Cinema Tropical has compiled a list of the Top Ten Latin American Films of the Decade (2000-2009), based on a survey of distinguished critics, scholars and film professionals based in the New York City area.

This first-ever survey of its kind was culled from 35 prominent local voices in film whose work has been devoted to the promotion and dissemination of Latin American cinema in New York and the United States.

In all, 124 films representing 14 Latin American countries were nominated for the distinction of being Best of the Decade, demonstrating the great quality and diversity of films from the region.

TOP TEN

THE REST OF THE LIST

11. NINE QUEENS / NUEVE REINAS (Argentina, Fabián Bielinsky, 2000)
12. BOLIVIA (Adrián Caetano, Argentina, 2001)
13. LA NANA (The Maid, Sebastián Silva, Chile, 2009)
14. MADAME SATÂ (Karim Aïnouz, Brazil, 2002)
      JAPÓN (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico, 2002)
16. INTIMATE STORIES / HISTORIAS MÍNIMAS (Carlos Sorín, Argentina, 2002)
17. LA LIBERTAD (Lisandro Alonso, Argentina, 2002)
18. THE MILK OF SORROW / LA TETA ASUSTADA (Claudia Llosa, Peru, 2009)
19. THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES / DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA (Walter Salles, Argentina, 2004)
20. SANTIAGO (João Moreira Salles, Brazil, 2007)
      XXY (Lucía Puenzo, Argentina, 2007)
22. JOGO DE CENA / PLAYING (Eduardo Coutinho, Brazil, 2007)
23. EL VIOLÍN (Francisco Vargas, Mexico, 2005)
24. LAKE TAHOE (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico, 2008)
25. LOS RUBIOS (Albertina Carri, Argentina, 2003)
26. THE POPE'S TOILET / EL BAÑO DEL PAPA (César Charlone, Enrique Fernández, Uruguay,                    2007)
27. EDÍFICIO MASTER (Eduardo Coutinho, Brazil, 2002)
      LOVE FOR SALE: SUELY IN THE SKY / O CÉO DE SUELY (Karim Aïnouz, Brazil, 2006)
29. DAYS OF SANTIAGO / DIAS DE SANTIAGO (Josué Méndez, Peru, 2004)
      DUCK SEASON / TEMPORADA DE PATOS (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico, 2004)
      CINEMA, ASPIRINS AND VULTURES / CINEMA, ASPIRINAS E URUBUS (Marcelo Gomes, Brazil,            2005)
32. MACHUCA (Andrés Wood, Chile, 2004)
      THE MAGIC GLOVES / LOS GUANTES MÁGICOS (Martín Rejtman, Argentina, 2003)
      TONY MANERO (Pablo Larraín, Chile, 2008)
      VIOLET PERFUME: NO ONE IS LISTENING / NADIE TE OYE: PERFUME DE VIOLETAS (Marisa                Sistach, Mexico, 2001)
36. BROKEN EMBRACE / El ABRAZO PARTIDO (Daniel Burman, Argentina, 2004)
      EL BONAERENSE (Pablo Trapero, Argentina, 2002)
      IN THE PIT / EN EL HOYO (Juan Carlo Rulfo, Mexico, 2006)
      LIVE IN MAID / CAMA ADENTRO (Jorge Gaggero, Argentina, 2005)
      LOS MUERTOS (Lisandro Alonso, Argentina, 2004)
      ÓSCAR (Sergio Morkin, Argentina, 2004)
       THE SACRED FAMILY / LA SAGRADA FAMILIA (Sebastián Lelio, Chile, 2004)
       SUITE HABANA (Fernando Pérez, Cuba, 2003)
44. BURNT MONEY / PLATA QUEMADA (Marcelo Piñeyro, Argentina, 2000)
      CHRONICLES / CRÓNICAS (Sebastián Cordero, Ecuador, 2004)
      METALWORKERS / PEÕES (Eduardo Coutinho, Brazil, 2004)
47. 25 WATTS (Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll, Uruguay, 2001)
      COCALERO (Alejandro Landes, Bolivia/Argentina, 2007)
      ELITE SQUAD / TROPA DE ELITE (José Padilha, Brazil,  2007)
      ESTAMIRA (Marcos Prado, Brazil, 2004)
      EXTRAORDINARY STORIES / HISTORIAS EXTRAORDINARIAS (Mariano Llinás, Argentina,                    2008)
      LA RABIA (Albertina Carri, Argentina, 2008)
      SON OF THE BRIDE / EL HIJO DE LA NOVIA (Juan Jóse Campanella, Argentina, 2001)
54. BROKEN SKY / EL CIELO DIVIDIDO (Julián Hernández, Mexico, 2006)
      DRAINED / O CHEIRO DO RALO (Heitor Dhalia, Brazil, 2006)
      THE HOUSE OF SAND / CASA DE AREIA (Andrucha Waddington, Brazil, 2005)
      LOVESICKNESS / MALDEAMORES (Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz, Mariem Pérez Riera, Puerto Rico, 2007)
      MUSIC ON HOLD / MÚSICA EN ESPERA (Hernán A. Golfrid, Argentina, 2009)
      MY BROTHER'S WIFE / LA MUJER DE MI HERMANO (Ricardo de Montreuil, Peru/Mexico,                    2005)
      NEVER AGAIN / NUNCA MÁS (Marta Rodríguez, Fernando Restrepo Castañeda, Colombia,                  2001) 
      PARAGUAYAN HAMMOCK / HAMACA PARAGUAYA (Paz Encina, Paraguay, 2006)
      PERPETUUM MOBILE (Nicolás Pereda, Mexico, 2009)
      THE PINOCHET CASE / EL CASO PINOCHET (Patricio Guzmán, Chile, 2001)    
      STONES IN THE SKY / ROCHA QUE VOA (Eryk Rocha, Brazil, 2002)
      WAR TAKES / TOMAS DE GUERRA (Patricia Castaño, Adelaida Trujillo, Colombia, 2003)
66. THE BALLROOM / CHEGA DE SAUDADE (Laís Bodanzky, Brazil, 2007)
      EL PERRO (Carlos Sorín, Argentina, 2004)
      IN BED / EN LA CAMA (Matías Bize, Chile, 2005)
      LEONERA (Pablo Trapero, Argentina, 2008)
      PACHAMAMA (Toshifumi Matsushita, Bolivia, 2008)
      THE PASSION OF MARÍA ELENA / LA PASÍON DE MARIA ELENA (Mercedes Moncada, Mexico,              2003)
      WINDOW OF THE SOUL / JANELA DA ALMA (João Jardim, Walter Carvalho, Brazil, 2001)
      THE MINDER / EL CUSTODIO (Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina, 2006)
      THE IMMORTAL / EL INMORTAL (Mercedes Moncada, Nicaragua/Mexico, 2005)
75. ADDITIONS AND SUBSTRACTIONS / SUMAS Y RESTAS (Víctor Gaviria, Colombia, 2004)
      CARANDIRU (Héctor Babenco, Brazil, 2003)
      THE END AND THE BEGINNING / O FIM E O PRINCIPIO (Eduardo Coutinho, Brazil, 2005)
      LIVERPOOL (Lisandro Alonso, Argentina, 2008)
      MISSING YOUNG WOMAN / SEÑORITA EXTRAVIADA (Lourdes Portillo, Mexico/USA, 2001)
      NOTHING MORE / NADA + (Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti, Cuba, 2001)
      THE PRISONER OF THE IRON BARS / O PRISIONERO DA GRADE DE FERRO (Paulo                              Sacramento, Brazil, 2004)
      RAGING SUN, RAKING SKY / RABIOSO SOL, RABIOSO CIELO (Julián Hernández, Mexico, 2009)
      SO SUDDENLY / TAN DE REPENTE (Diego Lerman, Argentina, 2003)
      THE SUGAR CURTAIN / EL TELÓN DE AZUCAR (Camila Guzmán Urzúa, Cuba, 2005)
     A YEAR WITHOUT LOVE / UN AÑO SIN AMOR (Anahí Berneri, Argentina, 2005)
86. ACCIDENT / ACCIDENTE (Cao Guimarães, Pablo Lobato, Brazil, 2007)
      ALAMAR (Pedro González-Rubio, Mexico, 2009)
      THE AURA / EL AURA (Fabián Bielinsky, Argentina, 2005)
      CLEOPATRA (Júlio Bressane, Brazil, 2007)
      THE CRIME OF FATHER AMARO / EL CRIMEN DEL PADRE AMARO (Carlos Carrera, Mexico,                 2002)
      THE DEAD GIRL'S FEAST / A FESTA DA MENINA MORTA (Matheus Nachtergaele,                                Brazil, 2008)
      THE FISH CHILD / EL NIÑO PEZ (Lucía Puenzo, Argentina, 2009)
      FORGING A NATION / HACER PATRIA (David Blaustein, Argentina, 2006)
      I AM CUBA, THE SIBERIAN MAMMOTH / SOY CUBA, O MAMUTE SIBERIANO (Vicente                          Ferraz, Brazil, 2005)
      JUSTICE / JUÍZO (Maria Ramos, Brazil, 2008)
      THE METHOD / EL MÉTODO (Marcelo Piñeyro, Argentina, 2005)
      STRANDED: I'VE COME FROM A PLAIN THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS / NÁUFRAGOS:                VENGO DE UN AVIÓN QUE CAYÓ EN LAS MONTAÑAS (Gonzalo Arijón, Uruguay, 2007)
98. BATTLE IN HEAVEN / BATALLA EN EL CIELO (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico, 2005)
     BORN AND BRED / NACIDO Y CRIADO (Pablo Trapero, Argentina, 2006)
     COPACABANA (Martín Rejtman, Argentina, 2006)
     HORN OF PLENTY / EL CUERNO DE LA ABUNDANCIA (Juan Carlos Tabío, Cuba, 2008)
     KILL THEM ALL / MATAR A TODOS (Esteban Schroeder, Uruguay/Chile, 2006)
     LA SIERRA (Scott Dalton, Margarita Martínez, Colombia, 2005)
     THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION / O ANO EM QUE MEUS PAIS SAÍRAM DE                          FÉRIAS (Cao Hamburger, Brazil, 2006)
105. BEHIND THE SUN / ABRIL DESPEDAÇADO  (Walter Salles, Brazil, 2001)
        BOG OF BEASTS / BAIXIO DAS BESTAS (Cláudio Assis, Brazil, 2006)
        COMMON PLACES / LUGARES COMUNES (Adolfo Aristarain, Argentina, 2002)
        FIESTAPATRIA (Luis A. Vera, Chile, 2006)
        I AM BOLIVAR / BOLÍVAR SOY YO (Jorge Alí Triana, Colombia, 2002)
        LAMB OF GOD / CORDERO DE DIOS (Lucía Cedrón, Argentina, 2008)
        LOWER CITY / CIDADE BAIXA (Sérgio Machado, Brazil, 2005)
        RABBIT ON THE MOON / CONEJO EN LA LUNA (Jorge Ramírez Suárez, Mexico, 2004)
        TROPIC OF CANCER / TRÓPICO DE CANCER (Eugenio Polgovsky, Mexico, 2004)
        VALENTÍN (Alejandro Agresti, Argentina, 2002)
115. ALICE'S HOUSE / A CASA DE ALICE (Chico Teixera, Brazil, 2007)
        COCHOCHI (Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán, Mexico, 2007)
        CRAB TRAP / EL VUELCO DEL CANGREJO (Oscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia, 2009)
        DOG EAT DOG / PERRO COME PERRO (Carlos Moreno, Colombia, 2008)
        LAST STOP 174 / ÚLTIMA PARADA 174 (Bruno Barreto, Brazil, 2008)
        POSTCARDS FROM LENINGRAD / POSTALES DE LENINGRADO (Mariana Rondón, Venezuela,             2007)
        THE ROAD TO SAN DIEGO / EL CAMINO DE SAN DIEGO (Carlos Sorín, Argentina, 2006)
        ROLLING FAMILY / LA FAMILIA RODANTE (Pablo Trapero, Argentina, 2004)
        SOCIAL GENOCIDE / MEMORIAS DEL SAQUEO (Fernando Solanas, Argentina, 2004)
        UNDER CONSTRUCTION / AQUÍ SE CONSTRUYE (YA NO EXISTE EL LUGAR DONDE
             NACÍ) (Ignacio Agüero, Chile, 2000) 
        THE ZONE / LA ZONA (Rodrigo Plá, Mexico, 2007)

SURVEY PARTICIPANTS (in alphabetical order)

Inés Aslán – Communications Officer, El Museo del Barrio
Graciela Berger Wegsman – Playwright / Journalist, New York Daily News, Hora Hispana
Rodrigo Brandão – Director of Publicity, Kino International
Roberto Busó-García - Founder, Alquimia Films
Fabiano Canosa – Film programmer
Jerry W. Carlson – Film professor, The City College & Graduate Center CUNY
Rebeca Conget - VP Acquisitions and Distribution, Film Movement
Gerard Dapena - Scholar of Hispanic cinemas and visual culture
Christian Del Moral – Film blogger, CineLatinoNY
Mario Díaz – Filmmaker / Film blogger
Howard Feinstein – Film critic, Screen / Programmer, Panorama and Sarajevo Film Festival
Cristina Garza – International Sales and Distribution, FiGa Films
Marcela Goglio – Programmer, Latinbeat (Film Society of Lincoln Center)
Pablo Goldbarg – Filmmaker / Writer, Remezcla, Cinema Tropical
Javier Guerrero – Director, 100% Venezuela (NYU Venezuelan Film Festival)
Carlos A. Gutiérrez – Co-Founding Director, Cinema Tropical
Paula Heredia - Filmmaker/editor, Casa Clementina.
Jytte Jensen – Curator, MoMA Department of Film
Peter Lucas – Professor, Department of Photography and Imaging and Open Arts at the Tisch School of Arts at New York University
Yehudit Mam – Filmmaker / Blogger, The Grande Enchilada
Mary Jane Marcasiano – Special Events Advisor, Cinema Tropical / Programmer
Alberto Medina – Author / Associate professor, Columbia University
Micki Mihich – Filmmaker, film critic and blogger, Dynamite Magazine and Dynamite Online
Lucila Moctezuma – Film programmer and coordinator, Tribeca Latin America Media Arts Fund (Tribeca Film Institute)
Nuria Net - Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder, Remezcla.com
Louis Perego Moreno – Executive Producer, Skyline Features
Carmen Oquendo – Researcher and film curator, NYU
Jack Rico – Editor-in-Chief, ShowBizCafe.com
Alex Rivera - Filmmaker/founder SubCine
Jerónimo Rodríguez – Film critic/Host, Toma 1 (NY1 Noticias)
Paul Julian Smith – Author, The Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar and Amores Perros
Roselly Torres - Distribution & Marketing Director, Third World Newsreel
Diana Vargas – Programmer, Havana Film Festival (NY) and Corto Circuito
Mónika Wagenberg – Co-Founding Director, Cinema Tropical
Naief Yehya – Film critic, La Jornada, Milenio / Author, The Transformed Body, War and Propaganda

THE SURVEY

32 professionals from the New York area participated in this first-ever survey. They include film critics, bloggers, festival programmers, distributors, and academics. They were invited to participate because their work has demonstrated a keen knowledge of Latin American cinema and/or because they have been active in promoting and disseminating it in the United States. The survey itself was created with the goal of increasing awareness of Latin American film within the U.S. movie-going public and the film community as a whole. 

The 32 participants were simply asked to provide their favorite top-ten list of Latin American films (those produced in a Latin American country and helmed by a Latin American director) released either commercially or via film festivals between 2000-2009. The ballots were then tabulated according to the following point system: The #1 pick received 10 points, the #2 received 9 points, and so on until reaching the #10 pick which was assigned a point value of 1. In total, 55 points were spread among the 10 films in each ballot.

Some participants chose not to rank their ballots. In those cases, the 55 total points were divided evenly among the ten selections. Each received a point value of 5.5.

This survey was created and compiled by filmmaker and blogger Mario Díaz [http://diazfilm.blogspot.com/], and Cinema Tropical Co-Founding Director Carlos Gutiérrez.

INDIVIDUAL SELECTIONS

Click here to see all of the individual selections of the survey's participants (pdf format)