White Roses, Fall! by Albertina Carri
The 54th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), taking place from Thursday, January 30, to Sunday, February 9, 2025, in the Netherlands, highlights an array of Latin American and Caribbean films across its diverse lineup. True to IFFR’s mission, these selections aim to expand, enrich, and challenge perspectives through film and audiovisual arts.
The Tiger Competition, IFFR's flagship showcase for innovative filmmakers, features Mexican director Aria Covamonas' scabrously funny satire The Great History of Western Philosophy / La gran historia de la filosofía. In this irreverent narrative, a cosmic animator is compelled, under Chairman Mao’s watchful gaze, to craft a film about Western philosophy, shaking societal foundations to their core.
Argentina’s White Roses, Fall! / ¡Caigan las rosas blancas! is a contender in the Big Screen Competition, which bridges popular, classic, and arthouse cinema. Directed by Albertina Carri (Daughters of Fire), this genre-defying road movie follows Violeta, the creator of an amateur lesbian porn hit, as she embarks on a chaotic journey to craft her mainstream crossover film.
The Bright Future section, spotlighting debut features with original styles, includes Colombia’s Rains Over Babel / Llueve sobre Babel by Gala del Sol. This psychedelic, mystical reimagining of Dante’s Inferno stars Saray Rebolledo, Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez, and John Alex Castillo in a choral queer drama at the cutting edge of contemporary filmmaking.
Brazilian film I'm Still Here / Ainda estou aqui, recently nominated for three Academy Awards, screens in the Limelight section. Directed by Walter Salles and based on Marcelo Paiva’s memoir, it tells the powerful true story of Rubens Paiva’s disappearance during Brazil’s military dictatorship and his family’s decades-long search for truth, intertwined with his wife Eunice’s battle with Alzheimer’s.
The Cinema Regained section offers restored classics and explorations of cinema’s heritage, featuring five films from Argentina and Puerto Rico. These include Homophobia! / ¡Homofobia! by Goyo Anchou (Argentina); Las manos del hombre, Jack Delano’s educational documentary extolling labor’s importance to Puerto Rico’s progress; Modesta by Benjamin Doniger, which chronicles a women’s strike in Puerto Rico; Ramón Rivera Moret’s Everything Seemed Possible / Todo parecía posible, an exploration of Puerto Rican films from the 1950s; and Amilcar Tirado’s Una voz en la montaña, a celebration of collective power combating illiteracy.
The Focus program Hold Video in Your Hands celebrates VHS culture and includes Straight to VHS / Directamente para video by Emilio Silva Torres (Uruguay), Videoclub by Pablo Illanes (Chile), and Reason Why I Am Unhappy / Razones por las que soy infeliz by Rubén Nuño Lepe (Mexico).
The Harbour section, showcasing a spectrum of contemporary cinema, includes Suçurana by Brazilian filmmakers Clarissa Campolina and Sérgio Borges, which follows a woman hitchhiking through Brazil’s mining region in search of a piece of family land; Collective Monologue / Monólogo colectivo by Argentine-British filmmaker Jessica Sarah Rinland, a sensitive documentary about the bonds between animals and their carers; Luna Rosa: The Seventh Ascension of Atabey / Luna rosa: la 7ª ascensión de atabey by Puerto Rican filmmaker Omar Rodríguez-López, a visually and sonically rich narrative; Don't Leave the Kids Alone / No dejes los niños solos by Mexican director Emilio Portes, a psychological horror film about two competitive siblings; and Olivia & the Clouds / Olivia y las nubes by Dominican director Tomás Pichardo Espaillat, a poetic exploration of love, loss, and memory.
In the Education program, Brazil’s Power Alley / Levante by Lillah Halla offers a powerful exploration of systemic discrimination through the eyes of Sofia, an Afro-Brazilian athlete fighting for her rights.
Art Directions: Installations includes Ecuadorian artist Francisco Baquerizo Racines’ The Burning (of Planet "B") / La quema (del Planeta "B"), an exhibit exploring colonial history and mestizo traditions, such as the burning of ‘año viejo’ dolls.
Finally, the Short & Mid-length film program features eleven Latin American films, including Levantamuertos: Cumbia For The Dead by José Eduardo Castilla Ponce (Mexico); Prayer for Tending Death / Una oración para acompañar la muerte by Elyla (Nicaragua); Language of the Entrails / Puro andar by Luciana Decker Orozco (Bolivia); Bisagras by Luis Arnías (Venezuela); Tell Her What Happened to Me / Fale a ela o que me aconteceu by Pethrus Tibúrcio (Brazil); Those Who Move / Quem se move by Stephanie Ricci (Brazil); Tragedy / Tragédia by Bernardo Zanotta (Brazil); Below and to the Left / Abajo y a la izquierda by Martín Baus (Chile); Sleeping on Warm Knees / Assonnati sui caldi ginocchi by Giuseppe Polerà (Cuba); This Is Not Your Garden / Este no es tu jardín by Carlos Velandia and Angélica Restrepo (Colombia); and The Age of Flowering Plants / La era de las plantas con flor by Magaly Ugarte de Pablo (Mexico).
