Reas by Lola Arias
The 20th edition of the Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) devoted to documentary cinema and taking place from September 12-15 in Camden, Rockport, and Rockland, Maine, will feature nine works by US Latinx and Latin American filmmakers—five feature films and four shorts.
This year’s CIFF will officially open with Petra Costa’s Apocalypse In The Tropics / Apocalipse nos Trópicos. A follow-up to her Oscar-nominated feature The Edge of Democracy, Costa’s latest film offers a complex portrait of the clash between religious fundamentalism and secular democracy in Brazilian politics, while also reflecting on similar forces threatening democratic institutions worldwide.
Also screening on opening night is Reas, the latest work from Argentine interdisciplinary artist Lola Arias. Reas is a dynamic and collaborative hybrid musical created with individuals formerly incarcerated in one of Argentina’s largest women’s prisons.
Three other feature films from Latin America are included in this year's CIFF lineup: Eastern Anthems by Matthew Wolkow and Jean-Jacques Martinod, Oasis by Tamara Uribe and Felipe Morgado, and Welcome Interplanetary and Sidereal Space Conquerors / Bienvenidos conquistadores interplanetarios y del espacio sideral by Andrés Jurado.
The sonic and visual experience Eastern Anthems / Cantos del este co-directed by Ecuadoran media artist Jean-Jacques Martinod, centers on the return of the American Great Eastern Brood X cicadas. A cacophony of human and non-human voices builds, highlighting the power of nature as it interweaves socio-political narratives and ecological cycles.
The Chilean film Oasis, by Tamara Uribe and Felipe Morgado, captures the diverse voices—Indigenous, feminist, militant, and conservative—as they grapple with competing visions for Chile’s future following the social unrest of 2019 and the process of drafting a new constitution. A collective of filmmakers spread across the country to chronicle this tumultuous period, creating carefully framed compositions that embrace the complexity and contradiction of democratic discourse.
Directed by Andrés Jurado, Welcome Interplanetary and Sidereal Space Conquerors uses archival footage, documents, and sound recordings to explore NASA’s 1963 survival training program in the Colombian jungle for astronauts, including Neil Armstrong. This surreal cinematic journey presents a counter-history that examines colonialism, space exploration, and historical memory, challenging dominant narratives and inviting audiences to reconsider the complexities of cultural encounters and imperialist ambitions.
Among the shorts included in the festival's selection, the following are from Latin American and U.S. Latinx filmmakers: Bisagras by Luis Arnias (Venezuela/USA), Familia by Picho García and Gabriela Pena (Chile), Meditations on Silence by Sebastián Quiroz (Chile), and History is Written at Night by Alejandro Alonso (Cuba).
