Ami Canaan Mann will open retrospective on American film noir

Ami Canaan Mann''s Film Texas Killing Fields to open the retrospective: "American Way of Death: American Film Noir 1990-2010". Directors Walter Hill and James Gray will present the cycle in San Sebastian

The retrospective dedicated to American film noir will open at the 59th edition of the Festival with Texas Killing Fields, a film to compete in the Official Selection at Venice Festival. This gripping thriller proves that the genre is fighting trim: set in the Texas bayous, the tale tracks two detectives pitted against mysterious unsolved murders all occurring in a haunting stretch of bayous and coastal plain. The cast headlines Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jessica Chastain, Annabeth Gish and Sheryl Lee.

The director of the movie, Ami Canaan Mann, is the daughter of Michael Mann. She worked as a screenwriter and director on series such as NYPD Blue, Robbery Homicide Division and Friday Night Lights. She made her feature directorial debut with Morning (2001), winner of awards at the Rhode Island and Houston festivals.

The cycle "American Way of Death: American film noir 1990-2010" includes 40 emblematic titles to have come out of the genre in the last twenty years; from popular Hollywood productions to independent movie proposals. Here we can find oeuvres by moviemakers like David Fincher, Clint Eastwood, Joel Coen, Michael Mann, Quentin Tarantino, John Dahl, Abel Ferrara and Jonathan Demme, among many others. The cycle will be presented by two luxury guests: filmmakers Walter Hill and James Gray, both authors of films featured in the retrospective.

The cycle comes with a book, coordinated by Roberto Cueto and Antonio Santamarina, including articles by Ricardo Aldarondo, Quim Casas, Jordi Costa, Desirée de Fez, Jara Fernández, Chris Fujiwara, Novotny Lawrence, Jesús Palacios, Alain Silver and James Ursini.

It is jointly organized with the Basque Film Library, has the collaboration of the Government of Valencia Film Library, and is sponsored by TCM.