The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Cinema Tropical announce “Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema” a new showcase of contemporary Latin American films that will take place January 7-10 in New York City, and presenting one North American, two U.S., and eight New York premieres with some of the directors in person.
Launching in the New Year, this selective slate of premieres highlights impressive recent productions from across the region and exhibits the vast breadth of styles, techniques, and approaches employed by Latin American filmmakers today.
"It’s been some years since Latin American cinema 'reemerged,'" said Programmer at Large Rachael Rakes. "Now, as the output from countries like Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil continues to be some of the most compelling and engaged cinema today, new scenes are establishing themselves all across the map, showcasing fresh talent and ideas, and challenging the notion of an identifiable contemporary Latin American cinema. We’re pleased to highlight a few of the most impressive recent films from the region."
Opening the series is Benjamín Naishtat’s El Movimiento (pictured above left) a stark, black-and-white snapshot of anarchy in 19th-century Argentina and follow-up to his acclaimed debut, History of Fear. Other titles include the 2015 Cannes Caméra d’Or winner, César Augusto Acevedo’s Land and Shade; the U.S. premiere of Arturo Ripstein’s Bleak Street, which has drawn comparisons to Luis Buñuel’s Mexican period; Rodrigo Plá’s Venice Horizons opener A Monster with a Thousand Heads; Pablo Larraín’s Silver Bear–winning The Club, Chile’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar; and Jayro Bustamante’s acclaimed debut feature Ixcanul, winner of the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlinale.
The rest of the lineup includes Dominga Sotomayor’s Mar (pictured above right), Pablo Chavarria Gutiérrez’s Alexfilm, Ives Rosenfeld’s Hopefuls / Aspirantes, Alejo Moguillansky & Fia-Stina Sandlund’s The Gold Bug / El escarabajo de oro, and Luis Ospina’s It All Started at the End / Todo comenzó por el fin.
With titles from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico, Neighboring Scenes spans a wide geographic range, evidencing the many sites of contemporary Latin American filmmaking. Some of the featured directors are established auteurs, while others have recently emerged on the international festival scene, snagging top prizes and critical accolades at festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Locarno.
The Sundance Film Festival announced today the additional titles that make up their 2016 lineup, which includes the world premiere of Diego Luna’s Mr. Pig, starring Danny Glover, Maya Rudolph, José María Yazpik, Joel Murray, Angélica Aragón, and Gabriela Araujo.
The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the first titles for its 2016 edition, which includes films from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, in its World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary competitions. 
Chilean director Alejandro Fernández Almendras returns to Sundance -after his 2013 film To Kill a Man, won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition- with Much Ado About Nothing / Aquí no ha pasado nada (pictured right). Starring Agustín Silva, Alejandro Goic, Luis Gnecco, Paulina García, Daniel Alcaino, Augusto Schuster the film tells the story of an upper-class kid who gets in trouble with the one percent. 
In the documentary competition, Mexican photographer Maya Goded will have the world premiere of her debut feature Plaza de la Soledad (pictured left). For over 20 years, Goded has intimately documented the lives of a close community of prostitutes in Mexico City. With dignity and humor, these women now strive for a better life — and the possibility of true love. 
The Chilean film El club / The Club by Pablo Larraín was the winner for the Fénix Award for Best Film, it was announced this evening at a ceremony in Mexico City. 
Film Independent has unveiled the nominees for the 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards, which include two Colombian productions: Manos Sucias and El abrazo de la serpiente / Embrace of the Serpent.
Embrace of the Serpent had its world premiere at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight last May where it won the top prize, and it’s Colombia’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. The film tells two stories, taking place in 1909 and 1940, both starring Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his tribe. He travels with two scientists, German Theodor Koch-Grunberg and American Richard Evans Schultes, to look for the rare yakruna, a sacred plant. The film is loosely inspired by the diaries written by the two scientists during their field work in the Amazon.
