Ramón y Ramón by Salvador del Solar
The 72nd edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival has announced 14 productions from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela that will compete in the Horizontes Latinos competition for the Best Latin American Film Award. The selection features a mix of films by renowned filmmakers, such as José Luis Torres Leiva and Celina Murga, alongside works by emerging talents, including Federico Luis and Yennifer Uribe Alzate.
The opening night film of Horizontes Latinos will be When Clouds Hide the Shadows / Cuando las nubes esconden las sombras, directed by Chilean filmmaker José Luis Torres Leiva. The film tells the story of María, an actress traveling to Puerto Williams to star in a movie. When the film crew is unable to arrive due to a severe storm, María, left alone, seeks help for her severe back pain. This leads her to discover life in the southernmost city in the world and to confront a long-buried story from her past. The film is a tale of waiting and an accidental encounter between María, the continent's most southern nature, and its inhabitants.
Winner of the Best Director Award in the Encounters competition at Berlinale 2024, Cidade; Campo, by Brazilian filmmaker Juliana Rojas, explores two tales of migration between the city and the countryside, where nature forces two women to face their frustrations and cope with old memories and ghosts. The narrative follows Joana, a rural worker who relocates to São Paulo in search of her sister Tania, who lives with her grandson Jaime after devastating floods in their hometown. Joana grapples with survival in this bustling urban environment, delving into precarious employment and applying for a job at a cleaning company.
Sleep with Your Eyes Open / Dormir de Olhos Abertos, directed by German-Argentine filmmaker Nele Wohlatz, is a comedy of misunderstandings set in a Chinese community in Recife. The plot follows Kai, who arrives on holiday from Taiwan with a broken heart. A malfunctioning air conditioner leads her to Fu Ang’s umbrella shop, where a potential friendship is complicated by the arrival of the rainy season—or rather, the lack thereof. As the shop closes, Kai’s search for Fu Ang leads her to Xiao Xin and a group of Chinese workers in a fancy high-rise building, where Kai finds herself strangely mirrored in Xiao Xin’s story.
The Argentine dark comedy Most People Die on Sundays / Los domingos mueren más personas, directed by Iair Said, tells the story of David, who returns to Buenos Aires only to learn that his mother has decided to pull the plug on Bernardo, his father, who is in a coma. Torn between the intimate coexistence with his mother, who is alienated by the pain of the imminent loss, and his own ravenous desire to fill his existential anguish, David spends his days learning how to drive, oscillating between the past and present, and trying to connect with anyone who shows him the least bit of attention.
Ramón y Ramón, the latest feature by Salvador del Solar, is set against the backdrop of Peru’s months-long COVID-19 lockdown. Two men, a Peruvian national confined to his apartment with the ashes of his estranged father, and a Spaniard unable to leave the country due to Lima’s airport shutdown, form an unlikely friendship. As their bond deepens, their relationship evolves into more complex and ambiguous terrain.
In the Panamanian drama Querido Trópico / Beloved Tropic, the debut narrative film by Ana Endara, a tropical garden serves as the meeting ground for two lonely souls: an upper-class woman struggling with encroaching dementia and her caregiver, a lonely immigrant alienated from the world by a terrible secret.
The latest film by Chilean directorial duo Camilo Becerra and Sofía Paloma Gómez, Maybe It's True What They Say About Us / Quizá es cierto lo que dicen de nosotras, is inspired by true events. Ximena, a successful psychiatrist, receives an unexpected visit from her eldest daughter, Tamara, who has returned after a long period cut off from the world as a member of a sect. As a police investigation is launched, Tamara takes refuge in her mother’s house, and it is revealed that her newborn son disappeared under strange circumstances within the sect. Both the law and Ximena must unravel the mystery of the missing baby.
In Kill The Jockey / El jockey, by Luis Ortega, the story centers on Remo Manfredini, a legendary jockey whose self-destructive behavior threatens both his career and his relationship with his girlfriend Abril. On the day of the most important race of his career—a race that could clear his debts with his mobster boss Sirena—Remo has a severe accident, disappears from the hospital, and wanders the streets of Buenos Aires. Free from his identity, Remo begins to discover who he truly is, but Sirena is determined to find him, dead or alive.
The hybrid musical Reas by Argentine director Lola Arias follows the lives of inmates in a Buenos Aires prison. Yoseli, who dreams of travel but was arrested at the airport for drug trafficking, and Nacho, a trans man busted for fraud who forms a rock band in jail, are just two of the many characters navigating life behind bars.
Colombian director Yennifer Uribe Alzate’s debut feature Skin in Spring / La piel en primavera tells the story of a new security guard at a shopping mall in Medellín. On her first day at work, she meets a bus driver, and their budding relationship allows her to explore her sexuality and embark on a journey of self-discovery.
Sujo, the Mexican cartel drama by directors Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, was a favorite at Sundance 2024 and won the Grand Jury Prize. The film follows four-year-old Sujo, who is orphaned and in danger after his father, a cartel gunman, is murdered. Raised in the isolated countryside by his aunt, Sujo grows up amidst hardship and constant peril. As a teenager, he joins the local cartel, and as a young man, he attempts to escape the violence of his hometown. However, his father's legacy catches up with him, forcing him to confront his destiny.
Simon of the Mountain / Simón de la montaña, the debut feature by Argentine director Federico Luis, follows Simon, a 21-year-old who works as a mover's helper. Despite his claim of not knowing how to cook or clean, Simon’s life begins to change as he navigates the complexities of identity and self-discovery. The film won the Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prize.
In Zafari, by Venezuelan director Mariana Rondón, the arrival of a hippopotamus at a small zoo becomes a symbol of class conflict in a decaying high-class building. As food, water, and electricity shortages plague the residents, a family struggles to solve everyday problems and find a way to escape. Amidst the chaos, the hippopotamus, Zafari, remains well-fed, representing the stark contrast between those who have and those who have not.
Finally, the closing night film of the Latin American section will be The Freshly Cut Grass / El aroma del pasto recién cortado), the latest feature by Argentine director Celina Murga, starring Marina de Tavira and Joaquín Furriel. The film explores the lives of two middle-aged academics, Natalia and Pablo, each trapped in loveless marriages. As they grapple with suffocating gender expectations and the weight of their secret lives, both characters face a powerful moment of reckoning.
The 72nd edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival will take place from September 20-28, 2024, in Spain.
