The Delinquents by Rodrigo Moreno
Historically, the Cannes Film Festival has had a mostly lukewarm relationship with Latin America, and particularly in the past two decades, the French festival has not been very welcoming to the impressive cinematic renaissance of the region. Nevertheless, despite this distant relationship, a group of Latin American filmmakers always find their way to La Croisette, and this year is no exception.
In total, ten feature films will screen at the 76th edition of Cannes. The only Latin American director vying for this year’s Palme d’Or is the Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz, who’s presenting his English language-debut, the English historical drama Firebrand, starring Michelle Williams as Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry The VIII.
Two Latin American films will be presented in the non-competitive Cannes Premieres section of the festival: Eureka by Argentine director Lisandro Alonso, and Lost in the Night / Perdidos en la noche by Mexican director Amat Escalante.
Starring Viggo Mortensen, José María Yazpik, Chiara Mastroianni and Viilbjørk Malling Agger, Eureka follows Murphy as he searches for his daughter after she is kidnapped by the outlaw Randall; while Lost in the Night, tells the story of Emiliano, who lives in a small mining town in Mexico. Motivated by a deep sense of justice, he searches for those responsible for the disappearance of his activist mother who was standing up for local jobs against an international mining company. Receiving no help from the police or judicial system, he finds a clue that leads him to the wealthy Aldama Family, where he meets a famous artist, his celebrity wife and their beautiful daughter. It's not long before he has a job at their home and becomes determined to uncover the secrets beneath the surface.
Lost in the Night by Amat Escalante
Three South American films—from Argentina Brazil, and Chile—will have their world premiere in the Un Certain Regard competition: the The Delinquents / Los delincuentes by Rodrigo Moreno, The Settlers / Los colonos, the debut feature by Felipe Gálvez; and Crowrã / The Buriti Flower by the directorial duo of João Salaviza & Renée Nader Messora.
Starring Margarita Molfino, Esteban Bigliardi, Cecilia Rainero, Moreno’s The Deliquents follows two bank employees, Román and Morán, who question their routines and their daily lives. One of them finds a solution: commit a crime. Somehow, he succeeds and extends his fate to his partner. This leads them to make a big change in their lives in the hope of a better existence.
Set in the beginning of the 20th century, the historical drama The Settlers is the story of an English lieutenant and an American mercenary who are hired by a rancher in the Chilean Patagonia They are joined by Segundo, a mestizo Chilean who becomes an unwitting accomplice in a violent manhunt of Indigenous people.
In The Buriti Flower, Patpro will travel through three eras in the history of his Indigenous people, in the heart of the Brazilian forest, through his child's eyes. Tirelessly persecuted, but guided by their ancestral rites, their love of nature and their fight to preserve their freedom, the Krahô are constantly inventing new forms of resistance.
The Settlers by Felipe Gálvez
The Colombian short La Perra by Carla Melo Gampert and the Argentine short None of That / Nada de eso by Patricio Martínez and Francisco Cantón are representing Latin America in the short film Palme d’Or competition.
The International Critics’ Week, the independent parallel non-competitive section of the Cannes Film Festival screening first and second films by directors from all over the world, will host the world premiere of the Brazilian film Power Alley / Levante by Lillah Halla as its only Latin American selection. The film tells the story of promising volleyball player Sofia (17) who, on the eve of a future-defining championship, is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Seeking an illegal termination, she becomes the target of a fundamentalist group determined to stop her at any cost—but neither Sofia nor those who love her are willing to surrender to the blind fervor of the swarm.
Three Latin American films, from Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, will screen in the Cannes Classics section of the French festival: Skeleton of Mrs. Morales / El esqueleto de la Señora Morales by Rogelio A. González, Man on Pink Corner / Hombre de la esquina rosada by René Mugica, and Nelson Pereira dos Santos – A Life of Cinema by Aida Marques & Ivelise Ferreira.
Cannes will screen a digital restoration of the 1959 Mexican black comedy Skeleton of Mrs. Morales, starring Arturo de Córdova and Amparo Rivelles, about a taxidermist who is trapped in a marriage with a religious and emotionally unstable woman, so he plans to carry out the perfect crime. Based on a short shorty by famed Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges, Man on Pink Corner tells the story of El Corralero, a hit-man who wants to change his life for the better, after the governor of Buenos Aires gives the pardon to some prisoners. However, El Corralero finds that destiny will make of him the avenger of his former cell partner.
For six decades, the cinema of Nelson Pereira dos Santos has projected Brazil into the eyes of the world. Precursor of Cinema Novo, Nelson was, more than a director, he was an ideologue, a thinker of his country. At the Cannes Film Festival, Vidas Secas, Azyllo muito Louco and O Amuleto de Ogun competed for the Palme d’Or. In 2012, The Music According to Tom Jobim was screened during a tribute session dedicated to the filmmaker. The documentary feature Nelson Pereira dos Santos – A Life of Cinema shows us the man behind the camera. Through his legacy it is possible to ser all the richness of Brazilian culture reflected.
And as years past, Mexico’s Morelia Film Festival will screen its winning shorts in the Critics’ Week. This year’s selection is comprised of To Go Away and Come Back / Ir y Volver by José Permar, The Things I Tell You / Las cosas que te digo by Daniela Silva Solórzano, The Short Film / El cortometraje by José Luis Isoard Arrubarrena, and A Hand Beneath the Snow / Una mano bajo la nieve by José Esteban Pavlovich.
The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival takes place May 16-24.
