The Toronto Film Festival has announced today the selections for its Contemporary World Cinema section which includes eight Latin American films.
Having their world premiere at the Canadian festival are the Brazilian film Campo Grande (pictured left) by Sandra Kogut, the Uruguayan film El apóstata / The Apostate by Federico Veiroj, the Argentinean films Mi amiga del parque / My Friend from the Park by Ana Katz, and La luz incidente / Incident Light by Ariel Rotter, as well as the Argentinean-Spanish coproduction Truman by Cesc Gay.
The Peruvian film Magallanes (pictured right) by Salvador del Solar will be having international premiere at Toronto -after its recent premiere at the Lima Film Festival. Additionally El abrazo de la serpiente / The Embrace of the Serpent by Ciro Guerra from Colombia, and the Mexican film Te prometo anarquía / I Promise You Anarchy by Guatemalan director Julio Hernández will both be having their North American premiere at the festival.
A subtle, touching and sincere study of class disparity, Kogut’s Campo Grande, tells the story of a wealthy middle-aged woman who unexpectedly finds herself caring for two impoverished young siblings. In the gently absurdist comedy from Uruguay’s Veiroj, The Apostate (pictured above right) a young man finds himself navigating the baffling, labyrinthine bureaucracy of the Catholic Church when he attempts to formally renounce his faith.
In the comedy-drama My Friend from the Park, a guilt-ridden and stressed-out new mother discovers a newfound sense of freedom and autonomy when she befriends a very unconventional mom. Rotter’s Incident Light is a poignant period drama set in 1960s Argentina, in which a young woman struggling to raise her twin daughters alone after the tragic death of her husband accepts the courtship of a charming but mysterious older suitor.
In Truman, a man resolves to spend his last days putting his affairs in order, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Magallanes (pictured left) follows an aged Peruvian taxi driver, formerly an aide to a feared military officer in the bloodiest days of government repression during the Shining Path insurgency, who unexpectedly re-encounters a young indigenous woman that was brutally victimized by his superior.
Cannes’ winner Embrace of the Serpent tracks two parallel odysseys through the Amazon three decades apart. A visionary adventure epic from Colombian director Guerra offers a heart-rending depiction of colonialism laying waste to indigenous culture. And fresh from its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, I Promise You Anarchy, is the daring new feature from Hernández, which follows two teenage lovers in Mexico City who become embroiled in the city’s illegal, narco-run blood trade.
The 40th anniversary edition of the Toronto Film Festival will take place September 10-20 in Canada.
