Los Angeles Film Festival

Check the Colombian filmmaker Juan Paulo Laserna, who recently graduated from the New York School of Visual Arts.  He graduated with honors and won several awards for his work, and now debuts his first feature LAS MALAS LENGUAS (“Sweet & Vicious”) at the 21^st LAFF.  The film will to compete amongst eight films vying in the World Fiction Competition of the festival.

Public screening:  Saturday, June 13 at 1:50pm at Regal Cinemas #14

Press & Industry:  Tuesday, June 16 at 12:45pm at Regal Cinemas #11

Running time is 88 mins.

Cinecolombia will release the film theatrically in Colombia.  We are in the midst of finalizing a deal with US domestic and international sales.

LAS MALAS LENGUAS is a powerful film about the affluent society of Colombia and breaks the silence about abortion and homosexuality in one of Latin America's most conservative cultures.  The film also introduces an incredible new young actress Sara Montoya who delivers an astonishing understated performance in an almost heightened reality conveying a sharp and penetrating observation of the complicated world of the Colombian elite.

The film speaks for itself and showcases incredible talent behind and in front of the camera of a gifted group of young Latin artists that have created a film that taps into a global theme challenging the new generation today.

You can view the trailer here.

Las Malas Lenguas Trailer 1 from Las Malas Lenguas on Vimeo.

I believe filmmaker Juan Paulo Laserna has an amazing career ahead of him and definitely a young upcoming filmmaker to watch – LAS MALAS LENGUAS

is different to other Colombia films as it exposes a world not normally associated with the culture – outside the stereo typical drug lord/cartel world – and delves into the lifestyle of the young privileged society and their idiosyncratic challenges as they grow up in a world of technology and influence of the western culture.

Colombian films have been gaining a lot of attention currently on the international festival circuit most recently with big wins in Cannes this year with César Augusto Acevedo receiving the prestigious Camera D’Or for “La Tierra y la Sombra” (“Land and Shade”) which premiered during Critics’ Week; and “The Embrace of the Serpent” from director Ciro Guerra winning Directors’ Fortnight Art Cinema Award.

There are three films from Colombia premiering at LAFF this year.

Commenting of his first feature, Laserna observes, “I want to shed light on many of the current struggles young people live in Colombia, above all the sense that we as individuals have to cope with the expectations of a traditional society in detriment of our own dreams and aspirations.  The fact that despair can exist within such comfort is as interesting as when happiness blossoms so strongly within misery.”

This is a universal theme so the intention of the movie is not to judge Manuela or the society she lives in, it’s to reflect on how we live our lives and how we influence others to live their own. It’s an invitation to examine when we become our own worst enemy and the consequences of not standing up for the right to live an authentic life. Las Malas Lenguas explores the dilemma of our future: do we repress our nature and become slaves of our environment, or do we stand and risk all we have for all we could become,” Laserna concludes.