Silvia Prieto by Martín Rejtman
Cinema Tropical, the leading presenter of Latin American cinema in the United States and recipient of the National Society of Film Critics' Film Heritage Award, celebrates its 25th anniversary with a first wave of special screenings and events across New York City, marking a quarter century at the forefront of shaping the presence and circulation of Latin American and U.S. Latinx cinema nationwide.
Over the past 25 years, Cinema Tropical has played a pivotal role in bringing the work of groundbreaking filmmakers—from Lucrecia Martel and Alejandro G. Iñárritu to Natalia Almada, Kleber Mendonça Filho, and Maite Alberdi—to U.S. audiences, while fostering a wide spectrum of voices across documentary, experimental, and narrative traditions.
The anniversary year opens with a symbolic return to the beginning. A special screening in dazzling 4K of Silvia Prieto, Martín Rejtman's landmark 1999 deadpan masterpiece, will take place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on Wednesday, March 11. The Argentine absurdist comedy was the very first film Cinema Tropical ever presented, on February 20, 2001, at the Pioneer Theater in downtown Manhattan—a modest cine-club screening that would grow into a leading international force in the exhibition and advocacy of Latin American and U.S. Latinx cinema. Revisiting the film 25 years later is both a tribute to its enduring modernity and a nod to the organization’s origins.
The first wave of festivities will also include a special sneak preview of the Brazilian film The Blue Trail (O Último Azul) at Museum of the Moving Imageon Sunday, March 1, offering audiences an early look at one of the most anticipated new films from Latin America ahead of its U.S. theatrical release in April by Dekanalog.
Winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale, Gabriel Mascaro's striking dystopian sci-fi is a lyrical and immersive adventure celebrating resilience, intergenerational connection, and the courage to defy ageist and authoritarian constraints. The screening underscores Cinema Tropical's ongoing mission: not only to honor the canon, but to continually introduce vital new works to U.S. audiences.
On Wednesday, March 18, Cinema Tropical joins forces with the legendary Flaherty Seminar for a rare dual celebration at Anthology Film Archives, marking Cinema Tropical's 25th anniversary alongside the Flaherty’s 70th. Bringing together two organizations that have, in distinct yet complementary ways, shaped film culture in the United States, the evening highlights a shared commitment to rigorous curation, artistic risk, and transnational dialogue.
Titled "Defiant and Playful: Flaherty at 70 and Cinema Tropical at 25," the program is an incisive and provocative selection curated by Zaina Bseiso and Carlos A. Gutiérrez. Originating from their collaboration at the 70th Flaherty Seminar, it features artists from across the Global South who reclaim humor, popular culture, and aesthetics as spaces of resistance and resilience amid the enduring threat of colonial forces.
Additional anniversary programs—including retrospectives, premieres, and conversations with filmmakers—will be announced in the coming months.
"The new millennium has witnessed an extraordinary renaissance in Latin American cinema, alongside the emergence of a powerful generation of U.S. Latinx directors," says Carlos A. Gutiérrez, co-founding executive director of Cinema Tropical. "For 25 years, we've worked to create a space where these films can engage audiences in the United States in meaningful and lasting ways. This anniversary is both a celebration of that journey and a recommitment to the work ahead."
Cinema Tropical’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional support is provided, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, as well as by the Color Congress and the Vilcek Foundation.
For more information or to schedule an interview with
Cinema Tropical's Executive Director, please contact Samuel Didonato at press@cinematropical.com, (212) 254-5474.
About Cinema Tropical:
New York City–based Cinema Tropical is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media arts organization and the leading presenter of Latin American and U.S. Latinx cinema in the United States. Founded in 2001 by Carlos A. Gutiérrez and Monika Wagenberg, the organization was created to distribute, program, and promote what would become the most significant boom in Latin American cinema in decades.
Through a wide range of programs and initiatives, Cinema Tropical has developed innovative strategies for the exhibition, distribution, and critical recognition of international and independent cinema in the United States. What began as a grassroots cine-club with weekly screenings at the former Pioneer Theater in downtown Manhattan soon expanded into a national non-theatrical circuit spanning 13 of the country’s leading cinematheques.
In 2011 and again in 2021, coinciding with its 10th and 20th anniversaries, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) honored the organization with retrospective series celebrating its impact. In 2026, the National Society of Film Critics awarded Cinema Tropical its Film Heritage Award, recognizing its "tireless efforts to distribute, program, and promote Latin American cinema in the U.S."
