Four Latin American films have nabbed a nomination for Outstanding Film in Limited Release at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, recognizing the various avenues of media for their fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ community and the issues that affect their lives. The Latin American nominees are the Argentine film End of the Century by Lucio Castro, the Paraguayan film The Heiresses / Las herederas by Marcelo Martinessi, the Brazilian film Socrates by Alexandre Moratto, and the Mexican film This Is Not Berlin / Esto no es Berlín by Hari Sama.
Castro’s alluring debut feature End of the Century, released by Cinema Guild, is both a sun-soaked European travelogue and an epic, decades-spanning romance. When Ocho (Juan Barberini), a 30-something Argentine poet on vacation in Barcelona, spots Javi (Ramón Pujol), a Spaniard from Berlin, from the balcony of his Airbnb, the attraction is subtle but persistent. After a missed connection on the beach, a third chance encounter escalates to a seemingly random hookup. But are these two merely beautiful strangers in a foreign city or are they part of each other’s histories—and maybe even their destinies?
Winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlinale, Marcelo Martinessi’s acclaimed debut feature The Heiresses, released jointly by 1844 Entertainment and Distrib Films US follows Chela and Chiquita, both descended from wealthy families in Asunción, Paraguay, have been together for over 30 years. But recently their financial situation has worsened and they begin selling off their inherited possessions. But when their debts lead to Chiquita being imprisoned on fraud charges, Chela is forced to face a new reality.
Driving for the first time in years, she begins to provide a local taxi service to a group of elderly wealthy ladies. As Chela settles into her new life, she encounters the much younger Angy, forging a fresh and invigorating new connection. Chela finally begins to break out of her shell and engage with the world, embarking on her own personal, intimate revolution.
Winner of the Independent Spirit Someone to Watch Award, the debut feature by Moratto tells the story of Socrates, a 15-year-old living on the margins of São Paulo’s coast, who must survive on his own after his mother’s sudden death, . As he faces isolation because of his sexuality, his search for a decent worthy life reaches a breaking point.
This Is Not Berlin released in the U.S. by Samuel Goldwyn Films is set in 1986. Mexico City. The film follows 17-year-old Carlos doesn't fit in anywhere: not in his family nor with the friends he has chosen in school. But everything changes when he is invited to a mythical nightclub where he discovers the underground nightlife scene: post punk, sexual liberty, and drugs that challenges the relationship with his best friend Gera and lets him find his passion for art.
The winners of this year’s GLAAD Awards will be announced in two separate ceremonies taking place in New York at the Hilton Midtown on March 19 and the second in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton on April 16.
