MIAMI, January 19th, 2011 - Twenty-nine films will vie for three Knight Grand Jury prizes in March at the 2011 Miami International Film Festival.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation sponsors the grand jury prizes for the festival, which is produced and presented by Miami Dade College.

"These prizes help place the festival – and Miami's growing film scene – on the world stage," said Dennis Scholl, vice president/arts and Miami program director for Knight Foundation, which has supported the festival since 2006. "For South Floridians, the arts are also one way to bring our diverse community together. Films spark dialogue, transport us and move us, creating the common cultural experiences that make great cities."

"The Knight Foundation awards continue to be the bedrock of our ability to attract high-quality North American and U.S. premieres to Miami," said festival executive director Jaie Laplante. "We are fortunate to have the continued support of the foundation, and an invitation to the three Knight Foundation competitions continues to be highly-sought among international and domestic filmmakers."

The three categories are:

Knight Grand Jury World Competition ($20,000): given to U.S. films premiering at the festival and created by up-and-coming filmmakers from across the globe;

Knight Grand Jury Ibero-American Competition ($20,000): honoring dramatic works from Latin America, Spain and Portugal by first-, second- and third-time directors;

Knight Grand Jury DOX Competition ($10,000): rewarding thought-provoking, feature-length documentaries created by international filmmakers that examine social issues, diverse cultures, icons and/or inspiring people.

The finalists, by category, are:

KNIGHT GRAND JURY WORLD COMPETITION

818
Directed by Robert Lee King
USA | 2011

Amador
Directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Spain | 2010

Hamill
Directed by Oren Kaplan
USA | 2010

Intimate Grammar (Hadikduk Hapnimi)
Directed by Nir Bergman
Israel | 2010

Jo for Jonathan (Jo pour Jonathan)
Directed by Maxime Giroux
Canada | 2010

Mandoo
Directed by Ebrahim Saeedi
Iraq | 2010

Microphone
Directed by Ahmad Abdalla
Egypt | 2010

The Piano in a Factory (Gang De Qin)
Directed by Zhang Meng
China | 2010

A Quiet Life (Una vita tranquilla)
Directed by Claudio Cupellini
Italy, Germany, Switzerland | 2010

Tilva Rosh (Tilva Roš)
Directed by Nikola Ležaic
Serbia | 2010

KNIGHT GRAND JURY IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION

All Your Dead Ones (Todos tus muertos)
Directed by Carlos Moreno
Colombia | 2011

Half of Oscar (La mitad de Óscar)
Directed by Manuel Martín Cuenca
Spain, Cuba | 2010

The Invisible Eye (La mirada invisible)
Directed by Diego Lerman
Argentina, France, Germany | 2010

Jean Gentil
Directed by Laura Amelia Guzmán, Israel Cárdenas
Dominican Republic, Mexico, Germany | 2010

Marimbas From Hell (Marimbas del infierno)
Directed by Julio Hernández Cordón
Guatemala, France, Mexico | 2010

No Return (Sin retorno)
Directed by Miguel Cohan
Argentina, Spain | 2010

A Stone's Throw Away (A tiro de piedra)
Directed by Sebastian Hiriart
Mexico | 2010

A Useful Life (La vida útil)
Directed by Federico Veiroj
Uruguay, Spain | 2010

Water and Salt (Agua y sal)
Directed by Alejo H. Taube
Argentina, Germany | 2010

KNIGHT GRAND JURY DOX COMPETITION

The Black Power Mixtape
Directed by Göran Hugo Olsson
Sweden, USA | 2011

Bobby Fischer Against the World
Directed by Liz Garbus
USA | 2011

How to Start Your Own Country
Directed by Jody Shapiro
Canada | 2010

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Directed by Marshall Curry
USA | 2011

The Interrupters
Directed by Steve James
USA | 2011

Little Voices (Pequeñas voces)
Directed by Jairo Carrillo
Colombia | 2010

Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place
Directed by Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood
USA | 2011

Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times
Directed by Andrew Rossi
USA | 2011

Project Nim
Directed by James Marsh
United Kingdom | 2011

The Redemption of General Butt Naked
Directed by Daniele Anastasion, Eric Strauss
USA | 2011

For more information about the films, competition categories, schedule of official screenings, tickets and the March 12 Awards Night ceremony, please visit www.miamifilmfestival.com.


About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

About Miami International Film Festival
The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), celebrating its 28th edition March 4-13, 2011, is the premier Ibero-American film festival in the U.S. The annual event, which is produced and presented by Miami Dade College, attracts more than 70,000 film enthusiasts and 400 filmmakers, stars and industry professionals. During the past five years, the festival has screened films from 60 countries and hosted 300 East Coast, U.S. and world premieres. Through Encuentros, the festival's mentorship and film development program for filmmakers and projects from Spain, Portugal and Latin America, MIFF has become a primary gateway for the discovery of Ibero-American talent in the entertainment world. In addition, the festival's REEL Education Seminar Series consistently attracts top executives from Warner Bros., Music Box Films, Sony Pictures Classics, IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, DreamWorks Animation, HBO Films/HBO Latino and William Morris Endeavor, among many others. For more information, visit www.miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-MIFF (3456).

Contact:
Marc Fest, Knight Foundation, 305-908-2677; fest@knightfoundation.org

Festival Contact:
Dana Ballestero
Miami International Film Festival
Office: 305-237-3768
Cell: 305-244-9112
dana@miamifilmfestival.com

MDC Contact:
Juan C. Mendieta
Miami Dade College
305-237-7611
jmendiet@mdc.edu

Additional MDC Contacts
Tere Estorino
Director of Media Relations
305-237-3949
testorin@mdc.edu
Alejandro Rios
305-237-7482
arios1@mdc.edu
Sue Arrowsmith
305-237-3710
sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu
Tarnell Carroll
305-237-3359
tarnell.carroll@mdc.edu