Inside Miami International Film Festival’s GEMS Event

Miami International Film Festival will host a fall film event at Miami Dade College’s Tower Theater Miami on Oct. 22-25. It will serve as a warm-up for the festival’s thirty-third edition on March 4-13, GEMS: las Joyas de la Corona (the crown jewels) is a four-day fall film event that will become a permanent part of the annual festival’s activities in October. The abbreviated festival will feature this season’s 14 finest cinematic films and a master class tribute to the late James Horner led by Miami-based feature film composer, Carlos Rafael Rivera (A Walk Among The Tombstones, 2014). Here’s a list of the films you shouldn’t miss:

1. Brooklyn (USA / Ireland), directed by John Crowley *OPENING NIGHT FILM

Adapted by Nick Hornby (An Education) from the Colm Toibin bestselling novel, this 1950s story follows the life of a young Irish woman caught between tradition and passion, between two countries and two futures. Starring Oscar nominee for Atonement, Saoirse Ronan, the cast also includes Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Emory Cohen, and Domhnall Gleason.

2. The 33 (USA / Chile), directed by Patricia Riggen *CLOSING NIGHT FILM

An international rescue effort to save thirty-three Chilean miners trapped 2,300 feet underground for sixty-nine days in the Copiapó mine riveted over a billion people in 2010, and now a superb international film adaptation recreates the details of that unprecedented event. The epic list of cast names includes Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche and Rodrigo Santoro.

3. The Assassin (Taiwan), directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien *WINNER OF BEST DIRECTOR AT CANNES 2015

In ninth century China, 10-year-old Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who transforms her into an impressive warrior. One day, she is sent back to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man whom she was promised, and Nie Yinniang must choose: assassinate the man she loves or break forever from the sacred honor of her training. *PRESENTED BY byejoe

4. The Club (El club) (Chile), directed by Pablo Larraín *WINNER OF SILVER BEAR GRAND JURY PRIZE AT 2015 BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Director Pablo Larraín‘s follow-up to his global success and Oscar-nominated No (starring Gael García Bernal), is a tough, scathing and psychologically sobering indictment on the Catholic Church’s handling of moral failings within the institution.

5. Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente) (Colombia), directed by Ciro Guerra *WINNER OF TOP DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT AWARD AT CANNES 2015

Ciro Guerra’s previous film, The Wind Journeys (2009), was an international hit and one of the 2010 Festival’s most popular films in Miami. For his new film, Guerra travels deep into the wilds of the Amazon jungle, and into the dangerous territory of the historical past. This is an epic and thrilling journey, capped with velvety, rich black & white cinematography, confirming Guerra’s status as one of Latin America’s most confident talents.

Trailers for the films can be found right now on Miami International Film Festival’s YouTube channel. Tickets will go on sale to Miami Film Society members exclusively on Friday, September 25, 2015 and to the general public on Thursday, October 1, 2015.