We are thrilled to unveil what may be our highest profile Closing Night film ever: Paul Morrison’s stunning period epic Little Ashes, making its World Premiere here in Miami! The setting is 1922 Madrid. Spain is in flux, serving as a perfect breeding ground for rebellious creative types who dare to be different. The Residencia de Estudiantes (the local fine arts university), a gathering place for local intellectuals, is the backdrop for a powerful convergence among Spanish luminaries Salvador Dalí, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Luis Buñuel. The three become fast friends, creating an explosive artistic triumvirate, and relish the attention that their avant-garde work and personas attract. Salvador soon realizes that there is more to the magnetism of his relationship with Federico than friendship or mere admiration for the poet’s work can explain. Yet as the three strive to achieve recognition their interests and rising stars pull them away from one another. As Lorca gains wider acclaim for his poetry and plays, it becomes clear that chasing fame ends up dividing the three friends further and further apart. Buñuel leaves for Paris to launch into experimental cinema, and Dali soon follows to collaborate on a surrealist film. Lorca alone remains in Spain, where he becomes the most renowned literary artist of his day. Despite his success, something is missing from his life. Slowly, he begins to realize that achieving celebrity as a writer will never fill the void left by Dalí’s departure. It is only in 1936, when Franco’s forces have reached undeniable heights of power, and with Spain on the brink of Civil War, that the lovers reunite. Salvador has since married Gala, an older divorcee, and all attempts to revisit their youth together are futile. When Federico becomes a direct victim of the war, Dalí faces the realization that the brilliant writer was the great love of his life, and that neither he nor his art will ever be the same. It is told with youthful exuberance and an independence of spirit. Starring the sexy and sultry Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame as Dali, and heartthrob Javier Beltran as Garcia-Lorca, Little Ashes is one of the year’s most anticipated films. It shows Dali and Lorca as we’ve never seen them before: in addition to being two of the great artists of the 20th century, we learn how they affected one another to the core through their friendship and love.

Paul Morrison is a highly acclaimed British director. His first feature film, Solomon and Gaenor, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000 and won the Welsh BAFTA for Best Film in 2001.