May 4 - 11, 2011
The Museum of Modern Art
The first decade of the 21st century has witnessed an unexpected and astonishing film renaissance throughout Latin America. Largely influenced and inspired by the so-called New Argentine Cinema, and propelled by creative hybrid models of production, a young and enthusiastic generation of filmmakers is drastically changing how the region sees and represents itself on the big screen. Founded in 2001 by Carlos A. Gutiérrez and Monika Wagenberg, Cinema Tropical has played a major role in introducing U.S. audiences to this burgeoning Latin American cinema. The New York–based nonprofit media arts organization began distributing, programming, and promoting Latin American film at the outset of the biggest boom in Latin American cinema in decades, and this series presents standout examples by some of the region's most accomplished and innovative contemporary filmmakers.
Organized by Jytte Jensen, Curator, Department of Film.
All screenings at
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street, New York City
(212) 708-9400 / www.moma.org
Special thanks to Mary Jane Marcasiano, Tatiana García, Amber Shields, and Mara Behrens.
HISTORIAS EXTRAORDINARIAS / EXTRAORDINARY STORIES
(Mariano Llinás, Argentina, 2008, 245 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Three unconnected tales featuring main characters known only as X, Z, and H, respectively, branch out into a labyrinth of plots and subplots in a vast narrative that moves from a small town in Argentina to Africa and back. Llinás's four-hour film is the single most accomplished work in recent Argentine cinema, an audacious celebration of the art of storytelling in cinema.
Wednesday, May 4, 2pm (Introduced by Llinás); Thursday, May 5, 6pm (Introduced by Llinás); Friday, May 6, 3pm; Saturday, May 7, 1pm; Sunday, May 8, 4pm; Monday, May 9, 4pm
TURISTAS
(Alicia Scherson, Chile, 2009, 105 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Carla, a woman in her mid-thirties, is ditched by her husband on the road after a heated argument on their way to vacation, so she decides to continue the trip by herself. She arrives at a beautiful and lush National Park, where a series of incidents and meetings with people will make her embark on a personal adventure. This enticingly fresh take on the road movie by Chilean director Scherson (Play) becomes a resonant meditation on emotion.
Wednesday, May 4, 7pm (Introduced by Scherson); Saturday, May 14, 2pm (Introduced by Scherson)
TRÓPICO DE CÁNCER / TROPIC OF CANCER
(Eugenio Polgovsky, Mexico, 2004, 52 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
The powerful documentary Trópico de Cáncer is a meticulous account of the perilous conditions faced by a group of families living in the arid desert. In their quest for survival, they hunt animals to sell on the highway. Visually astonishing and with a surprising narrative drive, Polgovsky's documentary debut—along with his follow-up film The Inheritors—has established him as one of Mexico's most promising documentarians.
Thursday, May 5, 2011, 4:00pm; Saturday, May 14, 2011, 2:00pm
COPACABANA
(Martín Rejtman, Argentina, 2007, 56 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
New York Premiere
Taking the annual celebration of the Virgin of Copacabana in a Bolivian neighborhood in Buenos Aires as its point of departure, Rejtman's first incursion into nonfiction filmmaking is a sober, meticulous portrait of Argentina's Bolivian community. Featuring minutely detailed mise-en-scène and minimal dialogue, Rejtman's work is playfully structured in reverse, as the film begins with the festivities, follows with the rehearsals, and ends with the immigrants' original journey from Bolivia.
ELEMENTARY TRAINING FOR ACTORS / ENTRENAMIENTO ELEMENTAL PARA ACTORES
(Martín Rejtman, Federico León, Argentina, 2009, 52 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
New York Premiere
Rejtman, a longtime Cinema Tropical favorite (the organization released his films Silvia Prieto and The Magic Gloves), is often referred to as the father of New Argentinean Cinema. In this sharp, witty featurette about a theater workshop for children lead by a fervent professor, Rejtman remains true to the deadpan minimalist humor that distinguishes his earlier work. With Fabián Arenillas, Ulises Bercovich, Luca Damperat.
Friday, May 6, 8pm (Introduced by Rejtman, New York premiere); Sunday, May 15, 5:30pm (New York premiere)
TORO NEGRO
(Pedro González-Rubio, Carlos Armella, Mexico, 2005, 87 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Toro Negro delves deep into the life of Fernando Pacheco, a hapless young bullfighter who fights not in big arenas but at parties in small Mayan communities in the Yucatán Peninsula. Fernando is heartwarming and honest, but he's also an alcoholic, prone to violent outbursts and impulsive behavior. González-Rubio (director of the acclaimed Alamar) and Armella show Fernando's raw human passion and conflicts from a disturbingly intimate distance.
Saturday, May 7, 8pm; Friday, May 13, 7pm
25 WATTS
(Pablo Stoll, Juan Pablo Rebella, Uruguay, 2001, 94 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
2011 marks the 10th anniversary of 25 Watts, Stoll and the late Rebella's debut, which consolidated Uruguay's influential role in the recent revitalization of Latin American cinema. A wry, fresh, and funny slacker comedy shot in black and white in Montevideo, 25 Watts launched Control Z Films, the production company created by Stoll, Rebella, and Fernando Epstein that initiated a prolific and exciting period for young Uruguayan filmmakers.
Sunday, May 8, 1:30pm; Monday, May 16, 8pm
SANTIAGO
(João Moreira Salles, Brazil, 2006, 80 min. In English, Portuguese with English subtitles)
A touching documentary in which director Salles examines his family’s relationship with their now retired but still beloved butler Santiago. Not only did Santiago ably manage the Salles’ household, he also found time to catalogue the history of civilization in great detail in his personal journals.
Wednesday, May 11, 6pm; Sunday, May 15, 3:30pm
A WEEK ALONE / UNA SEMANA SOLOS
(Celina Murga, Argentina, 2008, 110 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Celina Murga’s second feature film after her acclaimed Ana and the Others tells the story of a group of kids living in a gated community in suburban Buenos Aires that are left alone as their parents are off on holidays. Murga’s understated and rich portrait is a subtle depiction of class and childhood. In
Thursday, May 12, 4:30pm (Introduced by Murga); Saturday, May 14, 8pm (Introduced by Murga)
CRAB TRAP / EL VUELCO DEL CANGREJO
(Oscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia, 2009, 95 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Daniel, a mysterious man from the city, arrives in an isolated village on Colombia's Pacific coast and gets a temporary job to raise enough money to move on. During his stay, he encounters the local Afro-Colombian traditions and sees how they're challenged by recently arrived neighbors. Featuring stunningly beautiful cinematography, Navia's debut feature exemplifies the best of the up-and-coming Colombian cinema movement. With Rodrigo Vélez, Arnobio Salazar Rivas, Jaime Andrés Castaño.
Thursday, May 12, 8pm; Monday, May 16, 4pm
(LOVE FOR SALE - SUELY IN THE SKY / O CEU DE SUELY
(Karim Aïnouz, Brazil, 2006, 88 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Aïnouz, one of the filmmakers at the forefront of contemporary Brazilian cinema, follows his internationally successful debut Madame Satã with a very different portrait of an indomitable survivor. Returning to her hometown in poverty-stricken northeastern Brazil, Hermila (Guedes) awaits the arrival of her boyfriend, but her spunk and zest for life take on an increasingly desperate edge when it becomes clear that he will not be coming. The director's major achievement is making the soulful decency of the townspeople and the rich colors of the empty landscape an integral part of the characterization of Hermila, who remains likeable despite even her most desperately miscalculated actions. With Hermila Guedes, Maria Menezes, Georgina Castro.
Friday, May 13, 4:30pm; Sunday, May 15, 1pm
