The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), produced and presented by Miami Dade College, has selected internationally renowned, French-born, Nicaragua-based artist Jean Marc Calvet as the poster artist for its 30th edition, which will run Mar. 1-10, 2013.
Calvet was the subject of director Dominic Allan’s documentary, Calvet, a hit at MIFF 2012 where it screened as part of the Knight Documentary Competition. The film recounts the painter’s journey from savvy street kid to Cannes bodyguard who abandoned his wife and son, robbed a Miami mobster, hid out in Central America and, at the age of 38, overcame a gruesome drug addiction in an extraordinary metamorphosis through which he began to paint. Eight years later, Calvet’s intricate paintings now sell for five figures.
In creating the MIFF 2013 poster, which he calls Miami Juice, Calvet said, “This is primarily a message of hope… go out of the dark and into the light! The central personage is filled with cinematic references: projectors, stars, cameras, red carpet, outlaws, explosions, etc.
“The character’s eyes are shaped like camera shutters and inside the mouth are a number of distinctive elements referencing the Miami International Film Festival of today: buildings, cine-cameras, palm trees, the sea and, of course, a ‘pretty’ blonde in the middle,” he added.
“Jean Marc’s image perfectly captures the theme we have chosen to celebrate the wild, fascinating 30-year history of MIFF: Every character under the sun/ Todos los personajes bajo el sol,” said Jaie Laplante, MIFF executive director. “Jean Marc has captured our emotions and anticipations as we complete our third decade and look forward with excitement to our fourth.”
Calvet began painting at a point in his life when severe crisis metamorphosed into a form of redemption and rebirth. With no previous training, he discovered the need to paint by complete chance. Not only did it save him; it changed his life. Art is his catharsis and his evolution has been astounding. For him, it is about exorcising the insanity of his past and slapping down on canvas the dirty truth of life. He paints 14 hours a day, seven days a week in Nicaragua where he currently is based.
Calvet was one of six winners of the VII Biennale of Nicaraguan Arts in 2009 selected to represent Nicaragua at the Biennale of Central America in Panama in 2010.
This past March, Miami Dade College’s (MDC) renowned Art Gallery System, in collaboration with Monkdogz Urban Art Gallery, the Americas Collection, and the Miami International Film Festival, presented Jean Marc Calvet’s exhibition, “invasion invasión l’invasion,” at MDC’s National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower. The well-received exhibition featured 33 large-scale paintings and an installation of miniature sculptures, marking Calvet’s first solo exhibition at the Freedom Tower.
Details on the 2013 Miami International Film Festival program will be released in January 2013. Jean Marc Calvet’s official poster, Miami Juice, is available at <www.miamifilmfestival.com>.
