RUNNING AFTER
(Correndo atrás, Jeferson De, Brazil, 2018, 86 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)

New York Premiere
Q&A with director Jeferson De

Eking out a living selling trinkets amidst the traffic-clogged streets of Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Gale sees an opportunity to change his life by becoming a football manager. While searching for his own Neymar in Rio’s suburbs, he discovers the remarkably talented Glanderson, a boy who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player despite the fact that he has only three toes on his right foot. Gale uses his entrepreneurial spirit and creativity to try and make Glanderson a star. A film of comic verve, Running After offers a glimpse of life on the peripheries of Brazil’s capital.

Co-presented with Cinema Tropical.

THE ABSENT STONE
by Sandra Rozental & Jesse Lerner
(La piedra ausente, Mexico/USA, 2013, 82 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)

New York Premiere!
Q&A with co-director Sandra Rozental

In 1964, the largest carved stone of the Americas was moved from the town of San Miguel Coatlinchan in the municipality of Texcoco to the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City in an impressive feat of engineering. The extraction of the monolith, which represents the pre-Hispanic water deity, set off a rebellion in the town and led to the intervention of the army. Today, the enormous stone, now upright, is an urban monument; it has been transformed into one of the principal icons of Mexican national identity.

The inhabitants of Coatlinchan insist that the removal of the stone has caused droughts. Representations and replicas of the absent stone appear everywhere in Coatlinchan, where it resonates in the memories of the inhabitants. Using animations, archival materials, and contemporary encounters with the protagonists of the transport of the stone, Sandra Rozental and Jesse Lerner’s playful documentary film explores the relevance of the ruins of the past in the present day.

This screening is part of: If You Can Screen It There: Premiering Contemporary Latin American Cinema

EL GENERAL
(Natalia Almada, USA/Mexico, 2009, 83 min, In Spanish and English with English Subtitles)

Through the legacy that filmmaker Natalia Almada inherited as the great-granddaughter of Mexican president Plutarco Elias Calles (1924-1928), one of Mexico's most controversial revolutionary figures accused of having been a "Dictator" and "Nun-Burner", yet also acclaimed for having been the "father of modern Mexico," El General is a portrait of a family and a country under the shadow of the past. 

Winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Directing Award for documentary, Almada brings to life audio recordings she inherited from her grandmother combined with haunting photographs, archival newsreels, and old Hollywood films, along with sweeping footage of modern-day Mexico City, and interviews with today’s working poor, in this visually stunning, stylistically innovative film.

Preceded by All Water Has a Perfect Memory (Mexico/US, 2001, 19min, English Subtitles)
A poignant experimental documentary that explores the effects of tragedy and remembrance on a bi-cultural family. 

(João Moreira Salles, Brazil, 2003, 102 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
With the presence of Nelson Freire.

Free Admission. Space is limited. Click here to RSVP. 

"In films such as Noticias de Uma Guerra Particular, Joao Moreira Salles has demonstrated a keen interest in examining the dark underbelly of Brazilian society. But in this, his most recent documentary, he turns his eye to an aspect of his country that merits celebration.

Nelson Freire is probably one of the best-kept secrets in the world of the piano. The international press has acclaimed him as one of the greatest pianists of our time, comparing him to legendary greats such as Sergei Rachmaninov, Alfred Cortot, Josef Hofmann, Arthur Rubinstein, and Glenn Gould. Despite many accolades and commendations, however, Freire has avoided the spotlight, focusing on developing himself musically. Salles explains that in doing the documentary he wished to explore the idea of pudor or the tremendous modesty that Freire manifests toward exhibiting himself as a celebrity.

The film eschews the usual interviews with friends and witnesses in favor of a direct cinema approach that lets Freire's modesty and candor shine through, eloquently and cinematically. Highlights include discussions of the revered pianists Guiomar Novaes and Martha Argerich, Freire's love for American jazz and Hollywood cinema of the 1940s, and an incredible letter that his father wrote him when Freire was eight. This is a moving portrait of the soul of a unique Brazilian musician. Watching it, one understands what it is to be—no, one feels oneself becoming—more fully human."  —Tribeca Film Festival

Nelson Freire will perform with the Grand Rapids Symphony at Carnegie Hall on Friday, April 20 at 8pm. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

MY LAST FAILURE
(Mi último fracaso, Cecilia Kang, Argentina, In Spanish with English subtitles, 2016, 61 min.)

NYC PREMIERE!

“There are many films piercing through Cecilia Kang’s first feature; there’s a film about a family (her sister, her mother, her aunt, her grandmother). There’s also one about being an Argentine woman of Korean descent visiting Korea. And another one about being a Korean woman who, at the same time, acts like someone from Buenos Aires. There’s family love, friendship, the small tragedies and the great ones, emancipation, heartbreak, creativity. And none of these storylines drives us to a feeling of drift; they are parts of a mosaic that is pieced together in the viewer’s head thanks to a solid, strongly emotional core: the life of the director, who, in a spontaneous and loving display of generosity, dedicates My Last Failure to (in this order) a teacher from childhood, her eternal friends, and her sister.” —Mar del Plata Film Festival.

This screening is part of: 'If You Can Screen It There: Premiering Contemporary Latin American Cinema'

EUFROSINA'S REVOLUTION
(La revolución de los alcatraces, Luciana Kaplan, Mexico, 2012, 96 min.)
Dir. Luciana Kaplan in attendance.

In 2007, Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza was elected President of Oaxaca's municipal council. Her position was denied because she was a woman. Instead of stopping her, this denial started her on an even bigger political career. The director doggedly follows Eufrosina as she attacks gender inequality and the lack of voting rights for women in her community, while being harassed by government leaders in every step of the way.

Preceded by Field of Vision short documentary The Vote by Mila Aung-Thwin and Van Royko (12 min.)

The Vote observes residents of the bustling city of Yangon in Myanmar as they navigate their first democratic election in over 50 years, with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as a second time contender. 

THE HIDDEN TIGER
(A Vizinhança do Tigre, Affonso Uchoa, Brazil 2014, 95 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)

New York Premiere

Affonso Uchoa made a major critical splash on the festival circuit last spring with his award-winning film, Araby. However, Uchoa has been active as a filmmaker for the past eight years.

Made in 2014, The Hidden Tiger charts the lives of a group of young residents of Nacional, a neighborhood in the suburbs of the city of Contagem. Juninho, Menor, Neguinho, Adilson, and Eldo live their lives in dialectical fragments of joy and adversity. Some work in construction, others in drug trafficking; a few attend heavy metal concerts, others play with guns; they read, dance carioca funk, and deal with their families as they struggle with the demands of their daily lives. Music is a key element in Uchoa’s rigorously gentle mise-en-scène—in concert with his patient gaze, it helps to illuminate the faces and bodies of Uchoa’s protagonists. The camera captures and crystallizes moments of small beauty in a landscape of social and economic conflict.

“It is worth noting that, in contrast to the treatment given to pretentiously popular film programs on urban peripheries, here there is no place for demagogy. The film doesn't treat its dwellers as attractions for export, it is an exercise of admirable humanism, nurtured by the five years the director devoted to constructing this admirable fresco.” –André Ldc, Janela Magazine.

Monday, March 26, 7:15pm

Sponsored by the Consulate General of Brazil in New York.

ME, MY FATHER AND THE CARIOCAS
(Eu, Meu Pai e Os Cariocas, Lúcia Veríssimo, 2017, Brazil, 112 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Q&A with director Lúcia Veríssimo
Buy Tickets

Me, My Father and the Cariocas is a engaging and fascinating journey through 70 years of the history of Brazilian music. From the golden era of the Radio Nacional, through Bossa Nova, Tropicalia, Samba, MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) and through these days, the film is a love letter to the cultural legacy of the South American country.

The film was conceived, directed, produced and narrated by the actress Lúcia Veríssimo—daughter of the maestro Severino Filho, founder of the influential vocal group Os Cariocas, launchers of the Bossa Nova movement—who had direct access to some of the who's who of Brazilian music, including artists, musicologists, writers, maestros, composers and historians.

Featuring a vast collection of photographs, clips from films and videos, and featuring over 100 songs, Me, My Father and the Cariocas narrates how historical facts had a major influence in the development of the exuberant Brazilian music scene, and it's a must see for any music lover.

This series is programmed by Mary Jane Marcasiano. 
Sponsored by the Consulate General of Brazil in New York
with additional support from Brazilian Music Foundation
and Hélio Campos.

NORA'S WILL
(Cinco días sin Nora, Mexico, 2010, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)

When his ex-wife Nora dies right before Passover, José is forced to stay with her body until she can be properly put to rest. He soon realizes he is part of Nora’s plan to bring her family back together for one last Passover feast, leading José to rediscover their undying love for each other. A comedy like no other, and directed by Mariana Chenillo, the first female director to win Mexico’s Best Picture Award.

THE ROMANTIC BARBER
(El peluquero romántico, Iván Ávila Dueñas, Mexico/Brazil, 2016, 98 min. In Spanish and Portuguese with English subtitles)

New York Premiere

Neighborhood barber Victor’s life is rather uneventful. He sticks to a strict daily routine at both work and home, where he spends his nights alongside his mother listening to boleros or watching movies from the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema on television. His routine is disrupted when his mother suddenly dies. His flirtation with a young waitress and his reunion with an old girlfriend can’t fill the void left behind by his mother. That changes, however, when a man claiming to be his father suddenly walks into the shop one day. The encounter will lead him to an unexpected and life-changing trip to Rio de Janeiro. The fifth feature by Mexican director Iván Ávila Dueñas, The Romantic Barber is a quirky and charming film about an anachronistic character in a vanishing environment. 

Nadie nos mira / Nobody's Watching (2017, 102 mins.)
Screening and Discussion

Julia Solomonoff’s third feature film is a portrait of the struggles of an Argentine actor trying to find his place in New York. The Guardian praised the film as an “acutely perceptive, achingly sad character study [that] deals in downgraded dreams and the brutal realities of trying to make it as an artist.”

Nadie nos mira (Nobody’s Watching) is the winner of Heineken Voces Development Grant at Tribeca Film Festival 2013, Proimágenes and Ibermedia Funds.

Solomonoff is a New York based Argentine filmmaker.  She is the writer/director of The Last Summer of la Boyita co-produced by Almodovar’s El Deseo, Epicentre Films and Travesia, winner of over twenty international awards.  Her first feature Hermanas(produced by Vanessa Ragone, Mariela Besuiesky and Walter Salles, developed at Sundance Writers’ Lab and Berlinale Talent Campus) opened at Toronto International Film Festival 2005 to critical acclaim. She is Visiting Assistant Arts Professor in Graduate Film at Tisch.

Post-screening discussion with the director moderated by Cinema Studies PhD student Tanya Goldman.

Free and open to the public.

THE IDEA OF A LAKE
(La idea de un lago, by Milagros Mumenthaler, Argentina/Switzerland, 2016, 82 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)

NYC PREMIERE!

Based on Guadalupe Gaona’s novel, POZO DE AIRE, Milagros Mumenthaler’s second feature delves deeper into the relationship of cinema with loss, memory, and youth. Inés, a photographer, is putting together a book of poems and images about her own past. In doing so, she finds her family dynamics shifting, as she and her mother and brother all come to terms with the absence of her father, who disappeared during the military dictatorship in Argentina. Mumenthaler moves away from the realm of naturalist representation in order to swim into the more obscure waters of artifice. The quest to make present what is absent suffuses the film and establishes Mumenthaler as one of the most interesting voices in contemporary Argentine cinema.

“The film explores the idea of memory on several different levels, and demonstrates how memories can be transformed by things that happen in the present. That’s really the core of the film – the intimate memories that we all have, but also the idea of memory as a civic and political right.” –Milagros Mumenthaler

This screening is part of: IF YOU CAN SCREEN IT THERE: PREMIERING CONTEMPORARY LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA

PLANTS
(Las plantas, Roberto Doveris, Chile, 2015, 93 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)

Roberto Doveris’ debut feature film revolves around Florencia, a 17-year-old girl responsible for the care of her comatose older brother during the summer. Trying to survive with limited means and no assistance, she becomes obsessed with a comic book called “Las Plantas,” which depicts an invasion of earth by sentient plants who take possession of human bodies every full moon. At the same time, Florencia is going through her own sexual awakening, meeting strangers through the internet, and her monotonous daily routine begins to merge with the fantasy world of the comics and her own burgeoning desires.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at the Berlinale and associate-produced by Alicia Scherson (The Future, Family Life), Plants is “a sexually souped-up teen psycho-thriller…an original coming-of-age tale laced with pop culture” (Variety).
 

FELICIANO CENTURIÓN: HOLD ME TIGHT / AU NATUREL
(Feliciano Centurión: Abrazo Íntimo al Natural, Mon Ross, Argentina/Paraguay, 2016, 63 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. U.S. Premiere).

Co-organized by Americas Society, Cinema Tropical and the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School.

Free admission. Click here to RSVP.

Mon Ross' documentary film is an intimate portrait of the late Paraguayan artist Feliciano Centurión, who developed his career in Buenos Aires during the 80s and 90s. The film serves as an affective exercise with valuable archival material, as Feliciano, his work and his time are revisited through the memories of his Paraguayan and Argentine friends.

This film is presented in the context of Americas Society’s exhibition “José Leonilson: Empty Man.” (on view through February 3, 2018). Although there are no testimonies that the artists met in person, their works as well as their charismatic personalities share a similar sensibility.

JL'S PASSION
(A Paixão de JL, Carlos Nader, Brazil, 2015. In Portuguese with English subtitles. U.S. Premiere)

Co-organized by Americas Society, Cinema Tropical and the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School.

Free admission. Click here to RSVP.

JL's Passion (A Paixao de JL) by Carlos Nader is a documentary about the Brazilian artist José Leonilson. In 1990, Leonilson began to record an audio diary on tape cassettes about his emotions, daily life, and events taking place in Brazil and around the world. Over time, the recordings came to hold a new urgency when Leonilson learns that he is HIV positive.

This film is presented in the context of Americas Society’s exhibition “José Leonilson: Empty Man.” (on view through February 3, 2018), the first U.S. solo exhibition of this key Brazilian artist. Focusing on Leonilson’s production as a mature artist, the show features approximately fifty paintings, drawings, and intimate embroideries made between the mid-1980s until 1993, when the artist died of AIDS.

MALA MALA
(Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini, USA/Puerto Rico, 2015, 87 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)

Special Benefit Screening – All Ticket Sales Go to Support Hurricane Relief Efforts in Puerto Rico

Cinema Tropical and IFC Center presents a special encore benefit screening of this critically acclaimed documentary, which had its theatrical premiere at the theater in July 2015.

Mala Mala explores the intimate moments, performances, friendships and activism of trans identifying people, drag queens and others who defy typical gender identities in Puerto Rico. The film features Ivana, an activist; Soraya, an older sex-change pioneer; Sandy, a prostitute looking to make a change; and Samantha and Paxx, both of whom struggle with the quality of medical resources available to assist in their transition.

Hailed as “Sensitive and thoughtful” by the New York Times and an audience favorite at the Tribeca Film Festival, Mala Mala affirms that the quest to find oneself can be both difficult and beautiful.

All ticket sales from the October 16 screening will support hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, via donations to the Hispanic Federation, the Centro Communitario LGBTT de Puerto Rico (including work by Ivana Fred, one of the activists featured in MALA MALA), Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (MAC) / Artist Emergency Fund and other organizations.

Screening introduced by Cinema Tropical board member Warren James, a Puerto Rican architect based in New York City and principal of the firm Warren A. James Architecture + Planning, and Puerto Rican documentary filmmaker Carmen Oquendo, in NYC on a family medical visit after surviving Hurricane Maria and witnessing the aftermath.

Special thanks to Strand Releasing, distributor of MALA MALA, for making this screening possible.

Please also consider making a donation directly to the Hispanic Federation’s relief efforts in Puerto Rico. 

ABOUT 12
(Juana a los 12, Martín Shanly, Argentina, 2014, 80 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)

U.S. Premiere - Q&A with director

The problem facing Juana, a 12-year-old girl, is imperceptible to others. She might even be even unaware of it herself, but it is latent in every shot of Martín Shanly’s debut feature: Juana fails easily. She performs poorly at her private British school in the outskirts of Buenos Aires and even worse in her social life among friends and family. 

About 12 nurtures a rare bitterness in its particular mixture of uncomfortable comedy and tempered tragedy. In the depiction of female bodies out-of-sync with the world they inhabit, Shanly’s film successfully blooms as an odd cousin to Todd Haynes’s Safe and Todd Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse. The lead performance by Rosario Shanly—the director’s sister—transcends masks thanks to a mise-en-scène that manages to be as frail and mysterious as its main character. Juana’s inadequacy to deal with the most basic social rules turns her apparently passive behavior into an intimate revolutionary act, a silent cry of resistance that is both funny and piercing. Juana is a gentle girl, a soul maybe too beautiful for this world.

“It is not a plain attitude that I find in Juana’s character, but a buffoonish darkness whose natural mask is the smile, or simply laughter, usually untimely, that transfigures (and makes much more interesting) the luminosity of her face. A smile that becomes vampiric.”
—Nuria Silva, Hacerse la crítica

Thursday, October 12 at 7:15pm

Presented as part This screening is part of If You Can Screen It There: Premiering Contemporary Latin American Cinema.