Cinema Tropical Festival 2013
Cinema Tropical, in partnership with 92YTribeca, is proud to present the second annual edition of the Cinema Tropical Festival celebrating the year's best Latin American film productions. The Cinema Tropical Festival will feature the winners of the Cinema Tropical AWARDS that were announced at a special ceremony at The New York Times Company headquarters few days ago.
These winning films represent the vitality and the artistic excellence of contemporary Latin American cinema, and the festival offers a great platform for local audiences to discover the renewed and exciting world of the film production coming out from the region.
The Cinema Tropical Festival is presented in partnership with 92YTribeca and VOCES, Latino Heritage Network of The New York Times Company. The Cinema Tropical Festival is presented by Cinelatino and sponsored by Hôtel Americano and the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York. Additional support provided by the Rolex Institute. Community Partner: United Latino Professionals Social Network.
Special thanks to Cinema Guild, Axolote Cine, CAT & Docs, Errante Producciones and Alpha Violet.
All screenings at:
200 Hudson Street (at Canal Street)
(212) 601-1000 / www.92Y.org/Tribeca/Film
Tickets: $12
*Please note. Due to the winter storm, the screenings originally scheduled for 2/8, have been rescheduled for Friday, February 15.
Friday, February 15, 2013, 7pm
THE LAST CHRISTEROS | LOS ÚLTIMOS CRISTEROS
A film by Matías Meyer (Mexico/Netherlands, 2011, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Winner – Best Director, Feature Film
"The final days of a band of 1930s Christian rebels in the central Mexican wilderness are depicted with majestic stoicism in Matias Meyer's elegant ode to independence" - Robert Koehler, Variety.
“In 1926, the Mexican government began the strict enforcement of the anti-clerical laws dictated in the 1917 Mexican Constitution, and it introduced an array of new measures against demonstrations of faith. This religious persecution, aimed mostly at Roman Catholics, sparked the Cristero War, a conflict waged mostly by peasants against the well-trained Mexican army. Although the Cristero War officially took place between 1926 and 1929, groups of men continued fighting for their right to worship freely for several years afterward. Matias Meyer's third feature film, The Last Christeros, retells the story of these tenacious men, resolved to openly uphold their beliefs, even in the face of certain death.” – Toronto International Film Festival
Friday, February 15, 2013, 9pm
THE STUDENT | EL ESTUDIANTE
A film by Santiago Mitre (Argentina, 2011, 110 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Winner – Best First Film
"An intelligent, engrossing portrayal of politics as a game, an addiction, and a vicious cycle (...) a truly universal political thriller." - Dennis Lim, Artforum
“Politics is a game, a seduction, and a vicious cycle in Santiago Mitre’s gripping, fine-tuned debut, the story of Roque (Esteban Lamothe), a university student who falls for a radicalized teacher and organizer (Romina Paula) and soon finds himself entangled with Buenos Aires campus activists, in a world as heated and byzantine as the one inhabited by the student revolutionaries of the mythic 1960s. Anchored by Lamothe’s nuanced, charismatic performance, The Student complicates the classic bildungsroman narrative of education and disillusionment, emphasizing the endless adaptability—or malleability—of its protagonist. An urgent attempt to grapple with the legacy of Peronism in present-day Argentina, the film abounds with telling details and rich local color. But it’s also a truly universal political thriller, one that illuminates the conspiratorial pleasure, the ruthless hustle, and the moral fog of politics as it is practiced.” – New York Film Festival
Saturday, February 9, 2013, 6pm
THE LIFEGUARD | EL SALVAVIDAS
A film by Maite Alberdi (Chile, 2011, 67 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Winner - Best Documentary Film
“Meet Mauricio, a lifeguard on a popular Chilean beach. Driven by fierce dedication to safety rules and regulations, Mauricio frustrates beachgoers and his seemingly lackadaisical colleagues as much as they frustrate him. Bathers are scolded, complaints are filed, accusations are made—all contributing to a simmering feud with Jean-Pierre, Mauricio’s chief rival and detractor. First-time filmmaker Maite Alberdi brings it all to life with a vibrant palette, tactile depth of field, and a surprisingly suspenseful day at the beach.” – Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Saturday, February 9, 2013, 7:30pm
NEIGHBORING SOUNDS | O SOM AO REDOR
A film by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil, 2012. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Winner - Best Fiction Film
A palpable sense of unease hangs over a single city block in the coastal town of Recife, Brazil. Home to prosperous families and the servants who work for them, the area is ruled by an aging patriarch and his sons. When a private security firm is reluctantly brought in to protect the residents from a recent spate of petty crime, it unleashes the fears, anxieties and resentments of a divided society still haunted by its troubled past. Kleber Mendonça Filho's Neighboring Sounds is a thrilling debut by a major new voice in world cinema.
With the support of the Rolex Institute
