Back to Buenos Aires by Marco Bechis
Latin American cinema will have a solid presence at the upcoming 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival, with films from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico screening across the festival’s official selection and its two major parallel sections. Spanning anticipated new works by acclaimed filmmakers, bold feature debuts, and rediscovered classics, this year’s lineup offers a wide-ranging showcase of filmmaking from across the region.
The highlight is Back to Buenos Aires / Ritorno a Buenos Aires, directed by Marco Bechis, the only Latin American-related film competing for Venice’s Golden Lion. A co-production between Italy and Brazil, the film sees the Chilean-Italian filmmaker turn to fiction to revisit a wound deeply connected to his own history. Set in Buenos Aires in 2008, it follows Mariano Guerra, who returns to Argentina 33 years after being kidnapped, tortured, and held captive during the military dictatorship. Upon his return, he testifies against the former military officers responsible for his abduction.
Out of Competition, Argentina has another major presence with Life of Jorge Luis Borges / Biografía de Jorge Luis Borges directed by Mariano Llinás. Running 330 minutes, the documentary about the great Argentine writer is one of the most ambitious projects in the Venice program and will also screen at the Toronto and New York film festivals. Llinás, director of La flor, constructs a portrait of Borges through his work, archival material, and his relationship with Argentine culture.
Two Latin American short films will compete in the Orizzonti section: the Chilean film Una fortaleza by Alba Gaviraghi, about a 15-year-old girl torn between returning home for her mother’s birthday and remaining with the friends she has found during the occupation of her high school; and the Colombian short Los poderes by Salim Jaller, about a teenager expelled from school who struggles to turn his life around as his mother pushes to have him admitted to a rehabilitation clinic.
In Venice Spotlight, a section showcasing eight works across genres distinguished by innovation and creative originality, Mexico is represented by Hombre al agua, the latest directorial feature from Gael García Bernal. The film follows a Cuban lifeguard who, after saving a Mexican businessman, is brought to Mexico and becomes involved with his daughter. The international cast includes García Bernal, Brazilian actress Débora Nascimento, Uruguayan actress Natalia Oreiro, and Puerto Rican star Ricky Martin, while the production brings together collaborators from across Latin America.
Hombre al agua by Gael García Bernal
The Mexican presence continues in the Giornate degli Autori, an independent parallel section with a particular focus on innovation, research, originality, and independence, with Salón de belleza, the feature directorial debut of actress and filmmaker Nathalia Acevedo, known for her role in Post Tenebras Lux, directed by Carlos Reygadas. Adapted from Mario Bellatin’s novel, the film explores themes of beauty, memory, and death.
Also in the Giornate competition, Argentina is represented by Sometimes Sadness, Sometimes Rebellion / A veces me entra tristeza, otras veces rebelión, the fourth feature by director María Aparicio. The film follows Eva, an Argentine woman passing through Madrid, and her encounter with Dante, an Argentine historian researching the country’s labor struggles.
Argentina also appears in the Giornate degli Autori outside the competition with El fantasma, directed by Ignacio Masllorens and artist David Lamelas, about two young producers who set out to make a documentary about an elusive figure of Argentina’s 1960s avant-garde, confronting the challenge of portraying an artist who deliberately chose to disappear.
Latin America has a particularly strong presence in the Settimana Internazionale della Critica, a parallel section organized by the Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) and dedicated to debut films, with three of the seven films in its competition coming from Latin America.
Colombia is represented by The End of Times / El fin de los tiempos by Bibiana Rojas Gómez and Juan David Cárdenas, which explores artificial intelligence through a blend of fiction and documentary. Also from Colombia is Meteorite / Meteorito by Sebastián Múnera’s debut fiction feature, which was awarded at work-in-progress programs in Málaga and Cartagena. The film follows two women raising a young boy near Colombia’s Magdalena River, who embark on a journey to smuggle cellphones into a regional prison, crossing an extravagant amusement park built on a former drug lord’s estate.
Tijuana, todavía by Gabriel Gutiérrez Morales
Meanwhile, Brazil is represented by London, the debut feature by Victor Di Marco and Márcio Picoli, a queer drama about desire, and autonomy centered on a young disabled man fiercely determined to live independently. In Venice Spotlight, Brazil is also represented by Furies, directed by Lebanese filmmaker Rami Kodeih and co-produced by Brazilian production company RT Features, founded by Rodrigo Teixeira.
In Biennale College Cinema, Mexico is represented by Tijuana, todavía, directed by Gabriel Gutiérrez Morales. Set in northern Mexican border city and starring Humberto Busto, the film follows a young queer Russian fleeing military conscription and a middle-aged gay Mexican man navigating machismo who connect through a hookup app, only to confront the wounds of their respective exiles when their relationship moves offline.
Latin American cinema also extends into the classics. In the Venice Classics section, two restorations revisit important works from the region: Luis Buñuel’s classic Mexican film Illusion Travels by Streetcar / La ilusión viaja en tranvía (1954), restored by the Museo Nazionale del Cinema di Torino, Fundación Televisa, and Cineteca Nacional México, and Those at Table 10 / Los de la mesa 10 (1960), by Argentine filmmaker Simón Feldman, restored by the Asociación Amigos del Museo del Cine de Buenos Aires.
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will take place from September 2 to 12, 2026.
