From Cuba to Peru, Chile to Guatemala, filmmakers are looking for new things
A tribute to Latin American films is being organized for the capital by the Ministry of Culture’s Bureau of Cinema and Audiovisual Media, in cooperation with the embassies of Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay, Panama, Peru and Chile. Featuring 22 films representing the most recent trends in cinematic output from Latin America (as well as two classic films by artists who have heavily influenced their successors in the region), the mini-festival kicks off this evening at the Microcosmos movie theater at 106 Syngrou Avenue and at the Trianon at 2 Kodringtonos Street. The program is set to run until October 26. The films being showcased at the event record young artists’ efforts to transcend conventional and cliched themes and filming styles by closely re-examining the genres of the past and creating a cinematic language that distinguishes itself with technical excellence and artistic freedom, while reflecting the issues of modern-day societies. Broad social issues – such as youth violence, corruption and alienation – are approached at times with sensitivity and humor and at others with brutal candor. The program brings together comedies, social dramas, films about music, political dramas and even one satirical soap opera. The two classics that have been selected to highlight the trends of the region’s recent productions are celebrated Mexican auteur Emilio «El Indio» Fernandez’s 1945 «Bugambilia,» starring Dolores del Rio, and «The Last Supper,» the 1976 drama by Cuba’s Tomas Gutierrez Alea.
