Vision Films to Release Robert Amaya’s “Pulled from Darkness” Next Month

Robert Amaya is on hot pursuit

Vision Films will release its faith-based thriller Pursuit of Freedom (formerly Pulled from Darkness), starring the Latino actor, will get a limited day-and-date theatrical release, along with a VOD release across the U.S. and Canada, on September 16.

Robert Amaya

Pursuit of Freedom is the true story of a Ukrainian woman who was separated from her three children and sold into trafficking by Russian gangsters. After years of struggle, she defied all odds with the help and kindness of a Dutch nurse, an Armenian missionary and an American pastor. Though countries, miles and time kept them apart, she held on to her faith and with the help of the church and strangers, survived to be reunited with her children.

From writer-director George A. Johnson, the film also stars Jessica Koloian, Stelio Savante, Sharonne Lanier, Robert Amaya, Javier Colon, Mark Lowry, Gigi Orsillo, Elias Kemuel and Keslee Blalock. George and Karen Johnson produced alongside Savante.

Pursuit of Freedom‘s limited U.S. theatrical release will be a special version of the film with an edit geared towards a faith-based audience. Confirmed theaters showing the film include The Angelika Village East in New York City, Laemmle in Glendale, CA, Emagine Hartland in Hartland, MI, Galaxy Grandscape 15 in Dallas, and Cine America in Houston, TX. A DVD release will follow in early October.

Bustamante’s Debut Feature “Ixcanul” to Premiere at the Berlin Film Festival

Jayro Bustamante
 is headed to Germany…

The Guatemalan director’s first feature film Ixcanul has been chosen as one of the first seven films for the 65th Berlin Film Festival Competition program.

Ixcanul

The film, which Bustamante wrote, centers on a 17 year-old Mayan Kaqchikel girl named Maria, who lives with her parents in a coffee plantation on the side of an active volcano in Guatemala. She’s part of an arranged marriage she doesn’t want but can’t escape her fate.

Bustamante’s short films have earned him acclain at a number of film festivals. The most recent, Cuando sea grande, premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand Festival in 2012, where it landed the CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée) quality award and was aired on television networks in France, Sweden and the Netherlands.

The film stars María Mercedes Croy, María Telón, Manuel Antún, Justo Lorenzo and Marvin Coroy.

Also in the Berlinale mix is Kenneth Branagh’s live-action Disney film Cinderella, although it’s playing out of competition. Lily James plays the titular role, while Helena Bonham Carter portrays the fairy godmother.

Other films that made the first cut include Peter Greenaway’s Eisenstein In Guanajuato. Shot in Mexico, the film stars Stelio Savante, Lisa Owen and Maya Zapata. It follows Eisenstein as he spends 10 days in 1931 in Guanajuato, Mexico, where he falls in love. His sensual experiences there turn out to have been crucial in his life and his films. From being a formal filmmaker with films about conceptual ideas, his trip to Mexico humanizes Eisenstein as a filmmaker, and his films become more sympathetic to the human condition.

Berlinale runs from February 5-15.

Here’s a look at the selected film featuring Hispanic talent in front of and/or behind the camera:

Cinderella
U.S.
By Kenneth Branagh
with Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera, Derek Jacobi and Helena Bonham Carter
International premiere – Out of competition

Eisenstein In Guanajuato
The Netherlands / Mexico / Belgium / Finland
By Peter Greenaway
With Elmer Bäck, Luis Alberti
World premiere

Ixcanul (Ixcanul Volcano)
Guatemala / France
By Jayro Bustamante
With María Mercedes Coroy, María Telón, Manuel Antún, Justo Lorenzo, Marvin Coroy
World premiere – Debut feature