disciplines, and expanding to a full-time team of 40. Mariscal was the subject of a major retrospective at London's Design Museum in 2009, and the exhibition "Mariscal A La Pedrera" which opened in September 2010 at Pedrera in Barcelona.

A G-Kids Release

#####